The Roberto Clemente Award is bestowed annually to the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Every year, each MLB Club nominates a player to be considered for the Award in tribute to Clemente's achievements and character. This year's list of nominees features players whose various community and philanthropic activities have focused on important issues ranging from awareness & fundraising to support those with cancer and other illnesses or special needs, education for young people, natural disaster relief, outreach to underserved children & communities in the United States and abroad, and more.
Read about all of the nominees below.
This past January, Eduardo visited Magnet Traditional School to deliver school supplies and launch the “D-backs Read Your Way to the Ballpark,” a reading program to stimulate interest in reading and literacy among K-6 school kids, while also providing funding for new books in the classroom.
Several weeks later, Eduardo met with the baseball and softball teams at Metro Tech High School to deliver equipment including a pitching machine, hitting mats, bats, balls and gloves as part of the Chase Your Dreams program.
In response to COVID-19, Eduardo teamed up with Stephen Vogt and the D-backs to deliver gift cards to healthcare heroes at Banner Health and Dignity Health to support meals for hospital staff. In total, $20,000 in gift cards were purchased.
His hands-on approach was also present in 2019, with toy drives, hospital visits, backpack and school supplies deliveries, and more. During the last homestand of the 2019 season, Eduardo surprised the year-end Most Valuable Teacher, George Cardenas of Wilson College Prep, rounding out his visits to Arizona schools that took place all season long.
This season, Freddie stepped up to the plate to give back and make a difference in Braves Country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, he made a $125,000 commitment to Atlanta-based charities in the areas of food insecurity and homelessness, including a $50,000 donation to The Giving Kitchen that helped pay rent and utilities for more than 30 food service workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. His $50,000 contribution to the Atlanta Community Food Bank assisted their work with five local school districts to deliver meals to families at more than 20 sites each week. Freeman also donated $25,000 to the Salvation Army, which he has been involved with since childhood, for their COVID-19 relief efforts.
When Major League Baseball made its season debut in late July, many teams decided to provide fans with the opportunity to purchase cardboard cutouts to place in ballparks in support of their team’s foundation. For the final homestand this season, Freddie will have a dedicated fan section, “Freddie’s Friends” with the faces of patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Freddie also enjoys visiting the patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and volunteering alongside his teammates during the annual Atlanta Braves Community Heroes Week.
Hanser Alberto grew up in the Dominican Republic and learned from an early age the importance of helping others and never giving up.
His father, a gifted athlete and aspiring baseball player, tragically lost his hand during a workplace accident. Watching his father persevere at work and with baseball pushed Hanser to only work harder.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hanser made it his mission to give back to his hometown in as they navigated this unprecedented crisis. Through his Foundation he launched in 2015 - Fe Malta - and in response to pandemic, Hanser helped to distribute food, medicine and other essential items. In May, San Francisco De Macoris became the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Dominican Republic. Hanser worked with former teammates Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Robinson Chirinos and others to bring food to more than 500 families. Back in Baltimore, Hanser has recorded essential public health messages for the Maryland Department of Health in English and Spanish.
During the 2019 offseason, he participated in the "Game of Legends" in the Dominican Republic, which benefitted children fighting cancer and the St. Jude Foundation. He also made visits to hospitals and Fort Meade in Maryland to distribute toys.
To represent the team in their support of the Jimmy Fund, the Red Sox selected Mitch Moreland as a Jimmy Fund Captain for the 2020 season to serve as an advocate and ambassador for the organization.
During COVID-19 quarantine in May, Mitch hosted a virtual Bingo Night fundraiser, which helped raise over $20,000 for the organization. Mitch and his wife, Susannah, are also spearheading the “Player’s Favorite Things” basket auction, where each player creates a basket with their favorite things as well as an autographed item to benefit the Jimmy Fund.
For the past three seasons, Mitch and Susannah have organized a “Christmas in July” fundraiser for Boston Children’s Hospital. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fundraiser was executed entirely online, with the Morelands matching the donations up to $10,000. In total, over $22,000 was raised. Mitch has also recorded video messages for children and frontline workers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019 and again in 2020, Mitch participated in the “Home Plate Project” with Big League Impact and the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation. In each year, Mitch made a $5,000 donation that was used to fight food insecurity.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted low-income communities in Chicago, Jason contributed $300,000 to nonprofit organizations addressing the severe inequities across Chicago.
