Steve Cishek named nominee for the 2014 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet
MIAMI - Miami Marlins reliever Steve Cishek today was named the Club's 2014 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. The announcement was made by Major League Baseball and Chevrolet. The Marlins will recognize Cishek as the Club's nominee with a pregame ceremony at Marlins Park on Sunday, September 21.
Cishek is one of the 30 Club finalists for the annual Award, which recognizes an MLB player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.
"It is an honor for the Miami Marlins for Steve to be our nominee for this prestigious award," said Alfredo Mesa, Marlins Vice President and Executive Director of Marlins Foundation. "Since making his debut in 2010, he has been an excellent example of what the Roberto Clemente Award signifies, making a difference on and off the field."
Cishek has served as the spokesperson for Bunkers in Baghdad for the past three years. Each year he records a PSA, solicits teammates for golf donations and gives a gift to the organization. Bunkers in Baghdad is a not-for-profit charity that collects and sends new and used golf balls, clubs and equipment to our troops in 30 countries around the world, with a focus on the brave men and women currently serving in combat zones. He also joined players from around MLB in donating $2,500 to the Team Not For Sale campaign to create awareness surrounding human trafficking.
Each Club nominates one player to be considered for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. The Award is an effort to pay tribute to Clemente's achievements and character by recognizing current players who truly understand the value of helping others. Tomorrow marks the 13th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially recognize local Club nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. The 15-time MLB All-Star and Hall of Famer died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
The distinguished list of past national Roberto Clemente Award recipients includes 14 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
1971 | Willie Mays+** | 1982 | Ken Singleton | 1993 | Barry Larkin+ | 2004 | Edgar Martinez |
1972 | Brooks Robinson+** | 1983 | Cecil Cooper | 1994 | Dave Winfield+ | 2005 | John Smoltz |
1973 | Al Kaline+ | 1984 | Ron Guidry | 1995 | Ozzie Smith+ | 2006 | Carlos Delgado |
1974 | Willie Stargell+ | 1985 | Don Baylor | 1996 | Kirby Puckett+ | 2007 | Craig Biggio |
1975 | Lou Brock+ | 1986 | Garry Maddox | 1997 | Eric Davis | 2008 | Albert Pujols |
1976 | Pete Rose | 1987 | Rick Sutcliffe | 1998 | Sammy Sosa | 2009 | Derek Jeter |
1977 | Rod Carew+ | 1988 | Dale Murphy | 1999 | Tony Gwynn+ | 2010 | Tim Wakefield |
1978 | Greg Luzinski | 1989 | Gary Carter+ | 2000 | Al Leiter | 2011 | David Ortiz |
1979 | Andre Thornton | 1990 | Dave Stewart | 2001 | Curt Schilling | 2012 | Clayton Kershaw |
1980 | Phil Niekro+ | 1991 | Harold Reynolds | 2002 | Jim Thome | 2013 | Carlos Beltran |
1981 | Steve Garvey | 1992 | Cal Ripken, Jr.+ | 2003 | Jamie Moyer |
+ Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
** Originally known as the Commissioner's Award (prior to 1973)
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 2014 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 of dignitaries, which includes Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig; MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred; MLB Goodwill Ambassador and wife of Roberto Clemente, Vera Clemente; and representatives from Chevrolet, MLB Network, MLB.com, ESPN, FOX Sports and TBS, among others.
Clubs playing at home on September 17 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.