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.

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 23^rd 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.