Major League Baseball today announced that catcher Cameron Rupp was named the Philadelphia Phillies 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 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.
Rupp is one of the 30 club nominees for the annual award and will be honored on Tuesday, September 12 prior to the 7:05 p.m. Phillies-Marlins game at Citizens Bank Park. This will also be the day the Phillies pay tribute to Clemente's legacy.
Rupp's contributions in the community lead off with his work with the Pennsylvania SPCA, including his first annual "Ruppapalooza at the Pier" fundraiser. The sold-out event featured Rupp and his teammates as celebrity bartenders, adoptable dogs, the Phillie Phanatic and a performance by Nashville songwriter Tyler Reeve. He most recently hosted a Big League Impact Fantasy Football Challenge, a Live Draft Party at Citizens Bank Park, giving donors the unique experience to draft and play fantasy football against Rupp and his teammates. Proceeds from the fantasy draft supported Phillies Charities, Inc., the Pennsylvania SPCA and the BLI Global Initiative, which provides clean water and medicine to save lives around the world.
Rupp also supports Phillies Charities, Inc. by donating his time for a private catching clinic in the team's Phantastic Auction. Along with his teammates, Rupp supports the ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter in various ways, such as meeting with ALS patients and taking part in the annual Phillies Phestival. Rupp also volunteered to be the Phillies' spokesperson for FEMA's PrepareAthon campaign to help increase community preparedness in the event of a natural disaster.
"Cameron is a leader both on and off the field," said Phillies Executive Vice President Dave Buck. "His work ethic has carried into his community initiatives and charity endeavors. We are honored to have Cameron as our nominee for the esteemed Roberto Clemente Award."
"I am humbled to be nominated for this award," said Rupp. "It has been so rewarding for me personally to give back to the Philadelphia community, especially when it comes to making a difference for animals in need. Every effort was made in partnership with my teammates and the Phillies organization and I could not be more grateful."
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, Roberto's widow. 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 through Friday, October 6, 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 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:

+ Member of The National Baseball Hall of Fame
* Co-winner
** Originally known as the Commissioner's Award (prior to 1973)