Miguel Cabrera Named Tigers Nominee For The 2015 Roberto Clemente Award
Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of MLB, today announced that Miguel Cabrera was named the Detroit Tigers 2015 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet.
Wednesday, September 16th marks the fourteenth annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially recognize local Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Cabrera is one of the 30 Club finalists for the annual award, which recognizes a Major League Baseball player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement. The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet pays tribute to Clemente's achievements and character by recognizing current players who truly understand the value of helping others.
As an All-Star first baseman and a leader in the clubhouse, Miguel Cabrera is also one of baseball's most caring and giving individuals. Cabrera's dream of becoming an accomplished baseball player inspired him and his wife, Rosangel, to establish the Miguel Cabrera Foundation based on his belief that great things happen when you work hard, dream big and help others. In addition to donating $100,000 to medical relief for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti, Cabrera provided seed money to launch the Tigers Play Baseball Detroit initiative, which has served over 80,000 children since 2008. Additional support includes gifts to the Detroit Police Athletic League (to support the Detroit RBI program), Clark Park Coalition in Detroit (to refurbish baseball fields) and the Miracle League of Michigan. At the ballpark, Cabrera regularly visits with participants of the Tigers Dreams Come True Program. Cabrera also hosts "Keeping Kids in the Game," the Detroit Tigers Foundation's annual fundraiser to benefit children's health and youth baseball. The event has raised nearly $1.8 million since 2009. Cabrera will join Mark Shafer, District Manager from Chevrolet, during a pregame ceremony at Comerica Park before the second game of the doubleheader on September 21 as Cabrera is presented with the 2015 Detroit Tigers Roberto Clemente Award.
The distinguished list of past Roberto Clemente Award winners includes 16 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
1971 Willie Mays+** 1983 Cecil Cooper 1995 Ozzie Smith+ 2007 Craig Biggio+
1972 Brooks Robinson+** 1984 Ron Guidry 1996 Kirby Puckett+ 2008 Albert Pujols
1973 Al Kaline+ 1985 Don Baylor 1997 Eric Davis 2009 Derek Jeter
1974 Willie Stargell+ 1986 Garry Maddox 1998 Sammy Sosa 2010 Tim Wakefield
1975 Lou Brock+ 1987 Rick Sutcliffe 1999 Tony Gwynn+ 2011 David Ortiz
1976 Pete Rose 1988 Dale Murphy 2000 Al Leiter 2012 Clayton Kershaw
1977 Rod Carew+ 1989 Gary Carter+ 2001 Curt Schilling 2013 Carlos Beltran
1978 Greg Luzinski 1990 Dave Stewart 2002 Jim Thome 2014 Paul Konerko *
1979 Andre Thornton 1991 Harold Reynolds 2003 Jamie Moyer 2014 Jimmy Rollins *
1980 Phil Niekro+ 1992 Cal Ripken, Jr.+ 2004 Edgar Martinez
1981 Steve Garvey 1993 Barry Larkin+ 2005 John Smoltz+
1982 Ken Singleton 1994 Dave Winfield+ 2006 Carlos Delgado
+ Member of The National Baseball Hall of Fame
* Co-winner
** Originally known as the Commissioner's Award (prior to 1973)
Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet by visiting ChevyBaseball.com, which is powered by MLB Advanced Media, to vote for one of the 30 Club nominees. Voting ends on Friday, October 9th, and participating fans will be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to the 2015 World Series, where the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet will be announced.
Clubs playing at home on September 16th will recognize their local nominees as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies, while visiting Clubs will honor their nominees before another September home game. As part of the league-wide celebration, 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.
The concept of honoring players for their philanthropic work was created in 1971 as the "Commissioner's Award," but 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. Each September since 2002, Major League Baseball has commemorated Roberto Clemente Day.