| − | '''Roberto Clemente Walker''', nicknamed "The Great One," was one of the finest [[baseball]] players ever. ''''' More sculptures (11) honor Clemente than any other athlete'''''.<ref>https://www.spanish.academy/blog/how-world-series-champion-roberto-clemente-served-impoverished-puerto-ricans/</ref> He had a hit in every [[World Series]] game (winning those championships), was the 11th player to reach 3,000 hits overall, had the highest batting average of anyone in the 1960s and the best arm of any outfielder ever. He won a record 12 [[Gold Glove]]s, and is ranked as the greatest defensive right fielder ever.<ref>https://www.thereporter.com/2020/09/09/sieger-some-say-roberto-clemente-was-the-greatest-ever/</ref> '''''A strong argument can be made that he was actually an [[angel]]''''', see [[#Was Clemente an angel?|''Was Clemente an angel?'']] He led the Pirates to two [[World Series]] championships, first in 1960 and again in 1971 while winning its MVP and batting .478. He ranks along with [[Willie Mays]], [[Hank Aaron]], [[Rogers Hornsby]], and [[Joe DiMaggio]] as one of the greatest righthanded hitters ever.<ref>https://bleacherreport.com/articles/440271-albert-pujols-and-the-20-greatest-right-handed-hitters-of-all-time</ref> | + | '''Roberto Clemente Walker''', nicknamed "The Great One," was one of the finest [[baseball]] players ever. ''''' More sculptures (11) honor Clemente than any other athlete'''''.<ref>https://www.spanish.academy/blog/how-world-series-champion-roberto-clemente-served-impoverished-puerto-ricans/</ref> He had a hit in every [[World Series]] game (winning those championships), was the 11th player to reach 3,000 hits overall, had the highest batting average of anyone in the 1960s and the best throwing arm of any outfielder ever. He won a record 12 [[Gold Glove]]s.<ref>https://www.thereporter.com/2020/09/09/sieger-some-say-roberto-clemente-was-the-greatest-ever/</ref> '''''A strong argument can be made that he was actually an [[angel]]''''', see [[#Was Clemente an angel?|''Was Clemente an angel?'']] He led the Pirates to two [[World Series]] championships, first in 1960 and again in 1971 while winning its MVP and batting .478. He ranks along with [[Willie Mays]], [[Hank Aaron]], [[Rogers Hornsby]], and [[Joe DiMaggio]] as one of the greatest righthanded hitters ever.<ref>https://bleacherreport.com/articles/440271-albert-pujols-and-the-20-greatest-right-handed-hitters-of-all-time</ref> |
| | A devout [[Christian]] outspoken about his [[faith]] in [[God]], Clemente's career was tragically cut short when his relief plane crashed on December 31, 1972 while taking off on a mercy mission to [[Nicaragua]] after a devastating [[earthquake]] had hit the country earlier in the year (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]] outspoken about his [[faith]] in [[God]], Clemente's career was tragically cut short when his relief plane crashed on December 31, 1972 while taking off on a mercy mission to [[Nicaragua]] after a devastating [[earthquake]] had hit the country earlier in the year (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. |