CC Sabathia is the Yankees’ 2011 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. The ace of the Bombers’ pitching staff is one of the 30 club finalists for the annual award, which recognizes a Major League Baseball player who best represents the game through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.

Wednesday will mark the 10th annual Roberto Clemente Day, which was established by MLB to honor Clemente’s legacy and to officially recognize club nominees of the award named for the 12-time All-Star and Hall of Famer who died in an airplane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

In 2009, CC and his wife, Amber, officially established his “PitCCh In” Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports inner-city youth through funding and support of academic and athletic programs in the Northern California and New York areas. The foundation is committed to the care and needs of inner-city children while helping to raise self-esteem through sports activities and education.

Besides running baseball clinics, participating in school visits and hosting various charity events, Sabathia and “PitCCh In” often make efforts to give students a needed boost in their academic careers. Earlier this month, the foundation helped young children get a head start on the school year by donating backpacks filled with school supplies to 1,700 New York-area students at P.S. 106 Parkchester in the Bronx.

Every June, the Nathan Berhel Scholarship award, named in honor of Sabathia’s cousin and childhood friend who passed away in 2004, is given to Vallejo (Calif.) High School students who excel in the classroom and are part of athletic teams.

The Yankees will recognize Sabathia’s nomination for this year’s Clemente Award with an on-field ceremony at Yankee Stadium Sept. 22 prior to their 7:05 p.m. game against the Rays.

Former Yankees players who won the Clemente Award were Ron Guidry in 1984, Don Baylor in 1985 and Derek Jeter in 2009. Other ex-Yankees who won the award while playing for other teams were Dave Winfield (Twins) in 1994 and Al Leiter (Mets) in 2000. Phil Niekro, who won in 1980 with the Braves, later played for the Yankees. The 1982 winner was the Orioles’ Ken Singleton, now a Yankees broadcaster for the YES Network.

Beginning on Roberto Clemente Day, fans are encouraged to participate in the process of selecting the national award recipient by visiting http://www.chevybaseball.com/clemente, a site powered by MLB.com and created specifically for the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet platform, and voting for one of the 30 club nominees. Yankees fans should reward CC for his charitable efforts by giving him their vote.

Voting ends Oct. 9. Participating fans will be automatically registered for a chance to win a trip to the 2011 World Series, where the national winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet will be announced.

The winner of the fan poll will receive one vote among those cast by the selection panel, which includes commissioner Bud Selig; Vera Clemente, Roberto’s widow and MLB Goodwill Ambassador; TBS broadcasters and former winners Cal Ripken Jr. (1992) and John Smoltz (2005); MLB Network analysts and former winners Harold Reynolds (1991) and Leiter, and MLB.com senior correspondent Hal Bodley.