Retire 21
My love for baseball began in the late 1960s. All of the World Series games were played in the afternoon, and my Dad would take vacation and watch the games with me. It’s been a tough year for those memories with the death of so many World Series heroes from that era. In April we lost Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline (#6), a key piece of Detroit’s 1968 championship. And just recently, within the span of a week, two others passed, the Cardinals’ Lou Brock (#20), the base-stealing guru who led St. Louis to its ‘67 World Series title, and New York’s Tom “Terrific” Seaver (#41), whose dominance on the mound guided the 1969 Amazin’ Mets to an improbable Series win over Baltimore. While we watched the World Series games on a black and white television set, the colorful images of these star players and the jersey numbers on their backs are forever etched in my mind.
There’s another jersey number from that period, #21, that baseball celebrated this past Wednesday. To honor baseball legend Roberto Clemente, the Pirate players and coaches in a game against the White Sox at PNC Park all donned the number last worn by the “Great One” in 1972 and retired by the club in 1973. It was MLB’s 19th annual Roberto Clemente Day. Players throughout baseball joined in the celebration by wearing #21, including stars such as Francisco Lindor (Indians), Yadier Molina (Cardinals), Edwin Diaz (Mets), and Javier Baez (Cubs). Roberto Clemente Jr. was on hand in Pittsburgh to kick off the announcement of each MLB team’s nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award. Originally called the Commissioner’s Award, it was renamed in 1973 and given annually to the player who best represents baseball on and off the field through sportsmanship, community involvement, and positive contributions.
What was it about Clemente that we celebrate him 48 years after his tragic death? There’s no question he was one of the top players ever in the game – the ultimate five-tool player (speed, throwing, fielding, and hitting for average and power). But it’s more than his baseball contributions, much more. Clemente means “merciful” in Spanish, and that’s how he lived his life. His Pirate teammates marveled at his commitment on road trips to visit sick children in hospitals throughout the country. During the offseason Clemente went home to his beloved Puerto Rico, and delivered food and baseball equipment to those in need. We truly lost a hero on December 31, 1972, when Clemente’s plane crashed en route to delivering food to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. A Puerto Rican poet, Enrique Zorrilla, might have said it best, what burned in Clemente’s cheeks was the “fire of dignity”, each day of his 38 years.
Clemente’s pathway to the MLB is strikingly similar to that of Jackie Robinson’s. (See “Uncomfortable Truths”, 04/20/2020.) Clemente wanted to play with Robinson’s Dodgers. Brooklyn’s then general manager, Buzzie Bavasi, took advantage of that and signed him with a $10,000 bonus and $5,000 annual salary, about one-third of what the Milwaukee Braves offered. Just like Jackie 10 years before, Clemente was assigned to Montreal to play minor league ball. Branch Rickey, the Dodger executive who helped Jackie break the color barrier, was now in Pittsburgh and in charge of the Pirates. During the first part of the 1950s the Pirates struggled mightily, and were deemed the “Buffoons of Baseball” by Life Magazine. Since the Pirates had the first overall selection in the 1955 supplemental draft, Rickey signed Clemente from Brooklyn’s unprotected list. Years later when players debated whether to support Curt Flood’s case against baseball’s reserve clause, Clemente gave an impassioned speech to the MLB players, detailing the inequities of his early signing as reason to support Flood.
The Pirates’ rebuild, featuring their sensational right fielder, Roberto Clemente, soon took flight. In 1960, the Pirates represented the National League in the World Series for the first time since 1927 when they were swept by the Yankees, headlined by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and regarded as one of the best teams ever. In 1960, the Yankees were again the AL opponents and had another all-time team, featuring the M&Ms, Mantle and Maris. It was a crazy Series, one that the New Yorkers outscored Pittsburgh 55-27. The Series came down to Game 7, bottom of the ninth inning, and the score tied 9-9. Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski launched a Series-winning home run over the left field fence at Forbes Field, and Pittsburgh had its first world championship in 35 years. Despite batting .310, hitting safely in all seven games, and playing a spectacular right field, Clemente was snubbed for the Series MVP award. That went to New York’s Bobby Richardson, the only time a member of the losing team won the award.
