Clemente enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season and spent six months on active duty at Parris Island, South Carolina and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. He served until 1964 and was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
Roberto is not only the greatest right fielder of all time, he is the greatest ever playing this game, period. People always pull their stats to prove this undeniable fact wrong, but there were always players that made those fanatics of statistics drop their pencils and finally enjoy the game, and Roberto is their leader. He left anyone speechless in any park he played. In fact, he was on the greatest team of all time, the 1970/71 Pirates. They were so ahead of their time on field and off, they are the No. 1 team in team sports for all time. This team is the one and only...
It hurts my heart when I hear the stories of how poorly Roberto was treated. People like that should be ashamed of themselves. Roberto, you are the GOAT and a legend and you will never be forgotten!
Roberto is my favorite baseball player and unfortunately the victim of great discrimination by the press...Sad. He is a true legend now and deserves to be understood for his greatness!
Easily the greatest all around player baseball player ever. Throwing, catching, hitting and base running. Saw him hundreds of times and sat in right field every time. Graceful, proud and unequaled! Awesome!
He definitely needed to be treated better but change brings, ignorance, arrogance and scares people. He was, still is, a great baseball player and human being. Ill always respect, tip my hat to Roberto for his great baseball, character and mostly for his tough fight to make people open their mind.
waoooo, growing up in Carolina, P.R. was so special to me!!!! Roberto was the greatest, will always be the greatest... no matter if he doesn't get the recognition, real people knows what's up!!! MlB does not understand what kind of player he was, even if they claim to know. This player was the real deal. I don't remember seeing him playing even though my father took me to the games, I've seen videos and I'm grateful for it, he was so much better than lots of players in MLB even if they do not want to accept it....he will always be the greatest....yesssss!!!!!! and yes, there is, no way he will be on the bench for the ALL CENTURY TEAM...he has to be the starting right fielder, for sure!!!!
Much like Stan Musial, very under appreciated. I'm a Cardinals fan but I think it's a crime that Roberto Clemente still doesn't get as much recognition as Mantle or anyone else that played with the Yankees. He was an even better person off the field. Treated very unfairly.
Roberto Clemente el mejor jardinero derecho que haya jugado! Su memoria brillará para siempre en los corazones de los pueblos latinos y los que de todo en todo el continente americano lo amaban. Él es verdaderamente el "Grande"!
I cry everytime i see this video. The man could of enjoyed the New Year parties with his family and friends and yet he thought about others first. No greater love no man have than to lay down his life for a friend. Enjoy paradise with our Lord Jesus Christ and save a bench spot for me up in heaven magnificent one.
Thanks for posting this program on one of baseball's all-time greats. The only disappointment and mystery is why ESPN thought Roberto Clemente deserved only a 30 minute SportsCentury program, while Jim McMahon received a 60 minute show. Clemente was a vastly superior player in his sport, and and a much larger impact than McMahon ever had.
jesusisnotallright s - What a stupid troll comment. If anyone is not all right it's you Bonehead. You can't get assists when the other team is afraid to run on you! For example, in the bottom of the 9th when Buford hit a double that would have surely scored Marc Belanger most other times, Belanger was held back on third because of Clemente's lazer-like throw from right field to home that kept the Birds from winning at that time and sent the game into extra innings. Later when F. Robinson won the game on a sacrifice fly in left-center field to center fielder Vic Davililo, he made the following comment as quoted in a NY Times article, by Joe Durso on 10/16/71: “Would I have taken the risk if Clemente had handled the ball?” Robinson speculated later under mass questioning “Look, not even Clemente can cover two fields at once.” Now try praying for some brains before you make your next comment.
The ones who really looked bad were those moronic sports writers. They were racist and extremely unprofessional. At the end, he proved those imbeciles wrong.
I was eleven years old when he died, I remember his death like yesterday, and I was full of uncontrollable grief, my parents not knowing what was going on. They soon learned that I was saddened by the death of Roberto Clemente. I am so grateful that I was able to see this amazing baseball player and human being. My young people have no idea who this man was, but I do, and I always will
The only number I wanted as a kid and as an adult, playing hard ball or soft ball was always the #21. Roberto Clemente is probably the most famous and loved Puertorriqueño ever.
How people dislike this video ..When this man was a excelente human being..Is not going to be a baseball player like Roberto Clemente ..🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷RIP
Clemente is the greatest right fielder that ever played the game, he was a 5 tool player, only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron are ahead of him. The babe because he is Mr. Baseball himself, and Hank Aaron because he is the Home Run King still being recognized. But Clemente is a member of the 3000 hit club which is far more important then HR, after all a homerun is a hit. Clemente won 4 batting titles, 12 gold gloves 2 world series MVP and 1 regular season MVP and had a canon of an arm that no dared to challenge. But he played in an era where prejudice was very high in this country.
***** Frank Robinson maybe yes by a hair because of his power numbers. Mel Ott, no imho. Look at Ott's power numbers at home vs away. Ott made great use of the incredibly short right field porch which was 258ft!!! If Ott played in another ballpark based on his away numbers he'd have never come close to 500 home runs. Ott hit almost twice as many homers at the Polo Grounds as he did when playing away. Clemente had excellent power, but because he played in such a large park for both right handed and left handed players, Roberto learned to it vicious line drives and grounders that put fear in the heart of pitchers and infielders alike. But had he played in a park like Ott did with extremely short foul lines on both sides, you'd have seen a lot more homers.
Clemente is the best all around 5 tool player in right field! When Clemente and frank Robinson play at the all star Robinson was placed in left field. Enough said.
