Mookie Betts wins one of baseball’s highest honors — the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award
by Cary Osborne
Mookie Betts’ 2025 season was one of the most challenging of a special 12-year Major League career. It began with illness. There were constant questions about whether he should move back to right field, even after he had settled in as the Dodger starting shortstop — pulling off one of the most difficult positional switches in baseball. The offense — in totality — was a tick off from past All-Star/Silver Slugger seasons.
What the 2025 season has become is one of the most rewarding seasons for one of the best players of his era. Already nominated for a Gold Glove Award at shortstop, Betts has now achieved one of baseball’s most important accolades.
Betts has been named the 2025 recipient of Major League Baseball’s most prestigious individual player honor — the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One. Betts was nominated by the Dodgers for his many extraordinary efforts, including supporting young people in a variety of ways and helping victims of the Los Angeles fires. His and wife Brianna’s efforts and work off the field have made a lasting impact.
“Just being recognized for something like this is really cool. As a family, we don’t really do a whole lot of things to be recognized for it. We just kind of do it out of the goodness of our hearts,” Betts said. “But to be recognized is really nice, and especially after this year, going through all that I went through, the changes of moving and I’m not playing very well, just to know that my on-the-field things are irrelevant to this. You can still be successful and maybe not in a way that you didn’t know. It’s just really cool. It’s really cool just to be able to hold up this award and to know that this had nothing to do with baseball.”
Betts was formally presented with the Roberto Clemente Award at Dodger Stadium on Monday before Game 3 of the World Series.
“Life is about more than kind of what you do, I think, as far as work. It’s about how you affect people,” Betts said. “People always remember how you make them feel. So I know we live by that. So when we come across people, we always make them smile, do what you can to help them, and the Lord blesses you. So that’s kind of what we care about. We just want to be a good example for all the kids growing up and to know that they can do it, no matter what.”
He is the fourth Dodger to win the award, which 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. Previous Dodger winners are Steve Garvey (1981), Clayton Kershaw (2012) and Justin Turner (2022).
“In addition to his play on the field, Mookie has been an unbelievable ambassador for our game,” said Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Jr.
Said Luis Clemente, the son of the legendary Roberto Clemente: “I also understand the efforts that the wives put together, as mom did with dad. So, Brianna, also congratulations because you’re very much a part of this as well.”
An eight-time MLB All-Star, 2018 American League MVP, and three-time World Series Champion, Betts has made meaningful humanitarian contributions, creating opportunities and better outcomes for the less fortunate in the following ways:
· Founder of the 5050 Foundation (est. 2021) — dedicated to breaking barriers for underserved youth through four core pillars: mental/emotional health, nutrition, financial literacy, and physical fitness. Additionally, his foundation raised more than $100,000 through community fundraising efforts this March.
· Betts partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to contribute $160,000 to the Brother Crusade, supporting hunger and homelessness initiatives.
· Betts donated over $30,000 in Nike apparel to victims of the 2025 Los Angeles fires. Betts and his foundation also helped the Franklin family of Altadena, CA, who lost their home in the Eaton Fire, through financial assistance and recovery resources.
· During the 2024–25 school year, Betts and the 5050 Foundation in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District launched an academic challenge focused on students in high school athletics. Students competed for best overall grade-point average (team and individual), and most improved GPA (team and individual). Students received recognition at a Dodger game, and winning teams and students received sports equipment.
· Betts partnered with the Obama Foundation to deliver youth sports equipment and fund the Mookie Betts Metro Baseball Tournament in Nashville.
· Betts also founded “Team Mookie” AAU basketball program in his hometown — funding six competitive youth teams, including the 2024 EYBL 16U National Champions.
· Betts established the “Betts on Us Fund” at UCLA Children’s Hospital, supporting families of pediatric patients in need of financial assistance.
· To introduce the 5050 Foundation to a broader audience, the organization launched the annual Mookie Betts + Friends Bowling Tournament in 2023, with proceeds from the 2024 event supporting field improvements at Jackie Robinson’s alma mater, John Muir High School — including dugout renovations, outfield widescreens, and other enhancements to elevate the quality of the field.
· Betts remains an active participant in Dodgers community initiatives, including Make-A-Wish visits, UCLA Health engagements, Jackie Robinson Day, Black Heritage Night celebrations and more.
Mookie Betts wins one of baseball’s highest honors — the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.