{"id":85432,"date":"2024-09-11T22:40:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T02:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=85432"},"modified":"2024-09-11T22:40:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T02:40:48","slug":"mlb-roberto-clemente-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/11\/mlb-roberto-clemente-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Major League Baseball To Celebrate Roberto Clemente Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Sunday, September 15, is Roberto Clemente<\/a> Day throughout Major League Baseball. Established in 2002, it\u2019s an annual celebration of the Hall-of-Famer and former Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder\u2019s legacy as a humanitarian. Clemente was killed in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve, 1972, while on a mercy mission to deliver relief supplies to earthquake victims in Managua, Nicaragua.<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball To Celebrate Roberto Clemente Day<\/h2>\n

Our story begins on October 3, 1951. The New York Giants hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers in the deciding Game 3 of a National League postseason series necessitated by a first-place deadlock during the regular season. The Dodgers\u2019 big right-hander Don Newcombe<\/a> was tiring in the bottom of the ninth inning with his team ahead, 4-1. After he let a second run in and had two runners on base, Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen<\/a> phoned his bullpen. He asked bullpen coach Clyde Sukeforth<\/a> which of the two pitchers warming up looked better. Sukeforth recommended Ralph Branca<\/a>, who promptly served up \u201cThe Shot Heard \u2018Round the World\u201d to Bobby Thomson<\/a>. Dressen publicly blamed Sukeforth. Thus, unceremoniously thrown under the bus, Sukeforth was either fired or resigned.<\/p>\n

Sukeforth joined the Pirates as a coach\/scout. In 1954, Pirates general manager Branch Rickey<\/a> sent Sukeforth to Montreal, the Dodgers\u2019 Triple-A club, to scout pitcher Joe Black<\/a> for a possible trade. Sukeforth came away more impressed with a first-year 19-year-old Puerto Rican<\/a> outfielder. The Pirates selected<\/a> Clemente in the Rule 5 Draft on the day of November 22, 1954.<\/p>\n

A Man Alone<\/h3>\n

Since his death, there\u2019s been much revisionist history about Clemente\u2019s relationship with his teammates. The fact is that most of them didn\u2019t like him when he joined the Pirates in 1955. Although he had just one single minor league season under his belt, they were intolerant of his rookie mistakes. There was a language barrier as Clemente tried to fit in with American culture. When people asked him how he felt, he thought they sincerely wanted to know, so he\u2019d tell them his arm was sore, his leg hurt, etc. Thus, he was labeled a hypochondriac. Clemente kept a notebook each day, detailing where he was injured or sore and worked out to strengthen those muscles. Teammates ridiculed him for it.<\/p>\n

Yeah, he was stupid all right. He was ahead of his time with his workout regimen. In his final season at age 37, he hit .312, just six points below his lifetime average entering the year. He fielded 1.000 in right field and won his 12th consecutive Gold Glove Award. Many of his contemporaries who\u2019d been All-Star outfielders were moved to the less-demanding first base. He had a longer career than those teammates who laughed at him.<\/p>\n

Bobby Bragan<\/a>, who took over as Pirates manager in 1956, appreciated Clemente. On July 25, 1956, Clemente hit the only walk-off inside-the-park grand slam<\/a> in baseball history. In doing so, he ran through the stop sign of Bragan, who was coaching third base. \u201cFine him?\u201d said Bragan afterward, repeating a reporter\u2019s question. \u201cDefinitely not. He\u2019s winning for us, isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wild About Harry<\/h3>\n

Clemente remained a loner, even on the 1960 world champion Pirates, for whom he hit .314\/.357\/.458, 16 HR, and 94 RBI in the regular season before hitting safely in all seven World Series games. In 1957, Danny Murtaugh<\/a> had taken over for Bragan, and he and Clemente didn\u2019t always get along. When Murtaugh retired after the 1964 season, Harry Walker<\/a> took over. By then, Clemente had his first two of four batting titles under his belt. Even so, strange as it may seem, it was under Walker that Clemente became an even more complete hitter. Clemente was becoming a respected leader, too. The players who didn\u2019t like him were gone for the most part. Furthermore, the Pirates had more black and Latin American players than they had in 1960. Clemente could relate to them and vice-versa.<\/p>\n

Clemente won another batting title in 1965, but as the 1966 season approached, Walker urged Clemente to hit for more power. Walker liked Clemente\u2019s stroke to all fields but told him not to be satisfied with singles. Clemente had his best season in 1966, hitting .317\/.360\/.536, 29 HR, and 119 RBI, and would win his only National League Most Valuable Player Award. The day after Clemente won the award, he told Charley Feeney of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/em>, \u201cHarry Walker is tops in my book. . . Maybe he is not the best manager there is, but to me he is tops.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I Never Cared About Hitting Homers”<\/h3>\n

If there was one criticism about Clemente, it was that he didn\u2019t hit for power. For his 18-year career, he hit .317\/.359\/.475, 240 HR, and 1,305 RBI. That same interview with Feeney lends some insight into Clemente\u2019s hitting philosophy. Clemente said, \u201cI never cared about hitting homers. I think a .350 batting average does the same good for a team as 25 homers and 100 runs batted in. But, of course, if Walker wants more homers, it\u2019s okay with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

No less an authority than Willie Mays<\/a> thought Clemente was the best player he ever saw, power-hitting be damned.<\/p>\n