LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that Mookie Betts was named the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, Baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers.
The Roberto Clemente Award, presented by Capital One, is the annual recognition of 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.
As part of the annual program, each MLB Club nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character. This is Betts’ first nomination for the award.
The Dodgers plan to honor Betts on the field before their game against the Colorado Rockies on Friday, September 20.
Since making his debut in the Majors in 2014, Mookie Betts has been a premier player in both the American and National Leagues, racking up eight All-Star appearances, six Gold Gloves, six Silver Sluggers, a batting title, and the 2018 AL MVP Award. In addition to his personal accolades, Betts has been on two World Series-winning teams and seven Postseason teams.
In 2021, Betts and his wife Brianna established the 5050 Foundation. The mission was simple: “Break barriers that hold kids back from their potential, particularly those who struggle medically and financially.” The foundation’s four pillars represent Mookie Betts’s values: mental/emotional health, nutrition, financial literacy, and physical fitness.
In 2021, Betts and his wife Brianna established the 5050 Foundation. The mission was simple: “Break barriers that hold kids back from their potential, particularly those who struggle medically and financially.” The foundation’s four pillars represent Mookie Betts’s values: mental/emotional health, nutrition, financial literacy, and physical fitness.
Also in 2021, “50 Feeds LA” was launched, in which Betts partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) to feed Angelenos in South LA. He has contributed over $300,000, which has fed thousands over the past three holiday seasons. In 2023, alongside LADF and the Brotherhood Crusade, Betts handed out Thanksgiving meals to 1,500 families at Algin Sutton Recreational Center in South L.A. The rec center hosted the LADF’s third annual turkey giveaway as volunteers handed out meals, toys, and other supplies via drive-thru.
To introduce the 5050 Foundation to a broader audience, they launched the annual Mookie Betts + Friends Bowling Tournament in 2023. A portion of the proceeds from the 2024 event went toward field improvements at Jackie Robinson’s high school alma mater, John Muir. It included dugout renovations, outfield widescreens, and various other projects to boost the quality of the field offerings.
Betts and the 5050 Foundation have paid visits to UCLA Children’s Hospital, where they created the “Betts on Us Fund” to help families of pediatric patients needing financial assistance gain access to adequate health care support. In addition to the hospital partnership, Betts partnered with Crete Academy in South Los Angeles to help bring more than 700 underserved youth and their families to a Dodger game last September. The 5050 Foundation also hosted a financial literacy workshop this past January for three local high schools at Dodger Stadium, where students learned essential financial literacy tools from seasoned Bank of America professionals.
The work hasn’t stopped in L.A., as Betts created “Team Mookie” in Nashville. The elite boys’ basketball and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, 16U squad, clinched the EYBL Championship League Title this past May.
Betts continues to be a regular part of the Los Angeles Dodgers community programming, where he has entertained, mentored, and visited with Make-A-Wish program participants, UCLA health patients, local students, and student-athletes and has been a staple of the Dodger’s annual “Dodgers Love LA Community Tour.” He participates in the Dodgers’ annual Juneteenth activations and supported the team’s efforts to grow its African American fan base through his engagement in the annual Black Heritage Night programming and Jackie Robinson Day activations supporting MLB Initiatives in 2024.
“Community work and helping others has always been important to me,” said Betts. “I never look for recognition because it’s a requirement for all of us to help others in need. I try to be the best I can to everyone and hope it’s meaningful. However, being nominated and recognized for my commitment to the community and those around me is an honor and encourages me to keep going.“
Sunday, September 15, marks the annual Roberto Clemente Day presented by Capital One, which Major League Baseball established to honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and formally acknowledge Club nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award. The Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases as part of the league-wide celebration. Official dugout lineup cards and a customized tribute video to Clemente and the 30 Roberto Clemente Award nominees will be shown in all MLB ballparks on Roberto Clemente Day as well as on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.tv, Club sites, and MLB Social Media Platforms.
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be honored at the 2024 World Series following selection by a blue-ribbon panel. This panel includes representatives from the Commissioner’s Office, Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One viaMLBTogether.com/clementeaward (in both English and Spanish). The site, which will feature bios of each of the nominees, will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sunday, September 29. The fan vote winner will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.
