Flying Squirrels announce 2024 team awards
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.
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 10th 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), 10th in OPS (.740) and 10th 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.