Major League Baseball today announced that Carlos Carrasco was named the Cleveland Indians 2018 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, Sept. 5 marks the seventeenth 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.

Carrasco is one of the 30 Club nominees for the annual award. Over the past four Major League Baseball seasons, he has committed himself to impacting the lives of at-risk children across the globe. In the past year, he has created two charitable foundations - the Carlos Carrasco Children's Foundation in the U.S., and Fundacion Carlos Carrasco in Venezuela. He has made time to participate in baseball clinics and donate baseball supplies for low-income kids in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, India and Tampa Bay. Additionally, he provided funds and supplies to communities in Puerto Rico when they were struck by Hurricane Maria. For the past four seasons, Carlos has continued to help the United Way's Stuff the Bus with Books, which has been able to generate donations of thousands of gently used or new books to be donated to children in the Cleveland community. You can read more about Carrasco's philanthropy in the attached PDF.

"This award means a lot because everyone knows who Roberto Clemente was and what he did to give back," said Carrasco. "I strive to give back the same way he did, helping the community and local kids."

Carlos will be recognized for his nomination during a pregame ceremony on the field on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

"Carlos consistently seeks opportunities to give back to the Cleveland community, especially children and their development," said Cleveland Indians Executive Director of Community Outreach, Rebecca Kodysh. "For the past several years, he has worked to raise awareness of the importance of parents - fathers in particular - to read to their young children to promote literacy and reading development. Additionally, he has supported the Cleveland Food Bank, delivered medical supplies to his home country of Venezuela, and is looking for ways to help promote the game of baseball. We are so proud of Carlos for all that he does to help others. He truly embodies what it means to be a Roberto Clemente Award nominee."

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, who will be announced during the 2018 World Series, will be selected among the group of nominees via a blue ribbon panel that includes individuals connected to the game. The blue ribbon panel includes Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS) and MLB.com, as well as Vera Clemente (the late Roberto's wife & MLB Goodwill Ambassador). Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, 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 from Roberto Clemente Day on Wednesday, Sept. 5, until Tuesday, Sept. 18. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue ribbon panel. Fans are encouraged to vote by visiting the following link: mlb.com/clemente21.

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 17 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)