This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
TORONTO -- George Springer has been named the Blue Jays’ nominee for the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing the work he’s done in the community both this season and across his six seasons in Toronto.
The Roberto Clemente Award 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.
“This is an honor. Just to be mentioned in the same breath as him is an honor,” Springer said.
Major League Baseball held its annual Roberto Clemente Day on Sept. 15, when all players wore a No. 21 patch on their uniforms. Fans can vote on the award here and read the full bios for nominees from all 30 clubs, including Springer.
This is a meaningful nomination for Springer on multiple levels, and hits close to home as Springer is part Puerto Rican, home of the great Clemente.
“It’s special. My mom is from the island and the other half of my family is still there,” Springer said. “To be able to wear his number on that day, then to be in the same breath with not quite what he was doing, but the same style of stuff, that’s an honor for me.”
Springer is in the final year of his six-year, $150 million deal with the Blue Jays now, just a couple of days from his 37th birthday on Sept. 19. Brought to Toronto in 2021 as a cornerstone player to help elevate this organization’s young core, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, Springer has been one of the faces of this organization ever since. Last year, in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Mariners, Springer’s home run gave him a moment that will live forever in the memories of Blue Jays fans.
Throughout his time in Toronto, Springer has also become involved with Jays Care, the charitable arm of the Blue Jays, and his own community outreach.
“For me, it’s a big part of who I am,” Springer said. “The whole goal for me is that I want to give back. I love to give back in any way that I can. The only way to do that is to go out in the community and show people that I’m a normal guy. I want to help, and anything that I can do, I will.”
Springer is a natural at these events. Much of the work he’s done through Jays Care or his own initiatives work with kids in the community, and at heart, Springer is the biggest kid in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse.
Earlier in his career with the Astros, Springer began to lay the groundwork for some of the community work he’s carried over to Toronto and Canada.
“Just follow your heart. Everybody has something that means something to them,” Springer said. “You can always use your platform and you can always be who you are. You can find a way to help somebody, whether it’s one person, five people or 100,000, it doesn’t matter. Be who you are. Guys have a lot of stuff that means something to them. If you want to get out, I’m sure you can find a person to help.”
For Springer, one of those causes close to his heart is helping kids who stutter. Springer has lived with a stutter since childhood, and now hosts the annual George Springer Bowling Benefit in Toronto, raising critical funds and awareness for Jays Care Foundation and the Stuttering Association for the Young (SAY).
“If you ask any of my teammates and coaches, it’s no secret. ... I like to talk,” Springer said at a 2024 event benefitting SAY. “I will talk your ear off all day, even if you don’t want me to. It didn’t used to be that way. For all of the kids or the parents who have a child who stutters, or has come across somebody who does, I hope that I can be proof that things do get easier. You can do what you want to do. You can say what you want to say. You can be who you want to be.”
Major League Baseball first began recognizing players for their philanthropic work in 1971, which was then called the “Commissioner’s Award.” The recognition was renamed to the “Roberto Clemente Award” in a 1973 tribute to Clemente following his tragic passing in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while delivering earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua.