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Originally Posted by akleinb611
Regarding the Face-Clemente mutual non-admiration relationship, Face was not an outlier. Clemente is correctly honored for the noble circumstances of his death, but during his lifetime, he could be rather difficult, and he was not popular with many of his teammates, particularly his African-American teammates. Donn Clendenon was traded, and wound up with the 1969 Mets, specifically because he and Clemente loathed one another, and I believe even came to blows on more than one occasion.  |
Clendenon was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1968 expansion draft. Then, the Expos traded Clendenon to the Astros, but he refused to report. The Astros received additional compensation and Clendenon remained with the Expos until June 15, when he was traded to the Mets.
Clemente is one of my heroes for what he did outside of baseball. I believe the animosity between Face and Clemente began early and supposedly fought each other, according to the most recent biography about Roberto. Roy Face was interviewed for the book "We Played the Game." Face spoke highly of his teammates; however, while not saying anything negative about Clemente, in his only comment he coldly observed that "Clemente got his 200 hits."
In the same book, Dick Schoefield was interviewed and he observed that a number of his teammates were putoff by Clemente's personality; he described Clemente as "paranoid." Clemente was a proud and sensitive person who felt that he wasn't treated fairly by the press. Many of the Latin players of that era were quoted syllbatically, making them sound idiotic.
Dock Ellis in his autobiography shared that by the late 60s Clemente interacted more with his teammates. Ellis would tease him, but Clemente seemed to take it in stride. Clemente did participate in the clubhouse humor in those later years. Most of his baseball cards present him with a serious visage, but there are also many photos where he is smiling.
There is a "halo effect" over Clemente due to the circumstances of his death. When I was much younger, Clemente could do no wrong. I was inspired by Clemente's life to go into a field where I could help and serve others- teaching (1987-2023). As I have aged my perception of his life is more nuanced; Clemente was a talented athlete who had a Hall of Fame career, who had tremendous pride but also had flaws. He reacted to the perceived slights, sometimes alienating others, but at the end he lived a good life and made a difference. As for Roy Face, he was a keen observer based on his interview and I hope that his remaining time is comfortable.
Phil aka Tere1071