Pirates first baseman Josh Bell was named the Pirates' nominee for the Roberto Clemente award Thursday.
The award is bestowed every year to the player who "represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field."
Every team has one nominee. Major League Baseball will announce the recipient on Roberto Clemente day on Sept. 9.
Bell has worked towards continuing the dialogue on social justice and reform following the death of George Floyd, starting the #SocialReformSunday movement, which helps athletes use their platform to promote change in their communities.
With his support, the Pirates began the "Building Bridges" series, which features a player, coach or staff member speaking candidly about social reform.
Bell has also worked with the Pirates Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program and Rabbi Ron Symons of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh’s “Center for Loving Kindness” for a community conversation.
He also started a book club, and has partnered with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to hold it virtual. He will be moderating a discussion on The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, one of the first books he listed.
"It’s kind of like who I am as well as books that I feel like everybody should read so everybody can be on the same page in regards to not only understanding what social justice looks like, but understanding what being a good human being looks like," Bell said in July on the book club. "I feel like if I promote that message, it’s not going to be going up into a conversation like this, like one side or the other, like you’re either right or you’re wrong."
The last Pirates player to win the award was Andrew McCutchen in 2015. Trevor Williams was the franchise's nominee last year for his work with Project 34.