Relief pitcher Jason Motte is the Braves’ nominee for major league baseball’s 2017 Roberto Clemente Award.
The annual award recognizes the player who best represents the game “through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
The Jason Motte Foundation raises funds for cancer research and Motte is active in community service for cancer awareness in Atlanta as well as other cities he pitched in previously including St. Louis and Denver.
For being selected as the Braves’ nominee for the prestigious award, Motte will be recognized before Wednesday’s game against the Rangers and his foundation will receive a check for $7,500.
“On the back of one of our (foundation) shirts is a Roberto Clemente quote that says, ‘Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth,’ so for us to even be nominated for this is pretty cool,” Motte said. “There are things bigger than the game, and so to be able to go out and try to make a difference in people’s lives in their tough times is what’s important to us.”