SAN FRANCISCO — If crucial issues in life are household, well being, wealth, and the respect of your friends, then Matt Chapman is having his greatest month ever.
He signed a six-year, $151 million contract extension. He and his spouse, Taylor, welcomed their first baby. And the respect element arrived on Friday when Chapman’s teammates, coaches and coaching employees voted him the recipient of the Willie Mac Award, which honors the staff’s participant who shows essentially the most aggressive spirit, capability and management.
“It’s been an awesome month with my daughter and the contract and getting this award,” Chapman mentioned. “I simply really feel blessed.”
However Chapman identified that this month might’ve been even higher. The Giants could possibly be gearing up for the postseason.
“That’s my purpose, and I’m going to work this offseason to make that doable subsequent 12 months,” Chapman mentioned.
It was one of many least shocking Willie Mac leads to current reminiscence. The Giants didn’t conform to phrases with Chapman till halfway by means of spring coaching however he shortly set an ordinary for professionalism and shaped an essential clubhouse conduit for supervisor Bob Melvin, who had been Chapman’s skipper for 5 seasons in Oakland.
Chapman, 31, led by instance on the sector along with his manufacturing and sturdiness. He began 151 of the staff’s 160 video games — lacking 4 of these video games this month whereas both on the paternity listing or as a result of he was taking a bodily earlier than signing his contract — and has performed 93.7 % of the staff’s defensive innings at third base, the place he can be a number one candidate to win his fourth Gold Glove Award.
Final night time, Matt Chapman turned the primary Big to hit an inside-the-park dwelling run and a triple in the identical recreation since 1953!
(#SFGiants x @CoronaUSA) pic.twitter.com/LuZy7Y0KgG
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 24, 2024
Chapman additionally was the Giants’ best hitter. He leads the staff in dwelling runs (27), runs (96), doubles (36), RBI (78), and his 65 extra-base hits are essentially the most by a Big since Brandon Belt completed with 66 in 2016. At all times thought-about a sensible and environment friendly baserunner, Chapman’s common dash pace of 28.7 ft per second ranks within the 84th percentile amongst major-league gamers and is his greatest since he was a 24-year-old rookie in 2017. He entered the 12 months with 11 stolen bases over seven seasons however has swiped 15 this 12 months.
Chapman has been value 7.0 bWAR. Amongst Nationwide League gamers, solely the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani has generated extra worth.
Melvin referred to as Chapman into the visiting supervisor’s workplace earlier this week at Arizona to ship the information.
“The extra I study it, the extra I see the importance of this award and the way essential it’s to the group,” Chapman mentioned. “And the truth that it’s voted on people who I care about, and that they care about me like that, it’s fairly cool.”
Upon signing with the Giants, Chapman mentioned he wouldn’t assert himself and as a substitute would let any management position develop naturally. That’s exactly what occurred. From creating clubhouse traditions after victories — Chapman wears a referee shirt and designates a participant of the sport to shoot a free throw with a mini basketball — to guiding a roster populated with younger gamers, it turned clear briefly order that teammates have been wanting to take their cues from their strong-armed third baseman.
“I simply really feel like I’m being myself,” Chapman mentioned. “I feel folks perceive that I actually care and I actually wish to win, and that I’m keen to place different folks first, put my teammates first. It’s simply type of in my nature. I do no matter I can to win. I’ve by no means are available in and demanded to be a pacesetter. I simply attempt to encourage my teammates and be one of the best teammate I will be. The way in which I’m going about my enterprise and the best way I attempt to deal with interactions with my teammates is all directed in direction of attempting to get one of the best out of all people. That’s what I’m going to proceed to attempt to do, as a result of I really feel like that’s the way you win.
“And after we get the best group of men and all of it falls in line, I actually suppose that we’ll be capable to simply maintain this factor rolling and it’s going to be continued success.”
That course of can be even simpler subsequent season, Chapman mentioned. The Giants gained’t be adjusting to a first-year supervisor. And Chapman can be there from the very begin to assist set a tone.
“It was a 12 months of constructing relationships with these guys,” Chapman mentioned. “They’re extra snug with one another. We’ve got extra respect for one another. We’ve been by means of it collectively. So among the issues that we needed to undergo this 12 months, we don’t must essentially undergo as a lot of that (subsequent) 12 months and we will take it to a different degree.
“I don’t know precisely how that the way it’s all going to work out, however I do know that I’m going to be right here for a very long time. And I can actually sink my enamel into attempting to carry one of the best out of this staff.”
Along with present Giants and former winners LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski, and broadcaster Mike Krukow, the Giants launched former Willie Mac winners Marvin Benard, Dave Dravecky, Mike Felder, Larry Herndon, Hunter Pence, J.T. Snow, and Chris Speier.
(Photograph: Justin Berl / Getty Pictures)