Angel Diaz My friend, I'm a life long Clemente fan. No other player has ever meant as much to me as he did. I saw the man often and imho no one brought so much excitement to the game as he did. Even watching Roberto hit batting practice took your breath away. And as much as he had this graceful and regal nature, he was the most approachable and kind man. He loved the fans and we loved him. There is no one close to Roberto as a fielder in right field when he played or ever, which was why Clemente often displaced both Robinson and Aaron in right field for the all-star games. Now because the manager replaced Hammerin Hank with Roberto doesn't mean that Roberto in his whole career was better than the Home Run King. To me it is not a knock to my hero to consider that others were as good as he was in some areas and better. Just as he excelled in areas where no one could touch him like that howitzer arm he had and the way he could play the ball off the wall and get to balls that few others could and those scorching line drives up the middle that in the case of Don Drysdale scared him so much that he retired within a few days of a Clemente liner that took off the top of Drysdale's right ear. The managers of those all star games wanted the "Great One" roaming right field with that speed and arm that no one else had. Robinson though had much better power, obp and was not far off in batting average. F. Robby like Roberto was a great base runner and strong leader. He falls way short compared to Roberto as a fielder. Now had Roberto played in a smaller ball park like Crosley field he'd have hit many more homers. And ultimately had he never destroyed his back and neck in that car accident in 1954 Clemente might have been a 30 home run a year player even in such a large park as Forbes Field and then we'd be talking a different story. Amazingly despite that injury Roberto hit a number of tape measure shots, including a blast at Wrigley Field that the greatest right handed hitter of all-time Rogers Hornsby said was the longest home run he ever saw. Ralph Kiner is the only Pirate ever known for hitting consistently year after year 40-50 homers. He had a big advantage when he played there due to the fact that the management had pulled the fences in from left and left center by 30ft! When Branch Ricky took over before Clemente became a Pirate, he traded away Kiner and brought the fences out back to their cavernous dimensions. Realize too that Wille Stargell's season best while he played in Forbes Field at 33 homers isn't much better than Clemente's 29, To me it's a toss up as to who is better than who and at that level and splitting some seriously thin hairs. They were all great and Roberto will always be number one to me as a player and as a man. His life and death still resounds in my life and his deeds are a constant reminder as to how to live.
***** To compare who had it worse doesn't make one man's burden more significant than the other. Jackie Robinson also a contemporary of both Clemente and Aaron had it worse than anyone, that doesn't make what Aaron and Clemente went through any less. Virtually ALL the black players who came up after Jackie Robinson and into the 50's and 60's faced an enormous amount of racism and abuse, especially in the minor leagues and spring training when they were in the, then Jim Crow south. The latin players had to deal with the prejudice that existed towards them as well as the language and cultural barrier. For black latinos this meant that their treatment was coming from both sides. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of aspiring latin and black athletes suffered greatly. Many names we'll never know. And some who never got a fair shot because of the unofficial quotas that ball clubs had back then as to the number of Black players they could have, were good enough to have possibly had excellent careers in the MLB. But one man's pain doesn't nullify another man's pain. So your point is kind of moot.
Roberto was the greatest. I grew up a Reds fan (still am) and I used to hate how he always seemed to do something to win the game for the Pirates when the two teams played. I now just feel so fortunate to have seen such an incredible player and man play the game the way it should be played.
Do you remember that incredible game where Clemente hit 3 homers, a double and had 7rbi's in an 8-7 Pirate loss to your team? Amazing but ultimately frustrating for Clemente. Pete Rose said it was the greatest display of hitting her ever saw. Those great Red's teams were amazing in those days. From the great 61 team with Frank and Vada right on to the Red Machine who had an awesome line up from top to bottom and an often excellent pitching staff.
I know you weren't writing to me, but just have to say I so wish I'd seen that game or that there was some footage of it. It must have been something to see. And it was among the many proofs that Clemente indeed had awesome power. He did have another 3 homer game against the SF Giants two years later as well and as many fans know, Clemente hit some tape measure shots including a blast that went out of Wrigley Field in Chicago that Ernie Banks said was about the longest homer he ever saw hit at Wrigley and Rogers Hornsby said was the longest homer he ever saw hit anywhere. Clemente also nearly accomplished a feet reserved for (if memory serves) three of the greatest left handed (one was a switch hitter, but was hitting lefty that day) power hitters in baseball ever did. And that was hitting a ball over the roof in right field which was a gargantuan shot. Willie Stargell did it I think 18 times! The Babe I believe did it at the end of his career in that amazing 3 home run game of his. And the Mick did it as well, I'm thinking in the 1960 World Series. But Clemente missed hitting it at least on the roof by about a foot or so in 1962-- that's an opposite field blast by a right handed batter! Nearly unheard of for someone to have opposite field power like that! About 30 of Clemente's career homers were 400ft plus blasts to the opposite field. Clemente had many record blasts for sure, but one that may have been the most amazing was one he hit into the famous swirling winds at Candlestick Park in left field. These winds were so constant and deadly to even the greatest right handed power hitters that even saw the likes of Willie Mays to have many homers die at and caused the great player to learn a la Roberto to hit homers to the opposite field. (There's no telling how many homers Mays would have hit were it not for those winds). Again, if memory serves four players had hit the longest homers out to that area, at least at that time. Orlando Cepeda and Ernie Banks did so, but under rare conditions where there was no wind. Clemente's however was hit in the winds at their worst and went at least 450ft. To quote sports writer Arnold Hano; "Clemente's bat hit the ball, and the result absolutely clubbed the crowd into awed silence for a long moment. Right into that wet whipping wind the ball carried. Right on through, hit 120 feet high in a long soaring majestic parabola that came down finally over 450 feet away. There is just no way of telling how far Clemente’s home run blast would have traveled had it not been for that wind. Suffice it to say partisan Giant fans suddenly broke their shell-shocked silence and let loose a gagantic roar. For two innings the stadium buzzed. For days the Giants talked about it. Even today if you slip up behind a Giant pitcher and suddenly whisper in his ear: ‘Remember the home run Clemente hit?’ he’s likely to jump as high as if he’d been caught putting spit on baseballs." As Hank Aaron said in 1967 when Clemente was at still playing; "Clemente has the misfortune of playing in a big park. If he played in a smaller one, there’s no telling how many home runs he’d hit."
