Rockies Veteran Kyle Freeland Named Roberto Clemente Award Nominee

This will mark the fourth year in a row that Freeland has been the Rockies' nominee for the Roberto Clemente award.

"The award is given annually to a player who demonstrates the values of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente displayed in his commitment to community in understand the value helping others," MLB.com says, describing the award.

Being that it's his fourth season in a row being nominated, Freeland has not stopped emobying those ideas.

A Denver native, Freeland has been a successful homegrown player since being drafted eighth overall in the 2014 draft.

Freeland's work with Special Olympics Colorado has been one of his "passions" while playing in his hometown.

"He has a particular passion for Special Olympics Colorado (SOCO), and organization dedicated to helping athletes with intellectual disabilities," MLB.com says of his work.

Being that he's from Colorado, the left hander "has always been involved with the local community."

His generosity reaches further than his hometown, though. Freeland and his wife, Ashley, pledged $3 million to their alma mater, which is the largest donation in the history of University of Evansville baseball. The money was donated to construct a "state-of-the-art baseball clubhouse" that will open in 2025.

Freeland has also worked with Colorado Rockies youth baseball clinics and the Players Alliance Clinic in Denver.

No matter what, Freeland wants people to have access to and be able to play sports, part of what makes him so well liked in the community.

Should Freeland win the award, he would become the first Rockies player to win the award. It began in 1971, but no one on the Rockies has won it since their birth in 1993.