Clemente Award nomination 'special' to Sale

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ATLANTA -- Chris Sale could win the National League Cy Young Award and the Comeback Player of the Year Award. But the Atlanta left-hander’s excellence extends beyond his dominance on the mound.

Sale was recently named the Braves’ nominee for this year’s Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, which annually recognizes a 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.

• VOTE NOW: 2024 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One

“This is special,” Sale said. “I definitely appreciate this.”

The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be announced at the 2024 World Series following selection by a blue-ribbon panel that includes representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, MLB-affiliated networks, the Baseball Hall of Fame, MLB.com and the Clemente family. There is also a fan voting element.

Fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award at MLBTogether.com/clementeaward (in both English and Spanish). The site, which features bios of each nominee, allows fans to vote through Sunday, Sept. 29. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.

This list of nominees (individually nominated by each MLB Club) features players whose various community-impact and philanthropic activities have focused on advocating and supporting important causes such as education programs, cancer, mental health, access to baseball & softball, environmental sustainability and more.

Sale’s philanthropic endeavors were motivated during his early years with the White Sox, when he saw Jake Peavy’s military-related pursuits and Mark Buehrle’s efforts to protect pets and animals.

“You figure out where your lane is and then you focus on what you want to do in the community,” Sale said. “It’s an easy thing for me to do, and I enjoy it.”

Here are some of the efforts Sale has made to help children and military families.

Once a month, Sale hosts a group of deserving Braves fans as his special guests in the Atlanta Braves Foundation’s Community Clubhouse, a private and exclusive pregame hospitality space within Truist Park. He has welcomed families from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Miracle Network, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and Camp Sunshine. The groups receive food, beverages, Braves swag and the chance to interact with the veteran pitcher.

Sale celebrated Memorial Day by welcoming five families from Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a nonprofit organization focused on providing bereavement resources and experiences for families suffering the loss of a military family member. The families went on the field pregame and interacted with the philanthropic hurler.

Having lost his grandmother to ALS when he was five years old, Sale was glad to assist with this year’s Lou Gehrig celebration at Truist Park. He and Matt Olson honored twin sisters from Holly Springs, N.C., who had recently lost their father to ALS. The sisters were each awarded a scholarship from the Live Like Lou Foundation for their upcoming school year at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Sale and Olson both matched the scholarship offers.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing stuff like this,” Sale said. “I have family that this was important to. What better way to honor them than by putting smiles on kids’ faces, or helping some families through a rough time or taking care of people who keep us safe and make this country free.”

Like this year’s other nominees, Sale had the honor of wearing Clemente’s No. 21 as MLB celebrated Roberto Clemente Day on Sunday. The Pirates Hall of Famer’s humanitarian spirit is still celebrated more than 50 years after he tragically died in a plane wreck while transporting supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

“To be able to remember him like this is special,” Sale said. “It’s important for people to know what he did and it’s a great legacy to carry on.”