Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout has missed almost the entirety of the 2021 season. However, that hasn’t stopped him from making an impact off the field. His reward for that is being the Angels nominee for the 2021 Roberto Clemente Award.
This is Trout’s second consecutive season receiving this honor from the Angels. The Roberto Clemente Award is considered one of the most sought after individual accolades among players. 30 nominees — one per team — are selected, and a winner is chosen as the MLB player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Trout has done so much for his communities, whether it be Southern California or his home of Millville, New Jersey. Suicide prevention is his main area of activism, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
Trout and his wife, Jessica, have made suicide awareness and mental health one of their main causes after the death by suicide of Jessica’s brother, former Angels Minor Leaguer Aaron Cox, in 2018. They partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the apparel company Tiny Turnip to create an initiative called “Your Game Isn’t Over Yet ;”, with the semicolon representing the symbol for suicide prevention. Trout also gives back to his local community in Millville, N.J., and helped support hospital workers and grocery store employees during the pandemic.
The winner of this award is decided via a blue ribbon panel. Fans can also vote for this award, with the winner of the fan vote receiving one vote in the panel. Fans can vote online here, choosing one of the 30 incredible nominees.
Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals was the winner of the award in 2020. Since the inaugural award in 1971, an Angels player has yet to win.
Other nominees
Among the other 30 nominees includes Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, who has become a massive advocate for cancer treatment and and survivors after being diagnosed with cancer himself. Detroit Tigers’ legend Miguel Cabrera was also nominated for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccination efforts.
Max Scherzer — although now on the L.A. Dodgers — is the Washington Nationals nominee for his work with animals and kids in the DMV area. Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto was nominated, with his main advocacy being children dealing with serious medical issues.
Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner — like Trout — was nominated for the second year in a row largely due to the work of the Justin Turner Foundation. This is just some of the wonderful work this year’s nominees have done.
