Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios nominated for prestigious award
Photo credit: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios has been nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, José Berrios didn't have a favorite team. He just wanted to watch the Puerto Rican stars.
His father played baseball professionally, so Berrios grew up around the game and has been chasing it his entire life, first in Minnesota and now in Toronto.
His roots have always stayed in Puerto Rico, though. Berrios holds an incredible sense of pride in his country, which continues to shape and inspire where his career goes from here.
Congratulations to José Berrios on being named our 2025 Roberto Clemente Award Nominee! Growing up in Bayamon - @JOLaMaKina idolized Clemente. He's using his platform to brighten the future for kids in Puerto Rico AND Canada.
«Seeing Iván Rodriguez out there playing day in and day out with the passion, the love he put into the game,» Berrios said, «but also knowing about Roberto Clemente, I watched Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Yadier Molina. Those guys have followed in the steps of what Roberto Clemente did for us.»
Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios gives back to the community in Puerto Rico and in Toronto with his El Dream project through his La Makina Foundation
Clemente is one of baseball's most important figures, a giant of the sport on any field in any country.
In Puerto Rico, he's a hero, a lesson to every young ball player. Berrios has always said that he wants to develop his own legacy and leave his own impact on kids and the community around him, which he continues to do through his his El Dream project, which is back for its second season after raising over $340,000 (CDN) in
«Every young player knows about Roberto Clemente. My dad played baseball, my brother plays baseball, so I always heard about Roberto Clemente and what he did, not just on the field but off the field. He is a role model. He is our inspiration, not only for Puerto Ricans but for Latin players. Knowing what he did and knowing that we have the opportunity to do the same or better than him is a great opportunity.»
The El Dream project works to help youth in Puerto Rico through Berrios' La Makina Foundation, but it also has established roots in Toronto and across Canada through its partnership with Jays Care Foundation.
He's embraced this new city and new country since being traded to the Blue Jays in 2021, working with Jays Care as an ambassador for Girls At Bat, Challenger Baseball, and RBI.
Berrios is a father, too, fiercely proud of his children who seem to love being at the ballpark just as much as he does.
He still lights up talking about El Dream and the La Makina Foundation, though.
Carrying the legacy of the great Puerto Rican players who have come before him in this game, Berrios wants to add his own legacy and leave a path for the kids who will someday grow up and talk about watching him play for these Blue Jays teams taking runs at their first World Series since 1993.
Source: MLB.com
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 15 | 175 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios nominated for prestigious award Do you think Jose Berrios is deserves to win the Roberto Clemente award? | ||
| Yes | 137 | 78.3 % |
| No | 38 | 21.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
