On this date, 78 years ago, "The Great One" was born...

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by 71buc

For fans with latin ancestory like myself he is our Jackie Robinson. His ethnicity is as important to who he was as it is to who Robinson was. These two men are more than mere baseball players. Clemente transcends baseball. He embodied grace, compassion, honor, and pride. In the Maraniss biography I recall that he states reducing Clemente to statistics is like a chemist explaining the beauty of a painting by merely analyzing the paint. In my opinion he is the patron saint of baseball. I grew up in a home where Spanish was spoken. You have no idea the pride we felt when he spoke in Spanish after the 1971 Series. I was a child when he died. I still remember falling to my knees in utter shock when I heard the announcement on the radio. I was inconsolable for a week; I even vowed to name my first born son after him. Eighteen years later I kept that promise.

My favorite Clemente quotes.
''Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth.”

“I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all I had to give.”

Mike. I am moved how you are able to show just how much Roberto meant to all Latin people regardless of where they lived, in so few words. Really touching Mike. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Jimmy

[71buc]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

Mike. I am moved how you are able to show just how much Roberto meant to all Latin people regardless of where they lived, in so few words. Really touching Mike. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Jimmy

Thanks Jimmy I pray that the current generation produces a man like Roberto no matter his race or nationality. We need him now more than ever.

[GKreindler]

Really enjoying this thread, dammit.

And now I'm kicking myself for not having any Roberto Clemente painting in any form to work on. Shame on me.

Graig

[WhenItWasAHobby]

There's no question in my mind Clemente was truly one of the greatest players in the game and Pirate announcer Bob Prince repeatedly referred to Clemente as "The Great One".

On a personal note, the first major league game I ever saw was the Pirates vs. the Reds on July 8, 1967 at Forbes Field. I was fortunate to see one of the most amazing plays in the history of the game. In the top of the 7th inning, Lee May for the Reds hit a lead off triple. The next batter struck out. The third batter hit a one-hop, bloop single in front of Clemente, and the runner on third, May, held up momentarily to make sure the ball wasn't going to be caught on the fly, but ran home as soon as the ball hit the ground. On a one-hop single, Clemente threw Lee May out at the plate with a throw that had rifle-like trajectory, and the play at the plate wasn't even that close. Needless to say, the place went wild for several minutes. That's one play I'll never forget as long as I live. Clemente was amazing!

Check the play-by-play in the top of the 7th.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...96707080.shtml

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by WhenItWasAHobby

There's no question in my mind Clemente was truly one of the greatest players in the game and Pirate announcer Bob Prince repeatedly referred to Clemente as "The Great One".

On a personal note, the first major league game I ever saw was the Pirates vs. the Reds on July 8, 1967 at Forbes Field. I was fortunate to see one of the most amazing plays in the history of the game. In the top of the 7th inning, Lee May for the Reds hit a lead off triple. The next batter struck out. The third batter hit a one-hop, bloop single in front of Clemente, and the runner on third, May, held up momentarily to make sure the ball wasn't going to be caught on the fly, but ran home as soon as the ball hit the ground. On a one-hop single, Clemente threw Lee May out at the plate with a throw that had rifle-like trajectory, and the play at the plate wasn't even that close. Needless to say, the place went wild for several minutes. That's one play I'll never forget as long as I live. Clemente was amazing!

Check the play-by-play in the top of the 7th.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...96707080.shtml

What a thrill that must have been, Dan! I forgot to mention in my earlier post, that the first time I saw "Arriba" play, was also my first big league ball game!

Here's a very short bio that's well worth the 3 minutes to watch it. Especially if you're not a big fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbltQjJk0Bo

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

What a thrill that must have been, Dan! I forgot to mention in my earlier post, that the first time I saw "Arriba" play, was also my first big league ball game!

Here's a very short bio that's well worth the 3 minutes to watch it. Especially if you're not a big fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbltQjJk0Bo

Thanks for the link to the video. I love watching old footage of Clemente!

I saw a movie not too long ago called "Chasing 3000". It's supposedly a true story about some boys who moved from Pittsbrugh to California and then ran away back to Pittsburgh so that they could see Clemente get his 3,000th hit. It has some highlight movies of Clemente and even some of his baseball cards. It's not a great movie, but a very good one.