"I can see now why Clemente was such a great hitter. He hit the same way that Rogers Hornsby said things should be done: "Make the outside part of the plate the closest part because all great pitchers pitch you away, they don’t pitch you in." And Clemente hit most of the balls from shortstop to first base. The left knee would be his strength. The left knee he would always bring back, and when he’d bring his left knee back, he would cock the back at the same time. He would never swing the bat at the baseball; he would always throw the bat at the baseball. Sometimes he would say to me in Spanish: "Joe, look at me, what I’m doing. Always try to drive the ball, don’t swing. When you swing the bat, actually your hands tighten up. If you would just cock the bat and throw the head of the bat ahead of you, it would stop your body from lunging forward." Clemente was a great hitter in that way."
Roberto Clemente

January 1, 1970