RobertoClemente

=Roberto Clemente=

Overview
Roberto Clemente became a Latino legend of baseball. As a boy, Clemente was an excellent track and field contender. At the age of 17, his career as a professional baseball began in his home territory of Peuto Rico. There he showed himself to be a capable player. He first drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers, but never played a major league game during the time he was on the team. The Pittsburgh Pirates saw his skills and acquired him on November 22, 1954. It was with the Pirates that Clemente played major league baseball. It was with the Pirates that Clemente showed the world the extraordinary skills of the game and good character he possessed.

Central Issue
Roberto Clemente MLB career had many great achievements. He was good at every vital aspect of the game: batting, catching, running, and throwing. His first year with the Pirates, he obtained a .255 batting average; he was in the .300s for the following 13 years, four times ranking number one in the National League. Four year he had 200+ hits. The Golden Glove Award was presented to him a dozen years in a row. Breaking a 33 year dry spell, Clemente carried Pittsburgh to win the World Series in 1960. The league proclaimed him MVP in 1966. His caliber of play in this decade was equal to that of Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. In 1971, Clemente won his second World Series, this time also being awarded the World Series MVP.

Conclusion/ Historical Significance
His stunning playing was complemented by his good temperament on the field. He advocated for the Latin American minorities like himself. Clemente orchestrated a Peuto Rico relief effort to help victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Wanting to be certain that the aid went where it was needed, he boarded the cargo plane bound for Nicaragua. On the last day of December in 1972, Clemente died as the plane crashed in the Caribbean Sea. He never reached Nicaragua; the DC-7 splashed down shortly after takeoff. The Coast Guard located the plane,100 feet of sea above it, early on January 2. Roberto Clemente's body never was recovered. Clemente was several heroes in one. First, the was a hero of the game of baseball; The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Clemente on August 8, 1973. Second, he was a humanitarian hero, who gave his life in the effort to personally ensure those who were hurt by the natural disaster received the supplies that were being shipped. Finally, he was a hero to Latinos, the first one to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. Through all his actions, he advanced his minority within American culture.