Fan balloting underway for Clemente Award

Throughout his distinguished Hall of Fame career, Roberto Clemente was perhaps just as known for his prowess on the baseball diamond as he was for his philanthropical efforts off it. And today, the award recognizing the player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions bears Clemente's name.
• VOTE NOW: Cast your ballot for the Clemente Award
Every year, each club nominates a player to be considered for the Roberto Clemente Award, and the 30 nominees were announced by Major League Baseball on Tuesday. Many of this year's nominees have been actively involved in their local community and abroad with initiatives that have focused on awareness and fundraising for the fight against childhood cancer and other illnesses, education for young people and Hurricane Maria relief among other efforts.

The league-wide winner of the Clemente Award will be selected by a blue ribbon panel that includes Commissioner Rob Manfred, Clemente's late wife and current MLB Goodwill Ambassador, Vera Clemente, as well as representatives from MLB-affiliated networks and MLB.com. Fans can also vote for the winner at mlb.com/clemente21, with the winner of that tally counting as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.
• All-time winners
Each of the 30 nominees will be honored by their respective clubs, including many on Wednesday as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies, a league-wide initiative that has been in place since 2002. As part of the celebrations, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards, and a special tribute video will play. Clubs that are on the road will recognize their nominee on a subsequent homestand. The league-wide winner of the Clemente Award will be announced during the World Series.

Here are the 30 nominees:
Arizona Diamondbacks -- Paul Goldschmidt
Atlanta Braves -- Kurt Suzuki
Baltimore Orioles -- Chris Davis
Boston Red Sox -- Brock Holt
Chicago Cubs -- Jon Lester
Chicago White Sox -- José Abreu
Cincinnati Reds -- Tucker Barnhart
Cleveland Indians -- Carlos Carrasco
Colorado Rockies -- Ian Desmond
Detroit Tigers -- Michael Fulmer
Houston Astros -- Charlie Morton
Kansas City Royals -- Danny Duffy
Los Angeles Angels -- Andrew Heaney
Los Angeles Dodgers -- Justin Turner
Miami Marlins -- Martín Prado
Milwaukee Brewers -- Corey Knebel
Minnesota Twins -- Joe Mauer
New York Mets -- Steven Matz
New York Yankees -- CC Sabathia
Oakland Athletics -- Chad Pinder
Philadelphia Phillies -- Rhys Hoskins
Pittsburgh Pirates -- Jameson Taillon
St. Louis Cardinals -- Yadier Molina
San Diego Padres -- Clayton Richard
San Francisco Giants -- Buster Posey
Seattle Mariners -- Nelson Cruz
Tampa Bay Rays -- Mallex Smith
Texas Rangers -- Cole Hamels*
Toronto Blue Jays -- Kevin Pillar
Washington Nationals -- Ryan Zimmerman
*Hamels remains the Rangers' nominee despite being traded to the Cubs on July 27.

"I am very proud of the great philanthropic efforts of our players," Manfred said in a statement. "Through wide-ranging work and actions, these 30 nominees honor Roberto Clemente's legacy of being exemplary community ambassadors. Roberto's unwavering humanitarian spirit continues to inspire our players and fans and serves as a positive example for future generations."
The Clemente Award was renamed in 1973 to honor the 15-time All-Star shortly after his tragic death on New Year's Eve months prior during a plane crash while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The award was previously called the "Commissioner's Award" and was established in 1971.