Life4Sports Blogs

In the midst of the World Series, Derek Jeter was recently presented with arguably the most important off the field performance award in baseball.  Many people outside of the baseball world may not be aware of the the Roberto Clemente Award that goes out to one MLB player each year who exemplifies sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contributions to the team.  The award was renamed after Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente following his death in a 1973 plane crash while delivering supplies to help out victims of the Nicaragua Earthquake.

This year the award was presented to Jeter, of the New York Yankees, for his work with the Turn 2 Foundation he started in 1996, the year he made his debute in MLB.  In 1996, Jeter turned a lifelong dream into reality when he established the Turn 2 Foundation to give back to the various communities that are a part of his life, including Western Michigan (he is from Kalamazoo); Tampa, Fla.; and New York.  Since its launch, the Turn 2 Foundation has awarded more than $10 million in grants to create and support signature programs and activities that motivate young people to turn away from drugs and alcohol and “TURN 2″ healthy lifestyles.  Through these ventures, the Foundation strives to create outlets that promote academic excellence, leadership development and positive behavior.

A quote from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig:

“Major League Baseball is proud to honor Derek Jeter for the lasting impact the Turn 2 Foundation has made on youth in communities across the country.  In a year of career milestones for Derek, receiving the Roberto Clemente Award will inspire future generations of ballplayers and fans to give back to those in need. I would also like to thank Chevy for their continued support in honoring Roberto Clemente’s legacy and spirit.”

You can read more about the award ceremony on the Yankees website at:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091029&content_id=7573566&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

You can read more about Derek Jeter’s Turn 2 Foudantion on www.life4sports.com or at www.turn2foundation.org.

Past winners of the Roberto Clemente Award:

Year	Player	Team	League	Position
1971	Willie Mays	San Francisco Giants	National	OF
1972	Brooks Robinson	Baltimore Orioles	American	3B
1973	Al Kaline	Detroit Tigers	American	OF
1974	Willie Stargell	Pittsburgh Pirates	National	OF
1975	Lou Brock	St. Louis Cardinals	National	OF
1976	Pete Rose	Cincinnati Reds	National	3B
1977	Rod Carew	Minnesota Twins	American	1B
1978	Greg Luzinski	Philadelphia Phillies	National	OF
1979	Andre Thornton	Cleveland Indians	American	1B
1980	Phil Niekro	Atlanta Braves	National	P
1981	Steve Garvey	Los Angeles Dodgers	National	1B
1982	Ken Singleton	Baltimore Orioles	American	DH
1983	Cecil Cooper	Milwaukee Brewers	American	1B
1984	Ron Guidry	New York Yankees	American	P
1985	Don Baylor	New York Yankees	American	DH
1986	Garry Maddox	Philadelphia Phillies	National	OF
1987	Rick Sutcliffe	Chicago Cubs	National	P
1988	Dale Murphy	Atlanta Braves	National	OF
1989	Gary Carter	New York Mets	National	C
1990	Dave Stewart	Oakland Athletics	American	P
1991	Harold Reynolds	Seattle Mariners	American	2B
1992	Cal Ripken Jr.	Baltimore Orioles	American	SS
1993	Barry Larkin	Cincinnati Reds	National	SS
1994	Dave Winfield	Minnesota Twins	American	DH
1995	Ozzie Smith	St. Louis Cardinals	National	SS
1996	Kirby Puckett	Minnesota Twins	American	OF
1997	Eric Davis	Baltimore Orioles	American	OF
1998	Sammy Sosa	Chicago Cubs	National	OF
1999	Tony Gwynn	San Diego Padres	National	OF
2000	Al Leiter	New York Mets	National	P
2001	Curt Schilling	Arizona Diamondbacks	National	P
2002	Jim Thome	Cleveland Indians	American	1B
2003	Jamie Moyer	Seattle Mariners	American	P
2004	Edgar Martínez	Seattle Mariners	American	DH
2005	John Smoltz	Atlanta Braves	National	P
2006	Carlos Delgado	New York Mets	National	1B
2007	Craig Biggio	Houston Astros	National	2B
2008	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	National	1B
2009	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	American	SS