Roberto Clemente (1973)


Date of Birth: 8/18/1934
Date of Death: 12/31/1972
Birthplace: Carolina, Puerto Rico

Roberto Clemente, who was born in Puerto Rico, started playing baseball professionally in his home country at the age of 16. He was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in February, 1954. He played in the minor leagues that year.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Clemente on November 22, 1954, in the Rule 5 draft. In 1955, his first season with the Pirates, he batted .255 with 121 hits, 23 doubles, 11 triples, and 47 RBIs in 124 games. He had a much better second season, batting .311 with 169 hits, 30 doubles, and 60 RBIs in 1956. He struggled in 1957, batting just .253 with 114 hits in 111 games.

Clemente played in 140 games in 1958, and he batted .289. He had 150 hits, 24 doubles, 10 triples, and 50 RBIs. He played well defensively, leading all NL right fielders in putouts with 311. He played in only 105 games in 1959, and he batted .296 with 128 hits.

Clemente had a strong season in 1960, when he batted .314 in 144 games. He had 179 hits, 22 doubles, 16 home runs, and 94 RBIs. He struck out 72 times and walked 39 times.

In 1961, Clemente won the National League batting title with a .351 batting average. He had 201 hits, 30 doubles, 23 home runs, and 89 RBIs in 146 games. An outstanding fielder, he won his first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves in 1961. That year, he led NL right fielders in putouts with 254.

Clemente had strong seassons in 1962 and 1963, batting .312 in 1962, and .320 the next season. He finished the 1962 season with 168 hits, 28 doubles, and 74 RBIs in 144 games. The following season, he had 192 hits, 23 doubles, 17 home runs, and 76 RBIs in 152 games.

Clemente led the NL in hits and batting average in 1964. He had career highs in games played (155), hits (211), and doubles (40). He batted .339 with 87 RBIs and 87 strikeouts to 51 walks. He won the batting title again in 1965, when he had a .329 batting average in 152 games. He finished the season with 194 hits, 21 doubles, a career high 14 triples, and 64 RBIs.

Clemente won the NL MVP award and the Sporting News Player of the Year award in 1966. That season he batted .317 with 202 hits, 31 doubles, 11 triples, and career highs in home runs with 29 and RBIs with 119.

Clemente had a career high batting average of .357 in 1967. He led the NL in hits and in batting average. He had 209 hits, 26 doubles, 10 triples, 23 home runs, and 110 RBIs in 147 games. His batting average dropped to .291 in 1968. That year, he had 146 hits, 18 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 132 games.

Clemente had a better season in 1969, when he batted .345 in 138 games. He led the NL in triples with 12, and he had 175 hits, 20 doubles, 19 home runs, and 91 RBIs in 138 games. The following season, he batted .352 in 108 games. He finished the 1970 season with 145 hits, 22 doubles, 10 triples, 14 home runs, and 60 RBIs.

In 1971, Clemente had both a strong season and postseason. In the regular season, he batted .341 with 178 hits, 29 doubles, and 86 RBIs in 132 games. He won both the World Series MVP award and the Babe Ruth award for his postseason accomplishments. In 47 at-bats in 11 games, he had 18 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, and 8 RBIs, and he batted .383.

Clemente played in 102 games in 1972. He batted .312 with 118 hits, 19 doubles, and 60 RBIs. He won his twelfth Gold Glove that year.

Clemente died tragically in 1972. He was on his way to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua when the plane he was on crashed. The Pirates lost a great player and the world lost a great humanitarian.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (12 times)
  • NL MVP
  • Sporting News Player of the Year
  • World Series MVP
  • Babe Ruth award
  • Led NL in batting average (4 times)
  • Led NL in hits (2 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Clemente in 18 seasons(1955-1972) in the major leagues include:

  • 12 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 209 in 1967
  • 4 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 40 in 1964
  • 9 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 14 in 1965
  • 3 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 29 in 1966
  • 13 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .357 in 1967

Career batting statistics for Clemente include:

  • 2,433 games played
  • 3,000 hits
  • 440 doubles
  • 166 triples
  • 240 home runs
  • 1,305 RBIs
  • 1,230 strikeouts to 621 walks
  • .317 batting average
  • .359 on-base percentage
  • .834 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Clemente as a right fielder include:

  • 2,306 games played
  • 132 errors
  • 254 assists
  • 4,449 putouts
  • .973 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Clemente include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 26 games played
  • 107 at-bats
  • 34 hits
  • 3 doubles
  • 1 triple
  • 3 home runs
  • 14 RBIs
  • 21 strikeouts to 6 walks
  • .318 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Roberto Clemente
ESPN - Roberto Clemente
Baseball Reference - Roberto Clemente

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