Major League Baseball announced that Mike Trout was named the Angels 2023 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers.
The Roberto Clemente Award 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. Trout is one of the 30 Club nominees for the annual award. During his tenure, Trout has gone above and beyond in his commitment to baseball fans both on and off the field.
Over the years, Trout has participated in scores of charitable events including granting numerous wishes each season through Make-A-Wish. Most recently, he helped a seven-year old boy, Eli Velasquez’ dream come true in partnership with ESPN and Make-A-Wish, spending time with him pregame during batting practice and in the batting cage, and watching postgame fireworks from the field. The video of Eli’s visit is available here.
Trout has recorded countless video messages encouraging 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren around the country as they battle illnesses and setbacks. He personalizes these messages so that each encounter is a special memory meant specifically for that person. Every day, he makes time to be of service to people in need or to share special moments with young fans.
Recently, Trout and his wife Jessica have been involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) as benefactors for the organization to raise awareness for suicide prevention. These efforts are very personal for the Trouts after losing Jessica’s brother, Aaron Cox, to suicide in 2018. The stigma surrounding mental health makes it hard for people to speak up, and the Trouts, together with AFSP, believe that open conversations can save lives. This year, Trout is serving as a Mental Wellness Ambassador as part of Major League Baseball’s MLB Together platform. MLB Together emphasizes efforts to make important societal contributions through the power of partnership and community.
The couple has also been working with Tiny Turnip, an apparel company, to lead the “Your Game Isn’t Over Yet;” initiative. The design consists of a baseball and glove in the shape of the semicolon “;” the symbol for suicide prevention. Just as the semicolon represents when an author could have ended a sentence but decided to continue the sentence instead, Trout’s suicide prevention campaign seeks to empower those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts or behaviors to know that “Your Game Isn’t Over Yet;” and stitches on the baseball’s design are words of encouragement. A new design unveiled this year features a “home plate” filled with names of those who are “missing” from our lives due to suicide. This plate stands as a reminder that support is all around, and help is available for anyone struggling. All proceeds benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
For his Roberto Clemente Award nomination, Trout has chosen JR98 to be the recipient MLB Charities’ donation. JR98 was founded by Toni, Anthony and Carlos Ramirez after Tampa Bay Rays bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez died by suicide in 2022. The organization focuses on mental health and suicide prevention through education and community service.
The Angels will honor Trout and Roberto Clemente Day during a pregame celebration on Friday, September 15th when they play the Detroit Tigers.
Friday, September 15th marks the 22nd 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 customized tribute video to Roberto 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 honored at the 2023 World Series following selection by a blue-ribbon panel. This panel includes representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 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 MLBTogether.com/clemente21 (in both English and Spanish). The site, which will feature bios of each of the nominees, will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sunday, October 1st. 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 tribute to Clemente following his passing.
