Branch Rickey Award

The Branch Rickey Award was given annually to an individual in Major League Baseball (MLB) in recognition of his exceptional community service from 1992 to 2014. The award was named in honor of former player and executive Branch Rickey, who broke the major league color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson, while president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey also created the Knothole Gang, a charity that allowed children to attend MLB games.

The award, created by the Rotary Club of Denver in 1991, was first awarded to Dave Winfield in 1992 at their annual banquet. A vote is then conducted by the national selection committee, which consists of members of the sports media, previous winners of the award, and Rotary district governors in major league cities. Proceeds of the banquet benefit Denver Kids, Inc., a charity for at-risk students who attend Denver Public Schools. Each winner receives a bronze sculpture of a baseball player measuring 24 in, named "The Player", designed by sculptor George Lundeen. A larger version of "The Player", standing 13 ft tall, was erected at Coors Field in Denver.

Winners of the Branch Rickey Award have undertaken different causes. Many winners, including Todd Stottlemyre, Jamie Moyer, John Smoltz, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells, and Shane Victorino, worked with children in need. Stottlemyre visited and raised money for a nine-year-old girl who suffered from aplastic anemia and required a bone marrow transplant, while Moyer's foundation raised US$6 million to support underprivileged children. Other winners devoted their work to aiding individuals who had a specific illness, such as Curt Schilling, who raised money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Trevor Hoffman, who lost a kidney as an infant and devoted himself to working with individuals with nephropathy. Also, some winners devoted themselves to working with major disasters and tragedies. Bobby Valentine donated money to charities benefiting victims of the September 11 attacks, while Luis Gonzalez worked with survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The Dodgers' Branch Rickey Awards for 2025 were presented to Venezuelan Eduardo Quintero and Mexican Christian Zazueta, who were named the organization's 2025 Minor League Players of the Year. Eduardo Quintero stood out for his offense with a 153 wRC+, 19 home runs, and 47 stolen bases, while Zazueta was recognized for his pitching work with a 2.41 ERA, 67.1 innings pitched, and a 23.8% K-BB rate.

Previous winners

Denotes player who is still active

Year	Recipient	Team	Position	Ref
	Toronto Blue Jays	Outfielder
	Minnesota Twins	Outfielder	url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6CB949267149A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM	title=Puckett Honored For Community Service	newspaper=The Charlotte Observer	date=November 24, 1993	page=2B	access-date=August 13, 2012}}
	St. Louis Cardinals	Shortstop
	San Diego Padres	Outfielder
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Outfielder
	Houston Astros	Second baseman
	Minnesota Twins	Designated hitter
	New York Mets	Pitcher
	Arizona Diamondbacks	Pitcher	url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67060523.html	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409054332/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67060523.html	url-status=dead	archive-date=April 9, 2016	title=Stottlemyre Worked Through Pain: Rickey Award Winner Was a Real Friend To Sick 9-Year-Old Girl	date=November 17, 2000	first=Jack	last=Etkin	newspaper=Rocky Mountain News	access-date=August 13, 2012}}
	Arizona Diamondbacks	Pitcher	url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F8926A9E05CBD05&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM	title=Schilling picks up Branch Rickey Award for ALS work	agency=Associated Press Archive	date=November 17, 2001	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=March 5, 2016	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014705/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=APAB&d_place=APAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F8926A9E05CBD05&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM	url-status=live }}
	New York Mets	Manager	url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20021114&content_id=177360&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null	title=Valentine recipient of Rickey Award	work=MLB.com	first=Tom	last=Singer	publisher=Major League Baseball Advanced Media	date=November 14, 2002	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=October 23, 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023034653/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20021114&content_id=177360&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null	url-status=live }}
	Chicago White Sox	General manager	url=http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20031107&content_id=600599&vkey=pr_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws	title=Roland Hemond to receive 2003 Branch Rickey Award	publisher=Major League Baseball Advanced Media	date=November 7, 2003	access-date=August 13, 2012	url-status=dead	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210093101/http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20031107&content_id=600599&vkey=pr_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws	archive-date=February 10, 2011 }}
	Seattle Mariners	Pitcher	first=Jim	last=Street	work=MLB.com	url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20041102&content_id=908951&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null	title=Moyer wins Branch Rickey Award	date=November 2, 2004	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=October 23, 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023173417/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20041102&content_id=908951&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null	url-status=live }}
	Arizona Diamondbacks	Outfielder	url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051112&content_id=1267811&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&affiliateId=CommentWidget	title=Gonzalez nabs Branch Rickey Award	work=MLB.com	first=Thomas	last=Harding	date=November 12, 2005	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=October 23, 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023173420/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051112&content_id=1267811&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&affiliateId=CommentWidget	url-status=live }}
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Senior vice president
	Atlanta Braves	Pitcher	url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3035785	title=Smoltz wins Branch Rickey Award	work=ESPN.com	date=September 25, 2007	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=November 2, 2012	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102133731/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3035785	url-status=live }}
	San Diego Padres	Pitcher	url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20081002&content_id=3583899&vkey=pr_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd	title=Trevor Hoffman selected as 2008 Branch Rickey Award recipient	publisher=Major League Baseball Advanced Media	date=October 2, 2008	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=October 23, 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023173415/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20081002&content_id=3583899&vkey=pr_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd	url-status=live }}
	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Outfielder	first=Arnie	last=Stapleton	agency=Associated Press	url=http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=156242	title=Angels' Torii Hunter wins Branch Rickey Award	newspaper=Reading Eagle	date=October 9, 2009	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=February 8, 2016	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208012902/http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=156242	url-status=dead}}
	Toronto Blue Jays	Outfielder	url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=5580590	title=Vernon Wells wins 2010 Branch Rickey Award for working with kids	work=ESPN.com	date=September 16, 2010	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=May 2, 2011	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502060054/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5580590	url-status=live }}
	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/6975009/shane-victorino-philadelphia-phillies-wins-branch-rickey-award-work-kids	title=Shane Victorino of Philadelphia Phillies wins Branch Rickey Award for work with kids	work=ESPN.com	date=September 15, 2011	access-date=August 13, 2012	archive-date=October 27, 2011	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027144030/http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6975009/shane-victorino-philadelphia-phillies-wins-branch-rickey-award-work-kids	url-status=live }}
	New York Mets	Pitcher	url=http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_21535293/mets-ace-knuckleballer-r-dickey-wins-branch-rickey	title=Mets ace knuckleballer R.A. Dickey wins Branch Rickey Award	date=September 13, 2012	first=Patrick	last=Saunders	work=The Denver Post	access-date=September 17, 2012	archive-date=March 4, 2016	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114427/http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_21535293/mets-ace-knuckleballer-r-dickey-wins-branch-rickey	url-status=live}}
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Pitcher
	Chicago Cubs	First baseman