Cruz named recipient of MLB’S Clemente Award
HOUSTON — Nelson Cruz has been given Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy.
Cruz, the 50th winner of the honor, received the award before World Series Game 2 on
Wednesday night.
The 41-year-old Cruz, a 17-year MLB veteran and seven-time All-star, provided financial support to 1,200 families in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic, during the COVID -19 pandemic, helping feed 700 families, among other initiatives.
More MLB: Atlanta’s 6-2 victory over Houston in Game 1 of the World Series drew an average of 10,811,000 viewers on Fox, up 17.5 percent from the record low of 9,195,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opening 8-3 win over
Tampa Bay last year . ... San Diego hired Ruben Niebla from Cleveland as its pitching coach.
Soccer: Struggling Barcelona fired coach Ronald Koeman shortly after the team’s 1-0 loss at Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league on Wednesday. Koeman leaves with the club in ninth place in the Spanish league standings with 15 points from 10 matches.
Auto racing: A third person injured when a drag racer, Michael Gonzales, veered into a crowd and crashed during a racing event in Central Texas has died, police said. Rebecca Cedillo, 46, of Converse, a San Antonio suburb, died at University Hospital in San Antonio.
College football: Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, Iowa State All-america tight end Charlie Kolar and Michigan star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson are among 13 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, which honors the top scholar-athlete in college football.
Horse racing: Medina Spirit, the controversial winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality head a field of 10 horses for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Breeders’ Cup is Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.
— Wire reports