CHICAGO — Major League Baseball today announced that first baseman Andrew Vaughn was named the Chicago White Sox 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.
Now in his fourth season with the White Sox, Vaughn’s commitment to giving back is evident through his tireless work at the helm of Going, Going, Vaughn, a community outreach program created alongside his wife, Lexi. The 26-year-old Santa Rosa, Calif. native launched the program following a Spring Training collaboration with Put on the Cape to fill the toy closets, food pantries and wardrobes of children and families who have been impacted by abuse. Since then, he and Lexi have been steadfast in their efforts to spread joy to families most in need. Philanthropic outreach includes:
- Welcoming children and families at La Rabida Children’s Hospital for a special Opening Day party, where the couple delivered Southpaw plushies and T-Shirts to 100+ families and treated more than 150 La Rabida staff members to baked goods and other treats.
- Hosting more than a dozen foster moms from Brightpoint, a Chicago-based non-profit providing comprehensive behavioral health services to parents and youth, for a gameday outing and ballpark suite experience in mid-May.
- Offering several dozen young men and women from Mercy Home for Boys & Girls mentorship and guidance during an ice cream social and tour of the on-campus learning center and community garden.
- Providing a family from Chicago’s South Side, displaced from their apartment following a flood, with a home makeover, complete with refurbished furniture, new linens, household items, artwork, toys and more.
- Inspiring the next generation of Black baseball and softball talent during his second annual Nike Home Run Derby held at the ballpark.
“I am incredibly honored to be nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award and for my wife and I to be recognized for giving back to the community,” explains Vaughn. “We’re humbled to have a platform to impact the lives of families across Chicago, and most importantly, show up for those needing a helping hand.”
With additional Going, Going, Vaughn programming scheduled for the remainder of the 2024 season, the White Sox will recognize Vaughn’s outstanding leadership and significant community impact during a special pregame ceremony honoring Roberto Clemente’s legacy on Sunday, September 15 vs. Oakland.
The September 15 recognition marks MLB’s annual Roberto Clemente Day, presented by Capital One, which was established to honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and 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 via MLBTogether.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 winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel.
The concept of honoring Major League players for their philanthropic work was created in 1971 as the “Commissioner’s Award.” The recognition was renamed to the “Roberto Clemente Award” in 1973 as tribute to Clemente following his passing while delivering relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua on December 31, 1972.
First Baseman Andrew Vaughn Named White Sox Nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award was originally published in Inside the White Sox on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.