Roberto Clemente was not only my favorite player, but he was one of the 5 best players of all time. He was a five-tool player-hit, hit for power, run , field, and throw. No one had a throwing arm in the outfield better than him! He had no peer as a base runner , and was an outstanding outfielder. The World Series of 1971 where he hit .414 was his own personal stage. That ball he hit in the All-Star Game in Detroit was an absolute BOMB-450 feet at least! He would have had 500 homers if he had chosen to do so, but wanted batting titles instead , which he won. He would make 30 million a year if he played in this era, and he would show the young boys how to hustle and play hard EVERY night. What a tremendous player!
Clemente did not hit for power. He averaged only around 13 home runs per season. In addition, he drew few walks. He hit for high batting average but his OBP was not all that great. He was not a five-tool player.
Wow - what a great memory! Watching these makes me sad many of these players are gone now - but especially Clemente - thanks for sharing that you were there - the Reggie Jackson homer is what I would have wanted to see :-)
September ‘69 DH at Shea. Mets win both games 1-0 with Mets pitchers getting both RBI’s. During the first game, a fly ball to right with a runner on 2nd, Clemente makes a running catch toward the line, whirls and throws a strike to Hebner at 3rd and the runner goes back to 2nd base. I’m 65 and that’s the best throw I’ve ever seen live at the game.
@@kevintullo1715 We used to see Clemente make those sorts of throws regularly. You're lucky, too, you know. I would have loved to have been able to see Seaver and Koosman pitch on a regular basis.
Clemente was asked about his ability to make a throw so quickly! He said as a kid laying on his bunkbed. He would always bounce the ball off the wall, and when he caught it, he would quickly adjust his grip a certain way on the seam for control! And then rifle that incredibly powerful, accurate arm in one quick fluid motion!!!
I remember as a little boy watching on TV with my dad in 1971, Roberto hit his last hit ever against the Mets Jon Matlack. It was a double and his 3000th hit. He died soon after and my dad died in 1974 (leukemia). I was 11 years old. A bittersweet moment in the 70's.
Wow, same here. My father, Ed Conway, the sportscaster for WTAE-4 died in 74 of cancer well, and I was 11 years old too. Not a club anyone wants to belong to, losing your father as a child. Besides that, I wouldn't trade growing up in the 70's for anything. As you know, the 50 year anniversary of the Pirates beating the Orioles in the 71 World series is almost here. I remember going into downtown Pittsburgh to watch people going crazy over the win in game 7.
I remember. I lived in Uptown Manhattan - Washington Heights. No one spoke English. Clemente was our hero. I lost my dad that year in a different way - we were reunited 20 years later. For our fathers and for Roberto and all who strive to do good - Saludos. ❤️🙏🏽🙋🏽♂️🎯🎂💙
Incredible! Isn’t it? Nice call.Also, although all the music of the 70, s was,is great.It could be argued that 1971 was the greatest collection of music ever assembled in one year..18 gold and platinum 45 rpm records!
The day my mother cried she told me the bad news Reberto Clemente has died we are big Pittsburgh pirates fans , yes it was a very sad day indeed. But in my heart he's never forgotten.
For me, the greatest demonstration of athletic prowess, during a World Series ever. He simply willed his team to win. He was clearly the best player on the field. Kind of like Jordan would be, years later, on the basketball court.
I think baseball tries too hard to keep players in a mold. Let the players be themselves... within some type of reason, but let them show emotion if they want to. If a player wants to play like Clemente, that's great, but if a kid wants to do a Rickey Henderson two step and trot near the 1st base dugout before touching first on a homer then that's great too. Babe Ruth used to jog around the bases faster or slower after a homer depending on how he felt about the pitcher, the other team, the moment in the game, and so on. My point is, don't try and turn Javy Baez into Roberto Clemente and just like nobody would ever try and make a naturally reserved player show off more.
People forget Reggie Jackson had a pretty fast home run trot. In this game watch it. Also Hank Aaron's trot was the same throughout his whole career. Everybody's not the same, but every time you hit a home run it's not game 7 of the World Series.
Man!, Roberto Clemente rocketed that ball into the second deck! I fondly remember watching this game that night! Reggie Jackson also hit a shot in that game! I was 13 years old. I later enjoyed watching the '71 World Series in which Clemente shined and again showcased his talents defeating The Baltimore Orioles. I was stunned at Clemente's untimely death in a plane crash on New Years Eve 1972.
Clemente wasn't known as a power hitter, but he actually had great power. It was his misfortune to play almost his whole career with Forbes Field as his home park.....365' down the left field line, 406' and 375' to the power alleys, and deepest left-and right- center 457' and 436' respectively. And the wall was 12 1/2'. Not real "homer friendly."
Russ S Did you notice how fast Clemente got around the bases! Can you believe The Brooklyn Dodgers had Clemente but let him get away! Can you imagine Tommy Davis in Left Field and Roberto Clemente in Right Field! You know, I always envied the 1960's San Francisco Giants because they would sign Latino Baseball players. Being an American of Mexican descent, I was very proud of Latino Major League Baseball stars and their accomplishments.The Giants had Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Mateo "Matty" Alou, Felipe Alou, Jesus Alou, Jose Pagan and Tito Fuentes.! The Los Angeles Dodgers, who broke the color barrier in 1947, interestingly only had a couple of Latino ball players during the '60s- a relief pitcher and a relief catcher!
@@raulmacias1311 I know exactly how fast Clemente was on the bases. I had the good fortune of growing up just outside of Pittsburgh back then. I also had the good fortune of having a Dad who enjoyed taking in ball games with me, and good public transportation between my little town outside Pittsburgh and the city. So, I generally got to see Clemente play in person about a dozen times a year at Forbes Field, and then Three Rivers Stadium. He honest-to-God was the best player I've ever seen play live, and I also got to see both Dave Parker and Barry Bonds. I do know that it had been Clemente instead of Balco Barry throwing in that playoff game against the Braves, Sid Bream would never have scored....not that I'm still bitter 28 years after the fact or anything.
