Some awards extend past baseball.

On Monday, the league announced its 30 candidates for the annual Roberto Clemente Award, given to a player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” This year, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> nominated José Berríos as their representative.
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Clemente and four others tragically passed away on New Year’s Eve, 1972, off the shores of Puerto Rico.  On top of being one of the best baseball players of all time, Clemente’s lasting legacy is that of a charitable man. Shortly after his passing, Clemente was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Berríos, who, like Clemente, hails from Puerto Rico, has been active in the community since turning professional. After being traded to the Jays in 2021, Berríos founded La Makina Foundation in 2022, followed by El Dream in Toronto in 2023. The 31-year-old starting pitcher does a lot of great work in the community, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/community/roberto-clemente-award/blue-jays">and you can read his bio for the award here</a>.
The Blue Jays are one of just six teams that have never had a representative win the award. Last season, Chris Bassitt was the team’s representative thanks to his “Bassitts Pitch In”, where he donates $10,000 for every game the Jays win when he starts. The year before that, <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/vladimir-guerrero-jr-named-blue-jays-representative-for-2023-roberto-clemente-award">Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was nominated for the award</a>, preceded by Bo Bichette in 2021 and 2022.
Last season, the Roberto Clemente Award was won by Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez. Another candidate for the award this season is Canadian Bo Naylor, catcher for the Cleveland Guardians. No matter who wins the Roberto Clemente Award in 2025, all 30 nominees have done great work in their communities, and all 30 of them all well deserving of the award.
The award is voted on by fans, with the winner being announced on September 28th.
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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.
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Some awards extend past baseball.



On Monday, the league announced its 30 candidates for the annual Roberto Clemente Award, given to a player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” This year, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> nominated José Berríos as their representative.
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Clemente and four others tragically passed away on New Year’s Eve, 1972, off the shores of Puerto Rico.  On top of being one of the best baseball players of all time, Clemente’s lasting legacy is that of a charitable man. Shortly after his passing, Clemente was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Berríos, who, like Clemente, hails from Puerto Rico, has been active in the community since turning professional. After being traded to the Jays in 2021, Berríos founded La Makina Foundation in 2022, followed by El Dream in Toronto in 2023. The 31-year-old starting pitcher does a lot of great work in the community, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/community/roberto-clemente-award/blue-jays">and you can read his bio for the award here</a>.

The Blue Jays are one of just six teams that have never had a representative win the award. Last season, Chris Bassitt was the team’s representative thanks to his “Bassitts Pitch In”, where he donates $10,000 for every game the Jays win when he starts. The year before that, <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/vladimir-guerrero-jr-named-blue-jays-representative-for-2023-roberto-clemente-award">Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was nominated for the award</a>, preceded by Bo Bichette in 2021 and 2022.

Last season, the Roberto Clemente Award was won by Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez. Another candidate for the award this season is Canadian Bo Naylor, catcher for the Cleveland Guardians. No matter who wins the Roberto Clemente Award in 2025, all 30 nominees have done great work in their communities, and all 30 of them all well deserving of the award.

The award is voted on by fans, with the winner being announced on September 28th.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.

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Blue Jays: José Berríos nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award

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