This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- Rockies left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland took his charity show on the road this past weekend.

Freeland raffled off a pair of tickets and batting practice passes to Saturday night’s game against the Brewers at American Family Field as part of his efforts to support Special Olympics Colorado. With his tireless work for SOCO, Freeland has earned the Rockies’ nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award for the third straight year.

Nominees from all 30 teams were announced today.

• VOTE NOW: 2024 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One

From the influence of his “host mom,” Carmen Brown, during his time with Rookie-level Grand Junction to his girlfriend and later wife, Ashley, Freeland has been a tireless advocate of Special Olympics. A trip to the USA Games in Seattle in 2018 solidified his commitment.

“For me, it puts a lot of things in perspective,” Freeland told Rich Rovito. “There’s a lot bigger things in life than just sports. The camaraderie that those athletes have and the love they have for their sport is very similar to us, but the sportsmanship that they had just blew me out of the water. Win, lose or whatever, they were excited and happy and gave their opponent the utmost respect.”

The Freelands have also been part of the annual Fantasy Camp for Kids, a team activity run by the Colorado Rockies Foundation and SOCO specifically for athletes with intellectual disabilities, as well as various youth baseball clinics.

In support of SOCO, Freeland has launched an online fundraising raffle of the specially designed glove he uses while playing catch and shagging fly balls in the outfield during batting practice. More information can be found here.

Here are a few other ways Freeland has been involved in the community:

• His collegiate program: Freeland is a Denver native, but it was at the University of Evansville that he developed into the Rockies’ first-round MLB Draft pick in 2014.

“My head coach at Evansville was Wes Carroll, brother of Jamey Carroll, who was a longtime big leaguer and ex-Rockie,” Freeland said. “I finally got to the point in my career -- and the team had an incredible run this past year -- so we’re donating a brand-new clubhouse to them. Give them their own clubhouse, their own training area.

“I believe they are getting ready to break ground. I’ll be out there in January for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and I’ll be back the following year. The run they had this year in college baseball was incredible. I’m so proud of Wes and that team.”

• Guidry’s Guardian Foundation: The Freelands have been contributors to the foundation, which is spearheaded by Colorado native and MLB Network personality Alanna Rizzo. Donations to Guidry’s Guardian are used for services such as adoption fees; medical costs, supplies and services; and mental and physical training for dogs in high-risk situations.

“She does everything she can for dogs in bad situations,” Freeland said. “So, whenever we get the chance, we try to help her out with donations or in getting the word out that a dog needs to be adopted. It’s another little side thing we do, because we are big-time dog people.”