Justin Turner was in a No. 21 Los Angeles Dodgers jersey against the San Francisco Giants as part of MLB celebrating Roberto Clemente Day (Sept. 15) and due to being a nominee for award in the Hall of Famer’s namesake.
While all on-field personnel wore a Roberto Clemente jersey patch for games played Thursday and Friday, MLB permitted this year’s award nominees and previous recipients to wear a 21 jersey. Clayton Kershaw, who won the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award, wore a No. 21 jersey for the series opener at Oracle Park as well.
Under normal circumstances that Dodgers jersey number is Walker Buehler’s, who is out for the remainder of the season and likely for all of 2023 as well due to a second Tommy John surgery and right flexor tendon repair.
Turner is the Dodgers’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award a fifth time in the past six seasons. Kenley Jansen was voted the Dodgers’ nominee in 2019.
All 30 clubs nominate a player and the award is presented annually to one Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
“It’s an absolute honor to be recognized by the Dodgers as the Roberto Clemente nominee for the fifth time,” Turner told DodgerBlue.com.
“Obviously Kourt and I take a lot of time in being heavily involved in the community and giving back to our fans, who we consider the best fans in baseball. To be mentioned in the same sentence as Roberto Clemente and be associated with No. 21 and philanthropy is probably one of the greatest awards and greatest recognitions you can receive.”
A league-wide winner of the 2022 Roberto Clemente Award will be selected by a blue ribbon panel that includes MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, representatives from Capital One, affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, and Clemente’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente Jr.
Roberto Clemente Award: how to vote for Justin Turner
Fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award winner on mlb.com/clemente21 (English) and LasMayores.com/clemente21 (Spanish) through the end of the regular season on Wednesday, October 5. The winner from fan voting will count as one vote among those cast by the blue ribbon panel.
Turner is looking to receive the Roberto Clemente Award for the first time in his career.
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