National Nominees For The 2004 Roberto Clemente Award.

The Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock is given annually to the Major League Baseball player who combines outstanding skills on the baseball field with devoted work in the community. A panel of dignitaries including Vera Clemente, wife of the late Hall of Famer, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig and David D’Alessandro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial Services, will select the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock. The winner will be selected from among the 30 local award recipients.

Clubs playing at home today will acknowledge their local Robert Clemente Award presented by John Hancock recipients as part of Roberto Clemente Day ceremonies. A national celebration of Roberto Clemente Day will take place at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Members of the Clemente family, representatives from Major League Baseball, local dignitaries and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ local recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock are scheduled to participate in the ceremonies. Roberto Clemente Day was established by Major League Baseball in 2002 to honor the memory of Roberto Clemente and to officially recognize local Club recipients of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock. Clubs on the road will honor their local award recipients during their next home stand.

The national winner will be announced at a press conference prior to Game Three of the 2004 World Series. The national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock will receive a $25,000 donation from John Hancock Financial Services to the charity of his choice. John Hancock also will make a $30,000 contribution to Roberto Clemente Sports City in Puerto Rico and $2,500 donations to the designated charity of each local Club recipient.

The 30 Club recipients of the 2004 Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock are:

Anaheim Angels – Tim Salmon
Arizona Diamondbacks – Matt Mantei
Atlanta Braves – John Smoltz
Baltimore Orioles – B.J. Surhoff
Boston Red Sox – Tim Wakefield
Chicago Cubs – Kerry Wood
Chicago White Sox – Jose Valentin
Cincinnati Reds – Sean Casey
Cleveland Indians – Matt Lawton
Colorado Rockies – Charles Johnson
Detroit Tigers – Dmitri Young
Florida Marlins – Jeff Conine
Houston Astros – Roger Clemens
Kansas City Royals – Mike Sweeney
Los Angeles Dodgers – Jose Lima
Milwaukee Brewers – Geoff Jenkins
Minnesota Twins – Brad Radke
Montreal Expos – Brad Wilkerson
New York Mets – Mike Cameron
New York Yankees – Mike Mussina
Oakland Athletics – Tim Hudson
Philadelphia Phillies – Bobby Abreu
Pittsburgh Pirates – Craig Wilson
St. Louis Cardinals – Mike Matheny
San Diego Padres – Ryan Klesko
San Francisco Giants – Scott Eyre
Seattle Mariners – Edgar Martinez
Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Toby Hall
Texas Rangers – Rusty Greer
Toronto Blue Jays – Roy Halladay