New York, NY – New York Yankees pitcher David Robertson and New York Mets third baseman David Wright are among the six finalists for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.
The award is named for the founding executive director of the MLB Players Association and is bestowed upon the player "whose on-field and off-field performance most inspires others to higher levels of achievement by displaying as much passion to give back to others as he shows between the lines on the baseball diamond."
Robertson and Wright are joined as finalists by White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, Rangers star Michael Young, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
Robertson has helped his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama rebuild from tornadoes that blew through the area. The right-handed reliever and his wife established the David and Erin Robertson Foundation to raise relief funds and lend support to local charities helping those affected by the storms, with Robertson personally donating $100 for every batter he strikes out this season through his High Socks for Hope campaign.
The David Wright Foundation provides aid and assistance to support the health, emotional development and education of needy children in New York's greater tri-state communities and in his Norfolk, Virginia hometown, with a special emphasis on enhancing the quality of life for multiple sclerosis patients. This year, his Foundation���s signature Las Vegas Nights raised $60,000 for the New York City Ronald McDonald House and $111,000 for Virginia's Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Konerko's Bring Me Home Campaign raises funds to support abused and neglected children and promotes awareness for the benefits of foster care in partnership with Children's Home & Aid of Illinois. Konerko also leads holiday gift drives and provides back-to-school shopping sprees for foster children. To date, the Bring Me Home Campaign has raised more than $400,000 to benefit Illinois foster children and their families.
Young, the winner of the 2008 award, this year launched The Michael Young Family Foundation to improve children's social, educational, physical and mental health. A long-time sponsor of the Wipe Out Kids Cancer Ambassadors Program, Young invites young cancer patients to Rangers games and has provided college scholarships to more than 50 local cancer survivors and Hispanic students through his Young Heroes Scholarship Program.
Wainwright, despite the fact that elbow surgery has prevented him from suiting up for a single game this year, is a champion for the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, an organization that gives the outdoor enthusiast the opportunity to share his Christian values while granting children with life-threatening illnesses their dream of going on a once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing trip. To date, Wainwright has raised over $75,000 for the foundation, enough to help 20 kids realize their dream. This season, Wainwright also traveled to Joplin, Missouri to help with tornado relief and rebuilding efforts.
Tulowitzki grows "bad hair for a good cause" as part of the Wins for Kids program, an initiative that raised more than $25,000 for The Children's Hospital and The Special Olympics last season. He also welcomes terminally ill children to batting practice through the Rockies Share and Care program and is a national spokesman for the Play Sun Smart program, where he promotes the importance of skin cancer prevention for the American Academy of Dermatology.
Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers was last year's winner.
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