The candidates to win the Roberto Clemente Award, one of the most prestigious honours in baseball, were revealed on Monday.
Among them was Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios, who was one of 30 nominees — a single player from each team — to win the award.
The award is presented annually to a major leaguer who best represents baseball through acts of high character such as philanthropy, community engagement and positive impact on and off the field.
Berrios has been an active community member and charitable figure both at home in Puerto Rico and in Toronto.
In 2017, Berrios launched Fundación La Makina, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering youth and promoting sport in Puerto Rico.
Building on that last year, Berrios helped launch El Dream, a charitable initiative in partnership with the Jays Care Foundation to support youth in under-resourced communities. The project raised over $340,000 in 2024.
Berrios joined the Blue Jays in 2021, and has since made 137 starts for the club while pitching to a 4.05 ERA and a 1.242 WHIP. Beyond his contributions on the field, he has been one of the Jays Care Foundation’s most public-facing members, helping as an ambassador for programs like Challenger Baseball, Girls-At-Bat and RBI.
Clemente played from 1955 to 1972, all for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a 15-time all-star, winning the NL MVP award and World Series MVP, while leading the Pirates to a pair of World Series titles. He was well known for his charity work and died in 1972 when the plane he was on, which was carrying aid to survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua, crashed immediately after takeoff, off the coast of his home country Puerto Rico.
Having grown up in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Berrios idolized Clemente both for what he did on the field and what he did off it.
“I had great people who have helped me in my career so far. I’m a baseball player, and in Puerto Rico, every baseball player knows about Roberto Clemente and what he did on the field and off the field,” Berríos told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson in June. “How he impacted people off the field, that’s motivating. We try to be — not the same — but close to him and what he did.”
The winner will be announced at the 2025 World Series. It is selected by a panel of representatives from the commissioner’s office, MLB-affiliated networks, MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Clemente’s children.
Fans can also have their say and vote for who they believe should take home the award.
The full list of nominees for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award are as follows:
Arizona Diamondbacks – Corbin Carroll
Athletics – Lawrence Butler
Atlanta Braves – Spencer Strider
Baltimore Orioles – Jordan Westburg
Boston Red Sox – Liam Hendricks
Chicago Cubs – Kyle Tucker
Chicago White Sox – Michael Tauchman
Cincinnati Reds – Brent Suter
Cleveland Guardians – Bo Naylor
Colorado Rockies – Kyle Freeland
Detroit Tigers – Tarik Skubal
Houston Astros – Josh Hader
Kansas City Royals – Bobby Witt Jr.
Los Angeles Angels – Logan O’Hoppe
Los Angeles Dodgers – Mookie Betts
Miami Marlins – Griffin Conine
Milwaukee Brewers – Sal Frelick
Minnesota Twins – Pablo López
New York Mets – Francisco Lindor
New York Yankees – Carlos Rodon
Philadelphia Phillies – Aaron Nola
Pittsburgh Pirates – Paul Skenes
San Diego Padres – Joe Musgrove
San Francisco Giants – Ryan Walker
Seattle Mariners – J.P. Crawford
St. Louis Cardinals – Brendan Donovan
Tampa Bay Rays – Pete Fairbanks
Texas Rangers – Corey Seager
Toronto Blue Jays – Jose Berrios
Washington Nationals – Trevor Williams
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