Yale’s Craig Breslow ’02 Nominated for MLB’s Clemente Award for Community Service

Courtesy Yale Sports Publicity

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Former Yale lefthander Craig Breslow '02, a reliever with the Oakland Athletics, has been nominated for Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for humanitarian and community service. Breslow founded the Strike 3 Foundation, a charitable organization that heightens awareness, mobilizes support and raises funding for childhood cancer research. He created the foundation in honor of his sister Lesley, a survivor of pediatric thyroid cancer. On-line voting for the award is available on Major League Baseball’s website, mlb.com, through Oct. 8.

Breslow was honored by the A's in a pregame ceremony before the Sept. 8 game against the Seattle Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum. He is one of 30 candidates for the Clemente Award, which is named in honor of the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer who died in a plane crash in 1972 while delivering supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

"It's obviously very humbling," Breslow told mlb.com. "But I would imagine that all the people under consideration don't do the work that they do for recognition. But whether I'm fortunate enough to be recognized or not, it's not going to dissuade or discourage me from continuing to do the work."

The fan-ballot winner will be tallied as one vote among those cast by a special selection panel of baseball dignitaries and media members. The panel includes Commissioner Bud Selig and Vera Clemente, Roberto Clemente’s widow.

A molecular biophysics and biochemistry major, Breslow captained the Bulldogs in 2002. He is a native of Trumbull, Conn., and attended Trumbull High.

“I am certainly proud of Craig's success as a major league pitcher, but I am even prouder of the man he has become,” said John Stuper, Yale’s Mazzuto Family Head Coach of Baseball.

Breslow, in his fifth big league season, has a 3.36 ERA and has made 66 appearances this year. He was second in the American League with 77 appearances last year. He has a career ERA of 2.97 with 184 strikeouts in 209.1 innings and just a .205 batting average against.

For more information about the Strike 3 Foundation, visit http://www.strike3foundation.org/

To vote for Craig, visit http://mlb.mlb.com/sponsors/chevy/clemente/y2010/