Roberto Clemente Award on Baseball Almanac

Roberto Clemente Award

Since 1971, Major League Baseball has annually presented an award to recognize a player who combines outstanding skills on the field with devoted work in the community. In 1973, the award was named in honor of Clemente, who died on December 31, 1972 during a humanitarian mission to assist earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

During the season, each Major League club selects a local Roberto Clemente Award recipient. The local honoree is then eligible for the national Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually at the World Series.

The 30 club nominees for the 2004 Roberto Clemente Award were announced on September 22 as part of Roberto Clemente Day. Roberto Clemente Day was created by Major League Baseball in 2002 as a league-wide effort to honor the memory of Roberto Clemente and recognize the local club nominees.

In recognition of each local club recipient and national nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, John Hancock Financial Services made a $2,500 donation in the name of each local recipient to his charity of choice.

A panel of dignitaries including Commissioner Alan H. (Bud) Selig, Vera Clemente, the wife of the late Roberto Clemente and David D'Alessandro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial Services, selects the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock from the 30 club nominees. Fans are also part of the selection process with the player-nominee who wins the fan vote receiving one vote.

The national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award receives a trophy and a $25,000 donation in his name from John Hancock Financial Services to the charity of his choice. John Hancock also makes a $30,000 contribution in the name of the winner to Roberto Clemente Sports City in Puerto Rico.

John Hancock has been the title sponsor of the Roberto Clemente Award since 2000. In addition to sponsoring the Award, John Hancock provides youth in cities throughout the country the opportunity to participate in Roberto Clemente Lifeskills Workshops. The goal of the workshops is to teach inner-city youth about Roberto Clemente and to instill in them the exemplary values Clemente demonstrated on and off the field, including perseverance, leadership, and the importance of giving back to the community.

"I never saw him (Roberto Clemente) play, other than on television in the 1971 World Series, but I heard so much about him from people who did see him play. They talked about the way he played the game. That is why this award (2004 Roberto Clemente) means so much to me. It is more about making a contribution off the field instead of on the field." - Edgar Martinez on MLB.com (Jim Street, 10/26/2004, 'Edgar Martinez wins Clemente, Source)

Roberto Clemente Award Roberto Clemente Award Official Logo Roberto Clemente Award Winners (Roberto Clemente Stats / Roberto Clemente Day)
Year	Clemente Award^(Quantity)	Team (Click for Roster)	League	Position
1971	Willie Mays⁽¹⁾	1971 San Francisco Giants	NL	OF
1972	Brooks Robinson⁽¹⁾	1972 Baltimore Orioles	AL	3B
1973	Al Kaline⁽¹⁾	1973 Detroit Tigers	AL	OF
1974	Willie Stargell⁽¹⁾	1974 Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	OF
1975	Lou Brock⁽¹⁾	1975 St. Louis Cardinals	NL	OF
1976	Pete Rose⁽¹⁾	1976 Cincinnati Reds	NL	3B
1977	Rod Carew⁽¹⁾	1977 Minnesota Twins	AL	1B
1978	Greg Luzinski⁽¹⁾	1978 Philadelphia Phillies	NL	OF
1979	Andy Thornton⁽¹⁾	1979 Cleveland Indians	AL	1B
1980	Phil Niekro⁽¹⁾	1980 Atlanta Braves	NL	P
1981	Steve Garvey⁽¹⁾	1981 Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	1B
1982	Ken Singleton⁽¹⁾	1982 Baltimore Orioles	AL	DH
1983	Cecil Cooper⁽¹⁾	1983 Milwaukee Brewers	AL	1B
1984	Ron Guidry⁽¹⁾	1984 New York Yankees	AL	P
1985	Don Baylor⁽¹⁾	1985 New York Yankees	AL	DH
1986	Garry Maddox⁽¹⁾	1986 Philadelphia Phillies	NL	OF
1987	Rick Sutcliffe⁽¹⁾	1987 Chicago Cubs	NL	P
1988	Dale Murphy⁽¹⁾	1988 Atlanta Braves	NL	OF
1989	Gary Carter⁽¹⁾	1989 New York Mets	NL	C
1990	Dave Stewart⁽¹⁾	1990 Oakland Athletics	AL	P
1991	Harold Reynolds⁽¹⁾	1991 Seattle Mariners	AL	2B
1992	Cal Ripken, Jr.⁽¹⁾	1992 Baltimore Orioles	AL	SS
1993	Barry Larkin⁽¹⁾	1993 Cincinnati Reds	NL	SS
1994	Dave Winfield⁽¹⁾	1994 Minnesota Twins	AL	DH
1995	Ozzie Smith⁽¹⁾	1995 St. Louis Cardinals	NL	SS
1996	Kirby Puckett⁽¹⁾	1996 Minnesota Twins	AL	OF
1997	Eric Davis⁽¹⁾	1997 Baltimore Orioles	AL	OF
1998	Sammy Sosa⁽¹⁾	1998 Chicago Cubs	NL	OF
1999	Tony Gwynn⁽¹⁾	1999 San Diego Padres	NL	OF
2000	Al Leiter⁽¹⁾	2000 New York Mets	NL	P
2001	Curt Schilling⁽¹⁾	2001 Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	P
2002	Jim Thome⁽¹⁾	2002 Cleveland Indians	AL	1B
2003	Jamie Moyer⁽¹⁾	2003 Seattle Mariners	AL	P
2004	Edgar Martinez⁽¹⁾	2004 Seattle Mariners	AL	DH
2005	John Smoltz⁽¹⁾	2005 Atlanta Braves	NL	P
2006	Carlos Delgado⁽¹⁾	2006 New York Mets	NL	OF
2007	Craig Biggio⁽¹⁾	2007 Houston Astros	NL	2B
2008	Albert Pujols⁽¹⁾	2008 St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1B
2009	Derek Jeter⁽¹⁾	2009 New York Yankees	AL	SS
2010	Tim Wakefield⁽¹⁾	2010 Boston Red Sox	AL	P
2011	David Ortiz⁽¹⁾	2011 Boston Red Sox	AL	DH
2012	Clayton Kershaw⁽¹⁾	2012 Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P
2013	Carlos Beltran⁽¹⁾	2013 St. Louis Cardinals	NL	OF
2014	Paul Konerko⁽¹⁾	2014 Chicago White Sox	AL	1B
2014	Jimmy Rollins⁽¹⁾	2014 Philadelphia Phillies	NL	SS
2015	Andrew McCutchen⁽¹⁾	2015 Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	OF
2016	Curtis Granderson⁽¹⁾	2016 New York Mets	NL	OF
2017	Anthony Rizzo⁽¹⁾	2017 Chicago Cubs	NL	1B
2018	Not Yet Announced^(10-2018)	--	--	--
Year	Clemente Award^(Quantity)	Team (Click for Roster)	League	Position
Roberto Clemente Award \| Bold = HOF \| Baseball Awards Menu

Did you know that Roberto Clemente was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1954 and played for their Triple-A affiliate in Montreal, Canada?

During the regular season each team selects a member from their own team as a Roberto Clemente Award nominee. The local honoree is then eligible for the national Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually at the World Series.

The Great One reached the 3,000 Hits Club on the final day of the 1972 season. On New Year's Eve of that year, he died on a mercy flight to provide relief for Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

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