Clemente signed with the team on October 9, 1952. Puerto Rican baseball (1952–1954) Ĭlemente's professional baseball career began at age 18 when he accepted a contract from Pedrín Zorilla with Cangrejeros de Santurce ("Crabbers"), a winter league team and franchise of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR). He was with the team two years as a shortstop.Ĭlemente joined Puerto Rico's amateur league when he was 16 years old, playing for the Ferdinand Juncos team, which represented the municipality of Juncos. During his first year in high school, he was recruited by Roberto Marín to play softball with the Sello Rojo team after he was seen playing baseball in barrio San Antón. He attended Julio Vizcarrondo Coronado High School in Carolina. Ĭlemente had first shown interest in baseball early in life and often played against neighboring barrios. As a youth, Clemente was a track and field star and Olympic hopeful before deciding to turn his attention to baseball. Because the family's resources were limited, Clemente and his brothers worked alongside his father in the fields, loading, and unloading trucks. During Clemente's childhood, his father worked as a foreman for sugar cane crops located in the municipality, located in the northeastern part of the island. Roberto was born in Barrio San Antón, Carolina, Puerto Rico, to Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker. Now known as the Roberto Clemente Award, it is given to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team." The following season, the Pirates retired his uniform number 21, and MLB renamed its annual Commissioner's Award in his honor. On December 31, 1972, he died in a plane crash at the age of 38 while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. ![]() He often delivered baseball equipment and food to those in need. Clemente was the first player from the Caribbean and Latin America to win a World Series as a starting position player (1960), to receive an NL MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).Ĭlemente was involved in charity work in Latin American and Caribbean countries during the off-seasons. He also was a two-time World Series champion. 300 for 13 seasons and he had 3,000 hits during his major league career. He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1966, the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove Award winner for 12 consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. As an alternative to a player having to be retired for five years before eligibility, a player who has been deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry.Ĭlemente was an All-Star for 13 seasons, selected to 15 All-Star Games. Because he died at a young age and had such a stellar career, the Hall of Fame changed its rules of eligibility. ![]() After his early death, he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Caribbean and the first Latin-American player to be enshrined. Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker Sr ( Spanish pronunciation: Aug– December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. October 3, 1972, for the Pittsburgh Pirates April 17, 1955, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
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