Jose Ramirez Nominated By Guardians For Prestigious Award
Every season, MLB recognizes a player who has given back to their community in a humanitarian and philanthropic way. This is all a part of the Roberto Clemente Award given out to one player each season.
This award is defined by MLB as, "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."
Each organization nominates one of its players and a committee comprised of members of the Commissioner's Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks, MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as Roberto’s children (Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr.) then choose a winner.
The Cleveland Guardians decided to nominate Jose Ramirez as their representative this year. This may be the first year that Ramirez has been nominated for the award, but he's been helping out around the community for a number of years now.
One of Ramirez's biggest projects of 2023 was helping renovate Clark Field in Cleveland which will serve as the home field for Lincoln-West High School and the Cleveland Guardians NIK RBI baseball teams.
Ramirez offered final support to the project in order to help make it all happen. The field was then named "Jose Ramirez Field" in honor of him.
Jun 28, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) heads to first base during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royalsat Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
Of course, everything Ramirez does on the field and at the plate is important for his legacy. However, one could argue that how he's given back to the greater Cleveland communities is just as important and will have a greater longer impact.
The Guardians will officially honor If Jose does end up winning, he will be presented with the award during the 2023 World Series
