Major League Baseball today announced that Marco Gonzales is the Seattle Mariners 2023 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers. 

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.

Friday, September 15, marks the 22^nd Annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian.

In his seven seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Gonzales has not only become a leader on the field and in the clubhouse, but he has become a leader off the field.  He has demonstrated a year-round commitment to help make a positive impact in the Pacific Northwest community. 

Gonzales, and his wife Monica, have led efforts to raise awareness and funds to support research and find a cure for Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) - a rare, degenerative neurological disorder that impacted their family in 2016. For example, they teamed up with a local Seattle restaurant to create a signature “Mr. & Mrs. Bulldog” breakfast sandwich to benefit Defeat MSA Alliance and the MSA Coalition. 

Last year, they launched their limited-edition Grace G7 Red Blend wine with proceeds benefiting Defeat MSA.  As part of the launch, the couple hosted a wine release celebration and silent auction to raise additional awareness and funds for MSA research. Their efforts helped raise $44,300.

2023 was the second year Gonzales teamed up with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) to serve as a spokesperson for the Refuse To Abuse campaign.  The campaign includes print, video, and radio public service advertisements to help prevent domestic violence and promote healthy, respectful relationships.  He also supported the annual Refuse To Abuse 5K that raises funds and celebrates the resilience of survivors and the power of community.  The 2023 Refuse To Abuse 5K held at T-Mobile Park raised $85,365.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gonzales helped support several relief efforts, including a special Pop-Up Blood Drive at T-Mobile Park with Bloodworks Northwest designed to help meet the blood needs of the local community.  He also launched the Gonzales Family Peanut Butter Drive, a virtual campaign to benefit Northwest Harvest. The campaign raised over $100,000 to help provide over 1,000,000 nutritious meals for kids in Washington State.  The Gonzales also delivered meals including their “Mr. & Mrs. Bulldog” sandwiches to first responders from the Seattle Fire Department.

In 2019, Gonzales joined MLB players across the league to help ensure kids in their communities had enough nutritious food to eat through the Home Plate Project, a partnership between Major League Baseball, Teammates for Kids Foundation and Big League Impact.  In addition to presenting checks totaling $30,000 to the Hunger Intervention Program and Northwest Harvest, Gonzales helped serve lunch and provided Mariners backpacks to kids in the Seattle area.  The program helped provide over 2,500 meals for kids that summer.

Not only has Gonzales been active in the community during the season, but he has been active in the off-season months as well. He has participated in the Seattle Mariners Caravan and Community Tours since 2018, delivering positive messages to kids at elementary schools, hospitals, Boys & Girls Clubs, and community centers. Gonzales has also teamed up with Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs to support Toys for Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides gifts and support to homeless and disadvantaged children and families throughout the year.  Gonzales and his wife have supported Toys for Kids auctions and helped distribute gifts to kids during the holiday season.

Other charities Gonzales has been involved with over the years include the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Seattle Children’s, Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital, Kadlec Medical Center, Little League Challenger Division, and Mariners Care.

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

Over the years, three Mariners players have received the Clemente Award: Harold Reynolds in 1991; Jamie Moyer in 2003; Edgar Martinez in 2004.