This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here*. And* subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO – Davis Martin received the White Sox nomination for the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award and did what he almost always does in regard to individual accomplishments – shifted the praise to someone else.
The White Sox right-hander credited Megan Biasotti, the White Sox director of community and player relations, for setting up Martin with the opportunity to give back. But most of all he pointed to his wife, Jenna, for sharing in this culture of giving.
“It should go to my wife more than me,” Davis told me during a recent interview. “It’s a huge honor and we are really excited.”
“Anyone who has met Davis realizes that’s not surprising at all he’s giving the credit to someone else,” Jenna told me in a separate interview. “The whole idea of being married to someone is you make them better. So, it’s like I make him better just as much as he makes me better.”
As Jenna explained, it’s Davis’ success as part of the White Sox starting rotation giving their family the avenue to impact others. Martin, at 29, is the longest tenured White Sox player at the Major League level, with his tenure dating back to 14 games and nine starts for the ’22 squad.
Martin is scheduled to make his career-best 28th appearance and career-best 27th start on Sunday against the Tigers, with every game, every inning meaning so much for the White Sox push toward an American League Central title. But this Clemente Award nomination means as much to Martin as six scoreless innings.
Going into the ’26 season, the Martins decided they wanted to find ways to better serve the Chicago community. They prayed about it, relying on their strong faith, thought about it and opportunities started to arrive.
“We just wanted to help the city of Chicago and do anything we can. They opened up their arms to us, being the longest tenured player, which is crazy to think about it,” Davis said. “You are in such a survival mode the first few years of your career. You feel like you can take an actual breath and it’s time to go out and help and do everything you can.”
“At the end of the day, [baseball] is a game,” Jenna said. “He takes it so seriously obviously. He wants to do well. He wants to do well for his team. He’s a competitor, but in the grand scheme of life, it’s going to be over, and people will forget about how well he pitched one night or whatever … It also gives him the platform to go and make other lives a little bit better, so it’s really cool.”
When Jenna asked Davis what his ideal charitable focus would be, even in his first year with the team, he responded, “Kids. Kids and sports. I’m going to hang out with them.” So, it’s of no surprise that one of Martin’s greatest commitments is to the White Sox exceptional Amateur City Elite youth baseball program.
Beyond making a personal financial contribution to support the program, Martin has become a trusted mentor, building relationships with student-athletes while offering guidance to players and coaches. Some of these ACE players designed Martin’s cleats for Players Weekend, and he has developed friendships with some of these young players.
“He’s like, ‘I just remember growing up in a small town in West Texas and just being in a group where not everyone fully believes they would be able to reach their dreams,’” Jenna said. “For him to be able to be like, 'It does not matter where you are from, you should have a chance and you have to believe in yourself,' he loves that. That’s his element.”
“To be able to help out an organization actively trying to get guys who are underprivileged and don’t have all the best opportunities, now they have a platform to go out and play and show how good they are,” said Davis of his ACE connection. “It seems like something where everyone deserves an opportunity to go out there and play.”
Jenna and Doak, the Martins' young, energetic son, now have hit 26 of the 30 Major League stadiums. That sort of opportunity arises when your husband/father plays for the White Sox.
Their idea of giving back, whether it’s with ACE or simply by visiting Senior Suites in nearby Bridgeport and then taking some of the residents to a White Sox game, is an altruistic by-product of their desire to serve. It also helped Martin earn this prestigious honor.
“For both of us, it’s just so important be a good human. And to love other people and to pour into other people,” Jenna said. “Beyond anything he could do on the field, it’s more important to me for him to not just be recognized for it, but kind of show he’s going in the right direction and he’s doing the right things for the platform he has.”