Beyond being a Hall of Fame ballplayer, Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest philanthropists in baseball history and left a towering legacy that endures more than a half-century since his untimely death in 1972.
Today Major League Baseball celebrates that legacy every year on Sept. 15, and as part of its Roberto Clemente Day festivities the league announced each teams nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which honors the game’s most philanthropic players and is considered the sport’s highest individual honor.
Liam Hendriks was once again selected as the Red Sox nominee, marking his second straight selection with the club and his seventh nomination overall. But in addition to expressing gratitude, the Red Sox right-hander also directed some pointed criticism towards the league for what he believes is a major shortcoming in what should be a league-wide celebration.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t do this yesterday, for some reason we didn’t play on Roberto Clemente Day, which I think is a travesty. I think every team should play on Sept. 15 every single year,” Hendriks said. “It’s one of the bigger days in our game and I think it needs to be rectified here shortly.”
The Red Sox were one of 12 teams who had Monday off, and those clubs held their respective celebrations on Tuesday. As part of the festivities, all players and on-field personnel wore a “21” patch on their uniforms, and all previous Roberto Clemente Award nominees and recipients, plus anyone from Clemente’s native Puerto Rico, had the option to wear “21” as their uniform number.
In addition to Hendriks, others who got to wear No. 21 include 2023 Clemente nominee Tanner Houck along with manager Alex Cora, bench coach Ramon Vazquez and first base coach Jose Flores, all of whom are Puerto Rican.
While Hendriks has been limited to just 14 appearances over his two seasons in Boston due to a series of injuries, the 36-year-old’s impact in the community has been enormous. Since his arrival Hendriks has worked with hundreds of cancer patients, bringing groups to the ballpark for meet and greets at Fenway Park while frequently traveling on the road to help patients in other cities as well.
“I think it’s amazing, the last two years the impact he’s had throughout the league, where he goes on the road talking to cancer patients, families, and what he’s done here at Fenway, him and his wife, they’re great,” Cora said. “To see them out there and contribute regardless of what’s going on on the field, it means a lot.”
“It’s been really cathartic for me to be able to do things like that just to make sure I feel like I’m contributing as much as I can to not only the team and the organization but society in general,” Hendriks said.
The Roberto Clemente Award winner will be announced during the 2025 World Series and selected by a blue-ribbon panel, which includes a fan vote. Fans can cast their ballots until Sunday, Sept. 28 at MLBTogether.com/clementeaward.
Extra innings
Wilyer Abreu (right calf strain) took batting practice Tuesday and remains day-to-day. … ESPN announced Monday a new three-part series titled “Believers: Boston Red Sox,” which will premiere on Sept. 26 and covers the club’s 2004 World Series championship victory. The series features Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Donnie Wahlberg, Bill Burr, Uzo Aduba, Katie Nolan, Curt Schilling, David Ortiz and others. … Fans interested in purchasing tickets for any potential playoff games held at Fenway Park can register for a random drawing online. To register, or for more information on deadlines, prices and other details, visit redsox.com/postseason.
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