Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker

Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker was born on August 18, 1934. He was the youngest of 7 children to Don Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker. He was a professional baseball player for 18 seasons (@BaseballHall). Many people held racist views towards him as a colored player, the most influential in baseball history, because he broke barriers for Latin American players, he helped on an off the field, and he was a MVP caliber player for 12 years. He was one of the best to ever play and will forever be remembered.
He broke a lot of barriers for Latino players now in the game. He was the first Latin American Player to collect 3,ooo hits in a career. Was the only latin american player on the PittsBurgh Pirates. He not only played great but he saw his
career as a way to help other young players that might want to get into the game after him. He was very influential and directed a lot of other Latin American players paths into the Major League of Baseball. He stood out so much that he was the first Latin American to ever be elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He broke barriers and you could see the end result of it. In 1988 almost 19% of Major League Baseball players were Hispanic.
In 12 of His 18 years he was a perennial all star. His best year was in 1966 in which he had a .317 batting average, hit 29 home runs, batted in 119 runs. That campaign he put up was good enough for him to win the NL MVP that year. Overall in his 18 years though, he twice led the league in hits. To go with his amazing offense he played outstanding defense in those 12 years, which led him to win 12 straight Gold Glove Awards. He won all those awards playing his primary position which is Right Field. He also led the Pittsburgh Pirates to two World Series Championships, and in the 1971 World Series he was awarded World Series MVP. He stood At the end of those 18 years he became just the 11th person to attain 3,ooo hits in a career. Also becoming the first Latin American.
He was a great person on and off the field. On the field he took a lot of criticism for being hispanic, sometimes got accused for faking injuries, and just dealt with a lot of racism from players and sports reporters. He still managed to play 18 seasons of Major League Baseball, and he was one of the best to ever play. Now off the field he helped out alot. Despite his busy schedule, he made time to hold baseball clinics for kids especially for those from low-income families. He also stood up for many injustices against his race during his career. He was not only just a great baseball player, but he was a public figure that everyone eventually grew to love and respect, especially Pittsburgh Pirates fans.
Roberto Clemente died a tragic death on December 31,1972.
He died on a plane that was on its way to Nicaragua to assist with earthquake relief and the plane crashed off the San Juan coast (@BaseballHall). His body was never recovered. He got on that old DC-7 even after warnings that the plane was overloaded. That’s just the type of person he was. He always wanted to help if he could. Clemente’s Life philosophy was “Accomplishment is something you cannot buy if you have a chance to do something for somebody and you do not make the most of it, you are wasting your time on earth.” He died doing something he loved which was helping other people. He will always be remembered as a great
humanitarian.
His Legacy he left on the game was very evident after his death in 1972. After Clemente’s death the Pirates honored him for the next several seasons by wearing patches with his number on it. At the 1994 All-star game in Pittsburgh a bronze statue of Clemente was unveiled in front of the stadium. One quote that will always be remembered in Puerto Rico is when Roberto Clemente said “ Always, they said Babe Ruth was the best there was. They said you’d really have to be something like Babe Ruth. But Babe Ruth was an American player. What we needed was a Puerto Rican player they could say that about, someone to look up to and try to equal. Clemente achieving his 3,000 career hits did something that Babe ruth didn’t. With him doing that maybe he was the Latino player that was equal to Babe Ruth or maybe even surpassed him. Now off the field Clemente was described as a quiet gentleman. He stood up for many minority rights towards his Puerto Rican heritage. In 1982 he was honored with a 20 cent stamp in Puerto Rico. In his life and death, Roberto lifted Puerto Rican identity to a new level in the world.
The world has done so many things to remember to Roberto Clemente’s life.
A cenotaph was created by José Buscaglia was installed in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The inscription on the monument reads “ Son of Carolina, Exemplary Citizen, Athlete, Philanthropist, Teacher, Hero of the Americas and the World. The Pittsburgh Pirates also played a series of exhibition games in San Juan to make his dream of a sports city in Puerto Rico come true. Today the Ciudad Deportiva Roberto Clemente located in Carolina, Puerto Rico continues to encourage to play sports and succeed at them.
Roberto Clemente will never be forgotten as a person, player, father, husband, and brother. He has left a legacy that could never be duplicated. Many people held racist views towards him as a colored player, the most influential in baseball history, because he broke barriers for Latin American players, he helped on an off the field, and he was a MVP caliber player for 12 years. Roberto Clemente is the best Latino player to ever step on the diamond. He will forever be loved and will never be
forgotten.