Russ S Man! How fortunate you were to have a Dad that loved Baseball and to see the transcendent Roberto Clemente play in person!The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the teams who, in 1971, adopted the new look Major League Baseball uniforms. Personally, I hated these uniforms! I detested those bright colors and those feminine looking "Waist Bands"! Teams were now allowed to wear colorful Baseball shoes! Pittsburgh's original home uniform was so cool and masculine with the black belt, black shoes and the black long sleeved shirts and the big black bold letters spelling out "PIRATES" in the front. I always wondered why the change was made. Up until 1970, all Major League Baseball uniforms were "uniform"! You had the teams "home" white uniforms with the team name - "Pirates" printed across the chest and on road games they wore gray colored uniforms with the team's city printed across the chest - "Pittsburgh". I grew up in the 1960's and the the uniforms worn between 1960~1968 were classic! I was 5 years old in 1962 when Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium opened, I lived in the City of San Fernando, CA, a suburb of the Los Angeles County, and saw the great Sandy Koufax defeat The New York Mets! I really wanted to see The San Francisco Giants or The Pittsburgh Pirates! The ball players were clean shaven and lean! They didn't wear batting gloves and there wasn't a designated hitter rule! The designated hitter rule came into the American League in 1973 which I believe was a sin in that it violated the original rules of the game. It subverted the strategy of the game by taking away a most pivotal aspect and that was making the Pitcher bat! The Manager had the option to walk a batter to get the weaker hitting Pitcher to take an at bat. That strategy was taken away with the Designated Hitter Rule! You now had over the hill Baseball players taking an at bat, since they couldn't field any longer but could still hit, and try and get a hit and get on base. Usually a pinch runner would replace the Designated Hitter if he got on base! I hated the 1969 Major League Baseball Expansion which inaugurated "Major League Baseball Playoffs"! Diluted talent and mediocre ball players and teams entered the league - MLB became two Six Team Divisions with Divisional Playoffs - National League - The Montreal Expos The San Diego Padres American League - Kansas City Royals Seattle Pilots Before their second year began, The Seattle Pilots filed for bankruptcy! After only one season, Milwaukee bought the club less than a week before the 1970 Season began. The Seattle Pilots became The Milwaukee Brewers.
Roberto was the greatest right fielder in Baseball history I wore number 21 my whole career coaching baseball in high school for 36 years he was a great human being as well as a great ball player
I was watching the game with older brother & dad while listening to two incredibly talented announcers. The announcers of today can't compare to the announcers three decades ago and beyond.
Gowdy was part of a great tradition that continues right up until today. Vin Scully did the Game of the Week for a while, so did Joe Garagiola and even into the ESPN era, you're talking about guys like Dan Shulman, Jon Miller, Gary Thorne and Chris Berman.
@@russs7574 Yup. Now the lead announcer every World Series is a football announcer who regularly is panned and roasted or fried to a crisp in that pan by critics and fans alike. Besmirches the name of his father who was a HOF announcer for the Cardinals and on National TV. Jack Buck, R.I.P.
@@daveadams233 What's funny is that, as great as Jack Buck's call on the Kirk Gibson home run was, I think his call in the 1985 playoffs on Ozzie Smith's walk-off HR off Tom Niedenfuer was even better. Jack Buck, Bob Prince, Ernie Harwell, Harry Kalas, Mel Allen, Vin Scully, Harry Caray....they just don't make them like that anymore.
There were no friendly games when he was on the field. Of course I'm young and never saw him playing live, but the stories are there as proof that he played an all star, a blowout game or a tight contest the same way
Greenies. And to say the game didn't count would be wrong. Back then it was an intense source of pride to win that game. There was no interleague play back then and the players were out to show the national television audience that their league was better. You're Goddamn right they played to win and he was probably gacked to the nines on amphetamines.
One of the best to ever play the game. Hitting off the front foot was putting all his weight into that swing. I was 10yrs old when he died and remember the sadness of losing a good player and Great person in the crash.
WOW !! Thurman Munson behind the plate, how Ironic that Munson and Clemente would both die in Plane crashes during their playing Careers , Clemente was my all time Favorite Player as kid.
Lolich was smiling at Clemente's reaction to those outside pitches and he felt obliged to come back with his fastball...I remember this at bat when it happened live. Bobby egged Mickey on... Two of the finer gentlemen in the game of baseball...Mickey Lolich and 'The Great One'.
Lolich: 25 Ws, 308 Ks; three years earlier, when the money was Seri-ously on the table, dusted off the monstrous ‘68 Cardinals arsenal ? Denny who, again?
The Pittsburgh Pirates of the 1970's were a team that rivaled the Big Red Machine, in Cincinnati, and the Big Green Machine, in Oakland. Roberto Clemente lost his life on December 23rd 1972, on a flight flying emergency relief to the victims of a disastrous earthquake in Nicaragua. He was from Puerto Rico, not Nicaragua. But, he selflessly, flew a risky mission to help those in need. A piece of the City of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Pirates died that night, along with Roberto Clemente, who was a great humanitarian.
Pirates-Reds during the 70's was as good as it got. Think about it...even after Clemente passed away, you would have Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, Al Oliver and Manny Sanguillen (probably the 2nd best catcher in baseball at the time) going at it. And then Sparky Anderson and Chuck Tanner trying to outmanage each other. It didn't get any better than that.
@@1luiszepol Bench was the Senadores catcher during the 1966-67 (in which Clemente did not play) and the 1967-68 seasons. Then in 1968-69 (when Sparky Anderson managed San Juan but Clemente was absent again) they had Frank Fernández catching and Munson played the following year.
@@nycsongman9758 You are welcome, NYC Songman (like that name) !!! The PR Baseball League, now called The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League is so rich with a history that people could never imagine. Since its foundation in 1938 some Negro League stars like Satchell Paige, Josh Gibson and lots of others came to play here (and to other winter league caribbean destinies) because they felt more respected and even loved, than in the U.S., some of them even started families in our island. Before the free agency era we saw future Hall Of Fame players such as Mays, Aaron (whose daughter Gail was born in Caguas), Campanella, Frank Robinson, Koufax, Carlton, Jenkins, Reggie J, Schmidt, Ripken, Rickey H., Gwynn, Goose, Murray, Yount, Carter & Boggs, to name just a few. Also, the only cap in the Cooperstown plaques which is not from MLB nor the Negro Leagues can be seen in the plaque of Leon Day (HOF 1995), it is an Aguadilla Sharks cap.
Very true!Creo q Lolich.,pitcheo con Mayagüez,lo q si estoy seguro es qWillie Horton, and Dennis McLain,so lo hicieron,yo personalmente le vendí aWHorton,una caja d cigarrillos,y una Pepsi en el negocio d mi abuelo!1965.How about THAT!!!
Arriba, arriba! Taken by Joseph Finegold, M.D. into the Pirates clubhouse, Forbes Field, when I was 11 years old, he introduced me to, and I shook hands with, "The Great One". Etched in my memory forever!