He donated $100,000 to MASK (Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings), a nonprofit violence prevention organization which has most recently been focused on direct support for low-income youth and families impacted by COVID-19. Jason also donated $100,000 to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and $100,000 to the University of Chicago Medical Center to support health care workers as well as patients and families affected by COVID-19.
In response to the recent fight against racial injustice, Jason teamed up with other local Chicago sports figures to participate in a healing circle, an opportunity for local community members and police officers to share their experiences and feelings with African American youth and other police officers.
Over the last four years, Jason has donated a total of $100,000 to Cubs Charities and contributed $16,000 specifically to Cubs RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities).
Jason also often works with Future Ties, a nonprofit on the South Side of Chicago which supports low-income families through summer and after-school programs, and helps parents build life skills, escape domestic violence and mentor young people in the community.
Now in its fourth year, Tim Anderson’s League of Leaders (ALL) instills leadership skills in youth affected by violence.
Established after his best friend, Branden Deon Moss, was shot and killed trying to help an assault victim, ALL has enlisted the support of more than 100 volunteers, held four back-to-school drives providing nearly 600 free haircuts and raised financial support for much-needed scholarships and resources for nonprofit agencies with similar missions.
During the past few seasons, Tim has worked with the White Sox to take Youth Guidance members – many of whom have never left Chicago – on cultural and historical field trips to places such as the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and the Civil Rights Museum in Atlanta, Ga.
In addition to hosting several TA7 youth baseball clinics, Tim has volunteered at various outreach events with his teammates through Chicago White Sox Charities, including renovating the teen center at a Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago location and surprising a young ACE player in need with holiday gifts this past December. He also has served as a spokesperson for the “Shred Hate” bullying prevention public service announcement with MLB.
Once Spring Training was shut down, Tucker returned home to Zionsville, Ind. where he heard local radio personality Dan Dakich say he was going to get takeout for dinner to help support local business. Tucker loved the idea and it led to the creation of “Takeout Thursday.”
That same day, Tucker purchased a $500 gift card to various local restaurants and put the word out on social media for people to go to these locations and get a meal, up to $25, on his dime. The effort continued, with a couple of Takeout Thursdays that included a local restaurant, Frisch’s, matching his donation every week, which was followed up by a Cincinnati location.
Tucker also pitched the idea for a sandlot game as a fun way to mimic a sense of normalcy. After some discussion, he decided to put the invite on social media and ask attendees for a $5 donation. The event raised about $2,000 for Indianapolis Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) to go toward uniforms, equipment, league and tournament fees or any other needs.
Not lost on Tucker through the pandemic has been the fight for social justice and racial equality. He has been vocal on social media in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
When Brad Hand learned that Cleveland recreational baseball leagues had been canceled for the 2020 season, he jumped at the opportunity to help.
He donated $3,500 worth of youth baseball equipment, including 15 starter sets with bases, bats, hitting cages and more. Brad also donated 150 gloves to ensure each kid had their own. He also met with the kids via Zoom, surprising them with the equipment and an opportunity to have a Q&A.
For the second consecutive season, the Hand family is engaged in the Indians player program, Helping Hands. This year, the Hands partnered with local non-profit Ohio Guidestone. They are meeting virtually with five different families from Stepstone Academy, and they donated $2,500 toward programming at the school, residential housing and rehabilitation center. In addition, the Hands have scheduled an Indians game watch party—drive-in-theater-style—for the nine adults living in Ohio Guidestone’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit. The evening will serve as a sober outing and an opportunity for residents to be reunited with their families.
Just prior to COVID-19 and the implementation of social distancing, the Hands took their children shopping for an adopted family during the Christmas season.
For many years, the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) has been a core focus for Ian Desmond. Ian’s work with Neurofibromatosis (NF) advocacy, awareness and fundraising has been well recognized since 2012. He is a true leader in the NF community, and he continues to find new ways to use his platform for the purposes of ending NF.
On World NF Day (May 17, 2020), Ian Desmond participated in the first-ever live stream NF fundraiser, Home is Where the Heart Is, benefiting the Children’s Tumor Foundation. It was a star-studded lineup with numerous video messages and performances, with Ian featured in a live mid-show interview.
