Willie Mac Winner for 2011

[Stokes1931]

Ryan Vogelsong

At least according to the Giants' Facebook page. Haven't seen any confirmation of this anywhere else.

A good story keeps getting better.

 

[CameronFrye]

Ryan Vogelsong

At least according to the Giants' Facebook page. Haven't seen any confirmation of this anywhere else.

A good story keeps getting better.

If the winner were any other player, I would question the validity of the voting.

 

[Stokes1931]

From Baggs:

Finally, some encouraging news: Ryan Vogelsong was named the Willie Mac Award winner, and he recounted the story in which he turned down the Dodgers while playing in the Venezuelan League this winter. Vogelsong got the offer from LA but told his catcher, former Giant Guillermo Rodriguez, to pass it along and get the Giants to match it.

"I said, `Tell the Giants, because I don't want to wear Dodger blue,'" Vogelsong said. "I didn't make that up. I couldn't see myself as a Dodger."

Gotta love the guy for that!

 

[Stokes1931]

From the Chron:

Ryan Vogelsong, as expected, won the Willie Mac Award as the Giants' most inspirational player. Spoke with him moments ago, and he said the Dodgers offered a contract last winter, and he immediately let the Giants know about it.

"I let 'em know I got an offer from the Dodgers and I don't want to wear Dodger blue . . . I couldn't see myself being a Dodger."

Vogelsong said he voted for Mark DeRosa.

I asked the pitcher what "most inspirational" means to him.

"Wow, that's a good question," he began. "Everyone in that clubhouse has gone through some kind of struggle in their career at some point. Even if it's a couple-week thing or couple years or couple months, they can look to my story as a little pick-me-up to get them through. When you think things are bad, they can always be worse. When you think things can get worse, they can always be better."

Can the story go beyond baseball?

"Absolutely," he said. "When this season started and I started pitching well, it was more about, 'I made it back to the big leagues.' As the story kept going, the thing that means the most to me is that I inspired people, and people understand about working hard and persevering through tough times. That means a lot to me. If I'm inspiring people on a daily basis, that's awesome for me."

On winning an award associated with Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, Vogelsong said, "Just when you think things can't get better, they do."

Vogelsong will be honored on the field before the game.

Read more: Jeremy Affeldt out for the season, and the Willie Mac Award goes to . . . , : San Francisco Giants: The Splash

Wonderful!

 

[SFAnthem]

From Baggs:

Finally, some encouraging news: Ryan Vogelsong was named the Willie Mac Award winner, and he recounted the story in which he turned down the Dodgers while playing in the Venezuelan League this winter. Vogelsong got the offer from LA but told his catcher, former Giant Guillermo Rodriguez, to pass it along and get the Giants to match it.

"I said, `Tell the Giants, because I don't want to wear Dodger blue,'" Vogelsong said. "I didn't make that up. I couldn't see myself as a Dodger."

Gotta love the guy for that!

Vogelsong is teh awesome.

 

[Robotech]

Vogelsong is very well-spoken. You don't get that with every pro athlete. I'm very happy for him. Well deserved.