In 1971 I was 11 yrs old. I am from Puerto Rico and Clemente was my hero. I watched this game live on tv in a what at the time was a “cool” tv with a 13 inch diagonal screen in full color. I remember to this day how it felt for us to watch him hit with 1 foot off the ground. Felo Ramirez was narrating the game in Spanish. He would repeat over and over “Que Barbaro” which means “how Barbarian (animal like)
people forget he played right field because of the gun he had for an arm. I can’t count the players he easily threw out when first to third was a given . He played cocky, proud, and confident. One of the greatest competitor i ever saw Roberto left us much too early.
Roberto Clemente is the greatest right fielder in major league baseball history. More importantly, he cared deeply for his fellow man when he delivered much needed food and medicine to his fellow human beings in Nicaragua after the disastrous earthquake in 1972. This is a wonderful legacy he left us all, and at this time of year, the Easter celebration, it's the way we should conduct our lives. The way Roberto Clemente did.
I’m watching this from my cabin in northern Michigan. A couple years ago I was remodeling the loft of the cabin and found a Topps 1971 Roberto Clemente trading card that I lost inside the wall cavity! What a find!
@@dzanier If Clemente had better balance, he would have had many more home runs. Notice another thing: Tiger Stadium was just as big as any cookie-cutter stadium, seating just over 50,000. But that camera angle shows that even the center field upper deck was right on top of the batter. You could see them clearly. In a place like Three Rivers or RFK, the same seats looked like they were a mile away.
@@davidlafleche1142 Cookie cutter stadium??. Clemente hit that home run over the 415 marker into the upper deck bleachers. I can tell you from experience not many balls were hit up there. I grew up in Detroit and watched 100s of games there. That was a tremendous shot.
When in1967 the Pirates visited my country, the Dominican Republic, for a short serie of games around the country, they played a game in my hometown (San Pedro De Macorís) against an improvised dominican "dream team", and I had the chance to watch Roberto play for the first and last time; he left the game in the third inning after hitting an enormous home run by the left field. I remember him self centered running the bases, just like in this video, rising his head briefly just to acknowledge his thrilled fans and vanishing into the dugout to never been seen again. 5 years later, I was in Puerto Rico when he plane crash in his way to Nicaragua in december of 72. He was a gentlemen, a saint..how sad was to see him end like that.
I grew up in Detroit and watched 100s of games in that old stadium. First Briggs Stadium, then it became Tiger Stadium. Way back in the 50s the bleachers were 50 cents and that was for a doubleheader too. I still miss it. It had character. Anyway, where Clemente hit that ball not a lot of home runs were hit in the upper deck bleachers. Mantle and a few others could do it. Quite a shot.
Detroiter here too . I went to the game. The wind was blowing big time from the left field line to right .Any ball up in the breeze was going out. That homer carried well over 420 feet as dead center at Tiger Stadium was 440
I was PRIVILEGED to see him play when u was 11 yrs old in three Rivers stadium. And I remember the day my mom told me he died....he was my hero as a kid
@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C As someone who has lived in several countries where soccer (or "football") is the dominant sport, I can tell you baseball blows away soccer by a million miles in terms of its complexity, drama, and overall entertainment value.
@M the subject here is baseball and this particular all star game. Nobody's talking about soccer or making any comparison on popularity. Shouldn't you be looking at soccer videos if it's your favorite sport?
Back when professional baseball players ran fast around the bases after a home run, instead of sitting there watching it and then walking around the bases. Back when baseball was good.
The first thing that came to mind after watching this...how fast did Clemente get around the bases after hitting a home run?...he must have been late for something else...lol Seriously though, Clemente was the total package. Run, hit, chase down line drives, and what an arm ...an absolute canon.
Saw him at Connie Mack in 1964. Threw one from right to 3rd base on the fly. I was 10. My dad said watch Clemente. Grateful to have lived with that memory
Not really. He was not a slugger like Mays and Aaron, and his career wasn't shortened by so much because of his death; he played 18 years. Nevertheless, he was a great hitter and fielder.
I was and am a Phillies fan.....the Phillies and Pirates were in the same division back then. They always played each other Labor Day weekend. My dad was going to take me to the game in 1972 so I could see Roberto Clemente play...sadly, it was not meant to be. RIP Roberto. The catcher Thurman Munson was also killed in a plane crash a few years later.
Wish I could go back and warn both of them to stay away from planes in 1972 and 1979 respectively. Munson grabbing that ball from a pitcher he doesn’t ever catch and that huge swing from Clemente...wow just wow. Baseball lost a lot when those men died.
On a side note, Clemente had two bites of the apple and made it look so spectacular in Winning two World Series! But man, this Allstar game had the greatest collection of players of all time. Glad my little M+M guys were there in their pinstripes.
Watch Munson easily catch that ball off his left hand like he catches Lolich everyday. The athleticism on that field so long ago was amazing. Nobody had to steal signs that game. Awesome players.
With all due respect, what do you mean? Stealing signs has been a part of the game since catchers started signaling pitches to the pitchers in the late 19th Century.
Hits the ball in upper deck at Old tiger stadium. Rounds the bases, head down , straight into the dugout. No jumping high fives or making gestures to your teammates as you go around the bases. Man I miss those days!!
@@07350zVegas Oh no, Clemente never played at over 175, and wasn't even close to 6-foot. He, Aaron and Mays...none of them were all that big. You figure, at the time, Frank Howard was about 6'6", maybe 6'7", and he was considered a freak. I remember when Dick Radatz was a relief pitcher for the Red Sox in the early 60's, and a 6-foot-3, he was called "The Monster."
Look at Clemente's physique... no steroids. He looks more athletic than a panther. I remember the day his plane crashed. He was one of my favourite players. I just checked the rosters for that day and realized I've had chats with three of the guys on those All Star teams (Jackson, Murcer, and Palmer).
If you go back and look at the stats, neither Clemente, Mays nor Aaron were large men. Aaron was the biggest, and he was barely 6'...his playing weight was 180 lbs. Clemente and Mays were both under 6', and played at around 170.
My idol and proud to be born in same country and home town of Carolina. My dad and clemente were born in same little town in San Anton, Carolina in which I still have family living there till now.
A couple years ago, while on a cruise, San Juan was one of our ports. We were lucky enough to be able to hire a van to go over to Hiram Bithorn Stadium and see the Clemente exhibit there...and they even let us into the seating area to look at the field where he played so many winters.
I'm from Pittsburgh, and am old enough to have watched Clemente play in person dozens of times. Three years ago, our cruise stopped in San Juan. Instead of taking a shore excursion, we hired a van to take our group over to Hiram Bithorn Stadium to see the Clemente statues, and the Clemente exhibit inside on the concourse. I'm not ashamed to say I teared up.