In early 2020, Ian elected to forgo playing ball during the shortened MLB season, but not to step away from baseball completely. This year, he began working in his home community in Sarasota, Fla., reaching out to everyone involved to get the youth baseball programs, and specifically Sarasota Youth Baseball, back on track.
Ian is a two-time All-Star, career four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and has had five 20/20 seasons. Ian has been the recipient of the MLB Players Alumni Association’s Heart and Hustle award five times.
This season, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Rosangel and Miguel Cabrera partnered with the Detroit Tigers Foundation to donate $250,000 to benefit children and families in Detroit.
The donation provided meals for children, technology and tablets for students, day care for families and high-quality face masks for Detroiters with donations distributed to four organizations: The Detroit Public Schools Community District, The Detroit Public Schools Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) and Brilliant Detroit and G1 Impact.
In addition to lending his financial support in 2020, Miguel lent his image and likeness to support a bilingual US Census campaign to encourage Census completion in traditionally low participating communities.
Long before the COVID-19 crisis, Miguel’s dream of becoming an accomplished baseball player inspired him and his wife Rosangel to establish the Miguel Cabrera Foundation. Launched with a specific mission to revitalize baseball fields in neighborhoods and to provide academic college scholarships, the Miguel Cabrera Foundation has awarded grants internationally and domestically.
Since 2011 Miguel has annually attended the Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids in partnership with the Miracle League of Michigan. Miguel also actively participates in the Tigers Dreams Come True.
Nominated for the second year in a row, Alex Bregman has dedicated considerable time and effort to be a positive force for young players off the field while raising $1.9 million through his charity this year.
Through his Bregman Cares Charity, Alex and fiancée Reagan Howard launched #FEEDHOU - a fundraising campaign benefiting The Houston Food Bank which saw a 150 percent increase in need from Houstonians post-COVID-19. With a personal donation of $100,000 and an initial goal of $1 million, Alex was able to raise $1.9 million (5.78 million meals). Alex also hosted a first of its kind 24-hour Live Stream Event with more than 40 athletes, celebrities and musicians on Twitch reaching over 1,000,000 gamers and fans.
This year, Alex launched Bregman’s Podcast. Season 1 featured athletes, authors and celebrities who have made a positive impact on others. Season 2 introduced current MLB sluggers such as Nelson Cruz, Francisco Lindor and #1 MLB pick Spencer Torkelson with a focus on hitting mechanics.
To help young players stay active during the Pandemic, Alex launched Bregman’s Swing Review where he provides free feedback on swings. Alex has posted 11 episodes to-date, giving feedback to 75 softball and baseball players ages 5-17 on YouTube.
When COVID-19 struck, Ian Kennedy and his family immediately supported the Royals Respond Fund and the Home Plate Project through Big League Impact to provide food for families in economic stress.
During this season, Ian committed to donating $10,000 to organizations close to his heart for each strikeout. The organizations include Head for the Cure and also $5,000 to Consider the Lily.
A complete accounting of Ian’s humanitarian activities and contributions would create a list of seemingly endless organizations around the globe, such as those focused on international ministries, justice and equality, ending human trafficking, cancer, child abuse and more. The Kennedys and their children are year-round visitors to the City Union Mission Family Center near downtown Kansas City. Additionally, Ian’s dedication to the United States military and their families resulted in being named recipient of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award last year.
Ian has also supported Royals Charities activations, including bagging produce items at the Bishop Sullivan Center, serving Thanksgiving meals at City Union Mission and Guadalupe Centers, and helping low-income families select their holiday gifts at the Johnson County Christmas Bureau Holiday Shop and the Della Lamb Operation Santa Claus.
Over the years, Mike Trout has participated in a multitude of charitable events, including granting numerous wishes each season through Make-A-Wish.
In addition, he has recorded video messages to encourage children who are fighting their own battle with illnesses and setbacks, personalizing these encounters so that each memory for the child is unique.
This year, as we faced a global pandemic with COVID-19, Mike donated to several organizations who were in the frontline fighting the disease. Mike also participated in public service announcements to encourage people to “Stay At Home.” He continues to send personal messages of encouragements to those who are struggling during this difficult time.
