The Roberto Clemente Award is given to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.” This year, that player is Anthony Rizzo, who humbly accepted the award prior to Game Three of the World Series.
As a cancer survivor himself, the honor is meaningful to Rizzo and his family. He has often mentioned how important it was to be able to help those in situations similar to the one he faced.
But in Rizzo’s view, the award is just a platform to further promote cancer awareness and increase cancer treatment efficacy, an effort of which he knows is “bigger than baseball.