Saturday, August 18, 2012

Happy Birthday Roberto Clemente!!!

Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican ball player whose Major League career comprised the 18 seasons stretching from 1955 through 1972, all of them played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. Clemente was awarded the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1966. He was on the NL All-Star team 15 times, received 12 Gold Glove Awards, and led the NL in batting average four times. In 1972, Clemente got his 3,000th major league hit.  Off the field, Clemente was involved in charity work in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries, often delivering baseball equipment and food to those in need. He died in an aviation accident on December 31, 1972, while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Clemente was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1973, becoming the first Latin American to be selected and one of only four current Hall of Fame members for whom the mandatory five-year waiting period has been waived.[1][2] Besides being the first Hispanic player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Clemente is also the first Hispanic to win a World Series as a starter (1960), receive an MVP Award (1966), and receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).


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