Justin Upton Nominated For The Roberto Clemente Award

A wonderful honor for an outstanding young man.

Justin Upton named D-backs' nominee for 2010 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet | dbacks.com: Official Info
Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, today announced that Justin Upton was named the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2010 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Upton is one of the 30 Club nominees who are finalists for the national award, which is given annually to the Major League Baseball 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.

In the past year, Upton and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation donated $20,000 to the Heart of Champion Foundation to assist in developing character-education programs at five Phoenix-area schools. He also worked alongside Muhammad Ali to raise $50,000 for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Upton also became involved with Best Buddies of Arizona during the 2010 season to bring awareness to the program that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has also made personal appearances for St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix Youth at Risk and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.

"It's an honor to be nominated for this award because it is named after Roberto Clemente, who dedicated so much of his time to the community while maintaining a Hall of Fame career on the field," Upton said. "I know how important it is to interact with the local community after only playing a few years in the Major Leagues. I hope to live up to the standards Clemente set for all of us to live up to."