HUMANITARIAN NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2023 ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE
Major League Baseball today announced 2023 plans to celebrate the humanitarian legacy of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, centered around the annual Roberto Clemente Day and baseball’s most prestigious individual honor, the Roberto Clemente Award – both of which are presented by Capital One.
The 30 Club nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One include some of the game’s most philanthropic and humanitarian players, including 16 first-time honorees. The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. The nominees, which were announced exclusively and LIVE on MLB Network, will be recognized in ballparks beginning on Friday, September 15th, Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One. Major League Baseball established Roberto Clemente Day in 2002 to honor the late Hall of Famer’s legacy as a humanitarian.
The 30 Club nominees of the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award are listed below:
Arizona Diamondbacks – Nick Ahmed*
Atlanta Braves – Matt Olson*
Baltimore Orioles – Kyle Gibson
Boston Red Sox – Tanner Houck*
Chicago Cubs – Marcus Stroman
Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks
Cincinnati Reds – Hunter Greene*
Cleveland Guardians – José Ramirez*
Colorado Rockies – Kyle Freeland
Detroit Tigers – Miguel Cabrera
Houston Astros – Jeremy Peña*
Kansas City Royals – Salvador Perez
Los Angeles Angels – Mike Trout
Los Angeles Dodgers – Chris Taylor*
Miami Marlins – Jorge Soler*
Milwaukee Brewers – Christian Yelich
Minnesota Twins – Carlos Correa*
New York Mets – Francisco Lindor*
New York Yankees – Aaron Judge*
Oakland Athletics – Tony Kemp
Philadelphia Phillies – Kyle Schwarber
Pittsburgh Pirates – David Bednar
San Diego Padres – Tim Hill*
San Francisco Giants – Brandon Crawford
Seattle Mariners – Marco Gonzales
St. Louis Cardinals – Paul Goldschmidt
Tampa Bay Rays – Shane McClanahan*
Texas Rangers – Jon Gray*
Toronto Blue Jays – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.*
Washington Nationals – Josiah Gray*
*=First-time Nominee
As part of the annual program, each MLB Club nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide Award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character. This list of nominees features players whose various community and philanthropic activities have focused on important causes such as supporting underserved children & communities in the United States and around the world, supporting those with cancer and other illnesses, supporting educational programs, environmental advocacy, and more.
2023 Roberto Clemente Award Nominees – BY THE NUMBERS
- 79 career All-Star selections, including ten 2023 All-Stars
- 24 career Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners
- 10 World Series Championships
- Five League MVPs (Cabrera, Goldschmidt, Judge, Trout, Yelich)
- Four Postseason MVPs (Peña, Perez, Soler, Taylor)
- Two T-Mobile Home Run Derby Champions (Guerrero Jr., Judge)
- Three Nominees Playing for Hometown Team & Serving Local Community (Bednar, Crawford, Freeland)
- Two MLB Develops Youth Program Alumni (Gray, Greene)
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be honored at the 2023 World Series following selection by a blue-ribbon panel. This panel includes representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One via MLBTogether.com/clemente21 (in both English and Spanish). The site, which will feature bios of each of the nominees, will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sunday, October 1st. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel. The concept of honoring Major League players for their philanthropic work was created in 1971 as the “Commissioner’s Award.” The recognition was renamed to the “Roberto Clemente Award” in 1973 tribute to Clemente following his passing.
A customized tribute video to Roberto will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, Club sites and MLB Social Media Platforms.
- English-version: https://www.mlb.com/video/roberto-clemente-award
- Spanish-version:https://www.mlb.com/es/video/premio-roberto-clemente
Throughout the league, the Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One logo will appear on base jewels and official dugout lineup cards. Additional social media content celebrating Roberto’s legacy in the sport and recognizing the impact of the late Vera Clemente, who served as MLB’s Goodwill Ambassador, will be featured throughout the day. MLB.com and all 30 Club sites will feature Roberto Clemente Day and Award stories and content as well.
MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds, the 1991 Roberto Clemente Award recipient, will co-host the Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight live from PNC Park on Roberto Clemente Day at 5 p.m. ET, leading up to MLB Network’s telecast of the Yankees at Pirates. Special guests paying tribute to Clemente’s legacy will join Reynolds throughout the program.