The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media. It is named for Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente. Originally known as the Commissioner's Award, it has been presented by the MLB since 1971. In 1973, the award was renamed after Clemente following his death in a plane crash while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.[1] Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects 1 player from 30 nominees, one from each club. Teams choose their nominee during the regular season, and the winner is announced at the World Series.[1] The player who receives the most votes online via MLB's official website, MLB.com, gets one vote in addition to the votes cast by the panel.[1] Since 2007, the Roberto Clemente Award has been presented by Chevy. Chevy donates money and a Chevy vehicle to the national winner's charity of choice and additional money is donated by Chevy to the Roberto Clemente Sports City, a non-profit organization in Carolina, Puerto Rico, designed to provide recreational sports activities for children. Additionally, Chevy donates money to the charity of choice of each of the 30 Club recipients.[1] The first winner of the award was Willie Mays, and the most recent winner was Derek Jeter. None of the winners have received the award more than once, so far. The first pitcher to win the award was Phil Niekro in 1980, and the first catcher to win the award was Gary Carter in 1989.[1] [edit] Award winners | Year | Player | Team | League | Position | | 1971 | Mays, WillieWillie Mays | San Francisco Giants | National | OF | | 1972 | Robinson, BrooksBrooks Robinson | Baltimore Orioles | American | 3B | | 1973 | Kaline, AlAl Kaline | Detroit Tigers | American | OF | | 1974 | Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell | Pittsburgh Pirates | National | OF | | 1975 | Brock, LouLou Brock | St. Louis Cardinals | National | OF | | 1976 | Rose, PetePete Rose | Cincinnati Reds | National | 3B | | 1977 | Carew, RodRod Carew | Minnesota Twins | American | 1B | | 1978 | Luzinski, GregGreg Luzinski | Philadelphia Phillies | National | OF | | 1979 | Thornton, AndreAndre Thornton | Cleveland Indians | American | 1B | | 1980 | Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro | Atlanta Braves | National | P | | 1981 | Garvey, SteveSteve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers | National | 1B | | 1982 | Singleton, KenKen Singleton | Baltimore Orioles | American | DH | | 1983 | Cooper, CecilCecil Cooper | Milwaukee Brewers | American | 1B | | 1984 | Guidry, RonRon Guidry | New York Yankees | American | P | | 1985 | Baylor, DonDon Baylor | New York Yankees | American | DH | | 1986 | Maddox, GarryGarry Maddox | Philadelphia Phillies | National | OF | | 1987 | Sutcliffe, RickRick Sutcliffe | Chicago Cubs | National | P | | 1988 | Murphy, DaleDale Murphy | Atlanta Braves | National | OF | | 1989 | Carter, GaryGary Carter | New York Mets | National | C | | 1990 | Stewart, DaveDave Stewart | Oakland Athletics | American | P | | 1991 | Reynolds, HaroldHarold Reynolds | Seattle Mariners | American | 2B | | 1992 | Ripken Jr., CalCal Ripken Jr. | Baltimore Orioles | American | SS | | 1993 | Larkin, BarryBarry Larkin | Cincinnati Reds | National | SS | | 1994 | Winfield, DaveDave Winfield | Minnesota Twins | American | DH | | 1995 | Smith, OzzieOzzie Smith | St. Louis Cardinals | National | SS | | 1996 | Puckett, KirbyKirby Puckett | Minnesota Twins | American | OF | | 1997 | Davis, EricEric Davis | Baltimore Orioles | American | OF | | 1998 | Sosa, SammySammy Sosa | Chicago Cubs | National | OF | | 1999 | Gwynn, TonyTony Gwynn | San Diego Padres | National | OF | | 2000 | Leiter, AlAl Leiter | New York Mets | National | P | | 2001 | Schilling, CurtCurt Schilling | Arizona Diamondbacks | National | P | | 2002 | Thome, JimJim Thome | Cleveland Indians | American | 1B | | 2003 | Moyer, JamieJamie Moyer | Seattle Mariners | American | P | | 2004 | Martínez, EdgarEdgar Martínez | Seattle Mariners | American | DH | | 2005 | Smoltz, JohnJohn Smoltz | Atlanta Braves | National | P | | 2006 | Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado | New York Mets | National | 1B | | 2007 | Biggio, CraigCraig Biggio | Houston Astros | National | 2B | | 2008 | Pujols, AlbertAlbert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | National | 1B | | 2009 | Jeter, DerekDerek Jeter | New York Yankees | American | SS | [edit] See also [edit] References - General
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