Major League Baseball today announced that Scooter Gennett was named the Cincinnati Reds 2017 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, the most prominent individual player award bestowed by MLB.
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 6^th marks the sixteenth 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.
Gennett is one of the 30 Club nominees for the annual award. In his first season as a Red, Gennett made history on the field with four home runs in one game. However, his performance off the field has equaled his accomplishments inside the lines. Gennett participates in monthly visits to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and meets with guests from Make-A-Wish each homestand. He also participated in Baseball Fantasy Camp for Kids with Miracle League athletes, Reds Day at the Cincinnati Zoo, and Season Ticket Member events. Later this month, he will be spearheading a pediatric cancer awareness initiative with Love Your Melon.
A pregame ceremony recognizing Gennett will be held Wednesday, September 6. He will receive his award and have the honor of presenting the Open Arms Home for Children will a donation of $7,500.
The Roberto Clemente Award winner will be selected among the group of nominees via a blue ribbon panel that includes individuals connected to the game, including Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS) and MLB Advanced Media, as well as Vera Clemente, the late Roberto's wife. Beginning the day after the Regular Season ends, 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 to easily vote by clicking on the respective nominee's name. The winner of the fan voting, which will run from Monday, October 2^nd through Friday, October 6^th, will count as one vote among those cast by the blue ribbon panel. Additional information about fan voting will be shared via MLB.com and MLB social media channels.
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.
The distinguished list of past Roberto Clemente Award winners includes 16 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: