Milwaukee (OnFocus) – Major League Baseball announced that Brent Suter was named the Brewers 2020 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, baseball’s most prestigious individual honor for Major Leaguers.
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a player from each MLB Club who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Each Club nominates one current player to be considered for the Roberto Clemente Award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character. Wednesday, Sept. 9 marks the 19th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy and to officially acknowledge local Club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks.
“I’m incredibly honored to be receiving a Roberto Clemente Award nomination, and I don’t feel worthy,” said Brent Suter. “The example he set transcends sports and gives us all something special to aspire to: a life truly lived for others. I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, all my family and loved ones, and the Brewers organization for this special moment.”
As a Harvard graduate who studied environmental science, Suter uses his platform to draw attention to various environmental issues, the effects of climate change, the global crisis of plastic waste and to emphasize positive change. He is not merely passionate about conservation, he embodies it through his daily life choices, impact on his team and teammates, community service and leadership.
As a leader in the sustainable sports movement, Suter partnered with a bottle manufacturer in 2019 to produce reusable glass water bottles that he gifted to his teammates and other players across the league. He further co-created #StrikeOutWaste, an eco-friendly initiative to help his teammates and other players across the league to reduce plastic use inside ballparks and in their personal lives. He’s a founding member of Sidelining Carbon, an initiative from the American Conservation Coalition Campus that focuses on offsetting the carbon impact of professional sports team travel, and serves as an ambassador for a first-of-its kind recycling program with SC Johnson, to be implemented at Miller Park in 2021.
As a member of “Players for the Planet,” Suter partners with SC Johnson and teammate Corey Knebel to donate funding for every Brewers save and last year participated with other athletes in a beach cleanup in the Dominican Republic. In addition to volunteering for cleanup projects, he made a series of appearances on behalf of Major League Baseball on Earth Day and is a supporter of multiple environmental groups such as Milwaukee Urban Ecology, the Outrider Foundation, ECO in the City of Milwaukee and EcoAthletes.
Additionally, Suter donated $10,000 to Brewers Community Foundation and during the pandemic, he partnered with other teammates to donate $10,000 towards the Ballpark Employee Emergency Relief Fund for stadium employees impacted by COVID-19. He recorded Stay-at-Home messages and the importance of wearing a mask in public to share on social media, supporting the statewide media campaign, #WeAreAllIn to help educate citizens about personal health and safety during COVID-19.
In addition to his notable contributions on and off the field, Suter leads in the clubhouse with a positive attitude and an unflappable sense of humor. He’s not afraid to have some fun and the result is seen in recent Brewers marketing films and while mic’d up during broadcasts.
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award will be selected via a blue ribbon panel, including Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., representatives from MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award via mlb.com/clemente21. The site will feature bios of each of the nominees and will allow fans to vote until the end of the season on Sunday, Sept. 27. The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue ribbon panel.
We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!
Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
