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Roberto Clemente Photo Gallery
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“Never A Doubt!”
“If it was humanly possible for a ball to be caught, Roberto Clemente was going to get it.” –Pirates’ manager, Danny Murtaugh
I can’t end my 3-part series on MVP’s without mentioning that today is the 50th anniversary of Roberto Clemente being named the 1966 MVP. Roberto edged out Sandy Koufax (27-9, 1.73 ERA) for the honor, hitting .317, with 29 home runs, and 119 RBIs.
In the great action shot below, we get a glimpse of what Danny Murtaugh meant. We see Clemente stretched out like an acrobat – balanced on one foot – making a fantastic catch in right, his athleticism captured for all to see.
Whenever anyone from the “older generation” like me is asked who had the best arm they ever saw, they usually respond “Roberto Clemente” without hesitation, almost automatically. It’s a shame today’s younger fans didn’t get to see him play. He was something special. As a Cub fan, I saw him beat the Cubs many times. If it wasn’t with his bat, it was with his great play in right field or with his strong arm. National League runners knew not to try to take an extra base on Roberto Clemente — the major league all-time leader in career assists for a right fielder. He’s certainly one of the best outfielders ever – if not the best – who, unfortunately, died too young. Here’s a few words about Roberto Clemente’s great career:
Roberto Clemente played 18 seasons for the Pirates from 1955 through 1972. He was inducted posthumously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined. His death established the precedent that as an alternate to the five year retirement period, a player deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame.
Over his career, Clemente hit .317, with exactly 3000 hits, 1416 runs, 440 doubles, 166 triples, 240 home runs, 1305 RBIs, .359 on-base percentage, and .475 slugging. Clemente was a 15-time All-Star, a National League Most Valuable Player (1966), a World Series MVP (1971), a four-time National League batting champion (1961, ’64, ’65, and ’67), a two-time World Series champion (1960 and 1971), and a twelve-time Gold Glove winner. He led the National League in hits twice, triples once, put-outs as a right fielder three times, and outfield fielding average once.
In a record that may never be broken, Clemente is first all-time by a wide margin in career assists for a right fielder with 266. In second place is Hank Aaron with 186. Only 16 men in baseball history have as many as 100.
Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: Classic Baseball, the Photographs of Walter Ioos; and public domain
Information: Excerpts edited from the Roberto Clemente Wikipedia page. Statistics: From the Roberto Clemente page atBaseball-Reference.com.
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