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Legacy of Roberto Clemente

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Roberto Clemente in 1966.

As a professional baseball player, Roberto Clemente is considered one of Puerto Rico's most important players and became the first Latin American to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. As a humanitarian, he became known for his philanthropic activities and for being outspoken in civic issues that affected the Hispanic and black communities. In both of these facets, Clemente left a long-lasting legacy that remains socially relevant and the subject of academic study and recognitions over fifty years after his death.

Accolades

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speaking on July 9, 1961, with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Al Abrams, said "They are honoring a great one in Clemente. I have been watching his career ever since he joined the Pittsburgh club. Roberto should wind up as one of the all-time stars before he is through."[1]
  • Willie Mays, while fielding questions from reporters following the announcement of his election to the Hall of Fame on January 23, 1979, called Clemente the best player he ever saw, other than himself.[2] Mays reiterated his assessment of Clemente on January 26, 1979, stating that, "He could do anything with a bat and in the field."[3] Mays has repeatedly through the years stood by his statements regarding Clemente.[4][5][6]
Roberto Clemente State Park in New York.
  • Barry Bonds, speaking in 1992, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "When I’m done, I want people to say, 'He’s the best.' Right field belongs to Roberto Clemente, center field belongs to Willie Mays. I want left field to belong to me."[7]
  • Sandy Koufax, interviewed shortly after the selection of MLB's All-Century Team (from which Clemente was conspicuously absent), was asked to assess fellow honorees. Dubbing Mays the greatest player he'd ever seen and Aaron the greatest hitter, Koufax said that this "raises the question of where you put Clemente; he's right there."[8] This is consistent with Koufax's 1965 magazine article ranking Clemente just behind Aaron at the top of his "toughest batter" list, while also emphasizing the former's immense power. "The longest ball I ever saw hit to the opposite field was hit off me by Clemente at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1961. It was a fastball on the outside corner, and he drove it out of the park – not just over the fence, he knocked it way out. I didn’t think a right-handed batter could hit it out of the field just at that point but Clemente did."[9] Moreover, it appears that, by his own estimation, the longest blast ever yielded by Koufax in any direction was launched by Clemente at Forbes Field on May 31, 1964.[10][11]
  • Duke Snider wrote that "Carl Furillo was the best right fielder I ever saw until Roberto Clemente came along, and Clemente was possibly the best ballplayer I’ve ever seen. And just think that we could have had Clemente in our outfield."[12]
  • Sparky Anderson, in his eponymous 1990 memoir, writes, "Walking away… Roberto Clemente is my premier outfielder – period. I saw more of Clemente than I wanted to when I managed against him. He could hit for power when he had to. When he wanted to slap it to right, he shot the ball like a bullet. Plus, he could fly. When he hit a ground ball to the infield, he was flying to first. That fielder better not be napping. Clemente was a remarkable man because at the ages of thirty-four and thirty-five, he played like he was twenty-one. I never saw anything like it. [...] That’s how I’ll always remember him – as a man who played with youthful energy."[13]
  • Dave Bristol (Anderson's predecessor as Reds' manager), speaking in May 1967, said "The best player in the game today. I’d have to take him over Aaron and all the rest. [...] I've only been in the league a little over a year and a half, but I don't think I've ever seen him make an easy out."[14] Quoted in September 1969, Bristol reiterated, "Clemente is the best player I’ve ever seen. I said so when I first came into the league and I still say so."[15]
  • Paul Richards, taking part in a poll of MLB general managers at the 1967 winter meetings (speaking as the then-Atlanta Braves GM),[a][b] said, "I don’t know how a man can be running away from the ball and hit it into the upper deck. I shudder to think what he would do if he stood at the plate on every pitch and defied the pitcher to pitch to him.[c] Clemente’s a one-man show as far as I’m concerned. He’s not only the best today; he’s one of the best that’s ever played baseball. He’s got power, and he’s so fast that any bouncing ball is a potential base hit. He can hit the ball into the upper deck in anybody’s ballpark – right field or left field. He’s got one of the strongest and most accurate throwing arms I’ve ever seen. He can throw from the most awkward and seemingly impossible positions. He can throw people out at second base on balls that would be triples to any other right fielder. And the thing about this fellow is that he actually breaks many of the fundamental rules of hitting. Many times he sticks his fanny out – but he still manages to hit the ball with authority. To me he is one of the most amazing athletes of all time."[16]
