Giants’ Brandon Crawford named as finalist for Roberto Clemente Award

Sep 8, 2023, 10:14 AM

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 08: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants adjusts his hat a...

(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

Even in his 13th season as a San Francisco Giant, Brandon Crawford continues to act as a leader in the local community.

Major League Baseball announced its finalists for the Roberto Clemente Award on Friday morning, as all 30 teams named their nominees for this year’s award.

The Giants announced Crawford as their nominee, meaning that the three-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, and four-time Gold Glove Award could soon add more hardware to his trophy case.

A leader on the field and in the community? You bet. Brandon Crawford is the #SFGiants nominee for the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award.

VOTE: https://t.co/24sby0JIAR pic.twitter.com/dchsee5Str

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 8, 2023

According to MLB.com, the Roberto Clemente Award is bestowed annually to the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

Every year, each MLB Club nominates a player to be considered for the Award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.

This year’s list of nominees features players whose various community and philanthropic activities have focused on important issues ranging from awareness and fundraising to support those with cancer and other illnesses or special needs, education for young people, natural disaster relief, outreach to underserved children and communities in the United States and abroad, and more.

More on Brandon Crawford’s Roberto Clemente Award nomination

Courtesy of MLB.com

Giving back to the Bay Area comes naturally to Brandon Crawford, a Bay Area native raised in Pleasanton, California, who grew up a Giants fan attending games at both Candlestick Park and Oracle Park.

He knows first-hand the impact the players and team can have on the community. Throughout his 13-season career in San Francisco, the humble and soft-spoken shortstop has found ways to give back in meaningful and impactful ways to the people and community who helped to shape his life.

After learning about fellow Pleasanton native and MLB player Stephen Piscotty’s mom succumbing to ALS, Brandon, with the help of his father, Mike, stepped up to support the mission to find a cure for ALS. Each year, the Crawfords host the Crawford Family Golf Tournament, which since 2019 has raised more than $800,000 toward research for a cure.

The winner of this year’s Lou Gehrig Award, Brandon joined the Lou Gehrig Award team for the second year in a row to present a custom, state-of-the-art, Giants-themed wheelchair to a person living with ALS in honor of Lou Gehrig Day. Brandon has built personal relationships with dozens of people with ALS and understands the importance of finding a cure and supporting those with this horrible disease.

Brandon is incredibly thankful for his and his family’s health, which makes him acutely sympathetic to those who aren’t as fortunate.

Realizing that the children he met through regular Make-A-Wish visits at Oracle Park were the same age as his kids, he developed a new perspective on the families’ daily struggles. Jalynne and Brandon Crawford partnered with Tiny Turnip to provide unique T-shirts for kids battling cancer who attended Childhood Cancer Awareness Day at the ballpark in 2022. The Crawfords create initiatives each season that support children and their families who are experiencing a fight against cancer.

During the 2021 season, Brandon teamed up with the Giants Community Fund, the Good Tidings Foundation and the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department to renovate Gilman Field, located in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, which is just blocks from Candlestick Park where Brandon fell in love with baseball.

The field renovation included new dugouts, benches and grass for the infield and outfield. The field is utilized by Junior Giants, a free, non-competitive youth baseball and softball program run by the Giants Community Fund, of which Brandon is a loyal supporter, as well as the neighborhood kids and families.

As the son of a teacher, Brandon has prioritized supporting educational initiatives like the NBC Sports Bay Area All-Star Teacher Awards, Step Up to the Plate for Education grant program and the Junior Giants’ education curriculum by lending his name and celebrating those who keep education at the forefront of our society.

The two-time World Series champion and three-time National League All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glover’s skills on the field speak volumes of his ability and athleticism, but the accolades that embody who he is as a person are his five MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Awards and the Giants’ Willie Mac Award, which is bestowed upon a Giants player by his teammates for best exemplifying the spirit and leadership consistently shown by Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.

At his annual youth baseball camps, Brandon tells campers that one of the main rules of camp is to perform at least one random act of kindness every day. He explains to the kids that it causes a ripple effect of good, and you’ll never know just how far that goodwill travels.

In the case of Brandon, his kindness has traveled further than he could have ever imagined.