I knew Clemente had great power to right, but didn't know he nearly cleared the right field roof in Forbes Field. In the David Maraniss bio I think he joked that in the MLB Clemente was known as the third strongest or fiercest left-handed batter after McCovey and Billy Williams due to Roberto's power line drives that would scare the crap out of infielders and pitchers.
Actually as a kid, I always thought Clemente was equal to the best of the best. Another skill he had he was a great bad-ball hitter- he could really throw the other team off that way.
I remember the day he died, we lived about 40 miles from San Juan. our baseball field was located near the coast of the atlantic ocean. it was a misty day and there were about 200 people including my family looking at the ocean, we were looking for the plane wreckage 40 miles away from the original crash site. that's how important he was to us.
Carmelo, en qué pueblo está ese campo? We're doing a documentary, and maybe we can shoot it. Sign up on this page: facebook.com/PuertoRicoLaPatriaDeportiva/
I am proud guy of my compatriot RC21as a player but more as a human,thanks for each person for take some time and talk at less about Roberto cuz are own leaders in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 forget about him😔💯Thanks Clemente r.i.p big as Mantle,Mays or Aaron💯
Saludos cordiales desde mí pequeña isla de 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 La leyenda de Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷 Imposible olvidar, lo que ISO, Por 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 Y la humanidad, murió para ayudar a nuestros hermanos de Nicaragua . Su Número 21, está retirado de cualquier deporte de mi país 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 Y el único ser humano, que yo conozco, que 👉 NADIE 👈 habla nada malo, de Él, 👉 NADIE 👈 🇵🇷 Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷 Que DIOS lo tenga en la gloria, 🙏 Bendiciones 🙏 Atte🇵🇷Albert Colón Lee🇵🇷
my mother was at his last game the 1972 NLCS Game 5 in Cincinnati I also had a buddy who worked as a Batboy & Clubhouse guy for the Visitors at Riverfront Stadium in 1972 he said that Pirates clubhouse was like a morgue after that game 5 loss said the room was so quiet!!!
Fué muy triste su partida y triste cuando se supo el porque nuestro Roberto Clemente Walker deseaba ir esta vez ya que el gobierno de Nicaragua y militares tomaron los alimentos, medicinas y dinero que el pueblo de Puerto Rico habia enviado. Es por eso que entonces nuestro Roberto Clemente Walker decidio ir el mismo para que el pueblo de Nicaragua esta vez si recibiera los alimentos, medicinas y dinero que era para ellos y no para el gobierno de Nicaragua ni sus militares. Así que el pueblo de Nicaragua no vio el primer cargamento de alimentos, medicinas y dinero por parte de PR pero tampoco pudieron tener las otras donaciones de PR debido a que en este avion cayo y nunca se recupero a nuestro Roberto Clemente, ni la tripulación y mucho menos las donaciones de miles de dolares, alimentos y medicinas que iba para nuestro hermano pueblo de Nicaragua.
That's right. He represents the Puerto Rican. Heartfelt, honest, working man always misunderstood, always unappreciated. But that is our problem. Our feelings. Americans can let go of their feelings and just let their actions do the talking. Anyways, Roberto Clemente is a hero.
Roberto died before I was born, and though I never saw him play, until UA-cam came out, I idolized him as I grew up, he was my dad's favorite player and would always tell me stories about him, I played baseball most of my youth, first 3 years I played I couldn't get number 21 as other player had it and I was garbage those 3 years, on my fourth year I changed teams and was able to get #21 and I don't know if it was the number but from that year on I became a beast, best player on my league and one of the best if not the best player in all of Puerto Rico, then I met the wrong people and started smoking cigarettes and that led to weed and there went my baseball future
much like puerto rico in pittsburgh the name clemente is spoken with almost god like reverence. before every game at pnc park fans patiently wait their turn to get a snapshot in front of his statue. you can hear the stories of mythic feats roberto performed in right field. my favorite story was recounted by the late pirates announcer bob prince. he said he was chatting with clemente before warm-ups the day after he had thrown a guy out at the plate from deep right field. prince asked "how good IS your arm, bobby?" (prince was the only person he ever let call him bobby.) roberto picked up a ball near-by and standing on home plate fired a missile to center field. (forbes field had a cavernous center) the ball ticked off the top of the wall and back into the field. prince, bug eyed, looked over to clemete who was shaking his head. roberto said "you know bobby, i thought that was going out." the only other person i ever heard doing something similar was when elway tossed one out in yankee stadium but he took a run up and three tries. of his 260 outfield assists 40 were double plays. one of his contemporaries said " when you hit a single to right field you hustled up the line like it was a two hopper to short because if you didn't he would throw you out." the late earl weaver said the 1971 world series was lost in game 3 when he tossed out merv rettmund at third because the orioles never took an extra base or tried to tag and moved up. paul blair was nearly thrown out going back to second on a fly out and mark belanger was famously left stranded at third when clemente threw a perfect one hop to manny sanguillien. i have seen many great baseball players in my life but roberto clemente was the best i have ever seen.
The greatest basketball player ever I wanted to be like Roberto I lived in Pittsburgh born and raised and I was a very good base ball player my self but he was the great one I loved this man
His 3k anniversary is here. Roberto thank you for bringing joy to my late grandpa, my father, my sons and me. Every time I see your documentary I tear up, and it just shows how far your legacy has reached. Gracias numero 21, espero que estés jugando en el reino de Dios.
Two all us young National League fans Clemente could do no wrong he was a god whose name meant greatness at his chosen profession baseball I still Remember fall 1972 as Roberto Drove closer to 3000 hits tuning in on the radio or television that last week trying to find every piece of information how close was he did he get a hit tonight what where when how and that final game when he hit number 3000 the joy we felt brought tears to our eyes we all had a couple of extra beers that night and hoisted them high to one of the greats some may disagree but US national league fans appreciated him more whenever the Pirates came to Shea Stadium I would try to make it to the game but the 1971 World Series was a baseball clinic put on by Clemente that's all I have to say about that
Did you know Neil Walker's dad could've been on the plane that crashed that killed Clemente? Mr. Walker helped Roberto load up the food on the plane & was about to fly with Clemente who told him no he will fly alone
For those who compare Puig to the great Clemente,,,come back in 20 years,,,,,lets compare them then....something tells me it wont happen.....Nobody compares to Roberto Clemente.
