Flying Squirrels announce 2023 team awards
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels announced the recipients of their 2023 team awards in a pregame ceremony on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. Shane Matheny was selected as the team’s Player of the Year and right-hander Carson Seymour was named as the Pitcher of the Year.
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels announced the recipients of their 2023 team awards in a pregame ceremony on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. Shane Matheny was selected as the team’s Player of the Year and right-hander Carson Seymour was named as the Pitcher of the Year.
Additionally, Ismael Munguia was named the Puritan Cleaners “Dirty Squirrel” of the Year and Evan Gates was named the recipient of the 2023 Flying Squirrels Community Service Award.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – SHANE MATHENY
Matheny, a third-year member of the Flying Squirrels, through Saturday has played 57 games this season with Richmond, hitting .249 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs. Defensively, his highlight plays have landed multiple appearances on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Top-10 Plays. This season, Matheny climbed to second place on the franchise’s career walks list and he holds the highest career on-base percentage (.365) of any player in franchise history (min. 750 PA).
CHOO CHOO 🚂 All aboard the Shane Train pic.twitter.com/NYg3dH8ShW
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) July 30, 2023
Since joining the team on June 13, Matheny leads the Flying Squirrels in homers (11), RBIs (42), slugging percentage (.462), OPS (.835), hits (62), doubles (16), triples (2), walks (49), extra-base hits (29), total bases (115) and runs scored (42). For the year, he is leading the Giants minor leagues in walks (87), ranks sixth in runs scored (72), eighth in total bases (167), and tied for ninth in hits (100).
“He’s the heart and soul of our team,” Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey said. “He’s the epitome of a leader. He’s been invaluable, just like last year. I don’t know if we would be in this playoff chase without him. Defensively, he shines on the field every night. At the plate, he comes up big in clutch situations.”
Matheny, a native of Bremerton, Wash., was selected by the Giants in the 23rd round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Washington State University.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR – CARSON SEYMOUR
Seymour, pitching his first season at the Double-A level, has gone 4-3 with a 4.10 ERA in his 27 outings (22 starts) this season. He was the Flying Squirrels’ Opening Day starter, Seymour entered Sunday ranked fourth in the Eastern League in BAA (.231), fifth in WHIP (1.24), eighth in strikeout percentage (24.4) and eighth in ERA (4.10). He also has the second-lowest HR/9 (0.67) in the league and leads all Richmond pitchers in strikeouts (100) entering play on Sunday.
6 ⬆️ and 6 ⬇️ for Carson Seymour to start us off tonight pic.twitter.com/9qX9dRJY3k
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) September 6, 2023
“It has been really fun to watch him grow,” Pelfrey said. “We didn’t know him last year, but from his first start to now, he’s kind of revamped himself and turned himself into a monster on the mound. The first few outings for him were a little tough, but he continued to get better and better. He has been a real force for us down the stretch and he gives us a chance to win every time he goes out.”
Seymour was selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Kansas State University. He was traded to the Giants last August.
PURITAN CLEANERS DIRTY SQUIRREL OF THE YEAR – ISMAEL MUNGUIA
Munguia has been the Flying Squirrels’ top-of-order batter for most of the 2023 season. He leads the team (min. 300 PA) in batting average (.283), ranks third in on-base percentage (.354) and is third in stolen bases (13).
Ismael Munguia is unreal 😤 pic.twitter.com/jVI4HxCeP4
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) August 2, 2023
“He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach,” Pelfrey said. “He plays with energy and excitement. He is a ‘creator of runs,’ I like to call him. When the game is on the line, he usually comes through for us. He finds a way to get on base and finds way to create havoc on the bases. He plays with a lot of passion and he’s really fun to watch.”
Munguia is a native of Chinandega, Nicaragua and signed with the Giants in 2015. He was an MiLB.com Giants Organization All-Star and a Northwest League All-Star in 2021 before missing last season with an injury.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – EVAN GATES
Gates was active in the Flying Squirrels’ community initiatives throughout the entire 2023 season. Over the course of the year, he participated in mentoring young baseball players in youth baseball camps, assisted with the ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation 5K & Fun Walk and visited kids at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Hanging with the Kourageous Kids @ASKRichmond 💛💙 pic.twitter.com/Z1c8pkB5Aj
— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) September 9, 2023
“There couldn’t be a better person for this award,” Pelfrey said. “He’s a man of the utmost character, very humble and very respectful. Gates came up and joined us late last year and we’ve gotten to know him a little better this year. He’s a really good person, a really good guy to have around and he’s a good pitcher for us. He represents the Giants and the Flying Squirrels well in the community.”
Gates is a native of Roseville, Mich., and signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2021 out of North Carolina A&T.
PREVIOUS FLYING SQUIRRELS TEAM AWARD WINNERS
2010
Most Valuable Player: Thomas Neal
Pitcher of the Year: David Mixon
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Thomas Neal
2011
Most Valuable Player: Roger Kieschnick
Pitcher of the Year: Eric Surkamp
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Skyler Stromsmoe
2012
Most Valuable Player: Juan Perez
Pitcher of the Year: Chris Heston
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Gary Brown
2013
Most Valuable Player: Javier Herrera
Pitcher of the Year: Jack Snodgrass
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Ryan Lollis
2014
Most Valuable Player: Matt Duffy
Pitcher of the Year: Jack Snodgrass
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Kelby Tomlinson
2015
Most Valuable Player: Rando Moreno
Pitcher of the Year: Joe Biagini
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Myles Schroder
2016
Most Valuable Player: Hunter Cole
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Beede
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Steven Duggar
Community Service Award: Eliezer Zambrano
2017
Most Valuable Player: Miguel Gomez
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Cyr
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Myles Schroder
Community Service Award: Jeff Arnold
2018
Most Valuable Player: Ryan Howard
Pitcher of the Year: Dillon McNamara
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Matt Lipka
Community Service Award: Dan Slania
2019
Most Valuable Player: Johneshwy Fargas
Pitcher of the Year: Ryan Halstead
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Jalen Miller
Community Service Award: Matt Winn
2021
Most Valuable Player: David Villar
Pitcher of the Year: Ronnie Williams
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Simon Whiteman
2022
Most Valuable Player: Tyler Fitzgerald
Pitcher of the Year: Kyle Harrison
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Shane Matheny
Community Service Award: Chris Wright
2023
Most Valuable Player: Shane Matheny
Pitcher of the Year: Carson Seymour
Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Ismael Munguia
Community Service Award: Evan Gates
Tickets are on sale now for potential home playoff games at The Diamond. In the event that any or all of the potential home playoff games are not played, fans who purchase tickets will receive a credit which can be used for tickets to a Flying Squirrels home game in 2024.
Tickets and game information for the Flying Squirrels’ potential home playoff games are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) on in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.