After the world championship, the Pirates of the 1960s failed to win the National League, as the Dodgers and Cardinals dominated the league. Clemente though won four batting championships (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967) and the Gold Glove in each season, and appeared in every All-Star Game except 1968. The National League All-Star outfield in the 1960s was a who’s who of baseball’s elite, Hank Aaron in left, Willie Mays in center, and Clemente in right. Clemente was often overshadowed by Aaron and Mays who were both prodigious home run hitters. Playing in cavernous Forbes Field (442 feet to the center field wall), Clemente’s game featured doubles and triples to all parts of the field. Clemente reached the pinnacle of his individual success in 1966, capturing the National League MVP award.
The Pirates of the early 1970s were an NL powerhouse, known as the “Lumber Company” with the additions of Willie Stargell, Al Oliver, and Manny Sanguillen. Under Clemente’s leadership, the Bucs won the NL East in three consecutive seasons, 1970-1972, and played in one of the most thrilling World Series ever, the ‘71 Series against Baltimore. The Orioles featured the Robinson duo of Frank and Brooks, coming off a world championship in 1970 and backed by an unheard of four 20-game winners on the mound, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson. Pittsburgh came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit, and won the Series in seven, with the deciding Game 7 being a Bucs 2-1 win behind Clemente’s early home run. Clemente’s stardom on the field was never brighter than in this World Series. He batted .414 with 12 hits in the Series, capturing the Series MVP this time. Yet, the play baseball fans will always remember is his Game 2 rocket throw from the right field corner to third base nailing a stunned Orioles runner, Merv Rettenmund.
Clemente’s last season in baseball, 1972, in many ways seemed to foretell the tragic end to his life later in the year. With only three games left in the season, he achieved a milestone 3,000 hit with a double off Mets pitcher Jon Matlack at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. It was the first time a Latin American player had reached 3,000 hits. Clemente left the game to a thunderous ovation; it was his last regular season at-bat and time to rest up for the upcoming NL playoffs. After the game a Pirates staff member discovered that the game happened to be Clemente’s 2,442 MLB appearance, tying Pirate legend Honus Wagner. Manager Bill Virdon used Clemente as a defensive replacement late in the next game so that he could break Wagner’s record. The Pirates matched up against the Reds in a dramatic 5-game NLCS a week later, and this writer was there to witness Clemente’s last game ever (see “Row 13, Seat 13”, 04/13/2020.)
During his playing career Clemente was idolized by many Latin American players in baseball. Tony Taylor, a Cuban who played second base for the Phillies, was one of many who found him to be the perfect “big brother”. Since his passing, the Roberto Clemente Award is one of the most coveted in baseball. Incredibly, the first recipient, in 1973, was also one of the all-time great right fielders, one we lost earlier this year, Al Kaline. Today, Clemente’s influence is still strong, as annually players strive for the award. Adam Wainwright was nominated by the Cardinals this past week for the fifth time in his career. Other 2020 nominees include Tim Anderson (White Sox), Tucker Barnhardt (Reds) and Jason Heyward (Cubs). One can’t visit Pittsburgh today without sharing in Clemente’s memory – the Clemente Museum (housed in the revitalized Lawrenceville section); Clemente Memorial Park (downtown near PNC Park); the 21-foot high right field wall at PNC Park; and even the 21-yard line in the concourse of football-crazed Heinz Field.
In doing research for this article I chuckled about Clemente’s story behind getting that #21. You see, he wanted #13, but that jersey was taken, and he was randomly assigned 21 as his jersey number! We’re all glad he was, and let’s honor him by retiring #21 in all of baseball. David Maraniss, in his book, “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero”, offers these words: “His memory is kept alive as a symbol of action and passion, not of reflection and longing. He broke racial and language barriers and achieved greatness and died a hero. That word can be used indiscriminately in the world of sports, but the classic definition is of someone who gives his life in the service of others, and that is exactly what Clemente did.” Retire 21.
Until next Monday,
your Baseball Bench Coach