© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
There’s no award like the Giants’ Willie Mac Award. It’s presented annually to the most inspirational player on the Giants, as voted by their teammates, coaches, training staff, and fans. Last year, Nick Hundley won the award in his first season with the Giants.
Two years ago, Brandon Crawford and Javier Lopez split the honor, and in 2013, Hunter Pence won it with his signature ability to inspire the team. He seemed like he could be poised to win it again in his potential final season in San Francisco.
But tonight, the Willie Mac Award went to Will Smith, in the midst of his first full year with the Giants. He was traded to the team in 2016 and received devastating Tommy John surgery in 2017, missing the entire season.
This year, Smith has been as dominant as ever, with a career-low 1.90 ERA through 52 innings. His fight back from and excellence following Tommy John surgery evidently inspired teammates, coaches, trainers and fans, and for good reason.
That perseverance is in addition to Smith’s fun side which is on prime display when he’s not on the mound. It’s best demonstrated by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Will Smith, the actor’s character) sweatshirt he donned as a gift from Brandon Crawford on the Giants’ last road trip. He’s in the pink sweatshirt down in front:
Road trip swag ??? pic.twitter.com/9tbSoU2RW4
— Brandon Crawford (@bcraw35) September 17, 2018