Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera is once again nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award and leads the group of five Hispanic American players who aspire to the precious award that combines community solidarity and sports excellence in the Major Leagues.
The MLB Commissioner’s office released the list of 30 winners in the preliminary phase on Tuesday. They represent the 30 clubs of the Big Show and were chosen by their own teammates, taking into account the performance of each one on the field, and the impact of their charitable activities outside it.
The distinction is a tribute to Clemente, the great Puerto Rican who died on New Years Eve 1972, while bringing aid to the victims of the Managua earthquake.
It is also a tribute and an encouragement to the following generations of players, in order to recognize their efforts in social work.
“Being nominated is a great honor,” said Cabrera when he was known as the winner of the Detroit chapter. “It is one of the most prestigious recognitions in sport. I appreciate it”.
The initialist thus summed up the general feeling that Roberto Clemente postulates tend to experience.
Cabrera’s name is common in these annual announcements. And if before it was because of its donations and its work with children through its foundation, now it is because of its role in collaborating with regional authorities in the fight against the global pandemic and its effects on the most underprivileged.
“Getting ahead in the pandemic has been very difficult for many people around the world,” said the slugger. “My family and I are proud to play a small role in helping the Detroit and Michigan communities battle through these difficult times.”
Cabrera, who hit 500 home runs in August and now hopes to complete 3,000 hits, is joined by four other Latin Americans.
One is Dominican: Nelson Cruz, representing the Minnesota Twins, even though he has been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Because MLB respects each team’s vote, even if some players are no longer part of the current rosters.
The rest are Venezuelans: David Peralta, for the Arizona Diamondbacks; Salvador Pérez, for the Kansas City Royals; and Miguel Rojas, for the Minnesota Twins.
ALL NOMINEES
Diamondbacks de Arizona: David Peralta.
Atlanta Braves: Will Smith.
Orioles de Baltimore: Trey Mancini.
Boston Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi.
Chicago Dogs: Jason Heyward.
Chicago White Sox: Liam Hendriks.
Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto.
Cleveland Indians: Aaron Civale.
Rockies de Colorado: Ian Desmond.
Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera.
Filis de Filadelfia: Alec Bohm.
Astros de Houston: Alex Bregman.
Kansas City Royals: Salvador Pérez.
Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Justin Turner.
Miami Marlins: Miguel Rojas.
Milwaukee Brewers: Brent Suter.
Minnesota Twins: Nelson Cruz.
New York Mets: Pete Alonso.
New York Yankees: Kyle Higashioka.
Oakland Athletics: Tony Kemp.
Piratas de Pittsburgh: Jacob Stallings.
San Diego Padres: Joe Musgrove.
San Francisco Giants: Brandon Crawford.
Seattle Mariners: Kyle Seager.
St. Louis Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt.
Rays de Tampa Bay: Ryan Yarbrough.
Texas Rangers: José Trevino.
Toronto Azulejos: Bo Bichette.
Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer.
Also read: What was left of the Yankees’ experiment with Gleyber Torres?
HISPANIC WINNERS
Venezuelan Carlos Carrasco has been the most recent Hispanic winner of the Roberto Clemente.
The pitcher obtained it in 2019, his recognized charity coinciding with his own leukemia disease and the support he undertook in the fight against cancer.
Other winners from the region have been the Dominican Sammy Sosa (1998), the Puerto Ricans Edgar Martínez (2004) and Carlos Delgado (2006), the Quiqueyans Albert Pujols (2008) and David Ortiz (2011), as well as the Puerto Ricans Carlos Beltrán (2013) and Yadier Molina (2018), before Carrasco.
Fans can vote to decide the Roberto Clemente Award. MLB enabled a page where is the summary of what was done by the nominees, as well as the tab that allows to participate in the choice.
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