One of my favourite players. He had a magical quality about him, and came up big when it mattered. Amazed at how he hit such a long ball off his front foot.
Unorthodox, absolutely great ball player. Loved to see him hit triples. His arms would really be flailing when he was sprinting. Didn't have a strike zone. Could hit pitches with authority out of the zone. An absolute cannon for an arm in right field. Eerie seeing him batting and another great Thurmond Munson catching, seeing as they both met similar fates under different circumstances. God rest both their souls...Loved Clemente!
Roberto ran the bases so fast after he hit it a mile! He ended his career with exactly 3,000 hits and the way they vote for HALL of FAMERS I often wonder had he ended with 2,999 would the A-HOLES that vote have kept him out of the HALL because so often it seems all they look at are the numbers period! One of the GREATEST EVER to PLAY THE GAME!
Considering they waived the five-year period after his death and voted him in on the very next class, I think they'd have let that one hit slide. (But your underlying point is a good one: milestones, which reward not getting hurt much, tend to be overvalued)
Roberto Clemente was not only my favorite player, but he was one of the 5 best players of all time. He was a five-tool player-hit, hit for power, run , field, and throw. No one had a throwing arm in the outfield better than him! He had no peer as a base runner , and was an outstanding outfielder. The World Series of 1971 where he hit .414 was his own personal stage. That ball he hit in the All-Star Game in Detroit was an absolute BOMB-450 feet at least! He would have had 500 homers if he had chosen to do so, but wanted batting titles instead , which he won. He would make 30 million a year if he played in this era, and he would show the young boys how to hustle and play hard EVERY night. What a tremendous player!
Well said, my favorite player..
Clemente was and always will be among the legends of the game of baseball. He was even a better humanitarians.Rest in peace Mr.Clemente.
Clemente was a virtuoso ....but dude was isn't in the same breath as a Ruth, Cobb or Mays
Greatest arm I ever saw. Back to right field wall, threw a chest-high, no bounce strike to home plate. The runner wasn't even close.
Clemente did not hit for power. He averaged only around 13 home runs per season. In addition, he drew few walks. He hit for high batting average but his OBP was not all that great. He was not a five-tool player.
No showboating from Clemente. That's the fastest home run trot I've ever seen.
My dad took me in 1971 to all-star game in Detroit to watch Roberto Clemente play. Best dad memory. Best dad ever.
Wow - what a great memory! Watching these makes me sad many of these players are gone now - but especially Clemente - thanks for sharing that you were there - the Reggie Jackson homer is what I would have wanted to see :-)
Yeah, being old might suck at times, but I got to see Clemente play in person. Simply awesome.
Wow, that is how I feel also...
I was just a kid, but I saw Roberto from the right field stands at Forbes Field. I think he was the best athlete on the field.
September ‘69 DH at Shea. Mets win both games 1-0 with Mets pitchers getting both RBI’s. During the first game, a fly ball to right with a runner on 2nd, Clemente makes a running catch toward the line, whirls and throws a strike to Hebner at 3rd and the runner goes back to 2nd base. I’m 65 and that’s the best throw I’ve ever seen live at the game.
@Sam Mencia Those teams played a couple of those Wrigley Field 19-17 types of games those seasons. Were you there for any of those?
@@kevintullo1715 We used to see Clemente make those sorts of throws regularly. You're lucky, too, you know. I would have loved to have been able to see Seaver and Koosman pitch on a regular basis.
I was 17 in 71. Thought I was a ball player. Clemente was my hero. I sure miss those days.
8/23/53 my date of birth
Clemente was one of the great all around atheletes in baseball history! Run, throw, field, hit, hit for power and smart!...
Tremendously gifted!....
Agreed 👍⚾️👋
I read somewhere that RC practiced the javelin. I guess this why he had such a great arm out of right field.
That’s a fact…In High School.
Clemente was asked about his ability to make a throw so quickly! He said as a kid laying on his bunkbed. He would always bounce the ball off the wall, and when he caught it, he would quickly adjust his grip a certain way on the seam for control! And then rifle that incredibly powerful, accurate arm in one quick fluid motion!!!
I remember Clemente the great ball player. But he died as a hero and a humanitarian. A greater feat.
Wil Robles most complete ball player I have ever seen
Steve Oppy none better overall.
@@wilrobles5392 How true and well said too!
@MAN UTD S0 ?
I remember the day....a fabulous player with flair and a humanitarian....
Two great men lost to aviation accidents at home plate. What a great, yet somber moment in sports!
wow your right
its seemed like that had a brief nice word to each other just before Clemente stepped in the box.
I remember as a little boy watching on TV with my dad in 1971, Roberto hit his last hit ever against the Mets Jon Matlack. It was a double and his 3000th hit. He died soon after and my dad died in 1974 (leukemia). I was 11 years old. A bittersweet moment in the 70's.
Wow, same here. My father, Ed Conway, the sportscaster for WTAE-4 died in 74 of cancer well, and I was 11 years old too. Not a club anyone wants to belong to, losing your father as a child. Besides that, I wouldn't trade growing up in the 70's for anything. As you know, the 50 year anniversary of the Pirates beating the Orioles in the 71 World series is almost here. I remember going into downtown Pittsburgh to watch people going crazy over the win in game 7.
I was at that game in 1971!! My mom taped the radio call by Bob Prince!! I still have the tape recording to this day!!
I remember. I lived in Uptown Manhattan - Washington Heights. No one spoke English. Clemente was our hero. I lost my dad that year in a different way - we were reunited 20 years later. For our fathers and for Roberto and all who strive to do good - Saludos. ❤️🙏🏽🙋🏽♂️🎯🎂💙
Heroes, everyone of them, I swear cannot be measured but are completely great.
1971 in Detroit.... The greatest collection of ball players ever assembled in one game.. 22 Hall of Famers!
What a left side of the infield for the AL... Brooks Robinson and Luis Aparicio...
Incredible! Isn’t it? Nice call.Also, although all the music of the 70, s was,is great.It could be argued that 1971 was the greatest collection of music ever assembled in one year..18 gold and platinum 45 rpm records!
Plus Tony Oliva, who should be in the HOF.
Reggie hit the light tower in right field....
Mickey Lolich too.
The day my mother cried she told me the bad news Reberto Clemente has died we are big Pittsburgh pirates fans , yes it was a very sad day indeed. But in my heart he's never forgotten.
That same season of 1971, a few months later Roberto Clemente would be the MVP of the World Series.
Robert Masina, Yes. With plays like this - ua-cam.com/video/0UUy65ZpSP0/v-deo.html
For me, the greatest demonstration of athletic prowess, during a World Series ever. He simply willed his team to win. He was clearly the best player on the field. Kind of like Jordan would be, years later, on the basketball court.
