Puerto Rican shortstop Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets has won the 2026 Roberto Clemente Award. The award is given annually to the MLB player who “best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Remezcla spoke with Lindor about the award, his family, his Puerto Rican heritage, and how philanthropy is simply a way of life for him.
“It’s an honor. It’s a great award. It’s a great award because at the end of the day, it recognizes you inside and outside the court,” Lindor said. “And for me, this award means mom and dad did a good job.”
For Lindor, it all started there with his parents. “Mom and dad have always told me that I have to thank those around us,” he shared, adding that when he calls either of his parents, the conversation goes. “Hello, how are you? How are your kids? How is Katia? How is the temperature? Who have you helped?”
That, for Lindor, “at the end of the day, is a way of living.”
“I’m not doing this to win an award. We’re doing this because we feel that the world needs a lot of things, a lot of help. And being from Puerto Rico, I have more than I should have in my life.” But the award isn’t the end. Not even close. “This is not an award that will stay in the trophy case,” Lindor told us, adding, “This is going to help me have a bigger platform to continue blessing and helping other people. The work doesn’t end here. The work continues.”
Lindor has specific plans. “I really like education. And my wife likes health. I like education because I feel that the more educated, the more things we can achieve. And my wife really likes health because without health we can’t do the things we want to do today. So, we’re going to keep impacting communities through these things.”
The Mets shortstop didn’t grow up with much, but he never felt poor, sharing, “There was not much food in the fridge. There was no milk for everyone. But we had everything, basically. That’s how I saw it. And among all that we had, which was not much, we helped each other. We had a bicycle. We had to lend it to the neighbor. We had a scooter. We had to lend it to the neighbor. And if the neighbor didn’t have one, we wouldn’t ride the scooter or the bicycle unless we lent it to him. And we all shared. Those little things are what we try to do with our children today.”
Lindor also spoke about his Puerto Rican pride. “I am Puerto Rican from here to the moon. Wherever you go, I am Puerto Rican; I love being Puerto Rican. I love representing my little island, my people,” he shared, adding, “but I also love being Latino, finding those connections between us, because we are one people.”