Justin Turner’s continued altruism leads to a fifth Clemente Award nomination
by Cary Osborne
Justin Turner’s body of work, both on and off the field, has made him one of the most impactful Los Angeles Dodgers to have worn the uniform.
The two-time All-Star, leader in many of the franchise’s all-time postseason records, and one of the greatest third basemen in franchise history added to his legacy today with his fifth Roberto Clemente Award nomination.
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
The league-wide winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One will be selected via a blue ribbon panel, including Commissioner Rob Manfred, representatives from Capital One, MLB-affiliated networks (MLB Network, FOX Sports, ESPN and TBS), MLB.com, as well as Roberto’s children, Enrique, Luis and Roberto Clemente, Jr. Beginning today, fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One via mlb.com/clemente21(English) and LasMayores.com/clemente21 (Spanish).
Turner’s efforts off the field this year, with his teammate and wife Kourtney Turner, have once again reached Angelenos citywide.
“It’s really an honor. I’ve received this nomination multiple times now, and with all the teammates that I have that are active in the community, to be the one that is selected to represent the Dodgers, it’s pretty special,” Turner said. “But more importantly, to be the person that is Justin Turner for the Roberto Clemente award, knowing how much he cared first about community and giving back and lifting people up, that is truly special to Kourt and I and something we don’t take for granted.”
Turner’s community service this season, through the Justin Turner Foundation (JTF) and representing the Dodgers, has included three major-event fundraisers, including two on the mornings following Dodger night games. His support for veterans, people who have food and housing insecurity and foster care through the Dream Center Los Angeles and children battling illnesses (some life-threatening) at Children’s Hospital LA, are passion projects for the Dodger third baseman and his wife.
“I think he has represented the spirit of old-fashioned baseball — you can be loyal to a city and a city can be loyal to you,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We know he’s from here. We know he loves us. And I think he knows we love him. His impact, whether I see him at an event we’re doing or he pops up to help for a cause very quietly, he’s been a person who likes to lead with his heart, and to me that’s what LA is all about.”
This year, Turner, a native of Long Beach, donated to and helped renovate the main community room and dining area at the Volunteers of America Transition House (T-House), a 20,000-square-foot facility that offers emergency shelter and individual service plans to help with the move to more permanent housing.
During All-Star Week and the morning following a Dodger game on July 17, the JTF’s All-Star Bingo Tournament helped raise more than $25,000 for causes the JTF supports.
On Sept. 4, the JTF took over the parking lot of Dodger Stadium and a mile of the famed Sunset Strip for the first ever in-person Justin Turner Foundation Turner Trot 5K. The Turners rallied together more than 1,200 in-person participants to run from Dodger Stadium through Echo Park and to the Dream Center, raising funds and awareness for the Dream Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Turner hit a home run in a Dodger win the night before. He was up at 5 a.m. to set up for the 5K, and that same night he collected two hits and drove in a run in a Dodger win.
“I still can’t believe the 5K happened,” Turner said. “I still have to pinch myself and that is so crazy, but Kourt worked her butt off on this. This event was months and months and months of planning and permits and meetings and trying to get everything together. … It was all worth the work we put in.”
The JTF supports and provides housing for veterans at The Dream Center in Los Angeles and has provided the Dream Center with over 70,000 toys and 14,000 bicycles to children through its holiday-giving efforts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the JTF partnered with the Dream Center to assist its drive-through and walk-up food and essentials line. An estimated 12,000 individuals per day received meals through drive-through distribution and an estimated 900,000 meals were served throughout 2020.
JTF covers the annual costs of the Dream Center Foster Care Intervention Program, which works to ensure families can remain together and out of foster care.
The Dream Center named its food bank The Justin & Kourtney Turner Food Bank.
The Turners also regularly visit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Cedars-Sinai and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. In 2019, the JTF hosted its first Winter Wonderland at CHLA for children unable to leave the hospital for the holidays. The Turners are board members for UCLA’s Operation Mend, which provides advanced surgical and medical treatment for veterans as well as serve on the board for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Also not seen are the pregame smiles Turner puts on fans’ faces, often making visits before games begin.
Now in his 14th big league season, Turner has baseball’s best batting average since July 1 (.371) and is currently on a career-best 16-game hitting streak. He has been nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and now 2022.
“I think it’s important as a Dodger player or Major League baseball player to understand the platform that we’ve been given,” Turner said. “One thing that Kourt and I really try to take pride in is spending as much time as we can serving other people and setting the example to help other teammates realize just how big their platform is and how much they can impact people’s lives and hopefully kind of lead them to starting their own foundation or organization to give back to our community.”
