[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Mark

Ok, if you want to troll in a thread intended to honor the late, great Roberto, so be it. Roberto was called "the Great One." He sometimes jokingly referred to himself as "the Great Roberto." The fact that Alexander son of Philip was called the "Great One" back in 350 bc doesn't mean that others weren't called "the Great One" in their lifetimes. Now, what difference does it make if some people think that a hockey player is "the great one?" Maybe you guys think that only Gretzky deserves the name. Maybe the issue that you want to raise is whether Clemente was, in fact, a great baseball player. If you consult what experienced and intelligent baseball people thought about him, you will learn that he was a magnificent outfielder who played with a rare combination of grace and intensity. During the mid to late 1960's, he had some terrific seasons as a fielder and as a hitter. Playing in spacious Forbes Field in a league dominated by great pitching, he had some very impressive offensive stats. From 64-69, he averaged an overall WAR of 7.66 while Mays, during the same period, averaged a WAR of 7.28. Aaron averaged 7.46 for those years. Sure, Mays was older and had had even more astounding totals in earlier years, but the point is that during that era Clemente was an extraordinary player, a true baller, who ranked among the very best in the game. Having given you guys some reasons why he was called the Great One, I have to say that I thnk it is truly obnoxous for people to turn a thread that is meant to honor the memory of the late, great Roberto into a debate about whether he is worthy of a nickname. Does he get a lot of extra attention because he was Puerto Rican and because he died in a noble effort to help earthquake victims? Of course. But neither of those reason would account for why he was called the Great One in his lifetime. If anybody is more interested in learning why he was called this than in asserting that he didn't deserve it, I recommend the Maraniss biography or the Markusen.

Well said