Roberto Clemente

Scav · #1 07-11-2006, 09:00 PM

Everything I hear is that this guy was the nuts when it came to baseball, I know his stats and his accomplishments, but I wanted to hear what some of the people that actually saw him play had to say? If possible give me an idea whos game is closest to him that is playing now? I have heard Vlad?

SCUDSBROTHER · #2 07-11-2006, 10:29 PM

They really went diggin' for that.This guy has been dead for 34 years. Reminds of this bitch I've got.She digs up peanuts in the shell that somebody had growin' in the backyard like 20 years ago.This guy was before my time,but seems kind of like a Jeter type,but somebody with some years on me will chime in.

stevepopyak · #3 07-11-2006, 10:49 PM

I was only a few years old when he died, but living in the Pittsburgh area all of my life I've seen endless amounts of highlights. He had a complete cannon of an arm and could run like a deer ... some of his best highlights are his spinning throws from the deep right field corner at old Forbes field. He had 3000 hits on the nose with some decent power. Since the Pirates have been so bad for the past 14 years or so they continually promote the old days of Clemente, Stargell and Mazeroski with giveaways of bobbleheads, statuettes, jerseys, etc. with their names/numbers to try to draw fans. Hey, at least we have a nice ballpark.

ddthetide · #4 07-11-2006, 10:55 PM

the GREAT #21 !!
i was 8 years old during the 1971 world series. i rooted for baltimore because that was my dad's team but the o's were playing the pirates and they had this rightfielder name clemente and a left fielder name stargell. i knew them from my baseball cards but that was all. clemente, the all-star rf, was ALL over the papers and tv.

if i remember correctly the o's had the buc's down 3 games to 1 in the series and clemente had just played ok and had taken the blame for being behind in the series. he sat in front on his locker after the 4th game and told the world that the bucs would win ! if he had win it himself!

the next 3 games were the CLEMETE SHOW!! and he got some help from his mates too. game 5 he went something like 3-4 ,drove in all the runs, stole bases and even had 2 put-outs from rf !!..... i was a Pirate fan but most of all a CLEMETE fan from that point on!( embarressed to say i'm still a bucs fan) bucs won the WS and Clemete was MVP.

maybe the best RF every to play. no one today to compare him too. clemete had power when needed, always hit for average, stole base when needed, even bunted. played GREAT defense and a howitzer for an arm! (OH GEEZZ what an arm!!) he did whatever the bucs needed him to do at that time in any game.
if you were a kid during the 71 WS , you ran out to practice what you saw clemete do. if you were righthanded chasing a ball to your left. when you caught the ball you planted your right foot, pivoted with your back to the infield and tried to throw the runner out at second or third or hit the cut-off man.
he had class! won and lost with grace!
sorry for the rant but you asked about one of my childhood heros.

ArlJim78 · #5 07-11-2006, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddthetide

the GREAT #21 !!
i was 8 years old during the 1971 world series. i rooted for baltimore because that was my dad's team but the o's were playing the pirates and they had this rightfielder name clemente and a left fielder name stargell. i knew them from my baseball cards but that was all. clemente, the all-star rf, was ALL over the papers and tv.

if i remember correctly the o's had the buc's down 3 games to 1 in the series and clemente had just played ok and had taken the blame for being behind in the series. he sat in front on his locker after the 4th game and told the world that the bucs would win ! if he had win it himself!

the next 3 games were the CLEMETE SHOW!! and he got some help from his mates too. game 5 he went something like 3-4 ,drove in all the runs, stole bases and even had 2 put-outs from rf !!..... i was a Pirate fan but most of all a CLEMETE fan from that point on!( embarressed to say i'm still a bucs fan) bucs won the WS and Clemete was MVP.

maybe the best RF every to play. no one today to compare him too. clemete had power when needed, always hit for average, stole base when needed, even bunted. played GREAT defense and a howitzer for an arm! (OH GEEZZ what an arm!!) he did whatever the bucs needed him to do at that time in any game.
if you were a kid during the 71 WS , you ran out to practice what you saw clemete do. if you were righthanded chasing a ball to your left. when you caught the ball you planted your right foot, pivoted with your back to the infield and tried to throw the runner out at second or third or hit the cut-off man.
he had class! won and lost with grace!
sorry for the rant but you asked about one of my childhood heros.

Oh man did you bring back the memories dd,
I was 12 at the time and was really starting to pay attention. I had a pretty good arm myself so I know exactly what you mean about imitating a great Clemente catch, pivot, and throw. No telling how many times i practiced that.

But I also loved the Orioles. they had four twenty game winners!! can you imagine that today? hah. McNally, Cuellar, Palmer, Dobson. I also used to imitate McNally's delivery because I liked the way he held the mitt up in front of his face. Other favorites Boog Powell, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, davey Johnson, Mark belanger. Oh man those were the days. I loved the game back then.

onebadbeast · #6 07-12-2006, 12:18 AM

Only One Of The Greatest To Ever Play The Game. I Watched Him Throw A Guy Out At Home Plate On A Line From Right Field Wall. I No Longer Care To Watch The Game As All The Best Have Left The Building!!

