Major League Baseball announced today that Corey Knebel was named the Brewers 2018 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

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

Each Club nominates one current player to be considered for the Roberto Clemente Award in tribute to Clemente's achievements and character. Wednesday, September 5 marks the 17th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially acknowledge local 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.

In Milwaukee, Knebel has a passion for animal care and helping kids living with illness or developmental disabilities. For the past two years he has served as a base coach at the Miracle League of Milwaukee All-Star Game. The Miracle League allows all children to play organized baseball, regardless of ability. In addition, Knebel has donated to Autism Speaks, an advocacy organization that sponsors research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, government and the public. He helped bring over 100 families to a Brewers game this year.

Earlier this year, Corey and his wife, Danielle, purchased hats for kids living with cancer in support of the "Love Your Melon" apparel brand, which is dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer.

For the past three years, Corey served as an honorary chair for the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals (MECA) Vest a K-9 Event. The event helped raise money to provide the Greenfield Police Department's dogs security vests for their protection while in the line of duty. 

Additionally, Knebel contributes financially each year to Brewers Community Foundation, the official charity of the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, to support activities and programs targeted to youth recreation, health and education throughout Wisconsin. In addition to financial support, Corey donates time to several organizations throughout the season.

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, who will be announced during the 2018 World Series, will be selected among the group of nominees via a blue ribbon panel that includes individuals connected to the game. The blue ribbon panel includes Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS) and MLB.com, as well as Vera Clemente (the late Roberto's wife & MLB Goodwill Ambassador). Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, fans can vote for the overall winner of the Roberto Clemente Award via a dedicated website. The site will feature bios of each of the nominees and will allow fans from Roberto Clemente Day on Wednesday, September 5 until Tuesday, September 18. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue ribbon panel. Fans are encouraged to vote by visiting the following link: www.mlb.com/clemente21.

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. Major League Baseball has commemorated Roberto Clemente Day each September since 2002.