Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts, Bobby Witt Jr. among Roberto Clemente Award nominees

Hours after he was named the Mets’ nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, Mets All-Star Francisco Lindor wore a custom glove featuring pictures of The Great One’s baseball cards. 

Some of the biggest names in baseball are among the nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award, which honors philanthropy. Lindor, Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals, Paul Skenes of the Pirates, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers and Josh Hader of the Astros are arguably the biggest names among the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award nominees.

The winner will be announced during the 2025 World Series. Lindor, who was born in Clemente’s beloved Puerto Rico, grew up learning about Clemente’s legacy of excellence on the field and leadership and humanitarianism off the field.

Legacy of giving

Clemente, the first Latin American player in the 3,000-hit club and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, showed his commitment to giving by how he lived and died. Clemente was on a relief mission for victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua when the cargo plane he was on crashed into the ocean shortly after taking off from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 31, 1972. His body was never found.

MLB renamed the “Commissioner’s Award” in Clemente’s honor in 1973, two years after it was introduced to hono philanthropic work.

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Lindor has already won a major philanthropy award. In 2023, he was the MLB Players Trust’s Philanthropist of the Year. He is one of two Puerto Ricans among the 30 finalists, joining Jose Berrios of the Blue Jays.

“It has nothing to do with the position, but what it means as a whole,” Brewers nominee Sal Frelick told Milwaukee beat writer Adam McCalvy. “It’s crazy to hear that name in the same sentence [as myself]. I didn’t even know there was an award for that. I was always under the impression that what this award is for isn’t something you should get an award for.”

Francisco Lindor nominated again

Lindor, Betts and Skubal are among 11 players this year who have been nominated multiple times for the Roberto Clemente Award. The Twins’ Pablo López, Rockies’ Kyle Freeland, Red Sox’s Liam Hendriks, Cubs’ Kyle Tucker, Reds’ Brent Suter, Phillies’ Aaron Nola, Padres’ Joe Musgrove and Mariners’ J.P. Crawford also had been nominated before. 

Tucker was the Astros’ nominee in 2024. He kept his philanthropic work going this year with the Cubs. The other nominees are the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, Athletics’ Lawrence Butler, Braves’ Spencer Strider, Orioles’ Jordan Westburg, White Sox’s Mike Tauchman, Guardians’ Bo Naylor, Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe, Marlins’ Griffin Conine, Yankees’ Carlos Rodón, Giants’ Ryan Walker, Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, Rays’ Pete Fairbanks, Rangers’ Corey Seager and Nationals’ Trevor Williams.

“It’s definitely a big honor because we all know Roberto was quite the ambassador for baseball,” Rodon told Yankees beat writers. “An unbelievable player on the field and an even better person off the field, giving his time to help people, children. It’s quite the honor to be nominated for it.”