Today Is Roberto Clemente Day For Major League Baseball.

[JimInks]

Here's an interesting article about some of Roberto's best baseball moments.
Revisiting Roberto Clemente's best moments - https://www.mlb.com/news/roberto-clemente-greatest-moments?t=pirates-history-trivia

Roberto was my hero from childhood to now. I wore his number from age nine through the end of my semi-pro days. To watch him was to remember him. An unforgettable player and a hero to all who knew him and knew of him.

Some players are wearing his number 21 today. I wish everybody was.

 

[Servant King]

Thanks for sharing this, Jim! The maternal side of my family tree hails from the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, so even though he died more than a decade before I was even born, the moments recalled in the article speak to me greatly. Plus, I love baseball history in general, going way back, even to the dead ball era.

I'm also reminded of another great Pirate, Willie Stargell, the only player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium twice.

 

[camaguey]

Also my childhood hero. He was a hero at least to most portoricans and people from Pittsburg. A very humble guy.

 

[JimInks]

Thanks for sharing this, Jim! The maternal side of my family tree hails from the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, so even though he died more than a decade before I was even born, the moments recalled in the article speak to me greatly. Plus, I love baseball history in general, going way back, even to the dead ball era.

I'm also reminded of another great Pirate, Willie Stargell, the only player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium twice.

I loved Willie Stargell, too. Very fun guy to be with. My mother cooked dinner for him once, and we had a wonderful time together. Btw, the statue of Willie at PNC Park has one of the best, most realistic faces of a person that I have seen.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Great post! My kid years were spent in MN so Kirby Puckett was my hero. Now days I’m a huge Brewers fan and this season has been fun even if we’re missing Yelich

 

[Servant King]

I loved Willie Stargell, too. Very fun guy to be with. My mother cooked dinner for him once, and we had a wonderful time together. Btw, the statue of Willie at PNC Park has one of the best, most realistic faces of a person that I have seen.

See, I just love hearing stories like that. I don't even follow the sport anymore (for a variety of reasons I shan't disclose here, so as to sour the mood), so these things are all I really have anymore. Takes my mind back to a way different time and, in my humble opinion, a better one.

I've never seen the statue, but it's quite eerie (if he played for the Indians instead, that'd be a righteous pun) that the statue was dedicated less than a week before he passed.

Also, Don Sutton was spot on when he said that Willie didn't just hit pitchers, he took away their dignity. I would argue that RC did a fair bit of that as well.

 

[camaguey]

Willy and Roberto were good friends. In an ocassion Willy went to visit Roberto to Puerto Rico at the beginnings of Robertos career and was surprised that they went to several nightclubs and were treated very well. Willy advised Roberto that in the states they would not be so welcome on white people clubs. Those were other times regarding racial segregation. Roberto admited that Willy was very helpfull for him to get used to another culture.

 

[JimInks]

Willy and Roberto were good friends. In an ocassion Willy went to visit Roberto to Puerto Rico at the beginnings of Robertos career and was surprised that they went to several nightclubs and were treated very well. Willy advised Roberto that in the states they would not be so welcome on white people clubs. Those were other times regarding racial segregation. Roberto admited that Willy was very helpfull for him to get used to another culture.

There are a lot of stories like that regarding the acceptance of Clemente and others in that time period. Change is always hard.

 

[kcghost]

Roberto was Dodger property in the mid 50's but couldn't get a call up to the majors due to their loaded roster. They lost him to the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. Thus, a legend was born to the consternation of the Dodger Faithful.

 

[GardenStateoftheArtBriar]

Nothing like America's favorite Passtime

 

[danimalia]

It's hard to overstate how much Clemente meant to Latino baseball, and baseball as a whole. While he wasn't the first dark-skinned player from Latin America, he was such a huge star that he was simultaneously a huge role model, but also had to deal with some lousy treatment (I.e. sportswriters, mimicking his accent and syntax in quotes when his meaning was perfectly clear). Along with Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Walter Johnson, he's right up there with players I wish I had a time machine I could use to see play.

And of course, his tragic and too early death occurred while he was in the service of others, delivering humanitarian aid to people in need. What a hero.