Jose Berrios deservingly nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award

On the field, Jose Berríos hasn’t had the year he’s used to, running up his ERA to 4.06. The Puerto Rican native has yet to miss a start in his entire career, so his down year signals a pitcher whose workload may be catching up. However, Berrios is a community leader back in his hometown of Bayamón, which is why he's been nominated for this year's Roberto Clemente award.

The Roberto Clemente Award is presented annually to a player who best represents the sport through character, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Berrios is the ideal candidate. The late Clemente, who was born in Carolina, Peurto Rico, has been an inspiration for Berrios from the get-go. He not only looked up to Clemente as a child for his on-field performances, but he also admired him for the way he gave back to Puerto Rico.

Jose Berrios deservingly nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award

Berrios' community efforts date back to when he was 18, when he began his journey in professional baseball. He started out by assisting the learning centre Hogar Forjadores de Esperanza, by providing funding and his precious time to help children. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, which deeply affected the country just two years into his big-league career, but he stepped up to rebuild a damaged community centre for abused children.

Fast forward to 2022, Berrios launched his own foundation called the La Makina Foundation in Puerto Rico, a charitable initiative which was dedicated to empowering youth through the game of baseball. He later went on to expand his efforts to Canada, inspired by the work of the Jays Care Foundation, with the launch of El Dream. These two foundations both shared the goal of helping kids in underrepresented communities to reach their goals by using baseball as a platform for growth.

The tangible impact that Berrios has caused in these communities is monstrous. In just a couple of years, El Dream and La Makina have raised over $4.75 million, while Berrios has personally contributed more than $200,000, also funding field renovations, equipment, performance labs, and support for Puerto Rico’s national softball team.

Their reach includes 21,500 girls in Girls At Bat, 18,000 athletes in Challenger Baseball, and 28,500 players in RBI across Canada. The scope of his community impact has grown so large that even Norman Wells, a remote northern town of just 673 people, now has kids playing baseball courtesy of El Dream.

On top of his contributions, he regularly shows up to Jays Care events, to plays catch with kids and hosts families at Blue Jays games. Berrios hosts an annual Celebrity Home Run Derby, which has drawn friends like Daddy Yankee, Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez, Giancarlo Stanton, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who have all rallied around his mission.