Patrick Wisdom was unveiled as the Chicago Cubs’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which will be presented later this year.
Wisdom could become the fourth Cubs player to claim the award. The others are Rick Sutcliffe (1987), Sammy Sosa (1998) and Anthony Rizzo (2017).
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
The slugger joined the Cubs in 2020 and has immersed himself in the Chicagoland area and charities supported by the Cubs.
He is a long-time supporter of pediatric cancer research, children and families affected by the disease due to an encounter with six-year-old Braxton Fuqua in 2018.
Wisdom served as Fuqua’s host during an outing at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn. Fuqua, a patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, passed away in 2019, but his impact on Wisdom led to his involvement in charities that support young cancer patients.
The Cubs star designed a line of T-shirts, hoodies and autographed training cards to support St. Jude. He wears the shirts in most interviews.
Wisdom used the 2022 MLB at Field of Dreams game to have customized cleats featuring the St. Jude’s logo on them for auction to raise money. And, during this year’s MLB Players' Weekend, he wore cleats decorated by a St. Jude’s patient on the day designated for players to highlight their charitable initiatives.
In Chicago, he is a regional St. Jude ambassador. He recently collaborated with Randy Dobnak of the Minnesota Twins to launch a donation challenge aimed at raising funds for St. Jude’s.
Outside of his work with St. Jude, he has partnered with Adam Wainwright’s Big League Impact MISSION 3:18 Initiative, which focuses on homelessness and hunger, including The Bowery Mission, City Gospel Mission and Kinship Urban Farm.
He also supports Cubs Charities through school visits, youth baseball clinics and fundraising events.
Last year’s winner was New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. The winner is usually announced during the World Series each October.
Other recent winners of the award include Justin Turner (2022), Nelson Cruz (2021), Adam Wainwright (2020), Carlos Carrasco (2019) and Yadier Molina (2018).
Sunday is Roberto Clemente Day, which honor Clemente’s legacy as a humanitarian and to formally acknowledge each club’s nominees. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a customized tribute video to Clemente and the 30 Roberto Clemente Award nominees will be shown in all MLB ballparks.
Clemente, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died on Dec. 31, 1972, while delivering relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The Puerto Rico native was a 15-time All-Star, a two-time World Series champion, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, a four-time National League batting champion and the 1966 NL MVP.
