HOUSTON – Nelson Cruz has won the Roberto-Clemente Award for Major Baseball, presented annually to who best exemplifies baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and contribution to his team.
Cruz, the 50th recipient of the trophy, was to be honored before Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night.
The 41-year-old, who has played 17 Major League seasons and played in seven career all-star games, has provided financial support to 1,200 families in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic , during the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to having distributed meals to more than 700 of them.
After a fire devastated the residence of a childhood friend, Cruz gave his hometown a device to fight the fires, 80 suits for the firefighters and an ambulance to transport the victims to the nearest hospital. near, which is about an hour’s drive away.
His foundation, “Boomstick23”, also built a vocational and technical training center last year, and it will purchase computers to help athletes graduate.
Cruz also recruited dentists and optometrists to participate in routine checkups in his town, and 500 patients received dental treatment last year.
Cruz was named by the Minnesota Twins, who traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays in July. He joined Hall of Fame members Rod Carew (1977), Dave Winfield (1994) and Kirby Puckett (1997) among the Twins’ players shortlisted for the Roberto-Clemente Award.
