Jason Motte was named the Atlanta Braves 2017 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday.
The most prominent individual award given by the MLB each year, the Roberto Clemente Award recognizes a player from each team who best represents the character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions on and off the field that embody the game of baseball.
“On the back of one of our 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 in a statement. “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.”
Motte and each of the other nominees will be recognized on Wednesday as part of the 16th annual Roberto Clemente Day. Wednesday’s festivities will be league-wide with the Roberto Clemente Day logo appearing on bases and official dugout lineup cards and a tribute video to Clemente will be played in ballparks.
The Roberto Clemente Award winner will be selected among the group of nominees including MLB commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB-affiliated networks like MLB Network, the MLB Advanced Media and Clemente’s late wife, Vera.
Fans can also vote on the 2017 award winner from Oct. 2-6. The winner among fan votes will count as one vote in addition to the panels’ votes.