I am Puerto Rican my family is from San Juan and Ponce I love Clemente alot. That Champions Pirates Team with Clemente had 2 Hall of Famers (Clemente and Maz). The Yankees had 5 Hall of Famers with (Stengal,Berra,Mantel, Maris and Ford). Clemente is The best MLB player ever Mays said this only next to Mays. Clemente is known for being the best right fielder period but for beating that Yankees team and the Orioles who had many Hall of Famers as well. Clemente is considered the great one and for me that is the best player ever. #21 should be retired by all teams heck change the MLB logo to Clemente.
You know that guys like Clemente and Mays were great the first time they ever picked up a bat and glove. With a performance for the ages, Clemente almost single-handedly won the 1971 World Series.
as he got older the Pittsburgh media came to love him. They were so cruel to him in the media literally making fun of him. They wouldn't even use Roberto on his baseball cards calling him Bob or Bobby. Through it all he helped people from all over and among ball players, they loved him.
I heard stories of how Clemente used to throw guys out at the plate from Forbes Field that it had stands that went out almost to the field & Clemente would throw a bullet from right field over the part that went onto the field & nail a runner at the plate
The story my dad would tell is he would throw behind guys who had singled to right and because his arm was so strong and accurate he would often get them out, baseball historians often say he had the most powerful and accurate arm in baseball history, he is one of only 3 retired players with 3,000 hits and 10 or more Gold Gloves, Ichiro will be number 4
cityofchamps66 True enough. There was at least one occasion as well where Clemente fielded a ball in shallow right and through the runner out before he reached first base! He played with a skill and ferocity I had never seen before and have not seen since.
lemaxmas There's been about 30 9-3 put outs since 1990. Last year in 2014 Blue Jay player Jose Bautista did it against the Royals then 24 hrs later he did it to the Royals again. They both happened differently but still happened. First one his reaction time was fast and he had a great throw. Ned Yost KC manager on the second one....'I don't know if you'll see a better play in baseball today than that play right there, Omar hit the ball and lost it, he thought it was foul. For Bautista to come, smother the ball, one,and then still see that he had a play at first base, I don't think I've ever seen a play like that. Tremendous play.''
aFreeThinkingPerson That is pretty cool. I'll have to check out those plays you mentioned if yt or mlb has the videos. If you come across it let me know! Thanks!
We knew in PR how good he was! And the best part is that He knew that We knew! He knew that we loved the type of person he was, not only how good a player he was. This country has that blemish on his resumé, and I think it won't change.. That no metter how sweet they talk about "how far we have come", this was, is and likely will always be one of the most racist places in earth!
Clemente would have hit many more home runs had he not played in spacious Forbes Field . That’s the only difference between him and Mays and Aaron. He was an awesome player!
Well at the end after all the bad treatment , he prove how great he was and the discrimination even being robbed of his 3,000 hit the night prior at dodger stadium he ended telling all media Fuck You I am the best and that he prove a WORLD SERIES AVG in 1971 of .444 show me one ever done that
I understand,what the reporter meant;but,it was not about audacity,re Roberto speaking in Spanish on US TV. it was simply,about something,that should have been allowed and welcomed;without any reservation on the part of the media.
great man my afro Puerto Rican brother gone but never forgotten
Clemente enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve after the 1958 season and spent six months on active duty at Parris Island, South Carolina and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. He served until 1964 and was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
There will never be another like Roberto Clemente. He lead by example and always kept his priorities straight.
Roberto should have his #21 retired league wide. It would be there when he will get the recognition he truly deserves.
So true!
Yes!
Roberto is not only the greatest right fielder of all time, he is the greatest ever playing this game, period.
People always pull their stats to prove this undeniable fact wrong, but there were always players that made those fanatics of statistics drop their pencils and finally enjoy the game, and Roberto is their leader.
He left anyone speechless in any park he played.
In fact, he was on the greatest team of all time, the 1970/71 Pirates.
They were so ahead of their time on field and off, they are the No. 1 team in team sports for all time.
This team is the one and only...
The best I've ever seen. The reason I am a Pirates fan.
My all time favorite player. To think how good he was yet how much people disrespected him is insane.
Forever 21
I still cry to this day when I see this video, he will always be my Idol.R.I.P.Roberto the great one! !!
me to.
It hurts my heart when I hear the stories of how poorly Roberto was treated. People like that should be ashamed of themselves. Roberto, you are the GOAT and a legend and you will never be forgotten!
Leslie Olson racist people dont belong in the 🌎 we live in
a legend indeed in mlb this hero is still far the best baseball player that ever lived rip r c
Roberto is my favorite baseball player and unfortunately the victim of great discrimination by the press...Sad. He is a true legend now and deserves to be understood for his greatness!
My idol growing up. The greatest player I ever saw. Period.
Easily the greatest all around player baseball player ever. Throwing, catching, hitting and base running. Saw him hundreds of times and sat in right field every time. Graceful, proud and unequaled! Awesome!
He definitely needed to be treated better but change brings, ignorance, arrogance and scares people. He was, still is, a great baseball player and human being. Ill always respect, tip my hat to Roberto for his great baseball, character and mostly for his tough fight to make people open their mind.
waoooo, growing up in Carolina, P.R. was so special to me!!!! Roberto was the greatest, will always be the greatest... no matter if he doesn't get the recognition, real people knows what's up!!! MlB does not understand what kind of player he was, even if they claim to know. This player was the real deal. I don't remember seeing him playing even though my father took me to the games, I've seen videos and I'm grateful for it, he was so much better than lots of players in MLB even if they do not want to accept it....he will always be the greatest....yesssss!!!!!! and yes, there is, no way he will be on the bench for the ALL CENTURY TEAM...he has to be the starting right fielder, for sure!!!!
