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Roberto Clemente Was Born
Roberto Clemente was born in the San Anton neighborhood in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Everyone called him Momen. His favorite word in spanish was momentito, which means just a moment. He said it so much, everyone made a nickname out of it. -
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Roberto Clemente's Life
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BENCHED
During the 1952 baseball season, Roberto played for the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico. Only did he find out he was going to be benched for the entire season. The coach knew he was a good ball player, but benched him because he thought that Roberto was too young to play. -
Finally Drafted
On this day, Roberto signed his first baseball contract for the MLB. He signed this contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a Triple-A subsidiary. He then moved to Montreal, Canada to play for the Montreal Royals, the Triple-A team for the Dodgers. -
Drafted Again
Clemente was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates in the 1955 MLB Draft and debuted in the major leagues on this day with a double header against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the number one pick for the 1955 Draft. The Dodgers left him un-guarded, so the Pirates picked him up. -
National League MVP
In the 1966 MLB season, Roberto won the National League Most Valuable Player Award. -
World Series
This World Series was a match-up between the PIttsburg Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles. This went all 7 games, October 9th to October 17th. The Pirates game out on top, winning 4 out of 3 games. Roberto Clemente won the World Series MVP award, also with a .414 batting average for the series. -
Lifetime Baseball Stats
Batting Average- .317
Runs- 1,416
Hits- 3,000
Homeruns- 240
RBI's- 1,305
Stolen Bases- 83
Gold Glove Awards- 12
MVP Awards- 3
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Roberto Clemente's Death
Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash right outside San Juan, Puerto Rico while taking supplies to relief victims of the Nicaraguan Earthquake. -
Hall of Fame Inductee
Less than 3 months after his death, Roberto Clemente was the first hispanic inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. A 5 year waiting period was waved after his tragic death in a plane crash over the ocean. -
Congressional Gold Medal
A little while after his death, Clemente was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress. -
Number Retired
On the day of Roberto's Birthday, his number, 21, was retired througout all 30 teams in the MLB. This number can't be used again. This is a great honor for any player, especially to get it retired from all 30 teams. The number 21 was chosen by Roberto because there were 21 letters in his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker.