  • Lou Boudreau, speaking in 1964, said that Clemente was "one of the worst-looking great hitters I’ve seen. Everything is a line drive. There isn’t one phase of baseball in which he doesn’t excel."[17]
  • Lou Brock, speaking with reporters in June 1967, explained, "I'm looking at the best hitter in baseball," in response to queries regarding the "rapt attention" he had given one of Clemente's at-bats.[18] In July 1980, Brock told The New Pittsburgh Courier, "Willie Mays was the greatest player I ever saw. Clemente was second and Hank Aaron was the greatest slugger. But pound for pound, play-for-play, Willie Mays could do it all well. You can name four or five in what I call that elite category."[19]
  • Clete Boyer, circa 2002, said that Clemente was "by far the greatest defensive right fielder who ever lived, but because he played in Pittsburgh, he didn't get the credit he deserved. I played with Roger Maris and against Al Kaline, and they were both great right fielders. But they weren't in Clemente's class."[20]
  • Smoky Burgess, looking back in 1978 at his long MLB career, told former Pittsburgh Press sports editor Les Biederman, "The one player who impressed me the most was Roberto Clemente, both as a man and as an athlete. He was one of the nicest individuals and just tremendous as a ball player. I never saw a better player, although I always regarded Ted Williams as the best hitter."[21]
  • Tommy John considered Clemente one of the most difficult hitters he ever faced as a pitcher. "He hit the same way I pitched: with his head, outthinking you."[22]
  • Tom Seaver, speaking with Phil Pepe, circa 1997, said, "I had a kind of dual relationship with a Roberto Clemente, a Henry Aaron, a Willie Mays. You watch them and you appreciate their professional approach and their God-given expertise of the game. Then you're competing against them. [...] Clemente and Mays and Aaron. These are the guys who, when you weren’t pitching, you just sat there and watched them play, watched what they did. Anybody who watched the ball when Willie Mays was on the field was crazy. And Clemente was very much the same."[23]
Statue of Clemente in Pittsburgh.
  • Rusty Staub, speaking in April 1968, said, "Clemente has fantastic power, fantastic speed, a fantastic ability to hit the ball to the opposite field, a fantastic arm – he is the complete ballplayer. Roberto is not merely good at everything, but great at everything. He just beats you, and beats you at everything you can do in baseball. I know of no other player comparable to him."[24] Interviewed in the fall of 1971, Staub added, "Clemente is the greatest defensive outfielder I've ever seen. I’ve never been on his ball club and I don’t know what he’s like as a team player, but this guy can do just everything to beat you – run, hit, throw, catch, and just kill you with power. He’s the best player I’ve seen in the big leagues."[25]
  • Coot Veal, one of Clemente's teammates on the 1960 Pirates, told Danny Peary, "There were many guys on the Pirates who had leadership qualities: Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat, Don Hoak, Vernon Law, even Smoky Burgess. Clemente led with his play. There wasn’t a better player than Roberto Clemente. Clemente, Mantle and Kaline were the best all-around players I ever saw, and I think Clemente was the best."[26]
  • Eddie Yost, baseball's onetime "Walking Man", when asked to name the best players of his era, replied, "Yogi... and all the Yankees, for that matter. But I saw Clemente when I was coaching for the Mets. I believe he was the best I saw."[27]
  • Dick Young, following Game 3 of the 1971 World Series, wrote, "The best damn ballplayer in the World Series – maybe in the whole world – is Roberto Clemente and, as far as I’m concerned, they can give him the automobile right now. Maybe some guys hit the ball farther, and some throw it harder, and one or two run faster, although I doubt that, but nobody puts it all together like Roberto. [...] Clemente is a 37-year-old roadrunner. He has spent 18 summers of those years playing baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has batted over .300 thirteen times, and for the last three seasons, in his decrepitude, he has hit .345, .352, .341. But everybody has numbers. Don’t mind the numbers. Just watch how Roberto Clemente runs 90 feet the next time he hits the ball back to the pitcher and ask yourself if you work at your job that way. Every time I see Roberto Clemente play ball, I think of the times I’ve heard about how ‘they’ dog it, and I want to vomit."[28]
  • Named a member of MLB's Latino Legends Team in 2005.[29]
  • Selected for the All Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team in August 2007 for the 50th anniversary of the award.[30]
  • In 1999, Clemente ranked number 20 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, the highest-ranking Latin American and Caribbean player on the list.[31] Later that year, Clemente was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.[32]

Biographies and documentaries

Clemente's life has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and documentaries:

1968, 1973: Roberto Clemente, Batting King by Arnold Hano[33][34]

1973: Roberto Clemente by Ira Miller (UPI)[35]

1973: "Numero Uno" Roberto! by Bill Christine[36]

1973: Clemente! by Kal Wagenheim[37]

1973: A Touch Of Royalty, a documentary narrated in English and Spanish versions by Puerto Rican Academy Award winner actor José Ferrer.