Recently, Mike and his wife, Jessica, began working with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as benefactors for the organization to raise awareness after losing Jessica’s brother, Aaron Cox, due to suicide two years ago. The couple is currently working with Tiny Turnip, an apparel company, to lead an initiative called “Your Game Isn’t Over Yet” to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Mike is also working to create more awareness during the month of September for Suicide Prevention Month with an outfield sign at Angel Stadium that reads “You’re Game Isn’t Over Yet.”
With many adversely affected in Los Angeles, Justin and his wife, Kourtney, spent their days at home working to support small businesses while at the same time providing hot meals to those in need.
Nearly every day from mid-March through June, the Turners selected a restaurant and ordered thousands of meals to the Los Angeles Dream Center, which fed over 12,000 individuals a day at the height of the pandemic. The Turners served at the drive-through food distribution, which operated 11 hours a day, seven days a week. Justin and Kourtney donated an estimated 900,000 meals during the 82-day effort, culminating with the Dream Center naming their food bank “The Justin & Kourtney Turner Food Bank.”
In addition to his efforts at the Dream Center, Justin donated several meals per week to the doctors, nurses and staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). In the past, the couple have hosted CHLA’s Winter Wonderland during the holidays and make frequent visits to patients at local hospitals.
His support of Operation Mend is just one of Justin’s many contributions to the military community. One of the pillars of the Justin Turner Foundation is to support homeless veterans, and the Turners host an annual golf classic to help support that mission.
Miguel concentrates his community efforts in providing for students in underserved communities with a focus on giving each South Florida youth the opportunity to succeed.
His commitment to the Miami Marlins Foundation’s Home Plate Meals program extends beyond a financial contribution, as he often visits local schools to address the challenges of food insecurity with the schools and inspire young students to achieve success.
Miguel remained involved in the Marlins’ community efforts this past offseason. He visited a local elementary school in Doral, Fla., for a laptop donation and joined the Marlins front office staff ahead of Thanksgiving for the annual Miami Marlins Home Plate Meals Thanksgiving Distribution, which provided meals to more than 1,000 local families.
His commitment to the community is ever evolving. When Spring Training was halted, he pledged his time to the Marlins organization and the Miami Marlins Foundation to help in any way possible. He surprised a young, deserving mom on Mother’s Day with a complimentary meal and an invitation for her and her young son to visit Marlins Park when it is safe to do so. During Nurses Week, Miguel called a nurse to thank her for her dedication and service during these unprecedented times.
Brent serves as an ambassador for “Players for the Planet” and last year participated with other athletes in a beach cleanup in the Dominican Republic.
In addition to volunteering for cleanup projects, he is a supporter of multiple environmental groups such as Milwaukee Urban Ecology, the Outrider Foundation, ECO in the City of Milwaukee, and EcoAthletes.
In the spring of 2019, he partnered with a bottle manufacturer to produce reusable glass water bottles to support his #StrikeOutWaste initiative, an eco-friendly effort to reduce plastic use across the league.
As a leader in the sustainable sports movement, Brent is a founding member of Sidelining Carbon, an initiative from the American Conservation Coalition Campus that focuses on offsetting the carbon impact of professional sports team travel. Launched in late August, the initiative aims to offset at least 50 percent of the carbon footprint associated with professional sports team travel by 2025.
In addition to trying to help save the planet, Brent has donated $10,000 to Brewers Community Foundation for each of the past three years, and during the pandemic, he partnered with other teammates to donate $10,000 toward the Ballpark Employee Emergency Relief Fund for stadium employees affected by COVID-19.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Nelson fed more than 700 families in his hometown community in the Dominican Republic and provided financial support to individuals not able to work.
Nearly 1,200 families have received direct support from Nelson during this crisis. In July, Nelson helped lead the $400,000 donation from MLB, the MLBPA and Players Trust to the D.R. to provide medical equipment and address food insecurity in the wake of the pandemic.
After a childhood friend lost his home to a fire, Nelson set out to transform the safety and welfare of his hometown. Las Matas de Santa Cruz now has a fire engine, 80 firefighter uniforms and an ambulance to treat and transport people to the hospital nearly an hour away. Each year, Nelson has brought dentists and optometrists to his hometown’s local clinic to provide checkups, medicine and eyewear.
To help break the cycle of poverty in his hometown, Nelson’s Boomstick23 Foundation began construction on an education and technical center technical skills training and teach farmland skills to produce crops.
