People From San Juan

"I saw someone hit a short fly to right. Lee May was leaning on the third base bag. Clemente got the ball on a bounce and threw Lee out by three or four feet at home."

"Mays rounds third and screeches to a halt. When the world’s best baserunner puts on the brakes on a hit to right, you know it’s because the world’s best arm is in right. And it was a close game – we needed that run."

"If a double was needed, he would go for that. If there were two out and the Pirates needed a run, he would go for the home run. But he would not swing for the fences if his team was down by 3 or 4 runs. He would just try to get on base. That’s a team player."

"At that time, I could really run – I was one of the fastest guys on our team. I was running hard and I shouldn’t have even had to slide. That’s not supposed to happen. It’s a play that, as you see it developing, you usually just tag and go to third. I was safe, barely. I remember saying, "Wow! How did he do that?""

"I don’t know how a man can be running away from the ball and hit it into the upper deck. I shudder to think what he would do if he stood at the plate on every pitch and defied the pitcher to pitch to him.1 Clemente’s a one-man show as far as I’m concerned. He’s not only the best today; he’s one of the best that’s ever played baseball. He’s got power, and he’s so fast that any bouncing ball is a potential base hit. He can hit the ball into the upper deck in anybody’s ballpark – right field or left field. He’s got one of the strongest and most accurate throwing arms I’ve ever seen. He can throw from the most awkward and seemingly impossible positions. He can throw people out at second base on balls that would be triples to any other right fielder. And the thing about this fellow is that he actually breaks many of the fundamental rules of hitting. Many times he sticks his fanny out – but he still manages to hit the ball with authority. To me he is one of the most amazing athletes of all time."

"I was just a kid at the time, only 18. Clemente was a holdout that spring. There were several of us rookies who would come in and look over at his locker to see if he had shown up yet. But there would only be his uniform hanging there. Finally, he showed up for workouts and I was a little surprised. I had built Clemente up so much in my mind that I was looking for a guy like Frank Howard. You know – 6-foot-7 and 250 or 260 pounds. But he was nothing like that. He was just average size, just like any other individual. But he was the greatest ballplayer I’ve ever seen."

"I don’t know if you ever saw Roberto play, but he was the most unorthodox good ball-player I ever saw. Most good ballplayers are smooth – they do things with rhythm. Well, Roberto had his own rhythm. He looked like he was falling apart when he ran – looked like he was coming apart when he threw. His stance at the plate was ridiculous. When he swung he’d lunge and hit bad balls. There was no way he could hit the ball like that. But no one told Roberto that."

"They got on his back, and he carried the team. He said, "I’m not going to let my team lose.""

"He was a player you couldn't take your eyes off of."

"In the field, he was like Barry Bonds with the bat. [...] He didn't see any pitch that he didn't like or couldn't hit."

"If someone asked Hunter if I was a super hitter, he'd say no, because I'm not. The only super hitters I've seen are Billy Williams and Roberto Clemente."

"In all due respect to Henry Aaron, Stan Musial and Willie Mays, the best hitter I ever played against was Roberto Clemente."

"When I watch Clemente play, I think I'm seeing two ball games. Clemente is a ball game himself. I've seen him make plays recently that I think are great. But it seems the fans, sportswriters and his own teammates take it for granted."

"Koufax and Roberto Clemente. I saw Mays hang on too long. The same for Henry Aaron. I admired Brooks Robinson. I’m starting to lose my admiration for him the same way. I liked Clemente because he was a bust-butt player. He was always a gentleman and wasn’t afraid to run into walls."

"Clemente is the most complete ball player to wear a baseball uniform. He can do everything to beat you. He can hit for power, he can steal a base, he can field, and his arm alone should take him to Cooperstown."

"Why don't that guy quit already? I've been reading every spring for five years that he is going to retire. I wish he would."

"He had developed great wrist strength, and not only could he jerk one out of the park even when swinging late, but he could also drive an inside pitch to the opposite field. Take it from me: he was almost impossible to pitch to."

"He stood there, far away from the plate with that great big long bat, and with those strong hands he controlled it like crazy, hitting pitches on the other side of the plate. There was that one area out there at the knees off the outside corner. If you hit that spot with a pitch, he’d look and walk away. If you missed it, he’d hit the ball very hard."