1973: Olu Clemente — The Philosopher of Baseball, a bilingual play featuring poetry, music and dancing, by Miguel Algarin and Jesús Abraham Laviera, performed on August 30, 1973, at the Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, and published in 1979 in Nuevos pasos: Chicano and Puerto Rican drama by Nicolás Kanellos and Jorge A. Huerta.

1974: Who Was Roberto? A Biography of Roberto Clemente by Phil Musick [38]

1993: Roberto Clemente: A Video Tribute to One of Baseball's Greatest Players and a True Humanitarian, documentary directed by Rich Domich and Michael Kostel, narrated by Puerto Rican actors Raul Julia (in Spanish) and Héctor Elizondo (in English).

2006: Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss.

2008: "Roberto Clemente": One-hour biography as part of the Public Broadcasting Service history series, American Experience which premiered on April 21, 2008.[39] The film is directed by Bernardo Ruiz, narrated by Jimmy Smits and features interviews with Vera Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and George F. Will.[39] The production received an ALMA Award.

2010: Chasing 3000 a movie based on a true story of two kids who travel from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh hoping to see Clemente's 3,000th hit.

2011: 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente was released, a graphic novel by Wilfred Santiago (published by Fantagraphics) detailing Clemente's life in a comic-book format. In their USA Today Magazine article titled "Saluting Pittsburgh's Finest" Richard E. Vatz and Lee S. Weinberg said Clemente was "arguably the best in the history of the game" and stated that "understanding the magnitude of Roberto Clemente requires an appreciation of the gestalt of his presence, which was greater than the sum of his statistics".[40]

2011: DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story, a bilingual musical about Clemente's life, had its world premiere in November 2011 with a full house at the Teatro SEA in Manhattan[41] before moving to New York's Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre for a successful seven-week run.[42] The show ran from December 6 through December 16, 2012 at Puerto Rico's Teatro Francisco Arrivi.

2013: Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories, the first feature dramatic film on Clemente's life was finished by California filmmaker and Pittsburgh native Richard Rossi.[43] Rossi returned to Pittsburgh to premiere his film on Roberto Clemente's birthday, August 18, 2013 [44] before exhibiting the film in New York, other cities, and DVD.[45][46]

Influence on players today

Roberto Clemente's influence on Puerto Rican baseball players was very similar to that of Jackie Robinson for African American baseball players. While he was not the first Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball, he was arguably the most notable to play in his time. As with Robinson, Clemente faced discrimination and disrespect while playing in MLB.

MLB shortstop Carlos Correa has shared what he admired most about Clemente as a player: "The passion, the way he played, the way he went about his business every single day. Every time he put on his uniform he felt like the luckiest man in the world so that for me is what I admire most.[47]

Veneration

For his philanthropic tendencies and the noble circumstances behind his death, Clemente has become widely respected and has socially transcended in his native Puerto Rico to the point of being considered a secular saint by academics.[48] With time, his public perception has evolved into what has been called a modern-day “myth”, having achieved a type of “immortality” as his figure became an “incorruptible […] symbol” of hope.[48]

Catholic canonization effort

The feature film Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories (2013) was filmed by Richard Rossi.[49] One of the scenes in the movie features a conversation Clemente has with a nun.[50]

The scene spurred Rossi, a former evangelical minister, to submit a request to the Holy See to consider Clemente's canonization as a saint.[51] The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, responsible for these issues, responded by confirming receipt of the letter and directing Rossi to work through the Archbishop of San Juan – the jurisdiction in which Clemente died; Rossi issued a press release showing a picture of the response and said that it showed that the Pope was personally supporting Rossi's effort.[52][53]

Rossi received positive comments from the executive director of the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh,[54] while Carmen Nanko-Fernandez, from the Chicago Theological Union, was not confident that Clemente would be canonized, saying that Hispanic Catholics can continue to privately venerate Clemente.[54] Neil Walker, a Roman Catholic whose father was a teammate of Clemente, stated that "he's somebody who lived his life serving others, really. So if it would happen, I wouldn't be terribly surprised by it."[55]

