Roberto Clemente Award nominees
⏩ Tony Kemp: A’s utilityman recognized for ‘+1 Effect.’
KANSAS CITY — Tony Kemp’s two seasons with the A’s have been perhaps his most productive on the field, and his impact has extended away from it. Kemp this week was named Oakland’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for the second time.
Kemp, the A’s utilityman, started his +1 Effect initiative last summer as a way to spark discussion about racial and societal issues in America. Kemp invited fans on social media to have conversations with him about race and other issues, an effort he said Wednesday is ongoing.
“People are still asking questions in my DMs about race to this day, and I think it’s good to keep the conversation going,” Kemp said before the A’s played the Royals.
“It’s still a work in progress of everybody trying to better themselves to take a step out of their shoes and see if they can live in someone else’s shoes and see how I feel. The +1 Effect is all about having conversations with someone else in a positive way to spread awareness and spread positivity through other people and how they feel about race, so it’s been good.”
T-shirts created for the campaign have been visible at A’s games both in Oakland and on the road. Part of the proceeds go to the Players Alliance, a group founded by current and former Black major-league players to promote equity in baseball. Proceeds from other +1 Effect T-shirt designs go to the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center and Compassion in Oakland, which provides chaperone services for elderly residents in Oakland’s Chinatown, according to Kemp’s agency, Ballengee Group.
Kemp also works with the Players Alliance and this season paired with environmental nonprofit Players for the Planet in pledging to plant 100 trees for each stolen base and extrabase hit he records. PG&E, a corporate partner of the A’s, pledged to match Kemp’s tree donations, according to the team.
The A’s said they plan to recognize Kemp for his nomination before Monday’s game in Oakland.
Bassitt will throw sim game: A’s right-hander Chris Bassitt threw a bullpen session Wednesday and will face hitters in a simulated-game setting his next time on a mound, manager Bob Melvin said.
Bassitt, returning from Aug. 24 surgery for facial fractures caused by a line drive in an Aug. 17 game, threw two “innings” of 15 pitches, with a rest between, in the Kauffman Stadium bullpen before the A’s played the Royals. Melvin said Bassitt’s velocity reached 93 mph and he “looked like himself.”
On Saturday, Bassitt will throw live to A’s hitters in Anaheim. Melvin said the A’s will have “a bit more of a definite plan” for Bassitt after that session.