"Clemente's the best defensive outfielder I’ve ever seen. I’ve never been on his ballclub and I don’t know what he’s like as a team player, but this guy can do just everything to beat you – run, hit, throw, catch, and just kill you with power. He’s the best player I’ve seen in the big leagues."

"He made the greatest throws I ever saw in my life. He would go into that bullpen (along the right field line in Forbes Field) where you couldn’t see home plate. One time, he went for a ball that spun into the bullpen. A guy was tagging up from third base with one out. He knew he had it made, he didn’t run hard. All of a sudden this rocket came from nowhere. It was like a strike, right across the plate. He (Clemente) couldn’t even see home plate!"

"Clemente was the best player I competed against and the most exciting I ever saw."

"Roberto Clemente was the best player I’ve ever played against. Anything between the on-deck circles was a strike to him. I’ve seen him double on knock-down pitches."

"Roberto Clemente was such an awesome hitter. I never knew how to pitch him. You could throw the ball a foot inside and he’d hit a line drive down the left field line. Throw it a foot outside and he’d hit a home run over the right field fence. Dick Selma was pitching in Forbes Field one time and it was a tight spot late in the game. Roberto was up with a chance to beat us, and Westrum came out to the mound. He knew that if you threw the ball inside or outside, Roberto could still hurt you. So he said, "Throw one right down the middle of the plate, letter high. He won’t be looking for it there.” Sure enough, Roberto hit it 400 feet, but he hit to dead center field for an out."

"The good hitters, it just steeled their resolve. I saw Henry Aaron get knocked down, maybe twice in a row, and then they’d make the perfect pitch, a low outside slider, and he’d hit the most awesome line drive homer over the right center field fence. Same thing for Willie Mays. Knock him down and you just made him a better hitter. Same for Willie Mays. Same for Roberto Clemente."

"It all began with Clemente hustling to first. He knows only one way to play this game."

"I got a hit to right field and rounded first base as most runners do. Clemente picked up the ball, faked a throw to second and threw it so fast behind me to first base I was caught and tagged out. It was my most embarrassing moment on the field."

"Clemente is the most exciting player in baseball today. While the other players are getting the headlines, he is always doing something to help the Pirates win. To me, he is the best."

"Did you see how Clemente has been running against the Orioles? Man, how he runs! He has been that way ever since he got into the big leagues. He gives it everything he has—with his bat, with his glove, with his arm and with his legs. Like you say, people didn't appreciate him enough. They do now."

"We can beat the Pirates because they no longer have Roberto Clemente. Nobody will know what Clemente meant to them until this year when they have to do without him. We can beat the Pirates without Clemente, and we are better than the Cubs.”"

"The first start I ever got in the big leagues was in Pittsburgh for the last three games in 1967. I knew Dock Ellis and I met Clemente through him. We talked every time we met in the following years. He gave me a few pointers. I felt if a guy like Roberto could tell you something, it was wise to listen. I always like to talk to outstanding players about hitting – Roberto Clemente, Joe Torre, Tommy Davis. Guys who have the same hitting style as I do. But I remember Roberto for one thing he did with his glove, not his bat. In 1971, he took a home run away from me here in the Dome. Steve Blass was pitching and we were behind, 1-0, in the ninth. Joe Morgan walked and I hit a ball to right that was going over the yellow line. I know the game is tied for sure. If [it’s gone], we win. But Clemente went head-on into the wall, and fell to the ground, almost on his neck. He was motionless. Al Oliver came over and took the ball out of his glove. I couldn’t believe he caught the ball."

"Roberto Clemente was the greatest ballplayer I have ever watched. He could do it all. In fact, last year, Gonzalo Márquez, one of our young outfielders, told me he was going to copy Clemente. I told him if he could become one third of the ballplayer Clemente was, he would make me very happy."

"I’m more convinced than ever that there aren’t as many good hitters in the game, guys who can whack the ball around when it’s over the plate, like an Aaron or a Clemente. There are plenty of guys who can hit the ball a long way, but I see so many who lack finesse, who should hit for average but don’t."

