On September 30, 1972, Roberto Walker Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the 3,000th and final hit of his illustrious HOF career – a double off pitcher Jon Matlack of the New York Mets. That New Year’s Eve, Clemente would die in a plane crash while delivering relief supplies to an earthquake stricken Nicaragua. A 12-time all-star, lifetime .317 hitter, and one of the game’s great defensive stars – Roberto Clemente was a special talent – especially in October…
1960 World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates (4 games) defeat New York Yankees (3 games)
Though the 1960 series saw Bobby Richardson win the MVP (the only time a losing WS player would capture the honor) and is more notable for Bill Mazeroski’s dramatic game-7, ninth-inning home run which secured the series for the Bucs, Roberto Clemente was a key figure in this Fall Classic. “Arriba” hit .310, scoring one run and knocking in three – hitting safely in each of the seven series games. He and Mazeroski would be the only Pirates still on the roster when Pittsburgh returned to the World Series in 1971.
1971 World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates (4) defeat Baltimore Orioles (3 games)
If 1960 was good, 1971 was over-the-top for Clemente. He hit .414, scoring three runs while rapping two home runs and knocking in four. Once again, Roberto Clemente hit safely in all seven series games – giving him hits in each of the 14 games he played in the Fall Classic. In game-6, Clemente turned what seemed a routine sacrifice fly off the bat of Baltimore’s Frank Robinson into simply a routine out. With Merv Rettenmund on third, Clemente fired a 300-foot strike to catcher Manny Sanguillen to keep Rettenmund from scoring. His 1971 performance netted Clemente the Series MVP award – and in doing so became the first Latino ballplayer to win the honor.
Eleven weeks after his death, Roberto Clemente was elected into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. The customary five-year waiting period was waived in his case – an honor that is only shared by Lou Gehrig, who was elected while terminally ill with the disease that would one day bear his name. 93% of the votes cast on Clemente were ‘yes’ – of the 424 ballots, 29 voted ‘no’ and 2 abstained – most of them citing an opposition of waiving the five-year waiting period.
Since 1973, The Roberto Clemente Award has been given to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.” A fitting tribute to a man who brought much more than great baseball to the world in which we live.
A wonderful docu-tribute to #21 can be viewed here.
All stat information courtesy of www.baseball-reference.com. Hall of Fame induction information courtesy of www.nytimes.com. All Videos courtesy of www.youtube.com.
The author is a lifelong baseball fan living in the heart of Detroit Tigers country.He thinks Roberto Clemente is unquestionably the greatest Right-Fielder of all time – both on and off the field…
