Latest news with #RobertoClementeAward
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Vanderbilt star, Centennial grad Tony Kemp announces MLB retirement after nine seasons
Tony Kemp has called an end to his baseball career. Kemp, a former Vanderbilt star and Centennial graduate, announced his retirement from baseball on social media on May 15. "After 12 years of professional baseball and nine seasons in the big leagues, I've decided to hang up the spikes," Kemp wrote in a social media statement. "... I want to say thank you to the game of baseball. A sport that humbles you daily, but you come back for more each day because it presents a new set of challenges. Advertisement "A game where you have the utmost confidence knowing it's a game of failure. Thank you for teaching me so many life lessons and giving me the opportunity to provide for my family." More: Vanderbilt baseball's series win over Tennessee is rivalry statement: Here's what we learned Kemp played for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, earning a World Series ring in 2017 with Houston. Kemp was named a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award four times during his time with the Athletics, which is given to the player "who demonstrates the values Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others," per the MLB. Advertisement Ahead of his fifth-round selection by the Astros in the 2013 MLB Draft, Kemp was a standout under Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt. Kemp was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2011 as Vanderbilt reached the College World Series, where Kemp was named to the all-tournament team. In 2013 he was named SEC Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Vanderbilt baseball player to reach 100 hits in a season along the way. "To my head coach at Vanderbilt, Tim Corbin, you took a chance on a 5'6" 150-pound baseball player out of Franklin, Tennessee," Kemp wrote. "Thank you for changing my life. You challenged and pushed me to limits that unlocked my true potential especially when it came to mental toughness." Kemp's roots are in Middle Tennessee, where he starred for Centennial from 2006 to 2010, hitting .544 with 24 stolen bases his senior year and later earning a spot on The Tennessean's All-Decade high school baseball team. Harrison Campbell covers sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at hcampbell@ and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tony Kemp, former Vanderbilt and Centennial star, retiring from MLB
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
MLB says goodbye to Tony Kemp as he announces retirement
Image Source: Getty Veteran MLB utility man Tony Kemp has announced his retirement, formally ending a nine-year MLB career characterized by hustle, heart, and meaningful strides off the field. Kemp, 33, announced the news with a touching Instagram post in which he thanked his parents and reflected on a career that saw him go from college baseball star at Vanderbilt University to respected veteran on four Major League teams. Tony Kemp built his career on grit and consistency Kemp's best year was 2018, when he batted. 263 with six home runs in 97 games, making one of the most memorable plays of the postseason with a leaping catch at the wall in the A.L.C.S. against the Boston Red Sox. He could play multiple positions and was a valuable player for every team he played on: the Chicago Cubs (2019), the Oakland Athletics (2020–2023), and the Orioles (2024). In 739 MLB games, Kemp posted a. 237 with 35 homers and 184 RBIs in his career. He was never a power hitter, and yet his impact extended well beyond the box score. He was an everyday presence in the lineup and a grinder with his at-bats, his ability to move baserunners, and make heady plays in the field. Kemp became a strong presence in the clubhouse with the Athletics, the elder spokesman among players, a mentor for young teammates, upholder of the good parts of the culture even when the team was losing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Remarkable Oscar Outfits Ever Interesticle A lasting legacy of Tony Kemp beyond the field Kemp's retirement not only signifies an end to his playing career, but it also brings attention to his lasting impact off the field. He was also a four-time finalist for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award , presented to players who best exemplify sportsmanship and community involvement. In 2023, he donated $100 per walk to the Himalayan Cataract Project , continuing to support kids who are blind from the unstable mountainous regions of Himalaya and Ethiopia, and launched the ' +1 Effect ' initiative that asked fans to have 1 real conversation about race to drive positive influence and welcome new fans to the game. Also Read: Dodgers' star Hyeseong Kim blasts first MLB home run against the Athletics During his career, Kemp had long been known for using his platform to bring others along. Through charitable partnerships and a focus on the environment as well as his contagious optimism, the impact of Tony Kemp stretched well beyond baseball. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
New York Times
10-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Alex Cora wound up talking about Roberto Clemente while talking about Jarren Duran
BOSTON — Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora had plenty of time to craft an appropriate message after this week's news that star outfielder Jarren Duran is only three years removed from a suicide attempt. And yet Cora surprised a lot of people — including himself — when he put it out there that Duran deserves to receive baseball's prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. Advertisement 'It popped into my head while I was talking,' Cora told me Wednesday afternoon, sitting in the first-base dugout at Fenway Park. 'I wasn't planning that. I was talking, I mentioned that (Duran) is saving lives with what he said, and it made me think of Roberto Clemente right then.' Duran's disclosure about a suicide attempt is included in the fourth installment of 'The Clubhouse: A year with the Red Sox,' an eight-part Netflix documentary that was released this week. Cora, speaking at a Fenway Park news conference Monday afternoon, said, 'I truly believe that him opening up is going to help a lot of people. It takes a person with courage and being transparent and genuine to do that. I hope that's how we see it, right? He will impact others, and he's going to save lives with what he did on Netflix.' And then Cora brought up the Clemente Award. 'He should win it, to be honest,' Cora said. 'Simply for what he said and what he's doing. He's saving lives, and we're very proud of him.' "We're very proud of him… he's saving lives. He should be nominated for the Roberto Clemente award and should win it." Alex Cora on Jarren Duran ❤️ — NESN (@NESN) April 8, 2025 It's no surprise that Cora is extending his full support to Duran. Though it's tempting to play the back-in-the-day game and wonder how some grumpy manager would have responded then, none of that is relevant to this discussion. This is the third decade of the 21st century, and sensibilities are different. There isn't a manager in the game in 2025 who wouldn't have backed up a player who was brave enough to reveal his mental health struggles. But what's remarkable about Cora's response is that the Boston manager brought up Clemente, the iconic Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder who was killed on December 31, 1972, while attempting to transport supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. The overloaded plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Isla Verde International Airport in Puerto Rico. Advertisement Clemente was as well-known for his charity work and his humanitarian efforts as his baseball prowess, and it's in that spirit that the Roberto Clemente Award was established in 1973 and is presented annually to the player 'who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.' Just as Clemente was born and raised in Puerto Rico, so, too, was Cora. 