This year's Man of the Year, Craig Biggio
Since 1971, Major League Baseball has given out the Roberto Clemente Award (originally called the Commissioner's Award) to a player who has performed above expectations on the field, and has made significant contributions in the community.
Following the tragic death of Roberto Clemente, who was killed in a plane crash on his way to Nicaragua to help the victims of an earthquake on New Year’s Eve, 1972, the award was renamed. The final hit of Clemente's career was his 3,000th and in his final year in the majors hit .312.
This year's recipient is retired Houston Astros second baseman Craig Biggio. Since the early 1990s, Biggio and his wife Patty have been spokespersons for The Sunshine Kids, a support group for children with cancer. They host an annual baseball party at Minute Maid Park and hold a holiday party at the Sunshine Kids house in Houston. Biggio has also raised more than $2.5 million through an annual golf tournament held over the last 16 years.
In 2005, Biggio was named the winner of the Hutch Award, and was the recipient of the 2006 "Heart and Hustle" Award.
| 1971 | Willie Mays |
| 1972 | Brooks Robinson |
| 1973 | Al Kaline |
| 1974 | Willie Stargell |
| 1975 | Lou Brock |
| 1976 | Pete Rose |
| 1977 | Rod Carew |
| 1978 | Greg Luzinski |
| 1979 | Andre Thornton |
| 1980 | Phil Niekro |
| 1981 | Steve Garvey |
| 1982 | Ken Singleton |
| 1983 | Cecil Cooper |
| 1984 | Ron Guidry |
| 1985 | Don Baylor |
| 1986 | Garry Maddox |
| 1987 | Rick Sutcliffe |
| 1988 | Dale Murphy |
| 1989 | Gary Carter |
| 1990 | Dave Stewart |
| 1991 | Harold Reynolds |
| 1992 | Cal Ripken, Jr. |
| 1993 | Barry Larkin |
| 1994 | Dave Winfield |
| 1995 | Ozzie Smith |
| 1996 | Kirby Puckett |
| 1997 | Eric Davis |
| 1998 | Sammy Sosa |
| 1999 | Sammy Sosa |
| 2000 | Al Leiter |
| 2001 | Curt Schilling |
| 2002 | Jim Thome |
| 2003 | Jamie Moyer |
| 2004 | Edgar Martinez |
| 2005 | John Smoltz |
| 2006 | Carlos Delgado |
| 2007 | Craig Biggio |