Roberto Clemente Award

Roberto Clemente Award
The Roberto Clemente Award
Awarded for	the award is given to a player that shows the most sportsmanship and kindness
Country	United States
Presented by	Major League Baseball
First awarded	1971
Currently held by	Curtis Granderson, New York Mets

The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by the MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects 1 player from 30 nominees, one from each club. Teams choose their nominee during the regular season, and the winner is announced at the World Series. The player who receives the most votes online via MLB's official website, MLB.com, gets one vote in addition to the votes cast by the panel. Since 2007, the Roberto Clemente Award has been presented by Chevy. Chevy donates money and a Chevy vehicle to the national winner's charity of choice and additional money is donated by Chevy to the Roberto Clemente Sports City, a non-profit organization in Carolina, Puerto Rico, designed to provide recreational sports activities for children. Additionally, Chevy donates money to the charity of choice of each of the 30 Club recipients.

The first winner of the award was Willie Mays, and the most recent winner is Curtis Granderson. None of the winners has received the award more than once, so far. The first pitcher to win the award was Phil Niekro in 1980, and the first catcher to win the award was Gary Carter in 1989. To date, Clemente's former teammate Willie Stargell and McCutchen are the only members of the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the award. Stargell won his award in 1974, and McCutchen won in 2015. The Pirates themselves have been wearing Clemente-era throwback uniforms in recent years on Roberto Clemente Day, which is the day they play the game that they present their nominee to MLB. In 2014, for the first time, the award was awarded to two players instead of one. The award was awarded to Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins.