San Francisco Giants: Who Should Win the Willie Mac Award?

Hunter Pence

Pence won this award in 2013 after playing all 162 games, leading the team to the World Series the year prior and being the anchor of the team emotionally, in the locker room and on the field.

While his on the field performances have fallen off in the last few seasons, his leadership has grown. Every teammate has spoken about it throughout the season.

Despite limited playing time in 2018, Pence never complained about the inconsistency on the lineup card.

More from Around the Foghorn

• SF Giants: The closer of the present and future has arrived
• BOGO 50% off on San Francisco Giants shirts at BreakingT
• SF Giants: Brandon Belt hits IL with fractured thumb
• SF Giants: 2021 team is approaching franchise milestone
• SF Giants: Brandon Belt is a qualifying offer candidate

And as the team brought players in to take away opportunities for him to play, nobody was more of a cheerleader than Pence.

He is already a Giants legend and his pending free agency has fans realizing that we are closing in on the end of an era.

San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Hank Schulman, has continued to point out during the season that nobody is given a louder ovation for his at-bats than Pence.

And you can see the love his teammates have for him. Every time he was able to come through in the clutch, his team reminded him how much they love him.

His walk-off single against the San Diego Padres in late June was the culmination of all of it. The raw emotion could be felt by every fan in the stands that day and it’s a passion that the Giants have seen since his arrival in 2012.

Much like Matt Cain last season, Game 162 could be emotional for Giants fans as they may watch the final game of Hunter Pence’s career.

The reverend, who is infamous for his pre-game and end of the year speeches, might be asked to give a couple more.  Pence certainly is the favorite to win the 2018 Willie Mac Award.