Nelson is particularly focused on kids in the D.R. who leave school to play baseball. He equips the centers with computers to help them complete their high school education online.
As Steven Matz watched the COVID-19 pandemic rip through New York at an astonishing pace, he knew he had to get involved.
Steven utilized his community platform, Tru32, which honors the heroes of the NYPD, FDNY and other first responders to donate $12,000 in April to Elmhurst Hospital, which was in the epicenter of the pandemic in New York. Steven also donated $10,000 to the FDNY and NYPD each, and sold Tru32 t-shirts to raise additional funds.
Steven has supported seven different scholarship funds for the children of fallen FDNY firefighters, and fully funded two New York Police Foundation Junior Explorer Scholarships for 2019.
For the second consecutive year, Steven donated funds to the Home Plate Project, a national campaign with MLB, Teammates for Kids, and Big League Impact to combat childhood hunger. Steven’s donation went to No Kid Hungry’s COVID relief efforts in New York City.
Steven has also traveled to rural Honduras to assist orphans and underprivileged children, visited patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, worked with Citigroup to support area-little league organizations and participated in the MLBPA Players Trust equipment-matching program to provide youngsters in the area with the equipment they need to play the game of baseball.
Even before the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball season, Giancarlo Stanton had a significant impact on the lives of many throughout the cities that mean the most to him – New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
Giancarlo’s efforts to assist those on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle – the healthcare workers and first responders who continuously risk their own lives – began in early spring of this year. After receiving feedback from friends in the medical field, Giancarlo was able to narrow down the tangible needs of these workers.
Giancarlo teamed up with Voodoo Manufacturing, a Brooklyn-based company that repurposed their production facilities to create PPE equipment, to donate a combined 15,000 face shields to hospitals most in need across the greater New York City and Los Angeles areas. The chosen hospitals predominantly serve African-American and Latino communities, which have been hit the hardest by this pandemic.
Giancarlo also partnered with Six Star Pro Nutrition to donate approximately 20,000 units (more than 180,000 servings) of whey protein isolate and clean protein shakes to the Fire Department of NY, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Los Angeles (Watts-Willowbrook and West San Gabriel Valley).
Following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Tony Kemp knew he had to be part of the change he wanted to see in the world.
Tony considered ways to join the fight against racism and police brutality against Black people in America and decided to combat social injustice through individual conversations with the goal of changing perspectives one person at a time.
In early June, following multiple engaging conversations on the issue, Tony launched his cause and movement, the +1 Effect. He teamed up with BreakingT to create T-shirts for the +1 Effect, with proceeds benefiting Campaign Zero, an organization dedicated to decreasing police violence with its #8cantwait initiative, and Gideon’s Army, a Nashville-based nonprofit that works to eliminate the root causes of the prison pipeline to save children from death and incarceration and guides them on a secure path to success.
Earlier this year, Tony also launched a fundraiser to help support organizations that are offering community support and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic in his hometown Nashville, as well as in Oakland and Houston. Tony and his wife, Michelle, raised more than $8,000 for Luke 14:12, Book’Em, Gideon’s Army, Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston.
In January 2020, brothers Aaron and Austin Nola held a celebrity-bowling event, “Strike Out ALS,” to honor their Uncle Alan as he continues to fight Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) to benefit The ALS Association Louisiana-Mississippi Chapter.
Aaron continued to step up after the COVID-19 pandemic struck many in his home market of Philadelphia, launching “Cheers PA,” a virtual fundraiser providing immediate emergency funds for the Hospitality Assistance Response of Pennsylvania (HARP) and becoming involved with the “Phans Feeding Families” virtual good drive campaign. The effort provided 120,000 meals for families in critical need during the crisis.
Aaron also joined teammate Mikie Mahtook to give hope back to young athletes and their families who were being affected by COVID-19. The “Champions Rise Challenge” was created to offer young athletes and their parents’ life-changing advice and guidance.
Aaron has also become involved in other efforts, such as Shred Hate, a bullying prevention program from ESPN, MLB and X Games, and Philadelphia Futures, a high school mentoring organization. In 2019, Aaron proudly hosted Philadelpha Futures’ “Get in the Game” bowling event, which raised over $160,000.