In July 2017, Rossi said that the canonization requirement of a miracle was met that month when Jamie Nieto, who played Clemente in Rossi's film and was paralyzed from the neck down in a backflip accident three years after the Clemente film was released, walked 130 steps at his own wedding to fellow Olympian Shevon Stoddart; Nieto stated that the success was due to his hard work, and the Holy See stated that they were not in continued contact with Rossi.[56]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Abrams, Al (April 8, 1968). "Sidelights on Sports". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 29. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Anderson, Dave (January 24, 1979). "Sports of the Times: The Most Natural Ballplayer". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Okay, Willie, Who Was the Second Best Player You Ever Saw". Los Angeles Times. January 26, 1979. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  4. ^ Morgan, Joe (September 30, 2002). "Clemente carried himself with dignity". ESPN. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  5. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (January 2, 2003). "Clemente's legacy lives, 30 years later". USA Today. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  6. ^ Miller, Randy (April 16, 2016). "What Yankees' Carlos Beltran will do for Roberto Clemente stories". NJ.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  7. ^ Florence, Mal (September 5, 1992). “Morning Briefing: Just Because You're Paranoid Doesn't Mean You're Wrong”. Los Angeles Times. p. C2. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  8. ^ p. D13. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Koufax, Sandy, Gross, Milton (October 1965). "My Toughest Batter". p. 19. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Biederman, Les (June 2, 1964). "Freese Pleasant Surprise Package for Pirates". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 33. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Finch, Frank (June 1, 1964). “Are Dodgers Waking Up? That’s 3 Wins in a Row!; Perranoski Staves Off Pirates, 6-4 PERRANOSKI SAVES 6-4 DODGER WIN”]. The Los Angeles Times. pp. C1, C3. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Snider, Duke; Pepe, Phil (2006). Few and Chosen: Defining Dodger Greatness Across the Eras. Chicago: Triumph Books. p.113. ISBN 978-1-57243-805-7.
  13. ^ Anderson, Sparky; Ewald, Dan (1990). Sparky!. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0-13-109463-7.
  14. ^ Biederman, Les (June 3, 1967). "Hats Off! N.L. Player of the Week – Roberto Clemente". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 23.
  15. ^ “National Nuggets: High Praise for Roberto”. The Sporting News. September 13, 1969. p. 32.
  16. ^ Falls, Joe (March 1968). "The General Managers Pick: Baseball’s Best Player… It’s Roberto Clemente" Sport. p. 19.
  17. ^ Biederman, Les (September 5, 1964). "Clouter Clemente: Popular Buc – Rifle-Armed Flyhawk Aims at Second N.L. Bat Crown". The Sporting News.
  18. ^ United Press International (June 20, 1967). "Clemente Plays Like, er, Clemente". The Courier-Post. p. 26. ProQuest 1917648991.
  19. ^ Eddie Jefferies (June 20, 1967). "Lou Brock: Natural Leader in Another Field". New Pittsburgh Courier. p. 10. ProQuest 202661368.
  20. ^ McCarver, Tim; Pepe, Phil (2003). Few and Chosen Cardinals: Defining Cardinal Greatness Across the Eras. p. 63. ISBN 1-57243-483-X.
  21. ^ Biederman, Les (May 21, 1978). "Pirates in a Pinch". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  22. ^ John, Tommy; Valenti, Dan (1991). TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball. New York: Bantam. p. 275. ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
  23. ^ Pepe, Phil (1998). Talkin’ Baseball: An Oral History of Baseball in the 1970s. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-345-41497-7.
  24. ^ Wilson, John C. (April 27, 1968) "Clemente Is Staub's Selection as Greatest All-Around Player". The Sporting News. p. 5.
  25. ^ Robertson, John (December 1971). "More to Defense Than Catching the Ball". Baseball Digest. p. 56.
  26. ^ Peary, Danny, editor (1994). We Played the Game: 65 Players Remember Baseball's Greatest Era. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0786860081.
  27. ^ Kelley, Brent (1993). Baseball Stars of the 1950s: Interviews with All-stars of the Game's Golden Era. New York: McFarland & Company. p. 187. ISBN 0899508197.
  28. ^ Young, Dick (October 14, 1971). "Young Ideas: He Doesn't Squander God-Given Gifts". New York Daily News. p. 111. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  29. ^ "Chevrolet Presents the Major League Baseball Latino Legends Team unveiled today". Major League Baseball. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  30. ^ Walker, Ben (August 23, 2007). "Baseball tips cap to best defensive players; 50th anniversary All- time Gold Glove team named". St. John Telegraph-Journal. p. B11. ProQuest 423272427. Willie Mays making that over-the-shoulder catch. Brooks Robinson barehanding a bunt. Roberto Clemente unleashing a rifle throw. Think of the most spectacular fielding plays in baseball history and those spring to mind. They're also what helped put those greats on the all-time Rawlings Gold Glove team released Wednesday.
