Minutes before an 18-inning epic ended 6–5 for the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series, Mookie Betts walked onto the Dodger Stadium infield for a different kind of victory. He was named the 2025 recipient of Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award, the sport’s highest honor for humanitarian leadership and community impact.
Mookie Betts ganó el premio Roberto Clemente por su trabajo en la comunidad 👏. pic.twitter.com/gVZxTPPznP
— ESPN Béisbol ⚾️ (@ESPN_Beisbol) October 28, 2025
The award announcement set the tone for a night that stretched past midnight. Commissioner Rob Manfred called Betts “an overwhelming choice,” praising his move to shortstop, his All-MLB ambassadorship, and the breadth of his giving. “You’re a tribute to our game and this is a well-deserved award,” Manfred told Betts on the dais. Luis Clemente welcomed Betts to “the Clemente family of inductees,” and made sure to share credit with Brianna Betts — a nod to the family model that has powered the work since day one.
Betts’s own words underscored what the honor represents. “Life is about more than what you do for work. It’s about how you affect people. People always remember how you make them feel,” he said. He thanked his parents, 5050 Foundation CEO Unique Jones, and Brianna — “always by my side” on late-night food drops and school visits — and added a light smile to the moment: “I feel like I’m part of the Puerto Rican family now… being able to put on No. 21 and knowing all that he did is a blessing.”
Founded in 2021 by Mookie and Brianna Betts, the 5050 Foundation focuses on four pillars that turn giving into growth — physical fitness, nutrition, mental and emotional health, and financial literacy. In Nashville, Team Mookie fields multiple AAU basketball teams and has moved graduating athletes into college programs, including scholarship players. In Los Angeles, Adopt-A-School with LA Unified delivers baseball and softball equipment and pairs it with career and life-skills development. The annual turkey drive with the Dodgers Foundation has supported thousands of families during the holidays. The Betts on Us fund at UCLA Children’s Hospital helps families of pediatric patients access care when it matters most.
#Dodgers star #MookieBetts served customers at Raising Cane's in Alhambra Wednesday, drawing a huge crowd! Betts' visit was all for a good cause. Raising Cane's is donating $100K to Betts' 5050 Foundation, which funds sports programs at inner-city schools https://t.co/sdHKtlIJXk pic.twitter.com/Xcla5j7xMs
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 28, 2024
The work flexes to meet the moment. This year, the foundation helped wildfire victims with clothing and essentials, supported families displaced by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, partnered with the Obama Foundation to equip Hyde Park Academy student-athletes in Chicago, and launched an academic challenge with LAUSD. Brianna explained how they choose projects: “We go off of our feel and joy in seeing the kids… it’s a two-way street. We are here for them, and they’re here for us as well.”
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts framed the honor simply. “This is a huge one,” he said pregame. “Players are people first. To get the Roberto Clemente Award is quite the achievement. Give Mookie and Brianna a lot of credit. To balance on-field performance with off-the-field impact is pretty amazing.” The timing made the message louder: on a night that demanded total focus, the sport stopped to recognize service.
Betts’s name now sits with a line of recipients who define leadership beyond box scores, from recent honorees like Aaron Judge and Justin Turner to Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, and Yadier Molina. He also joins a short list of Dodgers to earn the league-wide recognition — Turner in 2022, Clayton Kershaw in 2012, and Steve Garvey in 1981.
The baseball résumé is already elite. Drafted out of Overton High School in Nashville, Betts debuted in 2014 and has since stacked eight All-Star selections, six Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers, a batting title, and three World Series rings. In 2025 he anchored the Dodgers while moving across the infield and outfield as needed, then walked off the field to do the same for his communities.
World Baseball Network connects fans to the game’s global pulse. Clemente’s name stands for that idea — that baseball’s best work crosses neighborhoods, borders, and languages. On a World Series night in Los Angeles, Mookie Betts made that real. “It’s really cool just to hold up this award and know it had nothing to do with baseball,” he said. The game that followed was unforgettable. The example he set before it will last even longer.
Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts speaks after receiving the Roberto Clemente Award as wife Brianna Betts, right, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, left, listen prior to Game 3 of baseball’s World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
