David Price named Rays nominee for the 2013 Roberto Clemente Award Presented by Chevrolet

Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, today announced that David Price was named the Tampa Bay Rays 2013 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Tomorrow, September 17, 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. Price 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.

"It's important for our organization to have players who consider their off-field accomplishments as important as their on-field accomplishments, said Rays Senior Vice President Mark Fernandez. "David Price embodies that philosophy and his charitable work has inspired his teammates and others in the community."

In 2008, Price started his own charitable foundation, Project One Four to support programs and organizations that provide opportunities for youth to learn life skills in a safe and supportive environment. Project One Four supports programs and charities in the local Tampa Bay area as well as in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.  

In 2010, Price helped create the Rays Dugout Club and has since recruited several other players to expand the program which is focused on children attending local summer recreation centers. He sponsors two recreation centers in South St. Petersburg each summer and serves as a role model, teaching the kids about staying healthy, positive, involved and smart.

For the past two springs, he has hosted a bowling event to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. Through his twitter account, David was able to recruit bowlers and he personally met with all of the bowlers at the tournament which raised $27,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters.  

David partnered with the Ted Williams Museum in 2012 and 2013 to host "An Evening with David Price" at Tropicana Field. The event is attended by approximately 400 people and as a result more than $40,000 was raised for the City of Largo's Youth Sports Participation Scholar Fund, Burg Baseball, a youth baseball program in St. Petersburg and the Miracle League of St. Petersburg both years.

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 today, fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the national award recipient by visiting ChevyBaseball.com 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.