Cubs nominate Lilly for Clemente award
The Cubs nominated left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly on Tuesday for the 2009 Roberto Clemente Award.
He is one of 30 Major League Club nominees for the national 2009 Roberto Clemente Award, which is sponsored by Chevy and given annually to the Major League Baseball player who combines outstanding skills on the baseball field with devoted work in the community.
Wednesday will mark the eighth annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by Major League Baseball in 2002 to honor the legacy of Roberto Clemente. From Sept. 2 through Oct. 4, 2009, fans can log on to chevy.com/clemente and vote for one of the 30 Club nominees.
In his three seasons in the organization, Lilly has been active in the community. He works closely with Cubs Care and Chicago Cubs designated charities that support youth sports, children with special needs, victims of domestic violence and additional charities in the Lakeview/Wrigleyville community. His efforts have included visiting with patients at Children's Memorial Hospital & University of Chicago Comer's Children's Hospital, helping to raise funds for the Sheil Park Playlot Renovation and visiting with children from the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Illinois.
Lilly is also active in raising awareness and attending fundraising events for P.A.W.S. Chicago, the city's largest no-kill humane organization focused on alleviating Chicago's pet homelessness problem.
Additionally, Lilly has also sponsored an RBI team through the Union League Boys and Girls Club since 2007. RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) Baseball is a youth outreach program designed to increase participation and interest in baseball and academics with inner-city youths. Lilly also has funded a charitable ticket program for disadvantaged youth. Throughout the season, he purchases approximately 500 tickets and provides $10 in Cubs Dollars to each of his guests so that they can enjoy lunch at the ballpark. Lilly invites the young people out to a game and meets with them during batting practice.
Lilly donated his $7,500 grant from Chevy to P.A.W.S Chicago.
The award is named for Clemente, a 12-time All-Star and Hall of Famer who died on New Year's Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Clemente winners
The list of national Roberto Clemente Award recipients includes 13 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
1971: Willie Mays*
1972: Brooks Robinson*
1973: Al Kaline*
1974: Willie Stargell*
1975: Lou Brock*
1976: Pete Rose
1977: Rod Carew*
1978: Greg Luzinski
1979: Andre Thornton
1980: Phil Niekro*
1981: Steve Garvey
1982: Ken Singleton
1983: Cecil Cooper
1984: Ron Guidry
1985: Don Baylor
1986: Garry Maddox
1987: Rick Sutcliffe
1988: Dale Murphy
1989: Gary Carter*
1990: Dave Stewart
1991: Harold Reynolds
1992: Cal Ripken Jr.*
1993: Barry Larkin
1994: Dave Winfield*
1995: Ozzie Smith*
1996: Kirby Puckett*
1997: Eric Davis
1998: Sammy Sosa
1999: Tony Gwynn*
2000: Al Leiter
2001: Curt Schilling
2002: Jim Thome
2003: Jamie Moyer
2004: Edgar Martinez
2005: John Smoltz
2006: Carlos Delgado
2007: Craig Biggio
2008: Albert Pujols
* Member of Baseball Hall of Fame