"Clemente had a tremendous arm. He took great delight in fielding a base hit in right field with a man on first base and pausing. He’d just stand there – sometimes in deep right – and hold the ball saying, ‘Go ahead to third.’ Runners wouldn’t dare go because Clemente nailed them every time. The crowd at Forbes Field would cheer, and Clemente would lob the ball back in to second. I didn’t go from first to third against Clemente either – except one time. I’ll never forget the day. It was a Sunday afternoon in Forbes Field. [...] Somebody hit a shot to right field right at Clemente. He picked the ball up to dare me, and I rounded second. As I rounded the base, I looked back at him over my shoulder as if I were going to honor his arm. And when I looked, I just shifted into high gear. He saw that and came up firing. He made a clothesline throw, all the way to third in the air. It wasn’t even on one hop. I slid a la Rickey Henderson and Pete Rose – headfirst. I don’t mean I put one hand down to break my fall. I mean I was stretched out parallel to the ground with both hands out as if I’m diving into a swimming pool. “SAFE!" In Forbes Field, the dugouts were like pillboxes. Standing in the dugout, your shoulders were at field level. When I beat the throw, all my teammates were at the top of the dugout applauding. We hated Clemente’s guts because he was so good. He had a style about him of arrogance, cockiness and defiance."

"I'm coming up on 50 years in baseball. It's really tough to pick the one game I'd call the game of my life. Let's see, there was the first game I ever played up here. I hit a line drive to right field and Roberto Clemente came in and slid and made a great catch. I guess I realized I was playing in the major leagues at that point."

"One fact about big league life came hard in my first game. The ball just seems to come at you faster on the infield, and especially on a steel-hard surface like they had at old Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente lashed a wicked hop-and-skip grounder to me that I played all right, but I stopped it with my shin. Man! Did that thing ever sting! It's a wonder I even made the play."

"It was against the Pirates in Houston. I pitched five innings and I remember Roberto Clemente. I don’t remember Willie Stargell. The one to remember, though, was Roberto Clemente. Bob Lillis was playing shortstop and Clemente hit a rocket, a one-hopper, that almost took Lillis from shortstop and put him in the left-field stands. Lillis wound up throwing him out, but he hit a rocket off me."

"When you come down to it, all depends on the final score whether you're a hero or a bum. Roberto Clemente, the toast of the town, disobeyed his manager's frantic signals Wednesday night to stop at third base. Instead, he kept on rock and rolling homeward for an inside-the-park grand-slam home run to beat the Chicago Cubs. Had he been cut down at the plate, the Puerto Rican flash would have been the roast of the town. Unquestionably, Bobby Bragan would have slapped him with one of his patented $25 fines. But Roberto got away with it. He scored the winning run in the face of an obvious skull. Fine him? Heck, no! You don't reprimand or fine a man who wins a ball game for you. No, sir. That's what Bragan said after the victory. We wonder what will happen to the next fellow who pulls the same stunt and costs the Pirates a ball game. Fine him? Heck, yes!"

"Roberto Clemente boomed a 500-foot home run high over the 30-foot green fence at Terry Park today and it took a shot like that to knock over the improved New York Mets by a score of 7 to 5. Clemente's tremendous blow came in the eighth inning off Darrell Sutherland on the first pitch and broke up a 5-5 tie. [...] Sutherland was so shook up by Clemente's drive that he gave up a triple to Donn Clendenon and walked three men in a row to force in a superfluous run as far as the game was concerned. It was only the third time in the [12-year] history of Terry Park that any hitter cleared the high green fence. [...] Clemente's home run, which almost hit the flag some 10 feet above the fence, was just too much—even for the Grapefruit League-leading Mets to take."

"Frank Scott, former Pittsburgh boy who made good in New York as an agent for athletes, has two more good ones going for him: Roberto Clemente and . Scott recently got together with Frank Eck, Associated Press scribe, on a proposed book about Clemente.."

"Roberto Clemente's book, which will be co-authored by Frank Eck of the New York Associated Press office, is expected to net $50,000 from the publisher. I have heard some of the tapes and read a couple of the chapters. The book will offer excellent reading when it comes out in six months."

"Speaking of books, one news wire service will soon come out with four of them on Roberto Clemente.... Frank Eck, New York Associated Press sports writer, says he has the only real book on Clemente ... composed of taped interviews."

