
OAKLAND — The Oakland A's nominated Chad Pinder for this year's Roberto Clemente Award on Tuesday. The award recognizes the player who best represents baseball through community involvement, character, and other positive contributions, with each team selecting a nominee.
“It's an honor,” Pinder told NBC Sports California. “It's a privilege to be said in the same sentence as a name like that. I'm very blessed to be in this situation.”
Pinder is in the middle of his third season with the A's. He's played for manager Bob Melvin in each one, and Oakland's skipper said the recognition should come as no surprise.
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“That's pretty cool,” Melvin said. “If you've been inside the clubhouse, you know how big a personality he is for us, and he has terrific leadership qualities. He's out and about in the community. He's a real stand-up guy. He's one of my favorite guys here. For him to be honored in this way is a nice little feather in his cap, and we feel good about it as well.”
Pinder, 26, works with special needs children at the School of Imagination in Dublin, an opportunity he learned of through a former teammate.
“[Current Milwaukee Brewers catcher] Stephen Vogt reached out to me this offseason ... to hopefully take over the reigns and go over there and spend some time with those kids. I was all onboard.”
The school was founded in 2001 for all children, including those with autism and developmental delays.
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“It's amazing,” Pinder said of the experience. “When you see some of the things these kids go through and battle, it puts everything in perspective. ... They do such an amazing job over there. It's an honor for me to go over there and spend time with those kids and be around the other people who work there. It's just an amazing group of people.”
Pinder hopes to join Dave Stewart as the only A's players to ever win the award. The winner will be announced during the World Series.