They nicknamed him “The Great” the biggest celebrity that the sport of Puerto Rico has given in its history, one of the few that can compete in popularity with the stars of the show that that Caribbean country has given to the world in recent decades. Because the legacy of Roberto Clemente is transmitted from generation to generation and each of the thousands of children who pick up a baseball glove do so with the hope of continuing on their way, of becoming the phenomenon that was the Pittsburgh Pirates player, the best of his time. Someone who taught to play but also to live.
Clemente came to baseball through the influence of his mother, Luisa, a school teacher, who invited him to stop trying so many different things and focus on a sport that in the first half of the century was still not the social phenomenon it became over the years, to a large extent, for the influence that Clemente’s successes and his charisma would have on the following generations of Puerto Ricans. AND It didn’t take long for him to stand out from his peers. and enter with remarkable performance in the Cangrejeros de Santurce, the first professional team in which he played.
Clemente’s talent was immediately noticed by the scouts of the North American teams that exist in the Caribbean countries. It was the Brooklyn Dodgers who lassoed him in 1954 with a salary of $5,000. He was only eighteen years old and for a time the New York team kept him somewhat out of the spotlight, as if they had no interest in anyone noticing his ability to master the “five tools” (batting average, hitting power, speed, defense and arm). ). He was even sent to Montreal for a time on a kind of loan. But it wasn’t enough to keep the vultures away. The Pittsburgh Pirates, taking advantage of a concession in the regulation, took over his services in exchange for $4,000. Fresh out of Puerto Rico, unable to speak a word of English, Clemente faced a difficult environment. It was not easy for a black Latino boy to settle in a League in which more than ninety percent of the players were white and only a few years ago Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier to become the first black to play in the big leagues.
Clemente had to grow up quickly, enduring unpleasant episodes of racial segregation because of his origin and the color of his skin. Staying in different hotels or eating in different rooms than his companions were some of the tolls he had to pay and against which he rebelled. Until he left Puerto Rico, he was completely unaware of the existence of racism and that was a terrible reality check for him. At certain times, he even compromised his own white colleagues for accepting as normal the contempt that he endured in many areas of his daily life for the mere fact of being black. Contempt also existed in everything that had to do with his profession and surely his Latino condition caused him to take time to recognize his importance as a player. Many analysts are convinced that if he had not been born in Puerto Rico he would have been given the value that he had long before. But everything comes. His talent was too great to put up barriers. After his first seasons of adapting to the medium (in every way), Clemente broke out in the late fifties. And in 1960 it was a basic piece for the Pittsburgh Pirates to abandon the mediocrity in which they had been installed for decades. to come out of lethargy and win the National League first and then beat the New York Yankees in the World Series that year. The third wound in its history, thirty-five years after the previous one. Clemente had been an essential piece and yet he was only chosen the eighth best player of the season, a detail that hurt him and that surely – he never recognized it – caused him not to wear the champion’s ring for the entire following season.
During the 1960s, the Puerto Rican became one of the most dominant players in the major leagues, the undisputed owner of what happened in the Pirates. His batting average was always over 30 percent, he was an All-Star every year except 1968, in twelve consecutive seasons (all the decade) he was distinguished with the Gold Glove and in 1967 he was chosen the most valuable player in the League. The decision to use a slightly heavier bat made him an even bigger threat to his opponents. He still needed to round off his career with another anthological performance, which would allow him to put the perfect climax. It happened in 1971, already after the Pirates moved to the stadium and left the old Forbes Field. Already in the Three Rivers, where today there is a statue in honor of Clemente, they faced the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series that year. Despite being the favorite of the Baltimore team (they had achieved more than a hundred victories during the season), Clemente led the Pittsburgh team to an unforgettable 4-2 victory. The Puerto Rican was chosen the Most Valuable Player of that final in an overwhelming way.
Clemente always showed enormous concern for the most disadvantaged and He was recognized both for his desire to bring baseball to the most depressed areas and for his permanent works of charity. It is something that could be verified at the end of 1972. Christmas Eve an earthquake devastated Nicaragua and caused enormous destruction in its capital, Managua. Official figures speak of twenty thousand dead, twice as many injured and a multitude left homeless. Roberto Clemente was at the time on vacation in Puerto Rico after finishing the season with the Pirates. He was 38 years old and it was said that he had almost decided that the following would be his last year in professional baseball. When he learned of the misfortune of his neighbors, Clemente immediately sought out how he could help him. Thanks to his influence and popularity –as befitted the greatest celebrity in the Puerto Rican country at that time– it was not difficult for him to collect material, food and clothing to send to those affected in an old DC7 that he himself was in charge of hiring. . The problem is that news began to reach him of the mismanagement that was being done in Nicaragua of the international aid that in those days began to arrive in the country because a large part of the shipments stayed on the road and did not reach those really affected. The military had a large part of the blame for what was happening. For that reason Roberto Clemente decided to personally travel with the material and directly take care that it reached the right hands.. On December 31, 1972, he boarded the plane accompanied by the cargo, a friend, and the three crew members. The device, which took off from the San Juan airport at half past nine in the morning, rose with difficulty and a few minutes after leaving the island it plunged into the Pacific. The body of Clemente and the rest of the occupants of the aircraft were never found.. The subsequent investigation concluded as causes of the tragedy the poor condition of the plane and the excess weight due to the material they were taking to Nicaragua.
Roberto Clemente’s death shocked the baseball world and especially Pirates fans (the number 21 he always played as was immediately retired). His admission to the Hall of Fame was made in record time. Usually, a period of five years has been established from the withdrawal or death of a candidate to start the process. Only with Lou Gehrig, the legendary Yankee player who passed away at the age of forty after being diagnosed with ALS, had an exception been made. It also happened with Clemente. On March 20, 1973 -fifty years ago today-, the Hall of Fame opened its doors for him and for the first time in history a Latin American player received that recognition. The Puerto Rican would be the mirror in which many of the great figures that Latin American baseball would produce would look. On the day of the ceremony, the award was established with his name, which is awarded to those people who carry out outstanding work in sports and for their community. At that moment he remembered the maxim that accompanied him in life and that at the time of his goodbye made more sense than ever: “When you have the opportunity to improve the lives of others and you don’t, you are wasting your time on earth”.
