# Roberto Clemente Award

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 MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while he was delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.
Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects one player from among 30 nominees, one from each club. Teams choose their nominee during the regular season, and the winner is announced before Game 3 of 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 recipient'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, that provides national sports activities for children. Chevy donates additional funds to the charity of choice of each of the 30 club nominees.
The first recipient of the award was Willie Mays, and the most recent honoree is Salvador Pérez. No player has received the award more than once. The first pitcher to receive the award was Phil Niekro in 1980, and the first catcher to receive it was Gary Carter in 1989. The team to have the most winners representing their club is the St. Louis Cardinals. To date, Clemente's former teammate Willie Stargell and Andrew McCutchen are the only members of the Pittsburgh Pirates to receive the honor. Stargell won his award in 1974 and McCutchen in 2015. The Pirates themselves have worn Clemente-era throwback uniforms in recent years on Roberto Clemente Day, on which day they present their award nominee to MLB. In 2014, the award was presented to two players—Paul Konerko and Jimmy Rollins—for the first, and to date, only time. Currently, the active MLB teams that have never won the award are the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals.

## Honorees
### Key

| † | Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Player is still active |

### Recipients by year

| Year | Player | Team | League | Position |
| 1971 | Willie Mays $^†$ | San Francisco Giants | National | Outfielder |
| 1972 | Brooks Robinson $^†$ | Baltimore Orioles | American | Third baseman |
| 1973 | Al Kaline $^†$ | Detroit Tigers | American | Outfielder |
| 1974 | Willie Stargell $^†$ | Pittsburgh Pirates | National | Outfielder |
| 1975 | Lou Brock $^†$ | St. Louis Cardinals | National | Outfielder |
| 1976 | Pete Rose | Cincinnati Reds | National | Third baseman |
| 1977 | Rod Carew $^†$ | Minnesota Twins | American | First baseman |
| 1978 | Greg Luzinski | Philadelphia Phillies | National | Outfielder |
| 1979 | Andre Thornton | Cleveland Indians | American | First baseman |
| 1980 | Phil Niekro $^†$ | Atlanta Braves | National | Pitcher |
| 1981 | Steve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers | National | First baseman |
| 1982 | Ken Singleton | Baltimore Orioles | American | Designated hitter |
| 1983 | Cecil Cooper | Milwaukee Brewers | American | First baseman |
| 1984 | Ron Guidry | New York Yankees | American | Pitcher |
| 1985 | Don Baylor | New York Yankees | American | Designated hitter |
| 1986 | Garry Maddox | Philadelphia Phillies | National | Outfielder |
| 1987 | Rick Sutcliffe | Chicago Cubs | National | Pitcher |
| 1988 | Dale Murphy | Atlanta Braves | National | Outfielder |
| 1989 | Gary Carter $^†$ | New York Mets | National | Catcher |
| 1990 | Dave Stewart | Oakland Athletics | American | Pitcher |
| 1991 | Harold Reynolds | Seattle Mariners | American | Second baseman |
| 1992 | Cal Ripken Jr. $^†$ | Baltimore Orioles | American | Shortstop |
| 1993 | Barry Larkin $^†$ | Cincinnati Reds | National | Shortstop |
| 1994 | Dave Winfield $^†$ | Minnesota Twins | American | Designated hitter |
| 1995 | Ozzie Smith $^†$ | St. Louis Cardinals | National | Shortstop |
| 1996 | Kirby Puckett $^†$ | Minnesota Twins | American | Outfielder |
| 1997 | Eric Davis | Baltimore Orioles | American | Outfielder |
| 1998 | Sammy Sosa | Chicago Cubs | National | Outfielder |
| 1999 | Tony Gwynn $^†$ | San Diego Padres | National | Outfielder |
| 2000 | Al Leiter | New York Mets | National | Pitcher |
| 2001 | Curt Schilling | Arizona Diamondbacks | National | Pitcher |
| 2002 | Jim Thome $^†$ | Cleveland Indians | American | First baseman |
| 2003 | Jamie Moyer | Seattle Mariners | American | Pitcher |
| 2004 | Edgar Martínez $^†$ | Seattle Mariners | American | Designated hitter |
| 2005 | John Smoltz $^†$ | Atlanta Braves | National | Pitcher |
| 2006 | Carlos Delgado | New York Mets | National | First baseman |
| 2007 | Craig Biggio $^†$ | Houston Astros | National | Second baseman |
| 2008 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | National | First baseman |
| 2009 | Derek Jeter $^†$ | New York Yankees | American | Shortstop |
| 2010 | Tim Wakefield | Boston Red Sox | American | Pitcher |
| 2011 | David Ortiz $^†$ | Boston Red Sox | American | Designated hitter |
| 2012 | Clayton Kershaw$^^$ | Los Angeles Dodgers | National | Pitcher |
| 2013 | Carlos Beltrán | St. Louis Cardinals | National | Outfielder |
| 2014 | Paul Konerko | Chicago White Sox | American | First baseman |
| 2014 | Jimmy Rollins | Philadelphia Phillies | National | Shortstop |
| 2015 | Andrew McCutchen$^^$ | Pittsburgh Pirates | National | Outfielder |
| 2016 | Curtis Granderson | New York Mets | National | Outfielder |
| 2017 | Anthony Rizzo$^^$ | Chicago Cubs | National | First baseman |
| 2018 | Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals | National | Catcher |
| 2019 | Carlos Carrasco$^^$ | Cleveland Indians | American | Pitcher |
| 2020 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | National | Pitcher |
| 2021 | Nelson Cruz | Tampa Bay Rays Minnesota Twins | American | Designated hitter |
| 2022 | Justin Turner$^^$ | Los Angeles Dodgers | National | Third baseman |
| 2023 | Aaron Judge$^^$ | New York Yankees | American | Outfielder |
| 2024 | Salvador Pérez$^^$ | Kansas City Royals | American | Catcher |
* ↑ In 2014, there were two recipients of the award, one in each league.
* ↑ Cruz was traded from the Twins to the Rays shortly after the All-Star break, but was nominated for the award by the Twins.