The Roberto Clemente Award is one of the most prestigious honors in Major League Baseball. This year’s Clemente Award nominees were announced on MLB Network on Monday morning ahead of MLB’s annual Roberto Clemente Day, which takes place each year on Sept. 15 — which also marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Roberto Clemente Day was established by MLB in 2002 to honor the legacy of the Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star who tragically died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while on his way to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
The Roberto Clemente Award is presented each year to the player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Prior to Clemente’s death, MLB’s annual award for philanthropic efforts was named the “Commissioner’s Award,” but it was renamed the “Roberto Clemente Award” in 1973.
One player from each club is nominated each year. This year’s nominees include seven 2026 All-Stars and 14 first-time nominees. The nominees will be recognized in ballparks beginning on Tuesday, this year’s Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One.
This year’s 30 nominees are:
Angels: Zach Neto*
Astros: Josh Hader
Athletics: Zack Gelof*
Blue Jays: George Springer
Braves: Austin Riley*
Brewers: Christian Yelich
Cardinals: Jordan Walker*
Cubs: Dansby Swanson*
D-backs: Corbin Carroll
Dodgers: Will Smith
Giants: Logan Webb*
Guardians: Joey Cantillo*
Mariners: Julio Rodríguez*
Marlins: Otto Lopez*
Mets: Francisco Lindor
Nationals: Nasim Nuñez*
Orioles: Pete Alonso
Padres: Jason Adam
Phillies: Kyle Schwarber
Pirates: Brandon Lowe
Rangers: Jake Burger*
Rays: Cedric Mullins*
Red Sox: Garrett Whitlock*
Reds: Jose Trevino
Rockies: Kyle Freeland
Royals: Bobby Witt Jr.
Tigers: Justin Verlander
Twins: Pablo López
White Sox: Davis Martin*
Yankees: Carlos Rodón
* Denotes first-time nominee
The winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be selected by a blue-ribbon panel, and he will be honored during the 2026 World Series. The panel consists of representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN, NBC Sports, Netflix and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Roberto’s children — Enrique, Luis and Roberto Jr.
Fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award by going to www.mlbtogether.com/clementeaward (in both English and Spanish). Fans can cast their vote until the end of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 27. The fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.