MLB: Roberto Clemente Award goes to Cardinals star

Yadier Molina was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award 2018. The Catcher of the St. Louis Cardinals was awarded the Humanitarian Achievements Prize for his help to the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Molina, like Roberto Clemente, who received the award, is from Puerto Rico and said of his award, “I am honored and proud to receive the Roberto Clemente Award. It’s a dream. Of course, we help others without thinking about awards. You’re helping because it comes from the heart. But I am very happy that the work of our team is recognized in Fundacion 4. We’re still working on getting help to Puerto Rico and I’m very happy about that.”

Molina further said in an interview with ESPN: “I hope this award will attract attention for the fact that there are still many people in Puerto Rico who need help. There’s a lot of houses there with no roof. A lot of people have lost their homes. Many don’t have water. We still need a lot of help to keep helping people in need.”

The award was presented on Wednesday before game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park in Boston, but Molina was not present. He is currently coaching the U23 national team Puerto Ricos at a tournament in Colombia. In his absence, Molina’s wife Wanda accepted the prize.

Molina has been All-Star nine times and won eight Gold Glove Awards for best defensive catcher in the National League.

The Award was named in honor in 1973 after it was introduced as Commissioner’s Award in 1971. Clemente had died in a plane crash in 1972, when he wanted to bring relief supplies to the victims of a severe earthquake in Nicaragua.

This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.