"A few will wonder out loud, or in print, why Roberto Clemente wasn't included. The late Pirate super star belongs but he is of such recent vintage, I decided to keep to the old timers list players who haven't been around for at least 20 years [specifically, George Sisler, Rogers Hornsby, Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty Grove and Walter Johnson ]. As a matter of fact, it was Clemente who triggered off the above column. I asked a Pirate official, who will go nameless, what he thought the Great One would be worth salary-wise compared with the 10 named above, now playing [i.e. Dick Allen, Joe Morgan, Brooks Robinson, Luis Aparicio, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Steve Carlton and Bob Gibson ]. His answer: "He was worth in all-around ability more than any one of them. He belongs with your old-timers.""

"The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico took official note of the selection of one of its citizens, Roberto Clemente, as the National League's Most Valuable Player. The Puerto Rican House got together three pages of "whereases" and "wherefores" to congratulate both Clemente and the Baseball Writers' Association of America."

"Ballplayers are notoriously reluctant to talk about their injuries or the infirmities of "old age." Roberto Clemente was out for weeks with a bad back and it was apparent in this series that he was swinging with effort. And yet, every time he was asked how he felt, he always said "great.""

"I was trying to waste a pitch,” he said of Roberto Clemente’s home run. “I wanted to have him swing on a bad pitch. I didn’t care if I walked him. I wouldn’t even care if I hit him. I had two bases open.” Clemente is the kind of fellow who drives pitchers crazy. Stallard fired a fastball near Clemente’s ear. Roberto swung and missed. The crowd cheered. They like that kind of extravagance. Then came the next pitch. This was up near Clemente’s eyes and a foot outside. He flicked his bat, lined a ball upstairs. Foul, motioned umpire Ed Sudol. This confused the crowd. Some cheered. Others booed. They were obeying orders. One of the signal-men held up a bedsheet. It said: BOO. “I knew the two bases were open; I figured maybe I could get him to swing again at a pitch around his head,” said Stallard. Stallard, a marvelous Met in his own right, just couldn’t let the drama build any longer. He threw a real pitch to Clemente, the kind any human being hitter would duck away from and scream for the umpire. Naturally, Clemente hit it upstairs [i.e. right field upper deck]. “He never gets a strike to swing at,” said Danny Murtaugh. “He likes those kind.""

"And then, too, there was the shared experience, already permanently fixed in memory, of Roberto Clemente playing a kind of baseball that none of us had ever seen before—throwing and running and hitting at something close to the level of absolute perfection, playing to win but also playing the game almost as if it were a form of punishment for everyone else on the field."

"If there's one player who appears to be capturing the fancy of the fans, it must be Clemente. They cheer him when he comes to bat and scream when he responds with a hit. In the field, they watch every move he makes. When he turns in a good catch or makes a fine throw, they hold the major share of their applause until Clemente returns to the bench. They really like the kid and like his actions."

"There aren't many bright spots on the last-place Pirates, but one of the brightest is Roberto Clemente, the 20-year-old Puerto Rican whom the Bucs drafted from the Dodger farm at Montreal. Although he has only a working knowledge of English and speaks with some difficulty, Clemente has no trouble at all playing the National Game. Until he ran into a recent slump, during which he went through eight games with only one hit, Clemente was the leading Buc hitter. But even in his slump, he hit the ball hard, although right at some fielder. The Pittsburgh fans have fallen in love with his spectacular fielding and his deadly right arm. In the first 50 games Clemente played, he turned in ten assists, in addition to some sparkling catches in the outfield. The Forbes Field customers have singled him out as their favorite and he always draws cheers when he steps into the batters box. Although still hitting the ball hard, Clemente claims he won't be at his best until he plays in mid-summer weather. "I no play so gut yet," he tried to explain recently. "Me like hot weather, veree hot. I no run fast cold weather. No get warm in cold. No get warm, no play gut. You see." Clemente likes Forbes Field because of the spacious playing area in right field but has developed a strong dislike for Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds since he can't fathom the way the balls ricochet off the walls there."

"Clemente couldn't properly celebrate his 21st birthday yesterday because there was no game but he did it tonight, two singles and a 450-foot homer. Viva Puerto Rico!"

"The man can hit. There's only one way to pitch to Clemente – throw it and pray."