Yankees, Dodgers And Diamondbacks Among Finalists For MLB Award

The D-Backs Inter-Tribal Tournament is an award nominee.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The annual Major League Baseball (MLB) awards season is in full swing, with Gold Glove finalists already announced. Still to come are several notable accolades, including MVP, Cy Young, All-MLB Team, Silver Slugger and Manager of the Year.

And while the postseason bracket has narrowed down to the American and National League Division Championships, with winners moving on to the World Series, competition for an equally important off-the-field award is intense.

There is an exciting lineup of finalists for the 2025 Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence. The award, named after the commissioner emeritus of baseball, was established in 2010 to recognize the charitable and philanthropic efforts of MLB clubs. Voting for the winner is open to the public until end of day Monday, October 20, with results announced at a later date.

Charitable giving and community engagement are cornerstones of Major League Baseball, from the League office to teams and individual players. League-wide initiatives and club-specific foundations and programs make a meaningful impact on local communities, touching the lives of fans and non-fans alike.

Five finalists hit a philanthropic grand slam

Arizona Diamondbacks |D-backs Inter-Tribal Youth Baseball & Softball Tournament

The D-backs Inter-Tribal Tournament presented by Talking Stick Resort, supported by Nike and Resolution Copper, was first held in 1998. Recognized as the world’s largest Native American baseball and softball tournament, the annual event has impacted over 20,000 Native American athletes and, according to the D-Backs, represents a $1.5 million investment in Native American youth over the past 25 years.

The tournament is a joyful celebration of community, culture and spirited competition. The 2025 edition featured 79 teams, 1,050 athletes and 280 coaches, who represented 42 tribes from Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Oklahoma. Teams competed in three baseball divisions and one softball division.

Games were played on fields throughout the Phoenix area, including Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the home of the D-backs Spring Training facility. It’s the first professional sports facility located within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and taking the field there was a memorable experience for the athletes.

Said Arnold Thomas, coach of the champion AZ Sons Single-A team, “It’s really nice that they utilize the spring training fields for these teams to get out there and have a chance to play on an actual baseball field. Because where they’re from, a lot of the kids usually play on rocks or dirt, with no infield grass.”

The tournament is a source of pride and unity for the Native American community and has become an inter-generational event. Thomas, for example, grew up in the tournament. His father was a coach and now Thomas’ daughter carries on the family tradition as a third-generation player.

Friendships are made and acquaintances renewed each year.

Explained Thomas, “This tournament gives the kids a chance to get together. And for those that truly love baseball, it gives them a chance to be around other kids that love the sport. I always tell my players that I coach that they don’t realize how many kids are out there actually growing into young men and actually playing at college levels.”

The tournament coincided with the D-Backs annual Native American Recognition Day at Chase Field, where players and coaches were honored for their participation. The day also featured performances by Native American drum groups, dancers, and vocalists, art displays and educational exhibits.

And while baseball doesn’t yet rival the popularity of basketball on the reservation, Thomas believes that tournaments like this are helping to change that.

He expressed gratitude to the D-backs for supporting Indian Country for more than two decades in tangible, meaningful ways.

“And I think they kind of set the tone for acknowledgement for Native Americans as people, not just baseball players, not just athletes, but as people, for them to keep moving forward,” he said. “And at the end of the day, I think that’s more important than any game.”

This is the D-backs ninth time as an award finalist, and first for the Inter-Tribal Tournament.

Boston Red Sox | Fenway Park Learning Lab

The Fenway Park Learning Lab Presented by the MassMutual Foundation and in partnership with Fenway Park Tours was launched in May 2023, with the goal of utilizing baseball as an educational tool.

This innovative experiential learning experience for sixth graders takes place at Fenway Park, where classroom curriculum is transformed into real world lessons based on baseball. Students complete activities that focus on statistics, history, science and financial literacy, while being treated to an exclusive tour of the historic stadium.

This season, 1,000 Boston Public School sixth graders had the opportunity to experience the fun of Learning Lab, raising the total number of student participants to nearly 4,500 since the program was established. According to the Red Sox, post-visit surveys indicated that over 80% of participating students felt a deeper connection to Fenway Park and were excited about experiential learning.

