Mets' Francisco Lindor wins the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award, MLB's top honor for community work
The shortstop, a four-time Mets nominee, is the fifth player in franchise history and the fifth Puerto Rican-born player to win. He accepts it tonight before Game 3 of the World Series.
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller / Wikimedia Commons · CC0
- Major League Baseball named Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor the winner of the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award, its highest honor for character and community work.
- Capital One is donating $100,000 to the SEEN Foundation, which Lindor and his wife, Katia, work with on youth programs, MLB said.
- His work includes Lindor's Leaders, a new mentoring program with New Balance for Bayside High School sports medicine students, and more than $1 million to his Florida alma mater.
- He joins Gary Carter (1989), Al Leiter (2000), Carlos Delgado (2006) and Curtis Granderson (2016) as Mets winners, amNY noted.
- Lindor receives the award Monday night before Game 3 of the World Series at Tropicana Field.
Francisco Lindor has added baseball's most meaningful off-field honor to his résumé. Major League Baseball named the Mets shortstop the winner of the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award on Monday, recognizing his work in education, youth development, disaster relief and community leadership, according to the league's announcement.
Lindor will be presented with the award Monday night at Tropicana Field before Game 3 of the World Series, MLB said. Capital One, the award's sponsor, is donating $100,000 to the SEEN Foundation, an organization Lindor and his wife, Katia, work with to support young people.
The Queens connection
Closest to home is Lindor's Leaders, launched this year with New Balance: a yearlong leadership program for students in Bayside High School's sports medicine program that covers mental health, communication and teamwork, with Lindor mentoring the students himself, MLB said. He also partnered with Dairy Queen and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals on Miracle Treat Day to raise money for local children's hospitals.
Beyond New York, he has given more than $1 million since 2020 to Montverde Academy in Florida, his alma mater, to build Lindor Hall, a middle school building with science and technology labs, and he helped restore athletic facilities in his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico, after Hurricanes Maria and Fiona, amNY reported.
In good company
Lindor was the Mets' nominee in each of the last four years. He is the fifth Met to win, after Gary Carter (1989), Al Leiter (2000), Carlos Delgado (2006) and Curtis Granderson (2016), amNY noted, and the fifth player of Puerto Rican descent, joining Edgar Martínez, Delgado, Carlos Beltrán and Yadier Molina, according to MLB. The winner is chosen from 30 nominees, one per team, by a panel that includes Commissioner Rob Manfred and members of Clemente's family.
"It's not about myself," Lindor said, crediting his family and parents, according to amNY.
- MLBPress release: Francisco Lindor named recipient of the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award Presented by Capital One
- amNYMets' Francisco Lindor named 2026 Roberto Clemente Award winner
- MLB.comLindor wins 2026 Clemente Award, in spirit of his idol and countryman
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