Happy Belated Birthday to the late and great Roberto Clemente; it didn’t matter if it was on or off the field; overall, he was just a beautiful human being. Before I get into his on-the-field greatness, off-the-field…

He worked to promote equality for Latino Americans. Growing up in Puerto Rico, despite poverty, he fell in love with baseball. To give back, once he made it in baseball, he would host baseball clinics for underprivileged kids FREE OF CHARGE. Also, during the off-season, he’d frequently give financial aid to people in Puerto Rico and other Islands in Latin America. As an American, he volunteered in the United States Marine Corps during the offseason from 1959 to 1964.

Roberto Clemente Career Statistics/Accolades: (1955-1972)

AVG: .317

HR: 240

RBI: 1,305

HITS: 3,000

RUNS: 1,416

OBP: .359

• 15x All-Star

• 12x Gold-Glove

• 1966 MVP

• 2x World Series Champion

• 4x Batting Title

During his entire career, Clemente was consistently one of the better players of his time. Besides the occasional bumps and bruises Clemente produced. Not only was he a four-time Batting Champion, but from 1960 through 1972, he hit lower than .312 in only one season. In all but one of those years, Clemente was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won four batting titles, and was the 1966 MVP winner. I looked at his 1967 season, and there is a strong case that he should’ve won it again that year. Clemente averaged 200 Hits over a 162-game season during his career. Might I also add that from 1962-68, the strike zones were extended from the top of the batter’s shoulders to the bottom of the batter’s knees, giving pitchers the advantage. During those years, Clemente won three batting of his four batting titles and batted .300 or higher in six of the seven years. He wasn’t known as a power hitter but drove 87 runs a season on average. In 1972, his last season had some nagging injuries, but he recorded his 3,000th career hit in his final career at-bat.

Fielding-wise, Clemente was a darn good fielder in Right Field, having a great arm, winning twelve consecutive Gold Gloves from 1961-1972. As a two-time World Series Champion in 1971, he was named the World Series MVP, hitting .414.

It was New Year’s Eve 1972; Clemente could’ve just stayed home with his friends and family. However, after an earthquake in Nicaragua, Clemente decided to deliver supplies to the country that needed aid to recover. He decided it would be best to have the cargo with other people. Unfortunately, the plane he was on broke down due to mechanical problems and an overload of supplies. His body with others was never found.

If you factor in all the seven years, Clemente played in the “Dominant Starting Pitching Era,” as well as his career and life being taken away from him in his prime, perhaps Clemente could’ve had a higher lifetime average as well as more HITS, HR, RBI, Runs, etc. Despite spending a big chunk of the final four years of his career on the DL, he was still hitting at a .339 pace. The way Clemente was playing, he probably could’ve easily played another three years. On March 20, 1973, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) voted to waive the waiting period for Roberto Clemente, and he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Since his death in 1972, MLB has given out an award to one player in each league who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and the individual’s contribution to his team.” It’s called The Roberto Clemente Award. In 1999, he was ranked #20 on the Sporting News 100 Greatest Baseball Player List.

References:

1. Roberto Clemente Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero01.shtml

2. Roberto Clemente via Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente