Francisco Lindor wins Roberto Clemente Award

New York Mets star Francisco Lindor was awarded baseball’s most prestigious individual recognition, becoming the fifth Puerto Rican to win the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Roberto Clemente Award is given to the player in Major League Baseball who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions both on and off the field. 

“I want to start by saying this is a huge honor and privilege to receive this award,” Lindor said at Tropicana Field before Game 3 of the World Series. “I want to thank MLB, Rob (Manfred), and the rest of the staff for putting something for the players. We don’t really try to be recognized by the work we do in the communities, but there is something that we get out of it. So it’s a huge honor.

“I want to thank the Clemente family for fighting for your dad’s legacy, fighting for the world to continue to find out what he did, how he carried himself. It’s truly humbling to share a stage and share my name and be on the plaque with Clemente’s iconic batting, running mechanics after he hit the ball.”

Roberto Clemente Award carries weight

In 2026, Lindor launched Lindor’s Leaders Program in partnership with New Balance. The year-long program works with students in Bayside High School’s Sports Medicine Program, focusing on mental health, communication, teamwork and leadership.

"I got a little teary-eyed and it was just such a surreal moment… I hope kids in Puerto Rico can see me as an inspiring force."

Francisco Lindor talks about receiving the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award and idolizing the baseball legend as a Puerto Rican. https://t.co/bI4RoF6buJ pic.twitter.com/miHZqusFO2

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 27, 2026

Francisco Lindor also personally mentors students to help them become leaders in their schools and communities.

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“This award represents me, but also it represents my family,” he said. “It represents my mom. It represents my sisters, my siblings, everybody that has anything to do with my success up here. It represents my entire family. It represents my Puerto Rican heritage and my Puerto Rican family.

“To be also just amongst the group of all the Puerto Ricans that have won this — Yadier Molina, Carlos Delgado and the others — it’s just a huge honor. I looked at them, and I was trying to follow in their footsteps. Now just being here, it’s a complete honor to have a full-circle moment like this and, again, just to represent my country as a whole.”

Education key for Francisco, Katia Lindor

Education has also been a major part of Lindor’s efforts. Since 2020, he has donated more than $1 million to Montverde Academy, his alma mater, to help build Lindor Hall, a two-story middle school building with science and technology labs. He also created the Francisco Lindor Scholarship Fund to provide financial assistance to students.

Lindor has continued to give back to Puerto Rico, providing financial support after Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, helping restore athletic facilities in his hometown of Caguas, and hosting youth clinics.

His work also reaches the Queens community, where he partners with New Balance to provide students with backpacks and school supplies through an annual back-to-school initiative. Lindor also hosts youth organizations at Citi Field through his Lindor Smile Tuesdays program, which focuses on dental health, wellness, and mentorship.

Lindor has also partnered with Dairy Queen and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to raise money for local children’s hospitals. He also participates in baseball clinics for young athletes and Special Olympics Florida participants to help make the sport more accessible.

$100 donation for SEEN Foundation

With this accolade, Lindor becomes the award’s fifth recipient of Puerto Rican descent, joining a distinguished group of past honorees that includes Edgar Martinez (2004), Carlos Delgado (2006), Carlos Beltran (2013), and Yadier Molina (2018).

In honor of Lindor’s achievement, Capital One is donating $100,000 to the SEEN Foundation, an organization in which Lindor and his wife, Katia, are working to make a meaningful impact in the lives of young people through its mission to expand its efforts to empower youth, create opportunities, and foster positive community impact. 

Francisco y Katia Lindor#RobertoClementeAward pic.twitter.com/O5hJDkSrDT

— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) October 26, 2026

“As Francisco mentioned, we are big on education,” Lindor’s wife Katia said. “And I think that’s kind of a broad umbrella. Under that falls — in my case, I talk a lot about mental health and maternal health. Along those lines, you connect with people, and you learn people’s stories, and then you kind of just learn what’s meaningful to you.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t evolve and look like something else in five, 10 years. But for right now, the things that we feel passionate about have to do with the people we meet along the way and how they impact our lives. It’s kind of a two-way street. We feel very blessed that we can impact other people’s lives, but they also give so much to us.”