METS NOMINATE ANGEL PAGAN
FOR THE 2010 ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Mets to Honor Pagan and Celebrate Roberto Clemente Day
This Friday, September 10 at Citi Field
FLUSHING, N.Y., September 7, 2010 – The New York Mets today announced that Angel Pagan is the club’s nominee for the 2010 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet.
Major League Baseball presents the national honor to a player who combines a dedication to giving back to the community with outstanding skills on the baseball field. Tomorrow will mark the ninth annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy and to officially recognize local club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. The Mets will present Pagan with the local award during an on-field, pre-game ceremony when the team returns to Citi Field on Friday, September 10.
Pagan has emerged as a clutch player for the Mets, both on and off the field in 2010. The outfielder has a team-high .295 batting average and has set career-highs with 10 home runs, 60 runs batted in, 143 hits and 71 runs. He’s tied for second in the National League with 33 stolen bases.
Pagan was one of the first players to participate in the Mets “Teammates in the Community Week” in June, helping residents in Spanish Harlem plant trees and flowers in a community garden. He worked side by side with his teammates, community members, and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose NYC Service department partnered with the Mets on the week-long series of initiatives.
Pagan has also been a proud supporter of City Harvest, a food and rescue organization dedicated to feeding New York City’s hungry men, women and children. He hit the streets of Manhattan this year to raise awareness for City Harvest’s Skip Lunch Fight Hunger campaign and last December visited Hour Children Food Pantry in Long Island City to help distribute more than 1,000 pounds of food to needy families during the busy holiday season. The native of Puerto Rico has also served as the Mets representative at the Summer Reading Program for NYC’s public libraries and congratulated the Mets finalists in the Major League Baseball “PEOPLE All-Stars Among Us” campaign.
The Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet is named for the 12-time All-Star and Hall of Famer who died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The award pays tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character by recognizing talented current players who truly understand the value of helping others.
Fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the national award recipient by visiting www.chevy.com/clemente, powered by MLB.com and created specifically for the Roberto Clemente Award platform, today through October 8 to vote for one of the 30 Club nominees. Participating fans will be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to the 2010 World Series, where the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet will be announced.
The winner of the fan poll will receive one vote among those cast by the selection panel, which includes Vera Clemente, wife of the late Hall of Famer; Commissioner Selig; MLB Network analyst and former Roberto Clemente Award winner Harold Reynolds; MLB Network analyst, TBS broadcaster and former Roberto Clemente Award winner John Smoltz; Hall of Famer and ESPN broadcaster Joe Morgan; former All-Star catcher and FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver; and MLB.com senior correspondent Hal Bodley.
MLB celebrates Roberto Clemente Day as part of the broader “MLB Going Beyond” platform, which strives to integrate community service and the importance of giving back.
