Logan Morrison named Marlins nominee for the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet

Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, today announced that Logan Morrison was named the Marlins' 2012 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Today marks the eleventh 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. Cuddyer 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 Award is named for 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.

Logan Morrison gives his time to support the Marlins Foundation (MF) with fundraising efforts as well as fulfilling the mission of the Club and Foundation.  The mission of the Marlins Foundation is to promote educational, athletic, health, social and community service programs with a particular focus on South Florida.  Since Logan’s MLB debut with the Club in 2010, he has played in the annual Marlins Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament, attended The Annual Awards Dinner, The Fish ‘N Chips Casino Party, as well as the Marlins Fantasy Auction.  Logan also actively participates in the Club’s annual Caravan week, spending time at local events throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.  He participated in events during Caravan for the Community this past February, which raised $100,000 for the Marlins Foundation. Logan also raises money for the American Lung Association and to date he has raised over $300,000. These funds were generated primarily thorough the Lomo’s Camp for a Cure, which is a two-day baseball camp he hosts prior to Spring Training, as well as a texting campaign he promotes via twitter.

He participates in Marlins@School Week where he visits a classroom every year. This year he took part in a Family Feud event at Miami Central High School as part of his visit. Logan is a tremendous supporter of Military Mondays/Soldier for a Day and invites the honored service men and women to meet and greet activities pregame, even catching a first pitch occasionally. Logan is very active in not only raising money for cancer awareness but also participates in the MLB Honorary Bat Girl program, hosting the winner during batting practice and introducing the honoree to other Marlins players, culminating in catching the first pitch. He is also a team representative for the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Keep Dad in the Game Home Run Challenge.  LoMo’s MVP’s is a program that he started in partnership with a young boy (Connor Goodman) who unexpectedly lost his father to a heart attack. After spending time with Logan, Connor suggested to him that they start a program for kids who have lost a parent, and Logan thought it was a great idea.  Once per month, he invites a family out that has recently lost a parent and Logan spends time with them prior to the game.  Logan will spend time with the kids playing catch, talking about some of the difficulties of losing a parent, and spending quality time together. The families then share dinner with Connor and his mom, Debbie.

In another attempt to help the youth of South Florida deal with difficult challenges, Logan led the charge in the clubhouse to participate in the Bald, Brave, Beautiful Project. While hosting children from the Miami Children’s Hospital Cancer Center, Logan invited his teammates, front office, and fans to come out to Marlins Park and shave their heads in support of these young children who are going through chemotherapy.  Over 70 staff and players shaved their heads, while an additional 150 fans joined the effort.

     “I want to thank the Marlins for nominating me for such a prestigious award.  Although the efforts are still ongoing, we feel that we have made great strides in the fight against lung cancer.  None of the strides could have been possible without the help and support of my teammates and my family,” said Logan Morrison. “I want to give a special thank you to my mom, Diane Morrison, who is my strength when I am weak.  Last but not least to the man who I feel is always in the stands watching, Tom Morrison, my father.  Thank you for always pushing me, teaching me to always want more for myself, teaching me how to achieve my goals, and teaching me the golden rule.  I love you and rest in peace.”

The distinguished list of national Roberto Clemente Award recipients includes 13 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

*Member of Baseball Hall of Fame

Beginning today, fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the award recipient by visiting MLB.com/ClementeAward to vote for one of the 30 Club nominees. Fans will be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to the 2012 World Series, where the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet will be announced. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 14^th, and the winner of the fan poll will receive one vote among those cast by a selection panel.

All Clubs playing at home today will recognize their local nominees as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies, while each visiting Club 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.