Josh Bell’s desire to make a difference was borne of the unrest following the killing of George Floyd. Josh started a #SocialReformSunday series on his social media platforms. With his support, the Pirates then began the “Building Bridges” series, featuring a player, coach or staff member speaking candidly about social reform.
In the early weeks following the protests, teammate and pitcher Trevor Williams reached out to Josh to learn more about resources to educate himself. Josh recommended a book he was reading as well, Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” This interaction gave Josh the idea to form a book club. He reached out to staff at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to join their virtual book club and will be moderating a discussion on The New Jim Crow alongside book club participants.
Josh has continued to actively seek opportunities to educate on the topic of racial injustice and reform, such as participating in a call with youth participants from the Pirates Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program and joining Rabbi Ron Symons of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh’s “Center for Loving Kindness” for a community conversation.
In his second stint with the Padres, Drew has been a team leader in supporting COVID-19 relief efforts in San Diego.
Drew reached out to the Padres Foundation shortly after Spring Training was canceled in March to ask about assisting front line workers. Ultimately, this led the Padres to work with local charities (Pedal the Cause and Susan G Komen San Diego) in supporting cancer patients and creating ‘Groceries for Good,” an initiative designed to provide and deliver groceries for those unable to shop for themselves due their compromised immune systems or financial struggles. In five months, the initiative has made over 600 deliveries to people most vulnerable during this pandemic. Drew has supported the program financially, and other players and entities have since joined to help with the goal of serving cancer patients in San Diego at least until a vaccine neutralizes the COVID-19 virus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunter and his wife, Lexi, began using their coffee company, Pineapple Labs, to support community groups serving those impacted by the pandemic.
The Pences teamed up with local artists and community leaders to design mugs with their specific blend of coffee. 100 percent of proceeds from these coffee bundles are directed to a nonprofit that supports COVID-19 relief efforts including No Kid Hungry, Southern Smoke and the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund. He has also partnered with Sportified to create giveaways of care packages for frontline workers, send pizzas to frontline staff and more.
After the killing of George Floyd, the Pences began directing proceeds from their coffee bundles to groups in the fight against systemic racism. ‘Not Your Average Drip’ was created in partnership with Graham Reid, a Black graphic artist whose art is influencing the Black Lives Matter movement, with proceeds benefitting City of Dreams in San Francisco. Their newest blend ‘1947’ benefits the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
In 2020, Hunter partnered with Players for the Planet and the Nature Conservancy to support a tree planting initiative on Earth Day.
Dee Gordon created his Flash of Hope program in 2015 to support kids and families affected by domestic violence.
Dee lost his mother to domestic abuse, and her memory helped motivate him to help children who have lost a parent and families dealing with domestic violence.
Flash of Hope has focused its efforts in Seattle by partnering with several domestic violence nonprofits, including the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN). Dee’s personal contributions to the DAWN 2020 Vision fund during the COVID-19 pandemic helped provide lifesaving and hope-giving assistance for survivor families who seek services to escape abusive situations.
During this pandemic, Dee provided meals for families in need in his hometown while supporting a local restaurant struggling to stay open. He also worked to help those on the frontlines and in the community get the protection they need through a collaboration with Uncognito in Seattle to create masks. Every custom mask purchased included a free KN95 protective mask and another donated to healthcare workers.
Dee has also supported Food for the Hungry and the Striking Out Poverty campaign to help meet the most urgent needs in some of the most underserved communities in the world.
Dee is committed to social justice and serves on the Active Player Advisory Board for The Players Alliance.
Adam founded Big League Impact (BLI) in 2013 to meet basic human needs, including providing food, clean water, medical care and shelter to restore dignity and hope to those in need around the globe.
Since then, BLI has constructed Haiti’s Ferrier Village Secondary School, which opened for the 2019-20 school year. Additionally, BLI partnered with Water Mission to build a clean water system that included an access point for clean water to the community, thus reducing the risk of waterborne diseases and providing safe water that is critical to helping combat the spread of COVID-19. BLI also partnered with Help One Now to provide hot lunches and needed supplies for the academic year.
BLI and Food for the Hungry created Striking out Poverty to meet the needs of underserved communities internationally. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BLI is funding the operation, distribution and packing expenses to provide grocery baskets to families in need.
