Francisco Lindor is the 2026 recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, Major League Baseball announced Monday. The Associated Press, via Sportsnet, and ESPN both described it as an award for his humanitarian work. Deadspin called him a five-time All-Star and said he was recognized for his charity work, but its summary cuts off there, so we can't say what work it was.
Amazin' Avenue's Brian Salvatore quoted MLB's press release, which defines the award as "the annual recognition of a 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." The feeds we have don't include any quotes from Lindor. MLB.com's headline frames the win as "in the spirit of his idol and countryman," a reference to Roberto Clemente, the award's namesake. ESPN's headline calls it a "full-circle moment." We only have the headlines for those two pieces, so we can't say what Lindor or MLB said to support either framing.
The award recognizes work away from the field, and it came in a year when his production dropped. Lindor hit .225 with 21 home runs, 49 RBI and a .732 OPS in 105 games. In 2025 he played 160 games and hit .267 with 31 homers and 86 RBI. The 2026 figures are his lowest average since 2021, when he hit .230. Our data doesn't say why he played fewer games, and none of the reporting addresses it.
The Mets finished 74-88, fifth in the NL East. Their last three games were at Washington. They lost 7-6 on Sept. 25, won 7-1 on Sept. 26 and lost 6-4 on Sept. 27 to end the season on a one-game losing streak. Lindor's last game in our data was Sept. 27.
| G | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | 94 | 21 | 49 | .225 | .732 |
None of the outlets we have gives a date or venue for a presentation. Clemente himself is in our archive only through his 1972 season, when he hit .312 with 10 home runs in 102 games for Pittsburgh. The reporting we have doesn't say when Lindor will be honored.
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