Roberto Clemente statue

Roberto Clemente This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Clemente and the second or maternal family name is Walker. Roberto Clemente Clemente in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1958 Right fielder Born: August 18, 1934 Barrio San Antón, Carolina, Puerto Rico Died: December 31, 1972 (aged 38) San Juan, Puerto Rico Batted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut April 17, 1955, for the Pittsburgh Pirates Last MLB appearance October 3, 1972, for the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB statistics Batting average .317 Hits 3,000 Home runs 240 Runs batted in 1,305 Teams Pittsburgh Pirates (1955–1972) Career highlights and awards 15× All-Star (1960–1967, 1969–1972) 2× World Series champion (1960, 1971) NL MVP (1966) World Series MVP (1971) 12× Gold Glove Award (1961–1972) 4× NL batting champion (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967) Pittsburgh Pirates #21 retired Member of the National Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Baseball Hall of Fame Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Inducted 1973 Vote 92.7% (first ballot) Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker[a] (Spanish pronunciation: [roˈβeɾto enˈrike kleˈmente (g)walˈkeɾ]; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined. His untimely death established the precedent that, as an alternative to the five-year retirement period, a player who has been deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame. Clemente was an All-Star for twelve seasons, playing in fifteen All-Star Games.[b] He was the NL Most Valuable Player in 1966, the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove Award winner for twelve consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. His batting average was over .300 for thirteen seasons and he had 3,000 hits during his major league career. He also played in two World Series championships. Clemente is the first Latin American and Caribbean player to help win a World Series as a starter (1960), to receive an NL MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971). Clemente was married in 1964; he and his wife had three children. He was involved in charity work in Latin American and Caribbean countries during the off-seasons, often delivering baseball equipment and food to those in need. On December 31, 1972, he died in a plane crash while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He was 38 years old. Clemente showed interest in baseball early in life and often played against neighboring barrios. He attended Vizcarrondo High School in Carolina. During his first year in high school, he was recruited by Roberto Marín to play softball with the Sello Rojo team after Marín saw Clemente playing baseball in barrio San Antón. He was with the team two years as shortstop. Evidently, Macon took Sukeforth at his word; scarcely had the Pirate scout departed when, on June 4,[10] Clemente started his first game in over a month. In the course of two days and three games (two of which he started), Clemente amassed ten at-bats, two more than in the previous thirty games combined. Yet just as abruptly, the moment was over and he was back to riding the bench, this time for almost two months. Clemente's extra inning, walk-off home run of July 25, 1954, the first home run of his North American baseball career, He was hit in his first at-bat after entering the game as a defensive replacement, ending a nearly two-month-long drought starting on June 6 (17 appearances, 6 starts, and 24 at-bats in 60 games). From this point forward, Clemente's playing time increased significantly; he started every subsequent game against a left-handed starting pitcher, finishing the season with a batting average of .257 in 87 games. Clemente would complement his July 25 walk-off homer with another on September 5, as well as a walk-off outfield assist (cutting down the potential tying run at the plate) on August 18, his 20th birthday. As promised, the Pirates made Clemente the first selection of the rookie draft that took place on November 22, 1954. Major League Baseball (1955–72) During much of his MLB career, Clemente was commonly referred to as "Bob Clemente" by sportswriters and announcers,[19] and on baseball merchandise such as his annual Topps baseball trading cards (except the early 1950s and 1970s cards);[20] this despite the fact he clearly preferred being called by his given first name.[21] Also, most of his English-speaking teammates, uncomfortable with the foreign-sounding "Roberto", likewise resorted to Bob or Bobby.[22] By the late 1960s, this practice had become the exception, not the rule; still, it was never entirely eradicated, as evidenced on September 30, 1972, the occasion of Clemente's 3,000th and final regular season hit, when Pirates announcer Bob Prince referred to him as "Bobby" while calling the game for KDKA.[23][24] Clemente wore number 21, later retired by the Pirates,representing the number of letters in his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker. During the off-seasons (except the 1958–59, 1962–63, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1971–72, and 1972–73 seasons), Clemente played professionally (and sometimes managed the San Juan team) for the Santurce Crabbers, Criollos de Caguas, and San Juan Senadores in the Puerto Rican baseball winter league, where he was considered a star. In September 1958, Clemente joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He went on to serve his six-month active duty commitment at Parris Island, South Carolina, Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. At Parris Island, Clemente received his recruit training with Platoon 346 of the 3rd Recruit Battalion. The rigorous Marine Corps training programs helped Clemente physically; he added strength by gaining ten pounds and said his back troubles (caused by being in a 1954 auto accident, see below) had disappeared. He was a private first class in the Marine Corps Reserve until September 1964. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1950s The Pirates experienced several difficult seasons through the 1950s, although they did manage a winning season in 1958, their first since 1948. Clemente debuted with the Pirates on April 17, 1955 wearing uniform number 13, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers. At the beginning of his time with the Pirates, he experienced frustration because of racial tension with the local media and some teammates. Clemente responded to this by stating, "I don't believe in color." He noted that, during his upbringing, he was taught to never discriminate against someone based on ethnicity. Clemente was at a double disadvantage, as he was a Latin American and Caribbean player who knew very little English, and was Black, being of African descent. The year before, the Pirates had become the fifth team in the NL and ninth in the major leagues to break the baseball color line when they hired Curt Roberts who debuted with the team. This was seven years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line with the Dodgers. Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, Roberts befriended Clemente and helped him adjust to life in the major league, as well as to get used to life in the Pittsburgh area. Clemente had to sit out several games during his rookie season, due to a back injury suffered the previous winter in Puerto Rico, when a drunk driver rammed into his car at an intersection.[38] He finished his rookie season with a .255 batting average, despite confronting trouble hitting certain types of pitches. His defensive skills were highlighted during this season. The following season, on July 25, 1956 in Forbes Field, Clemente hit the only documented walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam in modern MLB play. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1960s A statue of Clemente is outside of PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Clemente's Hall of Fame plaque originally had his name as "Roberto Walker Clemente" instead of the proper Spanish format "Roberto Clemente Walker"; the plaque was recast in 2000 to correct the error.[76]