Notice how fast he ran the bases on that monster blast... That's called RESPECT for your opponent! Class Act!
I think baseball tries too hard to keep players in a mold. Let the players be themselves... within some type of reason, but let them show emotion if they want to. If a player wants to play like Clemente, that's great, but if a kid wants to do a Rickey Henderson two step and trot near the 1st base dugout before touching first on a homer then that's great too. Babe Ruth used to jog around the bases faster or slower after a homer depending on how he felt about the pitcher, the other team, the moment in the game, and so on. My point is, don't try and turn Javy Baez into Roberto Clemente and just like nobody would ever try and make a naturally reserved player show off more.
like Sr. Roberto Clemete used to say he was born to play ⚾
@@Odin029
Bullshit.
@@TheBatugan77 Which part?
People forget Reggie Jackson had a pretty fast home run trot. In this game watch it. Also Hank Aaron's trot was the same throughout his whole career. Everybody's not the same, but every time you hit a home run it's not game 7 of the World Series.
Man!, Roberto Clemente rocketed that ball into the second deck! I fondly remember watching this game that night! Reggie Jackson also hit a shot in that game! I was 13 years old. I later enjoyed watching the '71 World Series in which Clemente shined and again showcased his talents defeating The Baltimore Orioles. I was stunned at Clemente's untimely death in a plane crash on New Years Eve 1972.
Clemente wasn't known as a power hitter, but he actually had great power. It was his misfortune to play almost his whole career with Forbes Field as his home park.....365' down the left field line, 406' and 375' to the power alleys, and deepest left-and right- center 457' and 436' respectively. And the wall was 12 1/2'. Not real "homer friendly."
Russ S Did you notice how fast Clemente got around the bases!
Can you believe The Brooklyn Dodgers had Clemente but let him get away!
Can you imagine Tommy Davis in Left Field and Roberto Clemente in Right Field!
You know, I always envied the 1960's San Francisco Giants because they would sign Latino Baseball players. Being an American of Mexican descent, I was very proud of Latino Major League Baseball stars and their accomplishments.The Giants had Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Mateo "Matty" Alou, Felipe Alou, Jesus Alou, Jose Pagan and Tito Fuentes.! The Los Angeles Dodgers, who broke the color barrier in 1947, interestingly only had a couple of Latino ball players during the '60s- a relief pitcher and a relief catcher!
@@raulmacias1311 I know exactly how fast Clemente was on the bases. I had the good fortune of growing up just outside of Pittsburgh back then. I also had the good fortune of having a Dad who enjoyed taking in ball games with me, and good public transportation between my little town outside Pittsburgh and the city.
So, I generally got to see Clemente play in person about a dozen times a year at Forbes Field, and then Three Rivers Stadium. He honest-to-God was the best player I've ever seen play live, and I also got to see both Dave Parker and Barry Bonds.
I do know that it had been Clemente instead of Balco Barry throwing in that playoff game against the Braves, Sid Bream would never have scored....not that I'm still bitter 28 years after the fact or anything.
Russ S Man! How fortunate you were to have a Dad that loved Baseball and to see the transcendent Roberto Clemente play in person!The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the teams who, in 1971, adopted the new look Major League Baseball uniforms. Personally, I hated these uniforms! I detested those bright colors and those feminine looking "Waist Bands"! Teams were now allowed to wear colorful Baseball shoes! Pittsburgh's original home uniform was so cool and masculine with the black belt, black shoes and the black long sleeved shirts and the big black bold letters spelling out "PIRATES" in the front.
I always wondered why the change was made.
Up until 1970, all Major League Baseball uniforms were "uniform"! You had the teams "home" white uniforms with the team name - "Pirates" printed across the chest and on road games they wore gray colored uniforms with the team's city printed across the chest - "Pittsburgh". I grew up in the 1960's and the the uniforms worn between 1960~1968 were classic! I was 5 years old in 1962 when Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium opened, I lived in the City of San Fernando, CA, a suburb of the Los Angeles County, and saw the great Sandy Koufax defeat The New York Mets! I really wanted to see The San Francisco Giants or The Pittsburgh Pirates! The ball players were clean shaven and lean! They didn't wear batting gloves and there wasn't a designated hitter rule! The designated hitter rule came into the American League in 1973 which I believe was a sin in that it violated the original rules of the game. It subverted the strategy of the game by taking away a most pivotal aspect and that was making the Pitcher bat! The Manager had the option to walk a batter to get the weaker hitting Pitcher to take an at bat. That strategy was taken away with the Designated Hitter Rule! You now had over the hill Baseball players taking an at bat, since they couldn't field any longer but could still hit, and try and get a hit and get on base. Usually a pinch runner would replace the Designated Hitter if he got on base!
I hated the 1969 Major League Baseball Expansion which inaugurated "Major League Baseball Playoffs"! Diluted talent and mediocre ball players and teams entered the league -
MLB became two Six Team Divisions with Divisional Playoffs -
National League -
The Montreal Expos
The San Diego Padres
American League -
Kansas City Royals
Seattle Pilots
Before their second year began, The Seattle Pilots filed for bankruptcy! After only one season, Milwaukee bought the club less than a week before the 1970 Season began. The Seattle Pilots became The Milwaukee Brewers.
@@russs7574 For years, I have wished it was Andy in center who had to make that throw...
Roberto was the greatest right fielder in Baseball history I wore number 21 my whole career coaching baseball in high school for 36 years he was a great human being as well as a great ball player
😎
🇺🇸👍⚾️
Yes he was the greatest right fielder of all time
Clemente stays young in our minds forever.
The great Roberto Clemente with the great Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek on the call!
I remember watching the 1971 All Star game at my grandmothers. I was only 5 years old
I was watching the game with older brother & dad while listening to two incredibly talented announcers. The announcers of today can't compare to the announcers three decades ago and beyond.
Gowdy was part of a great tradition that continues right up until today. Vin Scully did the Game of the Week for a while, so did Joe Garagiola and even into the ESPN era, you're talking about guys like Dan Shulman, Jon Miller, Gary Thorne and Chris Berman.
@@russs7574 Yup. Now the lead announcer every World Series is a football announcer who regularly is panned and roasted or fried to a crisp in that pan by critics and fans alike. Besmirches the name of his father who was a HOF announcer for the Cardinals and on National TV. Jack Buck, R.I.P.
