Royals catcher Salvador Perez wins Roberto Clemente Award - ESPN

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez won the Roberto Clemente Award, Major League Baseball's prestigious honor awarded annually to the player whose humanitarian efforts exemplify off-the-field service.

The 34-year-old, who has spent all 13 years of his major league career with Kansas City, is the first Royals player to win the award and was lauded for his generosity not only in his adopted hometown but in Valencia, Venezuela, where Perez grew up, and Colombia, where his contributions honor a minor league pitcher who died of cancer.

«When we do something, we do because it's coming from my heart,» Perez said. «I don't like to do things because somebody ask me to do it. When I sit with my mom and want to do something, we just do. We don't have to post anything on social media. I don't like that. If I do, I do it for my heart. I want to make people happy.»

Perez, the Royals' captain who is one of the most beloved athletes in Kansas City sports history, played on Roberto Clemente Day this year in Pittsburgh, where the Hall of Fame outfielder spent each of his 18 seasons. Perez later donated his catcher's gear from that day to the Clemente Museum. Clemente, the Hall of Fame outfielder for the Pirates, died in a plane crash trying to deliver aid to Nicaragua after a devastating 1972 earthquake. Clemente, esteemed for his philanthropy across Latin America — including his native Puerto Rico — was 38.

«I've read a lot [about] Roberto Clemente. I know he was an amazing player, but he was even better outside the field,» Perez said. «So that made him super special and made this award super special.»

Perez said he is proudest of his work in Venezuela, a country ravaged by political instability and food insecurity. Along with his