Major League Baseball today announced that Craig Stammen was named the San Diego Padres' 2022 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, baseball's most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers.

The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

As part of the annual program, each MLB Club nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide Award in tribute to Clemente's achievements and character.

Stammen has volunteered countless hours toward a multitude of military and community organizations over the years. His philanthropic efforts started in 2009 when he began raising money for athletic field improvements in his hometown of North Star, Ohio. Since then, he has created a scholarship fund which provides $10K annually to college-bound student athletes.

In 2012, Stammen took his first trip to Afghanistan to visit military personnel. After joining the Padres in 2017, he has continued his support for military personnel and their families, including hosting a clinic for the United Heroes League at Petco Park, which provides a free day of baseball instruction (and tickets to the Padres game) to children from military families.

In 2019, Stammen and the Padres unveiled the Padres Community Room at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Veterans Village of San Diego. The center allows veterans the opportunity to attend activities such as movie nights, counseling sessions, and classes designed to strengthen family and spousal relationships.

Aside from serving as an advocate for the military, the veteran reliever has played a significant role in helping those at the Monarch School, an academic institution for unhoused students in the San Diego area. Beginning in 2018, his efforts with the school have spanned fund raising events to holiday gift distributions.

Stammen's initiatives assisting the unhoused of San Diego also extend to the community around Petco Park. In partnership with San Diego Rescue Mission, every Tuesday home game Stammen and the Padres' team chapel group meet to distribute food and hygiene kits to those around the ballpark.

Additionally, Stammen participates in Rady Children's Hospital Celebration of Champions, an event where the heroic efforts of children fighting cancer, their families and health care professionals are celebrated.

Stammen's recognition as the Padres' 2022 Roberto Clemente Award nominee follows honors as the 2020 Bob Feller Act of Valor recipient, for recognition of his extensive military outreach throughout his 10-year Major League career.

Thursday, September 15th marks the 21st annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge 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. Additionally, a customized tribute video to both Roberto and his wife Vera – Momentito (in English and Spanish) – will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, Club sites and MLB Social Media Platforms.

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be selected via a blue ribbon panel, including Commissioner Manfred, representatives from Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, as well as Roberto's children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One via mlb.com/clemente21 (English) and LasMayores.com/clemente21 (Spanish). The site will feature bios of each of the nominees and will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Wednesday, October 5th. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.

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.