(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The annual time of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) season to memorialize the late and great #21, right-fielder, Roberto Clemente, of Pittsburgh Pirates fame and glory, has arrived with the pending bestowal of recognition through its 2024 Roberto Clemente Award, to one of the League’s most voted-for players “who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

With that said, one of the Dodgers’ most prominent players, Mookie Betts, has been nominated by the team as a candidate to be considered for the Award. Do read the in-depth press announcement just released and also see the past recipients of this most coveted and prestigious award made in Roberto Clemente’s perpetual honor and memory.

For those of our followers who may not know about Clemente, he was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and will always be remembered by his devout baseball fans, as one of the most prolific and electrifying players of his era. Clemente, on a humanitarian and goodwill mission to provide aid and assistance to Nicaraguans greatly impacted by a 6.3 earthquake in the city of Managua, was killed when the plane he had chartered crashed after take-off from Puerto Rico, In 1973, he was posthumously voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA), and as a result, he became the first player from the Caribbean and Latin America to be honored in the revered Hall.

Therefore, as an everlasting tribute to his legacy, it is with high hopes that ALL players who love baseball, including today’s younger to the youngest generations, will at some point in their lives, learn from Clemente’s heroic, yet tragic story, as well as from today’s outstanding list of nominees on how to live up to that standard that is mightily quoted in the opening paragraph.

MOOKIE BETTS NAMED DODGER NOMINEE FOR THE
2024 ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE

(September 9, 2024) Major League Baseball today announced that Mookie Betts was named the Dodgers’ 2024 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers.

The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One 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.

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 is Betts’ first nomination for the award.

The Dodgers plan to honor Betts on the field prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, September 20. 

Since making his debut in the Majors in 2014, Mookie Betts has been a premier player in both the American and National Leagues, racking up eight All-Star appearances, six Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers, a batting title and the 2018 AL MVP Award. In addition to his personal accolades, Betts has been on two World Series-winning teams and seven Postseason teams.   

 In 2021, Betts and his wife Brianna established the 5050 Foundation. The mission was simple: “Break barriers that hold kids back from their potential, particularly those who struggle medically and financially.” The four pillars of the foundation represent the values of Mookie Betts: mental/emotional health, nutrition, financial literacy, and physical fitness.

Also in 2021, “50 Feeds LA” was launched in which Betts partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) to feed Angelenos in South LA. He has contributed more than $300,000 which has fed thousands over the past three holiday seasons. In 2023, alongside LADF and the Brotherhood Crusade, Betts handed out Thanksgiving meals to 1,500 families at Algin Sutton Recreational Center in South L.A. The rec center hosted the LADF’s third annual turkey giveaway as volunteers handed out meals, toys, and other supplies via drive thru.

To introduce the 5050 Foundation to a broader audience, they launched the annual Mookie Betts + Friends Bowling Tournament in 2023. A portion of the proceeds from the 2024 event went toward field improvements at Jackie Robinson’s high school alma mater, John Muir, and included dugout renovations, outfield widescreen, and other various projects to boost the quality of the field offerings.

Betts and the 5050 Foundation have paid visits to UCLA Children’s Hospital, where they created the “Betts on Us Fund,” the purpose of which is to help families of pediatric patients in need of financial assistance gain access to adequate health care support. In addition to the hospital partnership, Betts partnered with Crete Academy in South Los Angeles to help bring more than 700 underserved youth and their families to a Dodger game last September. The 5050 Foundation also hosted a financial literacy workshop this past January for three different local high schools at Dodger Stadium where students learned important financial literacy tools from seasoned Bank of America professionals.

The work hasn’t stopped in L.A., as Betts created “Team Mookie” in Nashville. The elite boys’ basketball and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, the 16-U squad clinched the EYBL Championship League Title this past May. 

Betts continues to be a regular part of the Los Angeles Dodgers community programming where he has entertained, mentored and visited with Make-A-Wish program participants, UCLA health patients, local students and student-athletes and has been a staple of the Dodgers annual “Dodgers Love LA Community Tour.” He participates in the Dodgers’ annual Juneteenth activations and supported the team’s efforts to grow its African American fan base through his engagement in the annual Black Heritage Night programming as well as Jackie Robinson Day activations in support of MLB Initiatives in 2024.  

“Community work and helping others has always been important to me,” said Betts. “I never look for recognition because I feel like it’s a requirement for all of us to help others in need. I just try and be the best I can to everyone and hope that it’s meaningful. However, to be nominated and recognized for my commitment to the community and those around me is definitely an honor and leaves me encouraged to keep going.”

Sunday, September 15^th marks the annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a customized tribute video to Clemente and the 30 Roberto Clemente Award nominees will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.tv, Club sites and MLB Social Media Platforms.

{The MLB Together Link to Vote can also be found below in Blue}

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be honored at the 2024 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/clementeaward (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, September 29^th. 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 as a tribute to Clemente following his passing while delivering relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua on December 31, 1972.

The distinguished list of past Roberto Clemente Award winners includes 20 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

[Viewing Legend]: + Member of The National Baseball Hall of Fame; /*Co-winner;/ **Originally known as the Commissioner’s Award (prior to 1973)