Roberto Clemente

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, the highest batting average of anyone in the 1960s, and perhaps 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. Clemente was baseball's greatest humanitarian.

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.

Clemente was so revered (primarily due to the circumstances surrounding his death) that Major League Baseball waived the required five-year waiting period for Baseball Hall of Fame induction in his case; he was inducted at the next voting session.

Major League Baseball has honored him every September 9 (his birthday) since 2002 (as Roberto Clemente Day). There have been repeated calls for MLB to retire his #21 across baseball as it did with Jackie Robinson.

Clemente used the number 21 because it is total number of all the letters in his full name: "Roberto Clemente Walker."