Since 1971, Major League Baseball has awarded the Roberto Clemente Award to those who show “extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” The original winner was Willie Mays and since then 52 players have received the award. In this series, we will look at the previous ten winners and explore how they earned this honor. This is part Three of Three.

#3 - Andrew McCutchen 2015 (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Since its inception in 1971, only two Pirates players have received this honorable award, Willie Stargell in 1974 and Andrew McCutchen in 2015. Both players were the faces of the franchise for those Pirates eras.

McCutchen broke out with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009, hitting .286 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 108 games. This led him to be fourth in Rookie Of The Year votes. The following year was the exact same, except he played in 154 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. It was the following year in 2011 that led to his first of five consecutive All-Star nods though he had a dip in batting average to .259. Finally, it all came together with having career highs in hits (194), home runs (31), RBIs (96 tied with 2015), and an average of .327. This led to his first and only Gold Glove, and first of four Silver Slugger awards. 2013 proved to be his MVP year, hitting .317 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs, receiving all but one first-place vote.

Between 2009 and 2015, he had 151 home runs, 558 RBIs, and a batting average of .298.

It was during that 2015 campaign that McCutchen received the Roberto Clemente Award. According to MLB.com, his award came from his work with “Cutch’s Crew” a combined effort of McCutchen and Pirates Charites to mentor youth baseball players and at-risk children. The list also includes “…the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, the Homeless Children's Education Fund, the Light of Life Rescue Mission and Habitat for Humanity, among others.” He auctioned off his signature dreadlocks and donated the proceeds to charity and also provided Halloween costumes for children at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh so they could trick or treat.

After 2017 he bounced around from the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Milwaukee Brewers before landing back with the Pirates for the 2023 season.

Here is a link to the different charities that Andrew McCutchen has worked with over the years.

Links

#1 - Tied (2014)

Paul Konerko (Chicago White Sox)

Paul Konerko was the long-time first baseman for the Chicago White Sox. The Captain played for the White Sox for 16 years after two years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds. On five separate occasions, he hit over 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, including two with 40+ homers. He finished top 10 in MVP votes twice and was a key factor during their World Series rout in 2005.

Konerko received this award during his final season in 2014, with Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies also taking home the award. This has been the only time the award was given to two different recipients in one season.

Konerko was given the award based on his work with Chicago charity Children’s Home + Aid, which has recently rebranded as Brightpoint. This connection began with fellow teammate Jim Thome in 2007 (who previously won the award in 2002) to promote better foster care for children and help for families in need. Konerko and Thome wanted to lighten these kid’s lives up through the power of baseball.

Konerko was quoted back in 2007 on CantonRep.com, say, “When it comes to the kids, we’re just trying to make their day that much better,” Konerko said. “We wanted to bring some kids out here for a few games to help make their lives easier while waiting for foster parents. We just want to brighten up their day.”

The duo along with their wives raised $600,000 dollars between 2007 and 2008. It was a fitting award for a player who elevated so many lives in Chicago, both on and off the field. A link below will lead you to Brightpoint.

Brightpoint

Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia Phillies)

Jimmy Rollins began his career in the later days of the Phillies 2000 season. He was a constant fixture in the Phillies highs and lows during the first decade of the new millennium. In 2007, he famously entered the 20-20-20-20-20 club and won MVP during his only campaign where he hit 30 home runs and had over 90 RBIs. The following year he helped the Phillies get over the hump to win their first World Series since 1980. In 15 years with the Phillies, he had a career line of .267 average with 216 home runs and 887 RBIs. He spent the next two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox before calling it a career.

It was in his final year with the Phillies that Rollins received the award. Rollins by that time had set up several different organizations, each one looking towards the lives of children.

One was called J-Roll Aces which is a baseball program dedicated to children to improve on their sportsmanship regardless of their background.

His main foundation is The Rollins’s Family Foundation, and according to their website they are dedicated to giving families in need access to fresh food nutritional education. According to USATODAY.com, he had raised more than a million dollars for youth medical research, abuse prevention and food programs. He has also helped those with Arthritic issues after having his own bout in his arm.

It is unknown if the foundation is still running as their last update came in 2015.