SentToStud · #7 07-12-2006, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onebadbeast

Only One Of The Greatest To Ever Play The Game. I Watched Him Throw A Guy Out At Home Plate On A Line From Right Field Wall. I No Longer Care To Watch The Game As All The Best Have Left The Building!!

No doubt one of the very best ever. True 5-tool player. Nobody played rightfield as well as Clemente though Kaline in his prime was close. And nobody ran the bases like Clemente. Mantle and Mays were close but the sight of Clemente on the basepath was extrordinary. With more Gold Gloves than any other outfielder ever, arguably the best ever to play any outfield position.

ddthetide · #8 07-12-2006, 05:32 AM

the last strike lost me as a fan. i check once a week to see how far out my once mighty pirates are. it's rare i even watch the highlights.

Kasept · #9 07-12-2006, 07:12 AM

Scav,

The closest thing you can see today that owns shades of Clemente is Vlad Guerrero... Saw Clemente many, many times at Shea as part of matchups like Steve Blass v. Tom Seaver and Dock Ellis v. Jerry Koosman... Clemente was utterly dominant on a team of GREAT players...

stevepopyak · #10 07-12-2006, 07:28 AM

In addition to his laser like throws from right field, I always loved when he would smack a triple and turn on the jets between first and second base. By the time he was half way to third you would see his legs going in every which direction !!!! The good ol' days of Bucco baseball !!!!

Kasept · #11 07-12-2006, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevepopyak

The good ol' days of Bucco baseball !!!!

Steve..

Surprised the 'burg fans here have yet to bring up Bob Prince...

"Pirates win... And there was no doubt about it...."

stevepopyak · #12 07-12-2006, 08:05 AM

Oh, don't get me started on the Gunner .... "You can kiss it goodbye" .... "Babushka Power" for the ladies and of course "Chicken on the Hill" when Stargell would blast one .... Bob Prince, a true broadcasting legend ... I could go on and on.

2 Dollar Bill · #13 07-12-2006, 08:08 AM

First off Im not here to sell books....lol
But I know of a good book about #21... which deals with his life, the stuff like not being able to eat with the white ballplayers @ spring training in florida to the events that ended his life, and how he was Told NOT to get on that plane.. Im not sure of the title but I know it was released this year and well written, I plan on picking it up to bring back some memories. Just wanted to chime in and let everyone know about this book.

ddthetide · #14 07-12-2006, 10:14 AM

the book is:
"Clemente"
The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
by: David Maraniss

i just bought it and have not had the chance nto start reading it yet.

somerfrost · #15 07-12-2006, 01:53 PM

I'm old enough to have seen him throughout his great career, everything said here is 100% correct...one of the greats of baseball and a truly humble, nice guy who cared about those less fortunate than himself...I'd agree that Vlad is the closest but not up to the standard, at least not yet. Like others have said...he deserves the title "hero"!

BillW · #16 07-13-2006, 05:34 AM

I grew up SE of Pittsburgh and this thread really brings back some memories (that's all that us Pirate fans have left

). One fielding feat that I remember was him throwing out a runner at first base (it might have been Dick Groat after he was traded to the Cards???)- I had never seen a ground out to right field before and can't remember seeing one since. What made him even more impressive was that he did all of this while under the pressure of being one of the first Latino ballplayers in the big leagues.

Bill

westcoastinvader · #17 07-17-2006, 03:38 AM

I think trying to compare Roberto Clemente to any present day player is impossible.

He played the game like he was a fine paintbrush in the hands of Rembrandt or Monet, or the artist of your choice......

I remember well that New Year's time when his plane when down off the coast of Puerto Rico, overloaded with supplies to help the earthquake victims of Nicaragua.

The next year, one of the most popular songs on the Top 40 radio lists of the day was "Seasons In The Sun."

Terry Jacks.

Not a great song, but it meant many things, to many people.

When I heard it in it's year, I thought of Roberto Clemente.

JJP · #18 07-17-2006, 03:23 PM

I would say Guerrero is probably the closest of the present day players. Clemente was maybe a bit smoother; Guerrero a bit more power.

westcoastinvader · #19 07-17-2006, 09:02 PM

Good points, and I certainly like Vlad as a ballplayer.

As to smoothness, if one ever gets the chance to see Ichiro play RF live and in person, do so. That guy plays one of the smoothest RF games since Clemente, IMHO. I've had the good fortune to see him here in the Bay Area, and I'll just say that he's a ballplayer whose true abilities are best observed in person.

The TV camera does not do him justice.

I put Ichiro in a class all his own, much like Clemente.