Rays' Charlie Morton Nominated For 2020 Roberto Clemente Award

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Tampa Bay Rays player Charlie Morton has been nominated, along with 29 other Major League Baseball players, for the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award. The award is baseball's most prestigious individual honor for Major League players, officials said.

The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a MLB player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

The nominees will be officially recognized on Sept. 9, marking the 19th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor the late Hall of Famer’s legacy as a humanitarian.

As part of the annual program, each team nominates one player to be considered for the award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.

Officials said this year’s list of nominees features players whose various community and philanthropic activities have focused on important causes such as coronavirus relief, social justice initiatives, supporting those with cancer and other illnesses or special needs, outreach to underserved children & communities in the United States and abroad, environmental advocacy and more.

On Roberto Clemente Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the club Clemente played for his entire Hall of Fame career, was granted permission to have all players, managers and coaches wear Clemente’s No. 21 on their uniforms. Throughout the league, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks.

Fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award via mlb.com/clemente21. The site will feature biographies of each of the nominees and will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sept. 27. 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 in honor of the Hall of Famer and 15-time all-star who died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.