Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a chance to repeat with the Roberto Clemente Award winner this season.
Will Smith is the Dodgers’ nominee to win the prestigious honor this year, while Mookie Betts was named the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award winner.
The Roberto Clemente Award is considered baseball’s most prestigious individual honor. It is presented annually in recognition of the Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Each team nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.
The Dodgers have had for players to win the award in history, with Betts being the most recent. Before that, it was Justin Turner who took the honor in 2022.
Major League Baseball continued its recognition of past Clemente Award winners and reached out to some of them on Instagram, asking what it means to be a winner.
Both Betts and Turner were among those who replied as part of the social media campaign.
“It means a lot… it means you are helping communities and it’s always cool to be recognized for the work you put in off the field,” Betts wrote in his reply to MLB. “Baseball is baseball, but being a good human is central to life.”
“For me it’s the greatest honor in the game because Roberto set the bar for what it means to take our platform, this beautiful gift of playing a game for a living, and use it to give back to those in need,” Turner wrote in his reply. “He took his star power and used it to lift up those in need and enduring difficult times! Roberto was a humanitarian who happened to be great at baseball!!!!”
Former Dodgers Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins, who won the award with different teams, also shared their perspectives in the post. In addition, Nelson Cruz, who currently works in the Dodgers’ player development system, shared his insight.
Along with Betts and Turner, the other Dodgers to win the award were Clayton Kershaw (2012) and Steve Garvey (1981).
Roberto Clemente Award selection process
A panel of sportswriters and baseball dignitaries selects the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award. In addition, there is a fan vote element that counts as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.
Fan voting ended on Sunday, the final day of the 2026 regular season.
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be honored at the 2026 World Series following selection by the aforementioned panel.
It includes representatives from the commissioner’s office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr.
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