@@daveadams233 What's funny is that, as great as Jack Buck's call on the Kirk Gibson home run was, I think his call in the 1985 playoffs on Ozzie Smith's walk-off HR off Tom Niedenfuer was even better. Jack Buck, Bob Prince, Ernie Harwell, Harry Kalas, Mel Allen, Vin Scully, Harry Caray....they just don't make them like that anymore.
What amazes me is he hits this ball 450ft but watch him sprint at top speed out of the box in a game that didn't count
Legendary
There were no friendly games when he was on the field. Of course I'm young and never saw him playing live, but the stories are there as proof that he played an all star, a blowout game or a tight contest the same way
Greenies. And to say the game didn't count would be wrong. Back then it was an intense source of pride to win that game. There was no interleague play back then and the players were out to show the national television audience that their league was better. You're Goddamn right they played to win and he was probably gacked to the nines on amphetamines.
@@CatStanleySpaceDemon
You're so FullOfShit, you reek.
One of the best to ever play the game. Hitting off the front foot was putting all his weight into that swing. I was 10yrs old when he died and remember the sadness of losing a good player and Great person in the crash.
CLASS. I am from Philly and was privileged to have seen him at the Vet and at Connie Mack Stadium.
WOW !! Thurman Munson behind the plate, how Ironic that Munson and Clemente would both die in Plane crashes during their playing Careers , Clemente was my all time Favorite Player as kid.
But in different eras
Lolich was smiling at Clemente's reaction to those outside pitches and he felt obliged to come back with his fastball...I remember this at bat when it happened live. Bobby egged Mickey on...
Two of the finer gentlemen in the game of baseball...Mickey Lolich and 'The Great One'.
Lolich: 25 Ws, 308 Ks; three years earlier, when the money was Seri-ously on the table, dusted off the monstrous ‘68 Cardinals arsenal ? Denny who, again?
NYC Songman cardinals such a storied organization.
Johnny Pastrana a fine pitcher he was. I don’t think he made the HoF?
@jesus perez Nobody got the message to Bob Prince then who was the voice of the Pirates ...he called him Bobby often.
Watched this game as a kid.....Roberto was one of the greatest all around players to ever play the game.
Oh wow. Wish I had.
The Pittsburgh Pirates of the 1970's were a team that rivaled the Big Red Machine, in Cincinnati, and the Big Green Machine, in Oakland. Roberto Clemente lost his life on December 23rd 1972, on a flight flying emergency relief to the victims of a disastrous earthquake in Nicaragua. He was from Puerto Rico, not Nicaragua. But, he selflessly, flew a risky mission to help those in need. A piece of the City of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Pirates died that night, along with Roberto Clemente, who was a great humanitarian.
Pirates-Reds during the 70's was as good as it got. Think about it...even after Clemente passed away, you would have Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, Al Oliver and Manny Sanguillen (probably the 2nd best catcher in baseball at the time) going at it. And then Sparky Anderson and Chuck Tanner trying to outmanage each other.
It didn't get any better than that.
Grew up watching Dodgers and Reds in the seveties. Seaver vrs Sutton. Garvey, Cey , Lopes, Lasorda. Not bad also
@@russs7574 Oh, I think you could make a better case for Carlton Fisk as the 2nd best catcher,
Absolutely, great man & baseball player, he will always be missed & remembered In Pittsburgh forever. God Bless him & his friends & family . ⚾️👍🙏
Clemente and Thurman Munson were teammates playing for the San Juan Senadores in the 1969-70 season of the Puerto Rican Winter Basebal League.
True. San Juan got Johnny Bench the year before.
@@1luiszepol Bench was the Senadores catcher during the 1966-67 (in which Clemente did not play) and the 1967-68 seasons. Then in 1968-69 (when Sparky Anderson managed San Juan but Clemente was absent again) they had Frank Fernández catching and Munson played the following year.
Great little-known facts regarding some of my all-time MLB faves, Munson, Bench, Anderson, and The Great One himself; thanks, guys.
@@nycsongman9758 You are welcome, NYC Songman (like that name) !!! The PR Baseball League, now called The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League is so rich with a history that people could never imagine. Since its foundation in 1938 some Negro League stars like Satchell Paige, Josh Gibson and lots of others came to play here (and to other winter league caribbean destinies) because they felt more respected and even loved, than in the U.S., some of them even started families in our island. Before the free agency era we saw future Hall Of Fame players such as Mays, Aaron (whose daughter Gail was born in Caguas), Campanella, Frank Robinson, Koufax, Carlton, Jenkins, Reggie J, Schmidt, Ripken, Rickey H., Gwynn, Goose, Murray, Yount, Carter & Boggs, to name just a few. Also, the only cap in the Cooperstown plaques which is not from MLB nor the Negro Leagues can be seen in the plaque of Leon Day (HOF 1995), it is an Aguadilla Sharks cap.
Very true!Creo q Lolich.,pitcheo con Mayagüez,lo q si estoy seguro es qWillie Horton, and Dennis McLain,so lo hicieron,yo personalmente le vendí aWHorton,una caja d cigarrillos,y una Pepsi en el negocio d mi abuelo!1965.How about THAT!!!
I saw Clemente catch 3 diving liners for outs hit by Willie McCovey in one game. He was an amazing fielder with a canon for a throwing arm.
Thanks for sharing that. :)
I saw him play in person too my grandmother took me to several games when I was little and I got to see him it one out RIP Roberto the true goat
Clemente was a true legend that has never been equalled... And quite possibly never will be... A hero's hero...
Roberto Clemente a real human atrium. One of my favorite baseball players. My aunt went to get his autograph and gave it to me.
An extraordinary complete baseball player but even GREATER HUMAN BEING... a class by itself and hero for millions 🙏
Love the red white and blue bases...
Amazing ⚾ player top latino of all times roberto & vera clemente rip 🌹
Arriba, arriba! Taken by Joseph Finegold, M.D. into the Pirates clubhouse, Forbes Field, when I was 11 years old, he introduced me to, and I shook hands with, "The Great One". Etched in my memory forever!
In 1971 I was 11 yrs old. I am from Puerto Rico and Clemente was my hero. I watched this game live on tv in a what at the time was a “cool” tv with a 13 inch diagonal screen in full color. I remember to this day how it felt for us to watch him hit with 1 foot off the ground. Felo Ramirez was narrating the game in Spanish. He would repeat over and over “Que Barbaro” which means “how Barbarian (animal like)
people forget he played right field
because of the gun he had for an arm. I can’t count the players he easily threw out when first to third was a given . He played cocky, proud, and confident.
One of the greatest competitor
i ever saw Roberto left us much too early.