Angel Marte 💯
Much like Stan Musial, very under appreciated. I'm a Cardinals fan but I think it's a crime that Roberto Clemente still doesn't get as much recognition as Mantle or anyone else that played with the Yankees. He was an even better person off the field. Treated very unfairly.
That Pirates team with Clemente and Maz beat the Yankees with Mantel, Maris, Ford, Berra, Stengal
Seen him as a kid...Miss him much. Great human...
Roberto Clemente el mejor jardinero derecho que haya jugado! Su memoria brillará para siempre en los corazones de los pueblos latinos y los que de todo en todo el continente americano lo amaban.
Él es verdaderamente el "Grande"!
I cry everytime i see this video. The man could of enjoyed the New Year parties with his family and friends and yet he thought about others first. No greater love no man have than to lay down his life for a friend. Enjoy paradise with our Lord Jesus Christ and save a bench spot for me up in heaven magnificent one.
Thanks for posting this program on one of baseball's all-time greats. The only disappointment and mystery is why ESPN thought Roberto Clemente deserved only a 30 minute SportsCentury program, while Jim McMahon received a 60 minute show. Clemente was a vastly superior player in his sport, and and a much larger impact than McMahon ever had.
He hit over 400 against a starting pitching staff with 4,20 game winners and won the WS MVP, what on earth are you talking about????????
is impossible to made an assist when they were afraid to run when he got the ball
jesusisnotallright s - What's your point SFB?
jesusisnotallright s - What a stupid troll comment. If anyone is not all right it's you Bonehead.
You can't get assists when the other team is afraid to run on you!
For example, in the bottom of the 9th when Buford hit a double that would have surely scored Marc Belanger most other times, Belanger was held back on third because of Clemente's lazer-like throw from right field to home that kept the Birds from winning at that time and sent the game into extra innings.
Later when F. Robinson won the game on a sacrifice fly in left-center field to center fielder Vic Davililo, he made the following comment as quoted in a NY Times article, by Joe Durso on 10/16/71:
“Would I have taken the risk if Clemente had handled the ball?” Robinson speculated later under mass questioning “Look, not even Clemente can cover two fields at once.”
Now try praying for some brains before you make your next comment.
Well said!
The ones who really looked bad were those moronic sports writers. They were racist and extremely unprofessional. At the end, he proved those imbeciles wrong.
A Puerto Rican hero 🇵🇷🇵🇷
@Biny Beaks he was a great man
I was eleven years old when he died, I remember his death like yesterday, and I was full of uncontrollable grief, my parents not knowing what was going on. They soon learned that I was saddened by the death of Roberto Clemente. I am so grateful that I was able to see this amazing baseball player and human being. My young people have no idea who this man was, but I do, and I always will
The only number I wanted as a kid and as an adult, playing hard ball or soft ball was always the #21. Roberto Clemente is probably the most famous and loved Puertorriqueño ever.
So, so very sad! A TRUE HERO!
Gracias mi querido hermano Borriqua por tu gloria y tu bondad.Nunca te orvidare en mi corazon
great baseball player,greater human being!
I know there is an award in his honor, but for all he did on and off the field, I feel MLB should also retire his number 21.
Val Sobrevilla I agree.
Agree
How people dislike this video ..When this man was a excelente human being..Is not going to be a baseball player like Roberto Clemente ..🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷🇵🇷RIP
Great man, great story. I had never known much about him before watching this.
Roberto clemente the best of the best ever
Clemente is the greatest right fielder that ever played the game, he was a 5 tool player, only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron are ahead of him. The babe because he is Mr. Baseball himself, and Hank Aaron because he is the Home Run King still being recognized. But Clemente is a member of the 3000 hit club which is far more important then HR, after all a homerun is a hit. Clemente won 4 batting titles, 12 gold gloves 2 world series MVP and 1 regular season MVP and had a canon of an arm that no dared to challenge. But he played in an era where prejudice was very high in this country.
Clemente only won the WS MVP in 71
***** Frank Robinson maybe yes by a hair because of his power numbers. Mel Ott, no imho. Look at Ott's power numbers at home vs away. Ott made great use of the incredibly short right field porch which was 258ft!!! If Ott played in another ballpark based on his away numbers he'd have never come close to 500 home runs. Ott hit almost twice as many homers at the Polo Grounds as he did when playing away.
Clemente had excellent power, but because he played in such a large park for both right handed and left handed players, Roberto learned to it vicious line drives and grounders that put fear in the heart of pitchers and infielders alike. But had he played in a park like Ott did with extremely short foul lines on both sides, you'd have seen a lot more homers.
Clemente is the best all around 5 tool player in right field! When Clemente and frank Robinson play at the all star Robinson was placed in left field. Enough said.
Angel Diaz My friend, I'm a life long Clemente fan. No other player has ever meant as much to me as he did. I saw the man often and imho no one brought so much excitement to the game as he did. Even watching Roberto hit batting practice took your breath away. And as much as he had this graceful and regal nature, he was the most approachable and kind man. He loved the fans and we loved him.
There is no one close to Roberto as a fielder in right field when he played or ever, which was why Clemente often displaced both Robinson and Aaron in right field for the all-star games. Now because the manager replaced Hammerin Hank with Roberto doesn't mean that Roberto in his whole career was better than the Home Run King. To me it is not a knock to my hero to consider that others were as good as he was in some areas and better. Just as he excelled in areas where no one could touch him like that howitzer arm he had and the way he could play the ball off the wall and get to balls that few others could and those scorching line drives up the middle that in the case of Don Drysdale scared him so much that he retired within a few days of a Clemente liner that took off the top of Drysdale's right ear.
The managers of those all star games wanted the "Great One" roaming right field with that speed and arm that no one else had. Robinson though had much better power, obp and was not far off in batting average. F. Robby like Roberto was a great base runner and strong leader. He falls way short compared to Roberto as a fielder.
