Carrasco shares Roberto Clemente Award with wife
WASHINGTON – By his estimation, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco sulked for about 10 seconds this June when doctors informed him that he had leukemia. Then the Cleveland Indians’ veteran right-hander got back to work, focusing on his cancer fight while continuing his many altruistic endeavors.
Carrasco even made his trips to the hospital more than about himself, visiting often with young cancer patients in hopes of lifting their spirits.
That devotion during the most difficult fight of his life embodies the humanitarian spirit that made Carrasco the first Venezuelan to win the Roberto Clemente Award.
“That feeling that you get when you’re helping someone and you’re not looking to be rewarded for it, you’re just doing it because you really care, it’s indescribable,” Luis Clemente said after presenting the award on behalf of his family. “That’s what we try to instill on … young ones at an early age to become good humanitarians and good leaders in their community. And that’s what I think you are empowering people to do.”
Luis Clemente loves to say that he’s very proud to be the son of the legendary Roberto Clemente, the Hall of Fame right fielder who died on a cargo plane loaded with supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua on Dec. 31, 1972.
Roberto Clemente’s plane crashed into the ocean shortly after departing from San Juan. His body was never recovered.
Clemente’s widow Vera raised their boys as a single mother and maintained her husband’s humanitarian legacy alive. Carrasco’s wife, Karry, who is an integral part of Cookie’s humanitarian effort, drew the ultimate compliment when Luis compared her to his mom.
“Actually, my favorite saying is: ‘I’m very proud to be Roberto’s son, but I feel extremely fortunate to be Vera’s son, as well,’” Luis Clemente said. “And I think that in the Latino family, the wives of the players have to go through so many sacrifices that it’s so important … to have Karry be that pillar for Carlos during his situation, but also the way they’ve been raising their children, they have five children.”
“And I admire Carlos’ spirit because anyone could have just felt down after that (leukemia) diagnosis and feel sorry for themselves. But like he said, he only dedicated 15 seconds?”
Actually, it was only 10 seconds, Carrasco noted.
“Ten seconds,” Luis Clemente said. “That was it. He knew what he needed to do. He continued to help others. I think I always say whoever does that is blessed, truly blessed. When you need things to go your way when least expected, they’re going to happen because of what you’re doing as a good individual.”
“It’s quite an honor to have Carlos join the Clemente Award recipient family. Because he represents basically who that was. It didn’t matter any situation, he would put other people before himself. And that’s what Carlos has done. That’s why he’s definitely a great individual and great recipient of the award.”
Karry Carrasco plays a pivotal role in Carrasco’s many humanitarian efforts in his native Venezuela, in Cleveland and his offseason hometown of Tampa, Fla.
Together with their five children, the Carrascos cook and box 500 lunches to feed the homeless from their front porch in Tampa. They also fund a pair of $10,000 scholarships for single mothers each year. Moreover, they give $5,000 a year for U.S. veterans.
That’s just part of Carrasco’s humanitarian efforts. Last November, he took clothing, shoes and backpacks to children in Africa. While there, he gave $70,000 to poor families in the villages he visited.
He also has helped his countrymen who have been displaced by the political turmoil that has ravaged Venezuela.
“For me, this means a lot,” he said of becoming the first Venezuelan to win the Roberto Clemente Award. “Just to win it for Venezuela, my country, I think it’s no secret for anyone what’s going on down there. I feel so happy.”
“I think the way we did everything, because this is a team, I think with my wife and my family are really happy for the same way that Roberto Clemente did. So I just want to follow his steps. That’s what it is, this is something I love to do and (I’m) never stopping.”
Carrasco, who just finished his first season of a four-year, $47 million deal, has been generous with his money. Casa Venezuela Cúcuta in Colombia received $300,000, food, medical supplies and medicine from the Carrascos in May to help Venezuelan refugees. They also sent them $25,000 in toys for children in Valencia, Venezuela.
That’s not all, though.
He has been among the leaders among Venezuelan ballplayers eager to help their struggling countrymen. A pair of nursing homes – one in Carora and another in Maracaibo – each received 100 boxes of protein, medicine and diapers from the Carrascos.
He annually sends two containers filled with $33,000 in medical supplies to Venezuela.
“Everyone knows here what Roberto Clemente did on the field, off the field,” he said. “He was a human being like us, and everything he did, he did with a heart. He wanted to help a lot of people in the community. And I think that’s the same way that I’m doing right now because I love to do that.”
“I watched him, I read his stories. And as I said before, just following his steps. And this is getting stronger, starting from now, helping more people that need help out there. I think this is something unbelievable, I’m really happy for.”
His extended family also distributes meals daily at a refugee camp on the Colombia-Venezuela border thanks to the $400 a day Carrasco donates to that camp.
In Cleveland, he ems a constant presence reademng to students at the Cleveland Stepstone Academy’s “Carlos Carrasco Major League Reademng Corner.”
“This fills us with joy and pride because we don’t live for recognition,” Karry Carrasco said. “I firmly believe that life is a boomerang. Everything that you throw in the universe it returns. What this prize signifies that he can be the example for other people to see that they can start community service.”
True to their nature, Karry was humbled to hear Luis Clemente compare her favorably to his own mother.
“I felt very happy and a bit embarrassed because it’s not just my help. It’s everybody’s help. The work that we do includes the community, our friends, our children. In our house, we all pack boxes.”
“My children pack boxes. We send the medicine and the food to different countries. Even if they say he won this because I’m involved, no. We’re all involved.”
For Cookie Carrasco, the Roberto Clemente Award was indeed a family honor.
