Quote:
Originally Posted by jchcollins
Wasn't always that way. When I was a kid in the late 80's - yeah, Clemente was popular and recognized as a HOF'er, but I don't think anyone thought he was better than say a Musial, and certainly from a popularity standpoint, he was behind Mantle, Mays, and Aaron. Again depending on perspective I could be wrong but I don't recall 80's Clemente having the popularity twist from also being Latino, and a humanitarian - that he seems to have now in the 21st century. I've just always thought he was a badass.
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I don't know if people recognize Clemente as better than Musial. And I still think he may be less popular than Mantle, Mays and Aaron. But I think he is right behind them in popularity (maybe tied or ahead of Aaron?).
I believe the humanitarian award named for him was created shortly after his passing. I was born in 1980, and Clemente's always been my favorite player, and a lot of that has to do with his humanitarianism.
But I see your point that he has had a surge in popularity related to the growing Latino population in this country and the continued popularity of baseball in Latin America.
I also think that during Clemente's career, he had limited recognition until he won the MPV in '66 more than a decade into his career, and then it took off with the World Series MPV in 1971, late in his career. He started off pretty quietly statistically, and didn't make an All Star team until his 6th year.
http://www.espn.com/sportscentury/fe.../00014137.html