Kansas City Royals | Royals Literacy League (RLL)

The Royals Literacy League is a huge umbrella over the team’s commitment and approach to addressing the challenges of elementary school literacy. From Classroom Champions to Hit the Books to free little Crown Libraries, the initiatives continue to expand to include even more teachers, classrooms, partners and, of course, students.

Explained Amy Gale, senior director of Community Impact, and executive director of the Kansas City Royals Foundation, “We started Royals Literacy League focused on inspiration and joy and using the best assets of a Major League Baseball club to bring encouragemen zand motivation to students around literacy.”

She added, “It’s been really amazing to be able to leverage the power of sport in this way. And I think that what we have seen is how powerful it has been for the students and the teachers to have a Major League team wrap their arms around them.”

The RLL is dedicated to preparing students to achieve grade-level reading proficiency by third grade. Research shows that third grade is a turning point and, if students don’t have foundational literacy skills by then, other life skills will be negatively impacted.

The major RLL components include:

Classroom Champions – Royals players are matched with 18 “adopted” classrooms and make personal visits periodically throughout the season, along with recorded video messages. Players share life skills like teamwork, discipline, preparation and commitment.

Gale noted the powerful influence a professional ball player can have on young students, citing Bobby Witt Jr. and the special connection he shares with his classroom. Students write to him regularly, and their teacher was amazed how dramatically their writing skills improved following his visits.

Hit the Books – QuikTrip (QT) and the Royals donated a book for every Royals hit this season, totaling an impressive 1,342 new books circulating in the community. They also commissioned Franklin’s Winning Season, a 32-page work of fiction for young readers written by Margaree King Mitchell and illustrated by Tad Carpenter. 30,000 copies were distributed free of charge to teachers, libraries, and students.

Bring Out the Books – The first 100 fans who come to the ballpark on game day and donate a book receive a free game voucher.

Little Free Crown Libraries – The Royals have donated over 6,000 books to keep the shelves filled in the 11 Crown Libraries.

Literacy for All Students– The Royals Foundation and QT announced $3.7 million in grants over the next four years to fund nine pilot Literacy League schools, focusing support on high dosage tutoring for students; a literacy instructional coach; and family, teacher and principal support. The program begins in kindergarten with the goal of increasing literacy rates by at least 10 percent by third grade.

The impact of these initiatives goes beyond the individual student. Families love having new books to enjoy literacy together with their kids, and teachers have been inspired and rejuvenated by the instructional classroom support.

Concluded Gale, “I’m so proud of how the Royals have been willing to step outside of ‘the norm’ for a baseball club to use our unique platform to inspire and motivate students and teachers (and make reading fun!), while also providing schools, teachers, parents, and students with critical resources they need to increase literacy rates.”

The Royals won the Selig Award in 2021 and were a finalist the past three years.

Los Angeles Dodgers | Wildfire Relief & Recovery

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation continue to support Angelenos impacted by the 2025 Wildfires. The Dodgers committed $100 million to unified recovery and relief efforts, and sponsored additional initiatives to support families, communities and first responders.

The Dodgers are part of the Alliance, a coalition of 12 professional teams that pledged millions of dollars to non-profit organizations leading the relief efforts. In addition, the Alliance partnered with Fanatics to donate and distribute more than 75,000 items of clothing, school supplies and necessities to families affected by the fires.

New York Yankees | HOPE Week

HOPE Week, which stands for Helping Others Persevere & Excel, is an annual weeklong celebration to recognize inspiring individuals and community organizations. The Yankees identify an individual, family or organization worthy of support and surprise them with a player visit, media coverage and financial support.

Over the past 16 years of HOPE Week, the Yankees have recognized 78 honorees and donated more than $1 million to their specific causes.

HOPE Week is also celebrated in the Yankees Minor League system, where teams hold their own HOPE Weeks. Since the Minors began participating 12 years ago, the Yankees estimate that the organization has reached more than 400 community causes.

And the winner is ….

Each of the five finalists is worthy of the Selig Award. Through initiatives centered on literacy, education, culture, disaster relief, and honoring those who serve others, they’ve all made a meaningful impact in their communities. In this case, there are no losers—just five teams that knocked it out of the charitable ballpark.