  31. ^ "The Sporting News Baseball 100 Greatest Players". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
  32. ^ "All-Century Team final voting". ESPN. October 23, 1999. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  33. ^ "Roberto Clemente, Batting King". Google Books
  34. ^ "Arnold Hano's Paperback Edition, 'Roberto Clemente, Batting King'". The Indiana Gazette. May 26, 1973. p. 7.
  35. ^ "Roberto Clemente". Google Books.
  36. ^ "'Numero Uno' Roberto!". Google Books.
  37. ^ "Clemente!". Internet Archive.
  38. ^ "Who Was Roberto?". Google Books.
  39. ^ a b "American Experience: Roberto Clemente". Public Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  40. ^ Richard E. Vatz and Lee S. Weinberg, "Saluting Pittsburgh's Finest". USA Today Magazine. July 2008.
  41. ^ "Roberto Clemente's story hitting the stage in Off-Broadway production". New York Daily News. November 19, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  42. ^ "DC-7 set for Off-Broadway limited season". Offbroadway.broadwayworld.com. February 9, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  43. ^ "How an Olympic high jumper became Clemente in indie film". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 4, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  44. ^ "Filmmaker's Clemente movie a testament to grace, power". TribLIVE. August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  45. ^ Tribune-Review. "Clemente movie available for short time on DVD". TribLIVE.com.
  46. ^ "Roberto Clemente film making NY premiere at Fingerlakes Mall". Auburnpub.com. August 24, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  47. ^ "Carlos Correa reflects on Roberto Clemente's legacy and impact". www.yahoo.com. 4 September 2016.
  48. ^ a b "Roberto Clemente: 40 años de un mito presente" (in Spanish). University of Puerto Rico. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  49. ^ Chantler, Carrie (August 29, 2013). "Capturing Clemente: Film about Pittsburgh Pirates legend makes NY premiere in Auburn". Auburn Pub. The Citizen. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  50. ^ Burnett, Jon (August 16, 2013). "New Film Shares Roberto Clemente's Story". Pittsburgh Today Live. CBS – KDKA. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  51. ^ Biertempfel, Rob (July 19, 2014). "One man's cause to canonize Roberto Clemente". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. TribLive. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  52. ^ "Saint Roberto Clemente? Pope Blesses Movement for Canonizing Baseball Star". Church Pop. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  53. ^ "Saint Roberto Clemente?". Puerto Rico Report. January 17, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  54. ^ a b Adams, Heather (June 17, 2014). "Roberto Clemente, the next saint?". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  55. ^ Kohn, Bob. "Ex-Pirates great Ralph Kiner dies at 91". TribLIVE Sports. Trib Total Media, Inc. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  56. ^ Payne, Marissa (August 17, 2017). "Vatican dispels claim that Roberto Clemente is on his way to sainthood". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2020.

Notes

  1. ^ In the interests of not embarrassing his own player, Hank Aaron, Richards requested that both his vote and comments remain anonymous. Ostensibly honoring that request, the article’s author nonetheless inadvertently ‘outed’ Richards by revealing both the source of every other Clemente vote and the preference of every other National League GM.
  2. ^ For the record, the poll's final tally was 8 votes for Clemente, six for American League Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski, and one each for Hank Aaron, Bill Freehan, Bob Gibson, and Ron Santo, with St. Louis GM Stan Musial and Oaklland's Charley Finley abstaining.
  3. ^ In fairness to Richards, the brief 1964 Clemente quote that could have cleared up this commonly held misconception—i.e. that Clemente was "running away from the ball" (or, as per Rogers Hornsby, "half scared")—does not appear to have attracted much attention, judging from the fact that neither it nor the relatively straightforward explanation it offers—"In 1956 I was doing good until I hurt my back; since then I step to the side with my left foot faster so I don't have to twist my body so much"—has shown up in any of Clemente's biographies.
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