Major League Baseball today announced that Paul Goldschmidt was named the Arizona Diamondbacks 2018 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, the most prominent individual player award bestowed by MLB. u5:p

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<w:wrap type="square">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^th marks the 17^th 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.

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Goldschmidt is one of the 30 Club nominees for the annual award. He continues to be an MVP-worthy candidate on the field but more importantly for his commitment to the Arizona community off the field. Goldschmidt and his wife, Amy, spend countless hours volunteering at Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH) interacting and visiting with kids and their families; a genuine passion they both share. Goldschmidt launched Goldy's Fund 4 Kids, in partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, to help families at Phoenix Children's Hospital. This past offseason, Paul and Amy hosted the second annual Goldy's Bowling Bash to raise money for PCH and the event was well-attended by professional athletes and local celebrities. The Goldschmidts were named honorary chairs for the Hope Lives Here capital campaign to raise funds for the building of the new Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at PCH and in addition to their personal $1-million gift, Paul and Amy have raised more than $1 million dollars. In addition to his work with Phoenix Children's Hospital, Paul has chaired events including Chrysalis, a non-profit domestic violence shelter, and assisted Soldier's Best Friend, a local non-profit that pairs veterans with adopted animals and then certifies them as a service animal. After graduating from University of Phoenix in 2013, Goldschmidt provides full-tuition scholarships for students wanting to continue their education at University of Phoenix. Paul and Amy personally select the finalists to receive the award and present the scholarships at a D-backs game.

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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^th, until Tuesday, September 18th. 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: 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.

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The 30 Club nominees of the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award are listed below:
 
Arizona Diamondbacks - Paul Goldschmidt*
Atlanta Braves - Kurt Suzuki
Baltimore Orioles - Chris Davis
Boston Red Sox - Brock Holt
Chicago Cubs - Jon Lester*
Chicago White Sox - José Abreu*
Cincinnati Reds - Tucker Barnhart
Cleveland Indians - Carlos Carrasco
Colorado Rockies - Ian Desmond
Detroit Tigers - Michael Fulmer
Houston Astros - Charlie Morton*
Kansas City Royals - Danny Duff
Los Angeles Angels - Andrew Heaney
Los Angeles Dodgers - Justin Turner
Miami Marlins - Martín Prado
Milwaukee Brewers - Corey Knebel
Minnesota Twins - Joe Mauer
New York Mets - Steven Matz
New York Yankees - CC Sabathia
Oakland Athletics - Chad Pinder
Philadelphia Phillies - Rhys Hoskins
Pittsburgh Pirates - Jameson Taillon
St. Louis Cardinals - Yadier Molina*
San Diego Padres - Clayton Richard
San Francisco Giants - Buster Posey*
Seattle Mariners - Nelson Cruz*
Tampa Bay Rays - Mallex Smith
Texas Rangers - Cole Hamels
Toronto Blue Jays - Kevin Pillar
Washington Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman

*MLB All-Star
More information can be found at MLB.com/clemente21.

The distinguished list of past Roberto Clemente Award winners includes 17 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

1971 - Willie Mays+
1972 - Brooks Robinson+
1973 - Al Kaline+
1974 - Willie Stargell+
1975 - Lou Brock+
1976 - Pete Rose
1977 - Rod Carew+
1978 - Greg Luzinski
1979 - Andre Thornton
1980 - Phil Niekro+
1981 - Steve Garvey
1982 - Ken Singleton
1983 - Cecil Cooper
1984 - Ron Guidry
1985 - Don Baylor
1986 - Garry Maddox
1987 - Rick Sutcliffe
1988 - Dale Murphy
1989 - Gary Carter+
1990 - Dave Stewart
1991 - Harold Reynolds
1992 - Cal Ripken, Jr.+
1993 - Barry Larkin+
1994 - Dave Winfield+
1995 - Ozzie Smith+
1996 - Kirby Puckett+
1997 - Eric Davis
1998 - Sammy Sosa
1999 - Tony Gwynn+
2000 - Al Leiter
2001 - Curt Schilling
2002 - Jim Thome+
2003 - Jamie Moyer
2004 - Edgar Martinez
2005 - John Smoltz+
2006 - Carlos Delgado
2007 - Craig Biggio+
2008 - Albert Pujols
2009 - Derek Jeter
2010 - Tim Wakefield
2011 - David Ortiz
2012 - Clayton Kershaw
2013 - Carlos Beltrán
2014 - Paul Konerko *
2015 - Andrew McCutchen
2014 - Jimmy Rollins *
2016 - Curtis Granderson
2017 - Anthony Rizzo

• Member of The National Baseball Hall of Fame
  

• Co-winner
  
• • Originally known as the Commissioner's Award (prior to 1973)

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