Now had Roberto played in a smaller ball park like Crosley field he'd have hit many more homers. And ultimately had he never destroyed his back and neck in that car accident in 1954 Clemente might have been a 30 home run a year player even in such a large park as Forbes Field and then we'd be talking a different story. Amazingly despite that injury Roberto hit a number of tape measure shots, including a blast at Wrigley Field that the greatest right handed hitter of all-time Rogers Hornsby said was the longest home run he ever saw.
Ralph Kiner is the only Pirate ever known for hitting consistently year after year 40-50 homers. He had a big advantage when he played there due to the fact that the management had pulled the fences in from left and left center by 30ft! When Branch Ricky took over before Clemente became a Pirate, he traded away Kiner and brought the fences out back to their cavernous dimensions.
Realize too that Wille Stargell's season best while he played in Forbes Field at 33 homers isn't much better than Clemente's 29,
To me it's a toss up as to who is better than who and at that level and splitting some seriously thin hairs. They were all great and Roberto will always be number one to me as a player and as a man. His life and death still resounds in my life and his deeds are a constant reminder as to how to live.
***** To compare who had it worse doesn't make one man's burden more significant than the other. Jackie Robinson also a contemporary of both Clemente and Aaron had it worse than anyone, that doesn't make what Aaron and Clemente went through any less.
Virtually ALL the black players who came up after Jackie Robinson and into the 50's and 60's faced an enormous amount of racism and abuse, especially in the minor leagues and spring training when they were in the, then Jim Crow south. The latin players had to deal with the prejudice that existed towards them as well as the language and cultural barrier. For black latinos this meant that their treatment was coming from both sides.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of aspiring latin and black athletes suffered greatly. Many names we'll never know.
And some who never got a fair shot because of the unofficial quotas that ball clubs had back then as to the number of Black players they could have, were good enough to have possibly had excellent careers in the MLB.
But one man's pain doesn't nullify another man's pain. So your point is kind of moot.
Roberto was the greatest. I grew up a Reds fan (still am) and I used to hate how he always seemed to do something to win the game for the Pirates when the two teams played. I now just feel so fortunate to have seen such an incredible player and man play the game the way it should be played.
my uncles tell me there was a big rumor in puerto rico that roberto's wife vera cheated on him with his best friend manny sanguillen
Lol, no way. I knew Sangy. He loved Roberto deeply and Sangy is a very kind and humble man.
Do you remember that incredible game where Clemente hit 3 homers, a double and had 7rbi's in an 8-7 Pirate loss to your team? Amazing but ultimately frustrating for Clemente.
Pete Rose said it was the greatest display of hitting her ever saw.
Those great Red's teams were amazing in those days. From the great 61 team with Frank and Vada right on to the Red Machine who had an awesome line up from top to bottom and an often excellent pitching staff.
I know you weren't writing to me, but just have to say I so wish I'd seen that game or that there was some footage of it. It must have been something to see. And it was among the many proofs that Clemente indeed had awesome power. He did have another 3 homer game against the SF Giants two years later as well and as many fans know, Clemente hit some tape measure shots including a blast that went out of Wrigley Field in Chicago that Ernie Banks said was about the longest homer he ever saw hit at Wrigley and Rogers Hornsby said was the longest homer he ever saw hit anywhere. Clemente also nearly accomplished a feet reserved for (if memory serves) three of the greatest left handed (one was a switch hitter, but was hitting lefty that day) power hitters in baseball ever did. And that was hitting a ball over the roof in right field which was a gargantuan shot. Willie Stargell did it I think 18 times! The Babe I believe did it at the end of his career in that amazing 3 home run game of his. And the Mick did it as well, I'm thinking in the 1960 World Series. But Clemente missed hitting it at least on the roof by about a foot or so in 1962-- that's an opposite field blast by a right handed batter! Nearly unheard of for someone to have opposite field power like that! About 30 of Clemente's career homers were 400ft plus blasts to the opposite field.
Clemente had many record blasts for sure, but one that may have been the most amazing was one he hit into the famous swirling winds at Candlestick Park in left field. These winds were so constant and deadly to even the greatest right handed power hitters that even saw the likes of Willie Mays to have many homers die at and caused the great player to learn a la Roberto to hit homers to the opposite field. (There's no telling how many homers Mays would have hit were it not for those winds).
Again, if memory serves four players had hit the longest homers out to that area, at least at that time. Orlando Cepeda and Ernie Banks did so, but under rare conditions where there was no wind. Clemente's however was hit in the winds at their worst and went at least 450ft. To quote sports writer Arnold Hano;
"Clemente's bat hit the ball, and the result absolutely clubbed the crowd into awed silence for a long moment. Right into that wet whipping wind the ball carried. Right on through, hit 120 feet high in a long soaring majestic parabola that came down finally over 450 feet away. There is just no way of telling how far Clemente’s home run blast would have traveled had it not been for that wind. Suffice it to say partisan Giant fans suddenly broke their shell-shocked silence and let loose a gagantic roar. For two innings the stadium buzzed. For days the Giants talked about it. Even today if you slip up behind a Giant pitcher and suddenly whisper in his ear: ‘Remember the home run Clemente hit?’ he’s likely to jump as high as if he’d been caught putting spit on baseballs."
As Hank Aaron said in 1967 when Clemente was at still playing; "Clemente has the misfortune of playing in a big park. If he played in a smaller one, there’s no telling how many home runs he’d hit."
I knew Clemente had great power to right, but didn't know he nearly cleared the right field roof in Forbes Field. In the David Maraniss bio I think he joked that in the MLB Clemente was known as the third strongest or fiercest left-handed batter after McCovey and Billy Williams due to Roberto's power line drives that would scare the crap out of infielders and pitchers.
He was the best I ever saw.
he will always be a big part of the city of pittsburgh and a part of puerto rico 4ever
Well, cool. Now I'm crying.
he was my favorite player growing up..
he is and forever will THE GREAT ONE and never will be another one like him.
Actually as a kid, I always thought Clemente was equal to the best of the best. Another skill he had he was a great bad-ball hitter- he could really throw the other team off that way.
He's simply the best to ever play the right field position. Nobody had the arm like him.
