This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
For as much as baseball was a focal point of Nasim Nuñez's childhood, giving back to others was just as prevalent.
Nuñez’s mother brought him to fundraisers and food drives in Atlanta. Once he was drafted, Nuñez held his own baseball clinics.
"That was instilled in me since I was young,” Nuñez, 26, said. “We would make giving back fun. It was cool to be a good person and to give back.”
In his third Major League season, Nuñez was named the Nationals nominee for the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award. The league-wide honor recognizes “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.”
Nuñez, who participated in MLB youth development programs including the Breakthrough Series and Hank Aaron Invitational, now pays it forward to scholar athletes at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. Nuñez has participated in the Academy’s summer program, annual holiday gift drive and graduation ceremony. He also joined scholar athletes at Nationals Park for the Nationals' Negro Leagues Night. This year, Nuñez got involved with the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletics Association (DCIAA) and has spent time with groups of baseball and softball players.
Nuñez, who participated in MLB youth development programs including the Breakthrough Series and Hank Aaron Invitational, now pays it forward to scholar athletes at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy. Nuñez has participated in the Academy’s summer program, annual holiday gift drive and graduation ceremony. He also joined scholar athletes at Nationals Park for the Nationals' Negro Leagues Night. This year, Nuñez got involved with the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletics Association (DCIAA) and has spent time with groups of baseball and softball players.
“A lot of my family and friends are super proud of me,” Nuñez said. “I always wanted MVP Awards, best player, awards like that. When you're younger, those are the awards that stand out to you the most.
“But now that I’ve got the Roberto Clemente Award nomination and I'm seeing the impact that it's leaving, it's changing my perspective. My cousin who just passed away always told me, ‘In life, you’ve got to have morals.’ So it’s pretty dope that just being me can be pretty impactful.”
Nuñez recently lost his cousin, Bubba, who was his very close friend. As Nuñez spoke about the Roberto Clemente Award nomination, he fondly recalled a conversation they had that left a lasting impression.
“We were just talking about life,” Nuñez said. “He said he's seen a lot of people without morals in this world, and it's really wack. … He was always like, ‘Continue to have morals. You're a good dude, and continue to be a good dude, no matter how much money, how much fame, the people you get to know.’ He was always like, ‘Keep the morals. Keep the morals.’”
Nuñez believes his cousin would have been proud of him for the nomination.
“He always knew the type of character I had and the person I was, so he would have been like, ‘Keep being it,’” Nuñez said.
On Tuesday, Nuñez was presented with a recognition plaque by manager Blake Butera in a pregame ceremony. Nuñez is one of 14 first-year nominees this season.
“He’s always got a smile on his face,” said Butera. “He's playing a game that he loves to play. I think he appreciates the opportunity he has to play this game. He's a great teammate -- he wants to do well for his teammates, for the fans. He plays hard every single day. I think he exemplifies a lot of things that make him a great person, a great teammate, a great representative for this award.”