The Puerto Rican player Francisco Lindor, of the New York Mets, won this Monday the Roberto Clemente Award 2026 of the Major Leagues, which annually recognizes the player who best represents the values of baseball on and off the field.
The Major Leagues (MLB, in English) congratulated Lindor on social networks and highlighted that in 2026 the Puerto Rican launched a year-long leadership development program for students of the Sports Medicine Program at Bayside High School.
He also donated more than a million dollars to Montverde Academy, the Florida institution where he studied, and established a scholarship fund for students who want to attend it, among other philanthropic actions.
For their part, the New York Mets congratulated Lindor and included a video on social networks in which the player praised the figure of Clemente.
“Roberto Clemente means a lot to me, he is one of the biggest idols, he is an icon in Puerto Rico, he is someone who helped us see what life was like, a good Samaritan,” says the player.
Lindor is the fifth player from Puerto Rico to receive this award, which honors the legacy of Clemente, Puerto Rican star and member of the Hall of Fame.
The other Puerto Ricans awarded the Roberto Clemente are: Edgar Martínez (2004), Carlos Delgado (2006), Carlos Beltrán (2013) and Yadier Molina (2018).
Among the 2026 candidates for this MLB award, Latin Americans once again had great weight, with several of them among the fourteen players who received the nomination for the award for the first time.
Some of the nominees were Puerto Rican José Treviño, from the Cincinnati Reds; Venezuelan Joey Cantillo, of the Cleveland Guardians; the Dominican Julio Rodríguez, from the Seattle Mariners, and the Nicaraguan Pablo López, from the Minnesota Twins.
