ST. PERTERSBURG, FL — Luis Clemente remembers what his mother said after she met Francisco Lindor.
"I remember when Mom told me that this young man is going to be someone very, very important in representing our country," he said, "and she was right."
On Monday, Luis Clemente was on hand as Lindor was given the award named for his father.
The New York Mets shortstop received the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One at Tropicana Field before Game 3 of the World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers. Lindor is the fifth winner of Puerto Rican descent, joining Edgar Martinez (2004), Carlos Delgado (2006), Carlos Beltrán (2013) and Yadier Molina (2018), players he said he studied and tried to follow.
"I'm glad there
was people in life like Clemente, like Carlos Delgado … that set the path for me," Lindor said. "I just follow them."
Capital One is giving $100,000 in his honor to SEEN Foundation, a youth organization with which Lindor and his wife, Katia, work.
Commissioner Rob Manfred first noticed in April 2018. MLB sent the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland to San Juan for two games, seven months after Hurricane Maria, and filled the trip with community events. Lindor ran a clinic for about 250 kids at his old elementary school in Gurabo. The next night he homered in front of a sellout crowd at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
"My friend here, I think, attended every single one of those events," Manfred said, "and it really left an impression on me."
Why Francisco Lindor won the Roberto Clemente Award
Lindor was 12 when he left Puerto Rico for Montverde Academy, a boarding school just west of Orlando, with limited English. He has given the school more than $1 million since 2020, most of it for Lindor Hall, a two-story middle school building with science and technology labs. A scholarship in his name covers tuition for kids who couldn't otherwise attend.
This year he started Lindor's Leaders with New Balance, mentoring students in Bayside High School's sports medicine program on leadership, communication and mental health. Some of those students thanked him on video during Monday's ceremony. So did families he had hosted in his suite at Citi Field.
Every fall he hands out hundreds of backpacks in Queens. Lindor Smile Tuesdays, in its third season, brings youth groups to Citi Field to learn about dental health. After Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, he paid for relief in Puerto Rico and restored athletic facilities in his hometown of Caguas.
"For me, I love education, and she loves the health side of things," Lindor said of Katia, whom he called "the rock."
"We don't really try to be recognized by the work we do in the communities," he said. "But there is something that we get out of it."
What is the Roberto Clemente Award?
MLB began honoring players for community work in 1971 with the Commissioner's Award. It was renamed in 1973 for Clemente, the Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star who died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while delivering supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
All 30 MLB teams nominate one player. Lindor has been the Mets' nominee four years running. A panel that included Manfred and Clemente's three sons, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Jr., chose him from this year's list of nominees.
"We call it the highest award because it recognizes a unique combination," Manfred said. "Excellence on the field and community service."
Lindor, a five-time All-Star with four Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves, talked mostly about other people.
"This award represents me, but also it represents my family," he said. "It represents my mom."
Luis Clemente said the best way to honor his father is to treat kids "like they are someone now, not who they become later."
"Ultimately that's what life is all about," Lindor said. "Taking care of the people that actually need guidance and help."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Roberto Clemente's widow saw Francisco Lindor's award coming
