Major League Baseball today announced that Tony Kemp was named the Oakland A’s  2022 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers. The A’s will recognize Kemp as their 2022 nominee during a pregame presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 20. 

The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One 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. As part of the annual program, each Club nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide Award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.  

This season, Kemp has once again teamed up with Players for the Planet and One Tree Planted to serve as a player ambassador to further the organizations’ mission to plant trees in urban communities. Kemp has pledged to donate $250 for every stolen base and extra-base hit he records. To culminate the season-long initiative, Kemp will participate in a community tree planting event in September. 

In addition to the work he does through his own +1 Effect campaign to combat social injustice through individual conversations, Kemp is an active member of the Players Alliance, which works to create an inclusive culture within baseball and the community in order to elevate racial equality and provide greater opportunities for the Black community. 

Thursday, Sept. 15, marks the 21st annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which was established by MLB to honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. 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. Additionally, a customized tribute video to both Roberto and his wife Vera – Momentito (in English and Spanish) – will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, Club sites, and MLB social media platforms. 

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be selected via a blue-ribbon panel, including Commissioner Manfred, representatives from Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks, MLB.com, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis, and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One via mlb.com/clemente21 (English) and LasMayores.com/clemente21 (Spanish). Fans can vote until the end of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.