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Roberto Clemente Award

September 13, 2012 marked the eleventh 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. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price was one of the 30 Club finalists for the annual award, which recognizes a Major League Baseball player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.

The Roberto Clemente Award, presented by Chevrolet, pays tribute to Clemente's achievements and character by recognizing current players who truly understand the value of helping others. The Award is named for the 15-time MLB 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.

In 2008, David Price started his own charitable foundation, Project One Four. Project One Four supports programs and organizations that provide opportunities for youth to learn life skills in a safe and supportive environment. Project One Four supports programs and charities in the local Tampa Bay area as well as in David's hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. David holds an annual golf tournament, bowling event, and banquet to help raise the funds that are distributed to local organizations. Last year Project One Four donated backpacks, school supplies, and laptops to local children in need. He also made monetary donations to two Boys and Girls Club locations totaling more than $13,000 each.

In addition to Project One Four, David is a key member of the Rays Dugout Club that supports South St. Petersburg, which is an underserved community located next to Tropicana Field. Price has been a key part of this program since 2010 and has since recruited other players to help expand the program. He sponsors two recreation centers in South St. Petersburg each summer and serves as a role model, teaching the kids about staying healthy, positive, involved and smart. David visits his clubs twice throughout the summer to address the youngsters about making positive choices and working hard. He also provides t-shirts to the centers and presents them with a $2,000 “angel fund” to help with additional expenses. Price and the other players also hosted the 1,000-plus Dugout Club children at a Rays game.

David sponsored a bowling tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay in March 2012. Through his twitter account David was able to recruit bowlers and he personally met with all of the bowlers at the tournament which raised over $25,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. David also participated in a PSA for the BBBS Sports Buddies Program. This program is an activity-based mentoring program that is aimed to increase male involvement in BBBS where Bigs and Littles bond over the common interest of sports.

The Miracle League of St. Petersburg provides kids with disabilities the opportunity to play baseball outdoors in a safe, fun-filled environment. Their rules are quite different from regular baseball, but are perfectly designed for the Miracle League. Every player bats each inning and all base runners are always safe. Every runner is able to score which means that each team wins the game. Community volunteers who serve as “buddies” to each player are vital to this program's continued success. David has volunteered with the Miracle League since 2008 and has donated approximately $10,000 to the organization.

On February 3, 2012, David partnered with the Ted Williams Museum to host "An Evening with David Price" at Tropicana Field. The event was attended by approximately 400 people and as a result more than $20,000 was raised for the City of Largo's Youth Sports Participation Scholar Fund, Burg Baseball, a youth baseball program in St. Petersburg and the Miracle League of St. Petersburg.

Past Roberto Clemente Nominees:

2000 Fred McGriff
2001 Greg Vaughn
2002 Greg Vaughn
2003 Lance Carter
2004 Toby Hall
2005 Toby Hall
2006 Rocco Baldelli
2007 Carl Crawford
2008 Carlos Pena
2009 James Shields
2010 James Shields
2011 James Shields
2012 David Price