'I never saw him play … but I saw him play (on videos),' said Cora, who was born nearly three years after Clemente died. 'I see the swing. I see the defense. But I also see the person. And that's what we remember.' Cora said his late father, José Manuel Cora, a broadcaster on Puerto Rico Winter League games, conducted some baseball clinics with Clemente. He later helped set up Little League baseball in Caguas, Puerto Rico, where Alex and his older brother, Joey, also a future big-leaguer, grew up. 'When we talk about Roberto Clemente, when we talk about him to my kids, to my daughter, they know, yeah, he got 3,000 hits,' Cora said. 'They know his No. 21. And they know he played for the Pirates. But they also know he was as giving a person you'd ever meet. This guy was on top of the world, sports-wise, and something happened in Nicaragua, and he jumped on that plane and decided to help. 'That's what he means to us,' Cora said. And all that began percolating inside Cora's head when he was talking with the media about Duran. 'I was just talking, and it happened organically,' Cora said. As reported by The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey, Samaritans, Inc., a Boston-based suicide prevention service, has had a spike in texts to 'Hey Sam,' a text line for people 25 and under. (The text line is 439-726.) 'And then you start thinking about what Jarren has been through, and the thing I can keep coming back to since I found out (about the suicide attempt), and that it was going to become public, is that he's going to be saving lives,' Cora said. 'You see the numbers. Right away, they're talking about teenagers calling and looking for help since Jarren did what he did.' In 2022, when the Red Sox were in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, Cora took his players to the Roberto Clemente Museum. 'The guy was, I always said, a Hall of Famer as a baseball player, (but) there has to be something bigger than the Hall of Fame up there,' Cora said that day, per 'And he's part of that.' Advertisement And so Cora again brought up Clemente the other day, this time in connection with Duran. I don't think he's doing any actual campaigning here. It just reaffirms how much the Clemente legacy means to the Boston manager. And it confirms just how much Duran means to the Red Sox. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
New York Times
18-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Veteran Justin Turner finalizing agreement to join Chicago Cubs: Source
The Chicago Cubs are finalizing an agreement with Justin Turner, a league source briefed on the negotiations told The Athletic on Tuesday, adding a highly accomplished right-handed hitter with extensive playoff experience to their group. The Cubs monitored Turner, 40, on the free-agent market and pivoted after their failed pursuit of Alex Bregman, the All-Star third baseman who recently signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox that contains a substantial amount of deferred money. Advertisement At this point, it seems unlikely that the Cubs would add another position player on a major-league deal during spring training. The Cubs did their due diligence and evaluated Nolan Arenado as a possible long-shot fit, league sources said, but the St. Louis Cardinals have no plans to trade the All-Star third baseman to their biggest rival in the National League Central. With the Cubs starting their Cactus League schedule on Thursday — and opening their season on March 18 in Japan — it was time for Turner to make a decision. According to league sources, spending the summer in Chicago and getting the entire Wrigley Field experience appealed to Turner and his wife Kourtney, who is from Indiana. Turner knows how to perform in a large market. He established himself as a major-league player with the New York Mets and then blossomed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a Dodger, Turner helped Los Angeles win the 2020 World Series, while also earning two All-Star selections, as well as the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes community service, philanthropy and on-field excellence. After leaving the Dodgers, Turner's late-career movement also brought him to the Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. He was an above-average producer during his age-39 season, finishing with 11 home runs, 55 RBIs and a .737 OPS in 139 games. The Cubs can pair Turner, a right-handed hitter, with first baseman Michael Busch and get him additional at-bats as a designated hitter. Turner has primarily played third base during his 16-year career, though it's unclear to what extent the Cubs would use him at that position, given his age and their hopes for top prospect Matt Shaw.
CBS News
27-01-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder returns as special advisor to GM, community ambassador
BALTIMORE (AP) — Retired five-time All-Star outfielder Adam Jones is returning to the Baltimore Orioles as a special advisor to general manager Mike Elias as well as a community ambassador. The Orioles announced the move Monday. Jones will advise Elias on various matters while serving as a resource for the rest of the baseball operations department and for players. "I am grateful for the Orioles relationships I have formed since my retirement, which have led us to this exciting partnership. Having the opportunity to be around the game that I love, while also learning the operations side of baseball from one of the best general managers is truly an honor," Jones said in a statement released by the team. "I am happy to be a resource for the Orioles organization and will offer everything I've learned from past experience to help the team succeed. Baltimore has always meant so much to me, and this unique role will allow me to continue giving back to the community I love. This is a special opportunity and I'm eager to embrace it fully." Jones will begin this new role by working as a guest coach at the Orioles' spring training camp in Sarasota, Florida. Jones played for the Orioles from 2008-18 and won four Gold Gloves during that stretch. He made the AL All-Star team in 2009 and every year from 2012-15. He also played with the Seattle Mariners (2006-07) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2019) before officially retiring as an Oriole on Sept. 15, 2023. Jones ranks fourth in Orioles history in at bats and total bases and fifth in runs, homers, RBIs and extra-base hits. He was a three-time nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award given annually to the MLB player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and contribution to a team. During his playing career, Jones was involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore, the Orioles RBI program and the Maryland YMCA.