Yes, Clemente definitely meant to us what Jackie Robinson meant to african americans!
It's sad that I didn't even get to see my great grandfather :(
Rorberto's your great granddaddy?
Rip
Wow really
This guy used to kill the Cubs back in the day. What a talent he was!
I remember the day he died, we lived about 40 miles from San Juan. our baseball field was located near the coast of the atlantic ocean. it was a misty day and there were about 200 people including my family looking at the ocean, we were looking for the plane wreckage 40 miles away from the original crash site. that's how important he was to us.
Carmelo, en qué pueblo está ese campo? We're doing a documentary, and maybe we can shoot it. Sign up on this page: facebook.com/PuertoRicoLaPatriaDeportiva/
This film always made me.cry. Im sooo proud that he was born in the same place I look for the first time the sun light.
He & Frank Robinson are so underappreciated by baseball fans.
A beautiful man no doubt. I wish the best for his family.
His Heart, was so Huge, So Great that it wouldn't fit in his Chest...Jorge A. Gutierrez...
The best all around baseball player of all time!!
The BEST. RIP Sir Clemente.
I am proud guy of my compatriot RC21as a player but more as a human,thanks for each person for take some time and talk at less about Roberto cuz are own leaders in Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 forget about him😔💯Thanks Clemente r.i.p big as Mantle,Mays or Aaron💯
Saludos cordiales desde mí pequeña isla de
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
La leyenda de Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷
Imposible olvidar, lo que ISO, Por 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Y la humanidad, murió para ayudar a nuestros hermanos de Nicaragua .
Su Número 21, está retirado de cualquier deporte de mi país
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
Y el único ser humano, que yo conozco, que
👉 NADIE 👈 habla nada malo, de Él, 👉 NADIE 👈
🇵🇷 Roberto Clemente 🇵🇷
Que DIOS lo tenga en la gloria, 🙏 Bendiciones 🙏
Atte🇵🇷Albert Colón Lee🇵🇷
BEST RIGHT FIELDER EVER...LEGEND
+jay love not even close...ruth, aaron, robinson and ott are better
Clemente the BEST
jay love numbers prove otherwise
suck it easy smitty.
a ton of great ones Clemente is one of them Hank Aaron & Frank Robinson are other ones.
my mother was at his last game the 1972 NLCS Game 5 in Cincinnati I also had a buddy who worked as a Batboy & Clubhouse guy for the Visitors at Riverfront Stadium in 1972 he said that Pirates clubhouse was like a morgue after that game 5 loss said the room was so quiet!!!
Fué muy triste su partida y triste cuando se supo el porque nuestro Roberto Clemente Walker deseaba ir esta vez ya que el gobierno de Nicaragua y militares tomaron los alimentos, medicinas y dinero que el pueblo de Puerto Rico habia enviado. Es por eso que entonces nuestro Roberto Clemente Walker decidio ir el mismo para que el pueblo de Nicaragua esta vez si recibiera los alimentos, medicinas y dinero que era para ellos y no para el gobierno de Nicaragua ni sus militares. Así que el pueblo de Nicaragua no vio el primer cargamento de alimentos, medicinas y dinero por parte de PR pero tampoco pudieron tener las otras donaciones de PR debido a que en este avion cayo y nunca se recupero a nuestro Roberto Clemente, ni la tripulación y mucho menos las donaciones de miles de dolares, alimentos y medicinas que iba para nuestro hermano pueblo de Nicaragua.
That's right. He represents the Puerto Rican. Heartfelt, honest, working man always misunderstood, always unappreciated. But that is our problem. Our feelings. Americans can let go of their feelings and just let their actions do the talking. Anyways, Roberto Clemente is a hero.
Roberto died before I was born, and though I never saw him play, until UA-cam came out, I idolized him as I grew up, he was my dad's favorite player and would always tell me stories about him, I played baseball most of my youth, first 3 years I played I couldn't get number 21 as other player had it and I was garbage those 3 years, on my fourth year I changed teams and was able to get #21 and I don't know if it was the number but from that year on I became a beast, best player on my league and one of the best if not the best player in all of Puerto Rico, then I met the wrong people and started smoking cigarettes and that led to weed and there went my baseball future
The greatest Latino baseball player of all time hands down no questions about it!!!!!!!
Hero!
much like puerto rico in pittsburgh the name clemente is spoken with almost god like reverence. before every game at pnc park fans patiently wait their turn to get a snapshot in front of his statue. you can hear the stories of mythic feats roberto performed in right field. my favorite story was recounted by the late pirates announcer bob prince. he said he was chatting with clemente before warm-ups the day after he had thrown a guy out at the plate from deep right field. prince asked "how good IS your arm, bobby?" (prince was the only person he ever let call him bobby.) roberto picked up a ball near-by and standing on home plate fired a missile to center field. (forbes field had a cavernous center) the ball ticked off the top of the wall and back into the field. prince, bug eyed, looked over to clemete who was shaking his head. roberto said "you know bobby, i thought that was going out." the only other person i ever heard doing something similar was when elway tossed one out in yankee stadium but he took a run up and three tries. of his 260 outfield assists 40 were double plays. one of his contemporaries said " when you hit a single to right field you hustled up the line like it was a two hopper to short because if you didn't he would throw you out." the late earl weaver said the 1971 world series was lost in game 3 when he tossed out merv rettmund at third because the orioles never took an extra base or tried to tag and moved up. paul blair was nearly thrown out going back to second on a fly out and mark belanger was famously left stranded at third when clemente threw a perfect one hop to manny sanguillien. i have seen many great baseball players in my life but roberto clemente was the best i have ever seen.
Mark McCreary Thank you for sharing..
+Mark McCreary Absolutely!
Yea,Thanks Mark. Your vivid and enlightening accounts of Clemente enrich us all.
Thank you Mark. I'm a life long pirate/Clemente fan.Love the story.
Ball players get defined by there career numbers.. Roberto changed all that. Gave Greatness a new Standard to go by..
