DENVER -- During his rookie season in 2017, Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland marveled at the effort and effectiveness teammate Ian Desmond displayed in his community service work. Desmond responded by inspiring and challenging Freeland to live up to that example.

Freeland believes his nomination for the 2022 Roberto Clemente Award, the first of his career, grew out of the standard set by Desmond, who was the Rockies’ nominee the past five years -- even though Desmond didn’t play in 2020 and '21.

Every team has nominated a player for the Roberto Clemente Award, which goes to the player who represents baseball via extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Freeland, a Denver native, and his wife, Ashley, have long been dedicated to donating, raising funds and giving as much in-person effort as possible to Special Olympics Colorado.

Fan voting is part of determining the MLB overall award recipient, and fans can vote for Freeland here.

The nomination belongs to the Freelands, but they said the inspiration of Desmond and his wife, Chelsea, solidified their own drive. Desmond, now retired, continues to be active in the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s End NF campaign, and he has taken on full-time work of reviving baseball in his hometown of Sarasota, Fla., as co-founder of Newtown Connection.

“Those were two people who were incredible at reaching back to their community, and we’re very close with Ian, Chelsea and their family,” Freeland said. “They’re great people to follow in their footsteps.”

The Freelands were key figures this year, as the Colorado Rockies Foundation made Special Olympics Colorado the primary beneficiary of Rockies Charity Night during the July 30 game against the Dodgers.

“Charity Night was really neat, just because it benefited the Special Olympics, so it was really special,” Ashley said. “We had some athletes here, we had their CEO, Megan Scremin, who's amazing. So I would say Charity Night probably was the most fun we've had.”

They also surprised some children during their event at Jason Jennings Park (an adaptive field named after a former Rockies pitcher), as Freeland and fellow Rockies pitcher Lucas Gilbreath with his wife, Kelsey, taught baseball during a clinic.

The Special Olympics effort continues, even when Freeland isn’t in Denver. The Rockies will finish their season with a six-game series at Dodger Stadium, and Freeland currently has a raffle for two batting practice passes on Sept. 30 or tickets to the Oct. 1 game. Drawing will be on Sept. 29. This is also the second straight year Freeland is raffling off the multi-colored gloves he uses while playing catch before games, plus other items. For more information on those events, follow @KFREE_21 on Twitter and @Freeballin21 on Instagram.

“Hopefully, we can continue growing the platform that we have for Special Olympics and the community, and hopefully continue to get this nomination,” said Freeland, who celebrated Roberto Clemente Day by removing the nameplate from his jersey, which already bears Clemente’s No. 21. “There’s a lot of pride, and it’s very humbling to be mentioned alongside Roberto Clemente.”