Congratulations are in order for Jeremy Guthrie, who has been selected as the Orioles' nominee for this year's Roberto Clemente Award. The award, to copy and paste from mlb.com, "is given annually to the Major League player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."We certainly know that Guthrie has handled the whole baseball/contribution to his team part of the bargain. After a disastrous 2009 season in which he led the American League in losses and home runs allowed, he's rebounded to bring his ERA back to the sub-4.00 territory that we've come to expect. And don't look now, but he's gone 6-3 in the second half to bring him within one win of his career high of ten.
As for the community involvement, Jeremy certainly keeps busy. At certain home games, you can see "Guthrie's Gang" in the upper reserve, underprivileged fans who are able to attend Camden Yards on the pitcher's dime. He's also donated his time at the Helping Up Mission, which serves the needy men of Baltimore. He does speaking engagements for children, visits injured soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center, and participates in the player union's Buses for Baseball Program. Needless to say, he's also active in the charitable events that the Orioles and his individual teammates have undertaken, like the O's annual holiday party or Brian Roberts' Baseball Bash.
If you care to cast your vote for Guts, you can do so here. If you're curious (and why wouldn't you be?), four O's have won the Clemente Award since its inception in 1971: Brooks Robinson (1972), Ken Singleton (1982), Cal Ripken, Jr. (1992), and Eric Davis (1997).
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