Roberto Clemente is the greatest right fielder in major league baseball history. More importantly, he cared deeply for his fellow man when he delivered much needed food and medicine to his fellow human beings in Nicaragua after the disastrous earthquake in 1972. This is a wonderful legacy he left us all, and at this time of year, the Easter celebration, it's the way we should conduct our lives. The way Roberto Clemente did.
I’m watching this from my cabin in northern Michigan. A couple years ago I was remodeling the loft of the cabin and found a Topps 1971 Roberto Clemente trading card that I lost inside the wall cavity! What a find!
I wish I'd kept all my cards from back then.
I come back to watch this once in a while. Always nice to hear Curt Gowdy again.
One of the greatest right fielder with the best arm
The great Clemente was patient in this at bat then unleashed a tremendous swing for HR in the upper deck... a a great at bat for Clemente..
that stance and how he finished on his front leg is something no hitting coach would recommend. it was remarkable.
@@dzanier If Clemente had better balance, he would have had many more home runs. Notice another thing: Tiger Stadium was just as big as any cookie-cutter stadium, seating just over 50,000. But that camera angle shows that even the center field upper deck was right on top of the batter. You could see them clearly. In a place like Three Rivers or RFK, the same seats looked like they were a mile away.
@@davidlafleche1142 I think that's how he swung. It wasn't a flawed swing, just different. You're right about the stadiums.
@@davidlafleche1142 Cookie cutter stadium??. Clemente hit that home run over the 415 marker into the upper deck bleachers. I can tell you from experience not many balls were hit up there. I grew up in Detroit and watched 100s of games there. That was a tremendous shot.
@@davidlafleche1142 lol he got 10 hits in 2 games off the Dodgers year before Clemente produced that what counts .
ESE ES MI GALLITO!!🇵🇷
WHAT A HITTER...IT'S NOT USUAL YOU SEE THIS TYPE OF UNIQUE CALIBER PLAYER.
When in1967 the Pirates visited my country, the Dominican Republic, for a short serie of games around the country, they played a game in my hometown (San Pedro De Macorís) against an improvised dominican "dream team", and I had the chance to watch Roberto play for the first and last time; he left the game in the third inning after hitting an enormous home run by the left field. I remember him self centered running the bases, just like in this video, rising his head briefly just to acknowledge his thrilled fans and vanishing into the dugout to never been seen again. 5 years later, I was in Puerto Rico when he plane crash in his way to Nicaragua in december of 72. He was a gentlemen, a saint..how sad was to see him end like that.
Love that swing - never saw a swing like that plus he flew around the bases. Love old school BB footage. Subbed!
J - very similar to Yogi in that they were notorious bad ball hitters - if the saw the pitch, they hit it Hahaha
@@kevintullo1715 i know the walk is valued in Sabermatics but i like aggressive hitters who swing away, makes for exciting baseball.
My favorite baseball player of all-time. There's nobody like him in today's game.
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic moment with this fantastic player Roberto Clemente! Rest in peace Roberto and God bless everyone
Fun fact: when Mickey Lolitch retired he was the all time lefty strikeout leader
I grew up in Detroit and watched 100s of games in that old stadium. First Briggs Stadium, then it became Tiger Stadium. Way back in the 50s the bleachers were 50 cents and that was for a doubleheader too. I still miss it. It had character. Anyway, where Clemente hit that ball not a lot of home runs were hit in the upper deck bleachers. Mantle and a few others could do it. Quite a shot.
Detroiter here too . I went to the game. The wind was blowing big time from the left field line to right .Any ball up in the breeze was going out. That homer carried well over 420 feet as dead center at Tiger Stadium was 440
Tp hit a baseball that hard and far, opposite field, basically one 1 foot, insane hand/eye coordination
I was PRIVILEGED to see him play when u was 11 yrs old in three Rivers stadium. And I remember the day my mom told me he died....he was my hero as a kid
I was living in Puerto Rico in 1972, a great loss of a great man !
I was 4 yrs old and living in carolina at that time.
I was just 13 yrs old when I watched this game... so many (true) superstars!!! Great memories!!!
My dad and I were at this game. One of the greatest collections of HOF players ever.
Roberto Clemente was a class act and a fantastic all-around baseball player!
Think of the greats in those lineups . Clemente “replaced” Hank Aron.
That's when the All-Star game really meant something.
@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C As someone who has lived in several countries where soccer (or "football") is the dominant sport, I can tell you baseball blows away soccer by a million miles in terms of its complexity, drama, and overall entertainment value.
@M People like you said the same thing 40 years ago. Soccer has become more popular, but nothing like many predicted.
@@pep590 my apologies it wasn't met for you. I'll delete it
@M the subject here is baseball and this particular all star game. Nobody's talking about soccer or making any comparison on popularity. Shouldn't you be looking at soccer videos if it's your favorite sport?
Poetry in motion.......Rest in Peace Roberto. Your legacy will live on. Special kind of ball player there that comes maybe once a century.
Back when professional baseball players ran fast around the bases after a home run, instead of sitting there watching it and then walking around the bases. Back when baseball was good.
Unless you’re Reggie Jackson LOL.
If they pulled that back then, their next at bat they would end up in the dirt!
Whatever, baseball is still great
Roberto was like Mickey Mantle in that he never tried to show up the pitcher after hitting a homer. A true professional. The Mick was too.
The first thing that came to mind after watching this...how fast did Clemente get around the bases after hitting a home run?...he must have been late for something else...lol
Seriously though, Clemente was the total package. Run, hit, chase down line drives, and what an arm ...an absolute canon.
Thanks for uploading this . "The Great One"!
You bet, 'The Great One' for sure...
Still bring out tears... Excellence batting.
Saw him at Connie Mack in 1964. Threw one from right to 3rd base on the fly. I was 10. My dad said watch Clemente. Grateful to have lived with that memory
RIP to both Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson whom passed away in plane crashes back in 1972 & 1979 respectively
The Great One! Best all around player EVER!!!
Oh the great one I loved this man
When I started playing little league, I wanted to be right fielder on account of Clemente, he was my idol.
Im with you - I was 10 in 1971 and growing up in central Pennsylvania- Roberto was magic
Greatest player I ever saw.
10 hits in a double header - that is a full day
That’s absolutely crazy.
Golden era for baseball luv it!!
He was amazing individual not to mention athlete. Had he not died when he did,he would have had a career much like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron
As it turned out clemente has exactly 3000 hits
He’s still mentioned in the same breath.
He did top mlb in that same era as mays aaron .Roberto Clemente larger than life ⚾ player of all times
Not really. He was not a slugger like Mays and Aaron, and his career wasn't shortened by so much because of his death; he played 18 years. Nevertheless, he was a great hitter and fielder.
