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| − | '''Roberto Clemente''' was one of the greatest [[baseball]] players ever, particularly as an all-round player. He had a hit in every World Series game, was the 11th player to reach 3,000 hits overall, had the highest batting average of anyone in the 1960s and the finest arm of any outfielder ever. He won a record 12 Golden Gloves, and is ranked as the greatest defensive right fielder of all time.<ref>https://www.thereporter.com/2020/09/09/sieger-some-say-roberto-clemente-was-the-greatest-ever/</ref> Clemente was baseball's greatest humanitarian, and a strong argument can be made that he was an [[angel]]. | + | '''Roberto Clemente''', nicknamed "The Great One," was one of the finest [[baseball]] players ever, particularly as an all-round player. He had a hit in every World Series game, was the 11th player to reach 3,000 hits overall, had the highest batting average of anyone in the 1960s and the finest arm of any outfielder ever. He won a record 12 Golden Gloves, and is ranked as the greatest defensive right fielder of all time.<ref>https://www.thereporter.com/2020/09/09/sieger-some-say-roberto-clemente-was-the-greatest-ever/</ref> Clemente was baseball's greatest humanitarian, and a strong argument can be made that he was an [[angel]]. He led the Pirates to two [[World Series]] championships, first in 1960 and again in 1971. |
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| | A devout [[Christian]] who was outspoken about his [[faith]] in [[God]], Clemente's career was tragically cut short when his relief plane crashed on a mercy mission to [[Nicaragua]] after a devastating [[earthquake]] there on December 31, 1972 (he was traveling there due to political theft of relief supplies; it was believed that Clemente's presence would stop the thefts from occurring). In a much-watched interview of him on the field when asked about when he thought he would get his 3,000th hit, he said that you never know what will happen tomorrow because that is up to [[God]]; he would get his 3,000th hit in what would be his final game. | | A devout [[Christian]] who was outspoken about his [[faith]] in [[God]], Clemente's career was tragically cut short when his relief plane crashed on a mercy mission to [[Nicaragua]] after a devastating [[earthquake]] there on December 31, 1972 (he was traveling there due to political theft of relief supplies; it was believed that Clemente's presence would stop the thefts from occurring). In a much-watched interview of him on the field when asked about when he thought he would get his 3,000th hit, he said that you never know what will happen tomorrow because that is up to [[God]]; he would get his 3,000th hit in what would be his final game. |
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| | Clemente used the number 21 because it is total number of all the letters in his full name: "Roberto Clemente Walker." | | Clemente used the number 21 because it is total number of all the letters in his full name: "Roberto Clemente Walker." |
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| − | One reason Clemente hit so well in the World Series, and in clutch moments there, is that he was a good "bad ball hitter," so he was very difficult to pitch around in big games. In the decisive 7th game of the 1960 World Series against the heavily favored New York Yankees -- called "the greatest game ever played" -- with the Pirates behind in the late innings Clemente fouled off pitch after pitch, even breaking his bat, before hitting a bad pitch towards first base and then outracing an opponent to the bag. He then scored the go-ahead run.<ref>https://www.espn.com.au/mlb/playoffs/2010/columns/story?id=5676003</ref> | + | One reason Clemente hit so well in the World Series, and in clutch moments there, is that he was a good "bad ball hitter," so he was very difficult to pitch around in big games. In the decisive 7th game of the 1960 World Series against the heavily favored New York Yankees -- called "the greatest game ever played" -- with the Pirates behind in the late innings Clemente fouled off pitch after pitch, even breaking his bat, before hitting a bad pitch towards first base and then outracing an opponent to the bag. He then scored the go-ahead run.<ref>https://www.espn.com.au/mlb/playoffs/2010/columns/story?id=5676003</ref> In the 1971 World Series, Clemente's two-run homer in the decisive 7th game carried the Pirates to a 2-1 victory and the championship.<ref>https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/playerpost.php?p=clemero01&ps=ws</ref> |
| | == Was Clemente an angel? == | | == Was Clemente an angel? == |
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