CLEVELAND — When it came time to make their nomination for baseball's annual Roberto Clemente Award, the Cleveland Indians decided that their most obvious candidate was their best candidate.
On Thursday, the Indians announced their have nominated pitcher Carlos Carrasco for the 2019 edition of the honor, which is presented annually the "Major League player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field."
In June, the Indians announced that they had placed Carrasco on the Injured List with an undisclosed blood condition. A month later, the 32-year-old revealed to a television station in the Dominican Republic that the condition in question was leukemia.
Despite the severity of his diagnosis, Carrasco remained determined to make a return to baseball this season and began rehab assignments with the Indians' minor league affiliates in August. On Sept. 1, he made his return to the Indians' big league roster, where he has served as a member of the team's bullpen during their final push to secure a fourth straight postseason appearance.
“Just to hear that I am the Roberto Clemente nominee makes me stronger and happier because I know what he did,” Carrasco said in a press release. “As a baseball player, he was amazing – an unbelievable player. Off the field, he was an incredible person who helped a lot of people.
“To win the Roberto Clemente Award would mean a lot for my country, for all of those countries I’ve been helping, and for the United States, because they gave me an opportunity to play this game, to work here, to do everything from here. It would really be an honor to win.”
In 17 appearances this season (12 starts), the right-handed Carrasco has amassed a 5-7 record, 5.35 ERA and 87 strikeouts. Since returning earlier this month, he has posted a 1-1 record to go along with 9.53 ERA and 8 strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.
