Roberto Clemente
- Thread starter Kinnick.At.Night
- Start date
Attended g 6 of the 71 series and sat just above him in rf. Which means I got to see his last postseason hr (right over my head) and one of the greatest outfield throws ever.
He was such a complete player. His death was a complete shocker.
Good throw, but only about 280 feet or so. Right field fence is only 309. One of my first MLB games was a Cubs/ Pirate double header, where Stargell hit a mammoth HR to right field and # 21 went like 8 for 10 on the day...
Oh, and that '71 MVP - Clemente was already in his 17th year of MLB baseball. His career cut short but he did play 18 years and looked like he could play 5 more...
Oh, and that '71 MVP - Clemente was already in his 17th year of MLB baseball. His career cut short but he did play 18 years and looked like he could play 5 more...
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At best a sappy song, but to a little kid when he died, something that sticks with you.
Funny the things you remember as a kid…the g6 hr went just over my head - close enough that I thought I could catch it - but was caught by a pirates fan who had a shaved head and had written “beat ‘em bucks” on it in magic marker.
Before my time and I never knew anything about him. For real, thanks for sharing.
A couple of years ago my when my son was 9, I found a baseball card in the back pocket of his baseball uniform. I asked my son about it and he says he puts a card in his pocket before every game for good luck. According to him he plays better with a Clemente card in his pocket. Proud Dad moment that he even knew who Clemente was.
He had all the tools and was a stand up guy to boot. It was really bad news when he died on a mission to supply disaster relief.
wow. Another funny story around drafts...
My uncle ran the expansion draft for the KC Royals in ~69. As it happened, the Yankees had left Mickey Mantle unprotected. My uncle's view was that despite his age and decline, he was perfect for KC in that he could still hit and, as a midwesterner, could transition into a player-coach role, and could draw people to games from the region. He was fully prepared to draft Mantle.
Until Ewing Kauffman found out. And told him in no uncertain terms that Mickey Mantle would retire a Yankee, and that if he were drafted, my uncle would be fired that day.
