MIAMI: Some of Roberto Clemente’s most impactful profession and life moments are on show on the Miami Marlins’ loanDepot Park.
A touring exhibit titled “3,000″ — a nod to the day on September 30, 1972, that the late Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder became the first Latin American-born MLB player to record 3,000 hits — stopped at the Caribbean Series held at the Marlins’ home ballpark.
The collection, curated by Dennis Rivera-Pichardo, who is director of photography at the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, consists of 10 bright yellow modules depicting photos of Clemente’s life.
Several of those pictures are of the moments before and after Clemente recorded his 3,000th career hit in a game against the New York Mets at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. There’s one of him reading fan mail in the Pirates clubhouse before the game, and others of him embracing his wife, Vera, and his children afterward.
Many of the photos had been unpublished before the museum debuted in September 2022 in Puerto Rico’s capital city of San Juan, which is less than 15 miles from where Clemente was born in Carolina. The museum made its first U.S. stop last September at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, where Clemente spent all 18 years of his Major League career. Rivera-Pichardo estimated that more that 150,000 people showed up to view the collection in Puerto Rico, as well as another 200,000 in Pittsburgh.
“For Puerto Ricans, Clemente is the biggest ballplayer in our history,” Rivera-Pichardo stated. “But being able to take it to his baseball hometown in Pittsburgh, people love him (there) as much as people in Puerto Rico, and as much as people in Nicaragua.”
More than 50 years after his dying, Clemente stays one of the revered figures in Puerto Rico and Latin America due to his grace and energy on the sphere, and most notably, his humanitarian efforts.
He was keen about his Puerto Rican roots and continually referred to as out the racism he skilled as a Black Latino throughout a profession that paralleled the civil rights motion.
He was a future Baseball Hall of Famer, with precisely 3,000 hits, 4 National League batting titles, 12 Gold Gloves, an MVP award, two World Series championships and 15 All-Star appearances.
“We certainly want the world to remember Roberto Clemente as a human being that gave all he had to give in baseball,” Clemente’s center son, Luis, advised The Associated Press in an interview about his father’s legacy final 12 months. “That was his vehicle to get his message across. I think that he’s more revered and remembered by his actions as a humanitarian.”
Clemente died on the age of 38 on Dec. 31, 1972, when his aircraft crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico whereas he was delivering aid provides to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Included within the assortment of images are a few of the moments after that accident: Vera Clemente squinting into chunky black binoculars as she watched rescue efforts the place the crash occurred; emergency personnel diving into water on the search and rescue mission; in addition to members of the U.S. coast guard eradicating the engine and propeller of the DC7 aircraft the place Clemente died.
The Marlins invited 50 native youngsters from their youth baseball program to attend the disclosing of the exhibit, a day earlier than the Caribbean collection started with Nicaragua dealing with Puerto Rico.
“It’s very emotional for us because we know the love that Clemente had for Nicaragua after he played several tournaments down there,” Rivera-Pichardo stated.
Rivera-Pichardo added that the museum might be on show in Miami till May 2 and can journey to New York in June. After that, the plan is to donate the exhibit to the Nicaraguan folks.
“He had a personal connection with the country,” he stated, “and for us, it’s very special to keep his legacy alive. Fifty years later, having the opportunity to not only show it to the Puerto Rican people, but to show it to people outside of Puerto Rico, for us at El Nuevo Día, this is the best thing that we can give back to the people.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
