RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels announced the recipients of their 2024 team awards in a pregame ceremony on Thursday night at The Diamond. Carter Howell was selected as the team’s Player of the Year and John Michael Bertrand was named the Pitcher of the Year.

Additionally, Turner Hill was named the Puritan Cleaners “Dirty Squirrel” of the Year and Bertrand was named the recipient of the 2024 Flying Squirrels Community Service Award.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – CARTER HOWELL

Playing in his first season with the Flying Squirrels, Howell leads the team in batting average (.274), on-base percentage (.353), slugging percentage (.396), OPS (.749), hits (115), doubles (30), triples (6), walks (46), extra-base hits (39), total bases (166), runs scored (60) and stolen bases (15). He also leads the Eastern League in doubles and is tied for first in triples while ranking tied for fourth in hits, tied for fourth in extra-base hits and eighth in total bases.

“He’s been excellent all the way around, from a character standpoint to a work ethic standpoint,” Flying Squirrels manager Dennis Pelfrey said. “He deserves every bit of this. He has been by far and away our most valuable player this year. What I love about him is there’s nothing flashy about what he does. He just comes to work every day, prepares himself and continues to put on a good show.”

Howell, who was born in Fargo, N.D. and grew up in Moorhead, Minn., was signed by the San Francisco Giants as a non-drafted free agent in 2022 out of Augustana University in South Dakota, an NCAA DII program.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR – JOHN MICHAEL BERTRAND

Returning for his second season with the Flying Squirrels, Bertrand leads the Eastern League in games started (26) and innings pitched (143.0). He has made 10 scoreless starts this year, all at least five innings, which also leads the circuit. On the mound, he has induced 21 double plays this season, which leads the minors. He also leads MiLB pitchers in defensive assists. Bertrand has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week twice this year, first for throwing seven perfect innings against the Baysox on April 27 at The Diamond and again for six hitless innings at Bowie on May 23.

“Bertrand has been everything that I could have imagined,” Pelfrey said. “From day one, he was the guy that I wanted to start Opening Day for us. There is something to be said about when a manager wants a guy to take the ball and set a tone. He does that every time he goes out. He’s really fun to watch. He’s very good at his craft and continues to find ways to make himself better. He brings a lot to the table and he helps the team tremendously.”

Bertrand, who was born in Raleigh, N.C. and grew up in Alpharetta, Ga., was selected by the Giants in the 10^th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Notre Dame. In his 27 games for the Flying Squirrels this year, he has gone 7-8 with a 4.03 ERA.

PURITAN CLEANERS DIRTY SQUIRREL OF THE YEAR – TURNER HILL

Every season, Puritan Cleaners sponsors the Dirty Squirrel award, a contest among Flying Squirrels players to reward hustle and aggressive play. Hill, who was promoted to Double-A on June 25 from High-A Eugene, has hit .274 with seven doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases since joining the Flying Squirrels. For the year between Richmond, Eugene and Triple-A Sacramento, Hill is ranked third in the Giants organization in stolen bases (26), sixth in on-base percentage (.368), seventh in batting average (.268), tied for seventh in triples (4), eighth in walks (48), 10^th in OPS (.740) and 10^th in hits (93).

“He’s a solid player. Dynamic,” Pelfrey said. “He does a lot of things at the plate and a lot of things defensively, has a really good arm. He is going to sneak up on some people. He plays hard and that’s one of the big reasons why he is winning this award. He never takes a pitch off and continues to grind. It’s fun to watch.”

Hill, a native of Marietta, Ohio, was signed by the Giants as a non-drafted free agent in May 2023 after his collegiate career at NCAA DIII Marietta College.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – JOHN MICHAEL BERTRAND

Bertrand was an active member of the Flying Squirrels community initiatives throughout the 2024 season, including making several visits to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond and attending events for area non-profits. He also spent the season fundraising for Uplifting Athletes, which supports children and families impacted by rare diseases.

“Being a part of the community and understanding what Richmond does for these guys every night at these games, we feel that,” Pelfrey said. “When we have guys like John Michael who go out into the community and give back, that’s tremendous. He is a leader on the field and off. That shows what type of character he has.”

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

2024

Most Valuable Player: Carter Howell

Pitcher of the Year: John Michael Bertrand

Puritan Cleaners Dirty Squirrel of the Year: Turner Hill

Community Service Award: John Michael Bertrand

The Flying Squirrels are currently playing their final homestand of the 2024 season through Sunday at The Diamond. Tickets are on sale online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.