Cardinal Wainwright Clemente Award Nominee
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright is doing a lot to help make the world a little better place for a lot of people. Wainwright is the Cardinal nominated for the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award which recognizes "a player from each MLB Club who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. It is the most prominent individual player award bestowed by MLB." This according to a news release from the St. Louis Cardinals.
“To be the Cardinals nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award is extremely humbling. Roberto Clemente was a great player on the field, but just as great of a man and humanitarian off the field,” said Wainwright. “He set the bar high for all of us, and I just can’t think of a better compliment than to be nominated for his namesake award.”
Wainwright along with his brother Trey founded Big League Impact in 2013 to provide food, clean water, medical care and shelter to those who need it across the globe. Wainwright works with over two dozen other Major League Baseball players to bring their charitable aspirations to life through a variety of events and fundraisers like fantasy football drafts, game nights and Swing for Impact events.
Wainwright's Big League Impact has also partnered with Garth Brooks foundation Teammates for Charity; and Major League Baseball on the Home Plate Project which has provided over four million meals to those in need across America. Locally Wainwright's participation raised $122,250 for Operation Food Search, Crisis Aid and the St. Louis Area Foodbank resulting in over 200,000 meals distributed across the St. Louis area.
“Adam Wainwright has shown his dedication to humanitarian efforts time and time again, especially during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Michael Hall, Vice President, Community Relations & Executive Director, Cardinals Care. “We admire his worldwide efforts to help people in need, and are proud to have him as a member of the Cardinals.”
The league wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be chosen by a blue ribbon panel including Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, representatives from Major League Baseball's broadcast partners, and Roberto Clemente's children Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Fans can weigh in on which team's nominee should be the league wide winner here.