Among the 30 Clubs nominees for the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major League Baseball players, are some of the world’s philanthropic and humanitarian players, including 14 who have been nominated for the first time.
The Roberto Clemente Award annually recognizes the Major League Baseball player who best represents baseball with his extraordinary character, community involvement, and philanthropic and positive contributions, on and off the field of play. Nominees will be officially recognized on Wednesday, September 9, the date on which will be observed the 19th Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball in honor of the late Hall of Fame member’s humanitarian legacy.
Next, the 30 Clubs nominees for the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award:
Arizona Diamondbacks – Eduardo Escobar
Atlanta Braves – Freddie Freeman
Baltimore Orioles – Hanser Alberto
Boston Red Sox – Mitch Moreland
Chicago Cubs – Jason Heyward
Chicago White Sox – Tim Anderson
Cincinnati Reds – Tucker Barnhart
Cleveland Indians – Brad Hand
Colorado Rockies – Ian Desmond
Detroit Tigers – Miguel Cabrera
Houston Astros – Alex Bregman
Kansas City Royals – Ian Kennedy
LA Angels of Anaheim – Mike Trout
Los Angeles Dodgers – Justin Turner
Miami Marlins – Miguel Rojas
Milwaukee Brewers – Brent Suter
Minnesota Twins – Nelson Cruz
New York Mets – Steven Matz
New York Yankees – Giancarlo Stanton
Oakland Athletics – Tony Kemp
Philadelphia Phillies – Aaron Nola
Pittsburgh Pirates – Josh Bell
San Diego Padres – Drew Pomeranz
San Francisco Giants – Hunter Pence
Seattle Mariners – Dee Gordon
St. Louis Cardinals – Adam Wainwright
Tampa Bay Rays – Charlie Morton
Texas Rangers – Shin-Soo Choo
Toronto Blue Jays – Danny Jansen
Washington Nationals – Sean Doolittle
As part of the annual program, each MLB club nominates a player to be considered for the award honoring the accomplishments and character of Clemente. On this year’s list are players whose community and philanthropic activities have focused on important causes such as COVID-19 assistance, social justice initiatives, support for people suffering from cancer or other illnesses or with other special needs, commitments to children. and communities in need in the United States and abroad, environmental advocacy and more.
On Roberto Clemente Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Club with which Roberto contested an entire career that led him to the Hall of Fame, have decided that all of their players, managers and instructors will wear Roberto’s number “21” in their uniforms. Throughout the league, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official cards with the lineups located inside the dugouts, and a video with a special tribute will be shown in the stadiums. During the day, additional content will be highlighted on social media that will support Roberto’s legacy and recognize the impact of Vera Clemente (deceased), Roberto’s widow and former MLB Goodwill Ambassador.
The winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be selected by a deluxe panel that will include Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB affiliate networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com and Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award at mlb.com/clemente21. The page will include biographies of each of the nominees and will allow fans to vote until the season ends on Sunday, September 27. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the deluxe panel.
The concept of recognizing Major League Baseball players for their philanthropic efforts was established in 1971 as the “Commissioner’s Award.” The recognition was renamed the “Roberto Clemente Award” in 1973 in honor of the Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star Game member, who died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 in an attempt to get supplies to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. (GG) (Taken from MLB.COM).