The greatest basketball player ever I wanted to be like Roberto I lived in Pittsburgh born and raised and I was a very good base ball player my self but he was the great one I loved this man
"If the ball is in the park, and the game is on the line...I WILL CATCH THE BALL"
Roberto "The Great One" Clemente.
His 3k anniversary is here. Roberto thank you for bringing joy to my late grandpa, my father, my sons and me. Every time I see your documentary I tear up, and it just shows how far your legacy has reached. Gracias numero 21, espero que estés jugando en el reino de Dios.
Two all us young National League fans Clemente could do no wrong he was a god whose name meant greatness at his chosen profession baseball I still Remember fall 1972 as Roberto Drove closer to 3000 hits tuning in on the radio or television that last week trying to find every piece of information how close was he did he get a hit tonight what where when how and that final game when he hit number 3000 the joy we felt brought tears to our eyes we all had a couple of extra beers that night and hoisted them high to one of the greats some may disagree but US national league fans appreciated him more whenever the Pirates came to Shea Stadium I would try to make it to the game but the 1971 World Series was a baseball clinic put on by Clemente that's all I have to say about that
Great ballplayer...great man.
I breathe 21 I live 21 I love 21 we love you Roberto and we will never forget you. Que viva Puerto Rico...
🇵🇷 Clemente !!! 💪🙌
Did you know Neil Walker's dad could've been on the plane that crashed that killed Clemente? Mr. Walker helped Roberto load up the food on the plane & was about to fly with Clemente who told him no he will fly alone
Great ball player. Even greater human being. Rest in peace Roberto a true hero for all to follow.
For those who compare Puig to the great Clemente,,,come back in 20 years,,,,,lets compare them then....something tells me it wont happen.....Nobody compares to Roberto Clemente.
I am Puerto Rican my family is from San Juan and Ponce I love Clemente alot. That Champions Pirates Team with Clemente had 2 Hall of Famers (Clemente and Maz). The Yankees had 5 Hall of Famers with (Stengal,Berra,Mantel, Maris and Ford). Clemente is The best MLB player ever Mays said this only next to Mays. Clemente is known for being the best right fielder period but for beating that Yankees team and the Orioles who had many Hall of Famers as well. Clemente is considered the great one and for me that is the best player ever. #21 should be retired by all teams heck change the MLB logo to Clemente.
A True Legend
You know that guys like Clemente and Mays were great the first time they ever picked up a bat and glove. With a performance for the ages, Clemente almost single-handedly won the 1971 World Series.
There was one man he would let call him "Bobby." And that was Bob Prince, the longtime Bucs announcer.
"THE GREAT ONE".. #21
as he got older the Pittsburgh media came to love him. They were so cruel to him in the media literally making fun of him. They wouldn't even use Roberto on his baseball cards calling him Bob or Bobby. Through it all he helped people from all over and among ball players, they loved him.
I heard stories of how Clemente used to throw guys out at the plate from Forbes Field that it had stands that went out almost to the field & Clemente would throw a bullet from right field over the part that went onto the field & nail a runner at the plate
The story my dad would tell is he would throw behind guys who had singled to right and because his arm was so strong and accurate he would often get them out, baseball historians often say he had the most powerful and accurate arm in baseball history, he is one of only 3 retired players with 3,000 hits and 10 or more Gold Gloves, Ichiro will be number 4
cityofchamps66 True enough. There was at least one occasion as well where Clemente fielded a ball in shallow right and through the runner out before he reached first base! He played with a skill and ferocity I had never seen before and have not seen since.
lemaxmas There's been about 30 9-3 put outs since 1990.
Last year in 2014 Blue Jay player Jose Bautista did it against the Royals then 24 hrs later he did it to the Royals again. They both happened differently but still happened. First one his reaction time was fast and he had a great throw.
Ned Yost KC manager on the second one....'I don't know if you'll see a better play in baseball today than that play right there, Omar hit the ball and lost it, he thought it was foul. For Bautista to come, smother the ball, one,and then still see that he had a play at first base, I don't think I've
ever seen a play like that. Tremendous play.''
aFreeThinkingPerson
That is pretty cool. I'll have to check out those plays you mentioned if yt or mlb has the videos. If you come across it let me know! Thanks!
#21 forever… king Clemente 🇺🇸🇵🇷
Great upload.
The Great One. 21 forever
We knew in PR how good he was! And the best part is that He knew that We knew! He knew that we loved the type of person he was, not only how good a player he was. This country has that blemish on his resumé, and I think it won't change.. That no metter how sweet they talk about "how far we have come", this was, is and likely will always be one of the most racist places in earth!
Clemente would have hit many more home runs had he not played in spacious Forbes Field . That’s the only difference between him and Mays and Aaron. He was an awesome player!
Well at the end after all the bad treatment , he prove how great he was and the discrimination even being robbed of his 3,000 hit the night prior at dodger stadium he ended telling all media Fuck You I am the best and that he prove a WORLD SERIES AVG in 1971 of .444 show me one ever done that
Clemente was The Great One, number one. Gretzky was the Great One, number two.
Shame he never got the respect he should have!!
If the ball is in the park and the game is on the line I will catch the ball
RC#21
At the Hiram Bithorn Stadium I took clinics from him and Cepeda in the late 60s. Little did we know what was about to happen!
I was at game 7 in Baltimore he hit it over left center wall . It was a sinking feeling
Very well put.
I understand,what the reporter meant;but,it was not about audacity,re Roberto speaking in Spanish on US TV. it was simply,about something,that should have been allowed and welcomed;without any reservation on the part of the media.
POIG NO E NA. CLEMENTE ES EL MEJOR. COJONES. LOS CUBICHES NI DOMINICANOS SE PUEDEN COMPARAR A ESTE HOMBRE.
Well said.
MLB should RETIRE #21....Point Blank
Everyone knows why recognition eluded Roberto Clemente....... AmeriKKKa!
truth
I deff feel u on that
its pretty hard to have english only comments on a documentary about a spanish speaking puertorican athlete.
When i was in fifth grade i did a report on him
Who can dislike this?