I was and am a Phillies fan.....the Phillies and Pirates were in the same division back then. They always played each other Labor Day weekend. My dad was going to take me to the game in 1972 so I could see Roberto Clemente play...sadly, it was not meant to be.
RIP Roberto.
The catcher Thurman Munson was also killed in a plane crash a few years later.
What a shot on video here. Two great legends. Clemente at bat Munson catching. Both died in airplane accidents.
When the NL was the best. Real superstars
N.L. dominated the A.L. in the 70"s....clemente could do everything on a baseball field
The great CLEMENTE
1971 all star game probably had the greatest rosters of any as game
Damn we lost Clemente and Thurman Munson in plane crashes...
Yeah. They were teammates with SanJuan in the Winter League 1968. The year before the catcher was Johnny Bench.
It's also sad that everyone forgets Ken Hubbs (age 22), who won Rookie of the Year in 1962 and died in an airplane crash in 1964.
Wish I could go back and warn both of them to stay away from planes in 1972 and 1979 respectively. Munson grabbing that ball from a pitcher he doesn’t ever catch and that huge swing from Clemente...wow just wow. Baseball lost a lot when those men died.
OriginalRocketJock His ghost still hangs around Colton HS in little Colton CA as their greatest all around athlete.
Munson would have made the HoF if he had lived and kept playing the way he did.
On a side note, Clemente had two bites of the apple and made it look so spectacular in Winning two World Series! But man, this Allstar game had the greatest collection of players of all time. Glad my little M+M guys were there in their pinstripes.
Yeah that was above the 415ft sign and in the second deck. Probably 450-465.
Yep, I'd say at least 450. It was a monster shot!
Not only tiger stadium huge for righty batter but Forbes field when Clemente broke in 440 high walls center to left center.
A thing of beauty that swing. And a great man lost far too soon.
EVERY 100 YEARS YOU GOING TO SEE ANOTHER ROBERTO CLEMENTE HE WAS UNIQUE FOREVER NUMBER 21 RIP.
Loved watching him play at Forbes Field. Every game I was at he did something special, either at bat or in the field. Just electric.
Watch Munson easily catch that ball off his left hand like he catches Lolich everyday. The athleticism on that field so long ago was amazing. Nobody had to steal signs that game. Awesome players.
You need to get glasses, he missed the ball and the ump gave him a new one.
With all due respect, what do you mean? Stealing signs has been a part of the game since catchers started signaling pitches to the pitchers in the late 19th Century.
Hits the ball in upper deck at Old tiger stadium. Rounds the bases, head down , straight into the dugout. No jumping high fives or making gestures to your teammates as you go around the bases. Man I miss those days!!
Love this clip, just picked up his rookie card last year too....thanks for sharing this clip
As a kid, I had a friend who was a Pirate fan. He had a 1973 Topps card of Clemente, a treasured item.
He hit the ball that far, while having his weight shifted and hitting off his front foot. That's raw power dude!!
amazing power for a man not that big
He was only 175 lbs.
He looks at least 200lbs and well above 6ft tall... 90mph ++fast balls no problem going over 400ft...
@@07350zVegas Oh no, Clemente never played at over 175, and wasn't even close to 6-foot. He, Aaron and Mays...none of them were all that big. You figure, at the time, Frank Howard was about 6'6", maybe 6'7", and he was considered a freak. I remember when Dick Radatz was a relief pitcher for the Red Sox in the early 60's, and a 6-foot-3, he was called "The Monster."
Look at Clemente's physique... no steroids. He looks more athletic than a panther. I remember the day his plane crashed. He was one of my favourite players. I just checked the rosters for that day and realized I've had chats with three of the guys on those All Star teams (Jackson, Murcer, and Palmer).
If you go back and look at the stats, neither Clemente, Mays nor Aaron were large men. Aaron was the biggest, and he was barely 6'...his playing weight was 180 lbs. Clemente and Mays were both under 6', and played at around 170.
What a Crazy swing! And a great human!
The best player ever on both sides of the ball!
There was 3000 reasons to admire and love this man. RIP great person!
Grand old Tiger Stadium... grew up going there.. my friend Dominic and his Dad are sitting on the 3rd baseline. Thank God we grew up when we did.
What a legend. #21 RIP
My idol and proud to be born in same country and home town of Carolina. My dad and clemente were born in same little town in San Anton, Carolina in which I still have family living there till now.
A couple years ago, while on a cruise, San Juan was one of our ports. We were lucky enough to be able to hire a van to go over to Hiram Bithorn Stadium and see the Clemente exhibit there...and they even let us into the seating area to look at the field where he played so many winters.
I'm from Pittsburgh, and am old enough to have watched Clemente play in person dozens of times. Three years ago, our cruise stopped in San Juan. Instead of taking a shore excursion, we hired a van to take our group over to Hiram Bithorn Stadium to see the Clemente statues, and the Clemente exhibit inside on the concourse.
I'm not ashamed to say I teared up.
Wow that's awesome! You should've gone to the new baseball stadium in Carolina.
One of my favourite players. He had a magical quality about him, and came up big when it mattered. Amazed at how he hit such a long ball off his front foot.
Wow, the pitch was high, so he just leapt at it and elevated his whole body.
How can anyone put a thumbs down for that HR ?
What a once in a lifetime baseball player. In my opinion he has to be one of the greatest all around players of all.time
I got to see Clemente and other Baseball greats/legends at Shea Stadium. To me, this is when the game of Baseball was great. Pure joy.
Unorthodox, absolutely great ball player. Loved to see him hit triples. His arms would really be flailing when he was sprinting. Didn't have a strike zone. Could hit pitches with authority out of the zone. An absolute cannon for an arm in right field. Eerie seeing him batting and another great Thurmond Munson catching, seeing as they both met similar fates under different circumstances. God rest both their souls...Loved Clemente!
Now, those were players. Pure, natural skills
Notice how fast Clemente ran around the bases.
All those superstar legends names he says. Roberto one of them. Died while helping others. Rest in Peace Brethren
Roberto ran the bases so fast after he hit it a mile! He ended his career with exactly 3,000 hits and the way they vote for HALL of FAMERS I often wonder had he ended with 2,999 would the A-HOLES that vote have kept him out of the HALL because so often it seems all they look at are the numbers period! One of the GREATEST EVER to PLAY THE GAME!
Considering they waived the five-year period after his death and voted him in on the very next class, I think they'd have let that one hit slide. (But your underlying point is a good one: milestones, which reward not getting hurt much, tend to be overvalued)