In 2019, Adam and country music star Garth Brooks led their foundations to create the MLB-backed Home Plate Project. The 2020 initiative featured fifty players, and nearly $1 million was raised to provide more than four million meals to those in need in the U.S. and Canada.
When Charlie first heard of the need for hunger relief in the Tampa Bay area due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he immediately made a $50,000 donation to Feeding Tampa Bay, which the club matched.
Teammates, fans and corporate partners were inspired to join the effort, resulting in more than 4.1 million meals purchased for those in need in the Tampa Bay area. Charlie has also made generous contributions to the Home Plate Project, which provides meals to support childhood hunger prevention.
When Charlie was made aware of the need in the Tampa Bay area for a safe environment for children with physical or cognitive challenges to enjoy playing baseball, he provided $50,000 to the Venice Challenger Baseball Program so they could build an accessible baseball field.
Last season, Charlie was crucial to the success of several community initiatives, including Reading with the Rays, reading to 200 children at a local elementary school, as well as Make-A-Wish, Buddy Baseball and the Miracle League.
Charlie has been heavily involved with supporting military personnel, as both of his grandfathers fought in World War II. Throughout his career, Charlie has hosted and met with military veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project at home games.
Shin-Soo has answered the call to support those in his community both locally and across the globe. In 2011, Shin-Soo and his wife, Won Mi Ha, established the CHOO Foundation, through which he has pledged support for the Community Chest of Korea to aid in COVID relief efforts in South Korea, the Korea Disaster Relief, the ChildFund International and other causes.
As a strong supporter of the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, Shin-Soo has made generous donations totaling $750,000. All told, he has made more than $2 million in donations to these causes.
With the pandemic forcing the delayed start and eventual cancellation of the 2020 minor league baseball season, Shin-Soo donated $191,000, $1,000 each to 191 Texas Rangers minor league players.
Shin-Soo’s philanthropic efforts in the U.S. have centered on opportunities for children within the Dallas-Fort Worth community. The past three seasons, he has donated a $5,000 scholarship to six high school juniors attending local Arlington high schools totaling $90,000. He has also hosted baseball camps for the Miracle League of Southlake, Texas.
Shin-Soo is proud of his Korean heritage and has taken part in many initiatives that support the Korean community in North Texas. Notably, he has helped provide scholarships to students of Korean heritage with scholarships.
Danny Jansen has made it his mission to give back to fans and communities from coast to coast.
Danny has met thousands of fans on these tours, and spends time visiting hospitals and schools, signing autographs, and taking pictures along the way.
Danny also has traveled across the country on his own to promote the game of baseball to youth. In January 2019, Danny visited Calgary to help coach young baseball players, allowing him to use his platform to talk baseball and inspire them to be the best they can be.
Danny also visited St. Michael’s Catholic School in Toronto where he talked with the kids about the importance of being a good teammate, working hard and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Danny, along with some of his teammates, has visited Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, which supports children and youth living with a disability, medical complexity, illness and injury.
Danny also has donated athletic apparel to the Jays Care Foundation’s James Bay Girls at Bat program, a life promotion program that helps female indigenous youth develop life skills, peer connections and helps them flourish despite the challenges they face. Participants travel from the most northern remote Indigenous reserves in Ontario to participate in these retreats.
Describing Sean Doolittle is not simple. He does not fit neatly into the expected professional athlete “box.” He is many things – thoughtful, well-read, generous, advocative, diverse, humble, studious, articulate, respectful, accountable, personable, compassionate, determined, tolerant, selfless … on and on the list could go. A man of varied interests (voracious reader, Star Wars aficionado, heavy metal music enthusiast, dog lover), Sean is an everyman that relates to everyone.
Sometimes the everyman is overlooked. Not possible with Sean. His everyman characteristics are what make him unique. His passions push him to help others and keep him from sitting still. He interacts authentically making impressions that last even when an encounter may only be momentary.
At first glance Sean’s efforts on behalf of others may appear varied and without connection. His heart beats strongest for the marginalized of society – veterans discharged with “bad papers,” LGBTQ individuals suffering with lack of acceptance, refugees working for a new life in unfamiliar, novel surroundings and minority communities experiencing discrimination and inequality.
In part, Sean’s family’s ties to the military inspires him to give back to those that serve. Together with his wife, he is active in veteran’s affairs.
