Quotes by Roberto Clemente
Welcome to our collection of quotes by Roberto Clemente. We hope you enjoy pondering them and please share widely.
Wikipedia Summary for Roberto Clemente
Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (Spanish pronunciation: [roˈβeɾto enˈrike kleˈmente (ɣ)walˈkeɾ]; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Caribbean and the first Latin-American player to be enshrined. Because he died at a young age and had such a stellar career, the Hall of Fame changed its rules of eligibility. As an alternative to a player having to be retired for five years before eligibility, a player who has been deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry.
Clemente was an All-Star for 13 seasons, playing in 15 All-Star Games. He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1966, the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove Award winner for 12 consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. His batting average was over .300 for 13 seasons and he had 3,000 hits during his major league career. He also was a two-time World Series champion. Clemente was the first player from the Caribbean and Latin America to win a World Series as a starting position player (1960), to receive an NL MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).
Clemente was involved in charity work in Latin American and Caribbean countries during the off-seasons. He often delivered baseball equipment and food to those in need. On December 31, 1972, he died in a plane crash at the age of 38 while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The following season, the Pirates retired his uniform number 21, and MLB renamed its annual Commissioner's Award in his honor. Now known as the Roberto Clemente Award, it is given to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."
Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth.
After I failed to win the Most Valuable Player Award in 1960, I made up my mind I'd win the batting title in 1961 for the first time.
I wasn't ready for the majors when I joined the Pirates in 1955. I was too young and didn't know my way around.
The Dodgers told me a big bonus was no good, and they said other players would resent it. Better for me to take a small amount of money and work my way.
I am from the poor people; I represent the poor people. I like workers. I like people that suffer because these people have a different approach to life from the people that have everything and don't know what suffering is.
There's no difference between me and you. You need something, a glove, a place to live, you let me know.
Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth.
If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this Earth.
My mother has the same kind of an arm, even today at 74. She could throw a ball from second base to home plate with something on it. I got my arm from my mother.
I used to watch Monte Irvin play when I was a kid. I idolized him. I used to wait in front of the ballpark just for him to pass by so I could see him.
The farther away you writers stay, the better I like it. You know why? Because you're trying to create a bad image of me... you do it because I'm black and Puerto Rican, but I'm proud to be Puerto Rican.
The first day that I get to Fort Myers, there was a newspaper down there. The newspaper said, 'Puerto Rican hot dog arrives in town.'
They said you'd really have to be something to be like Babe Ruth. But Babe Ruth was an American player. What we needed was a Puerto Rican player they could say that about, someone to look up to and try to equal.
I loved the game so much that even though our playing field was muddy and we had many trees on it, I used to play many hours every day.
I would be lost without baseball. I don't think I could stand being away from it as long as I was alive.
My father used to say, 'I want you to be a good man; I want you to learn how to work. And I want you to be a serious person.' I grew up with that in my mind.
In a way, I was born twice. I was born in 1934 and again in 1955 when I came to Pittsburgh. I am thankful to say that I lived two lives.
