Bronson Arroyo Named Reds Nominee for The 2013 Roberto Clemente Award Presented by Chevrolet
Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, Fans Can Vote on ChevyBaseball.com for the National Recipient and Register for a Chance to Win a Trip to the 2013 World Series
Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, today announced that Bronson Arroyo was named the Cincinnati Reds 2013 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet.
Tomorrow marks the 12th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially recognize local Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet.
Bronson Arroyo is one of the 30 Club finalists for the annual award, which recognizes a Major League Baseball player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.
The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet pays tribute to Clemente's achievements and character by recognizing current players who truly understand the value of helping others. The 15-time MLB All-Star and Hall of Famer who died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Over the past eight seasons, Bronson has supported the Reds Community Fund through various events and programs as well as charitable giving. At Redsfest, he is available to fans for autographs and photographs, performs a live concert and participates in the charity poker tournament. He has also donated autographed copies of his CD, Covering the Bases, to raise money for the Reds Community Fund. In addition to his support of the RCF, Bronson is heavily involved in supporting the military. He has hosted charity concerts and participated in fundraising events for Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit organization that provides homes at no cost to injured or disabled servicemen and servicewomen and their immediate families. Bronson is also involved with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation by contributing to and supporting various fundraising events.
Bronson has won the club's Joe Nuxhall Good Guy Award four times (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012) as a result of his positive contribution to the Reds and the game of baseball.
The Reds will celebrate Roberto Clemente Day on Friday, Sept. 27 with a pregame ceremony recognizing Bronson. As the Club's nominee, a donation will be made to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in Arroyo's honor.
The distinguished list of past national Roberto Clemente Award recipients includes 14 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
+ Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
** Originally known as the Commissioner's Award (prior to 1973)
Beginning tomorrow on Roberto Clemente Day, fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the national Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet recipient by visiting ChevyBaseball.com, which is powered by MLB Advanced Media, to vote for one of the 30 Club nominees. Voting ends on Sunday, October 6th and participating fans will be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to the 2013 World Series, where the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet will be announced. The winner of the fan vote will receive one vote among those cast by the selection panel.
Clubs playing at home on September 17th will recognize their local nominees as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies, while visiting Clubs will honor their nominees before another September home game. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and the official dugout lineup cards.