Roberto Clemente Interview

During an interview regarding Roberto Clemente, Pirates’ former General Manager Joe L. Brown said with a smile, “He's a shining star to many, many people. He grows and grows over time. He doesn't diminish... The sad part is that there are not enough TV pictures of him. He made so many great plays that people can only talk about. You could never capture the magnificence of the man” (“Roberto Clemente Quotes”). Born August 18, 1934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the first Latin American Major League athlete was the eleventh player to reach three thousands hits, received twelve straight Gold Gloves Awards, was the 1966 National League MVP, and was the 1971 World Series MVP (“Roberto Clemente: Baseball”). However, the magnificence of Roberto Clemente
Clemente struggled with being estranged in this steel city because his broken english and Latino background made him the target of many newspapers. The first five seasons with the Pirates were rough for Roberto Clemente as he battled with injuries, a language barrier, and lack of support from the city and his team. However, Roberto Clemente could not be intimidated or discouraged by the lack of support from the league. He was there to play baseball and that is exactly what he did. In 1960, Roberto Clemente broke through and lead the team with a record high 94 RBIs and a batting percentage of .312 (Roberto Clemente) ultimately leading the team to triumph in the 1960 World Series. Eleven years later, Clemente, with a .414 batting percentage, continued to bring the city of Pittsburgh together by taking the team to yet another World Series victory in 1971. Roger Angell, a sports writer, once declared, “He played a kind of baseball that none of us had ever seen before… As if it were a form of punishment for everyone else on the field” (Roberto Clemente). Season after season, victory after victory, and award after award, Roberto Clemente created a bond with Pittsburgh bringing a sense of community to the city as people gathered in the stadium to watch the Latino superstar play
In August 1998, Pittsburgh officials renamed one of the Three Sisters Bridges that stretches across the Allegheny River the Roberto Clemente Bridge (Kirkland). During home games, Pirate fans walk across this bridge that leads to PNC Park and walk back over it after the game. At the end of this bridge stands the Roberto Clemente statue that fans love to gather around to take pictures and admire before the baseball game. As a city, Pittsburgh dedicates one day in September to Roberto Clemente and on this day his legacy is celebrated and his spirit is remembered throughout the baseball community, and there is an entire museum dedicated to him as well. Furthermore, during an interview Pirates’ former owner Kevin McClatchy said, “If we have a foundation with Roberto Clemente's name on it, as a franchise we have a responsibility to make sure that it grows. Having kids play baseball in the inner city was important to Roberto Clemente, and we're going down that same road” (Roberto Clemente Quotes). Pittsburgh continues to keep Clemente’s passion alive through the Roberto’s Kids foundation which strives to shrink the gap between different cultures by helping the less fortunate learn skills like how to play baseball. McClatchy said it perfectly, this foundation truly does carry on what Clemente was striving to accomplish during his time on this earth