KC Royals’ Salvador Perez nominated for prestigious Major League Baseball award

Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez was nominated for a prestigious Major League Baseball honor on Monday: He’s the Royals’ nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award.

It’s Perez’s third such nomination in four years.

MLB celebrates the legacy of baseball icon Roberto Clemente through this annual honor. Each big-league team nominates a finalist — someone who represents the game well through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions both on and off the field.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge won the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award.

Perez contributes to the Carlos Fortuna Foundation in Colombia and also partners with Sarah’s Soldiers in the fight against ALS to raise awareness and funds to find a cure.

Perez supports other foundations, too, such as Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer and the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy. Last month he made headlines for playing Wiffle ball with KC youth in a local neighborhood.

The 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner will be recognized at the World Series. Fans can vote for their favorite nominees from now through Sept. 29. (Royals fans can vote for Perez here.)

A blue-ribbon panel will select the eventual winner. The fan vote winner will be represented by one vote in the panel decision.

“I cannot think of a better guy to be nominated and hopefully win that award,” former Royals star Eric Hosmer said. “Salvy has done so much throughout his career that a lot of people don’t know about. … I’m pulling for him to win this award because it’s not something he is going to go out and try and promote himself.

“I think all of us in Kansas City and connected to Kansas City can do a good job of helping him because he deserves this.”

The Royals will play the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Roberto Clemente Day — this coming Sunday, Sept. 15. It will be a special occasion, as Clemente played with the Pirates for 18 years.

All players and on-field personnel will wear a “21” patch on their uniform sleeves. Perez and the other 29 Roberto Clemente Award nominees (and former recipients) have the option of wearing 21 as their uniform number that day (as do all players from Puerto Rico).

All active Roberto Clemente Award winners will have a “21” patch sewn on the back of their baseball caps.