Maureen: Hi, I’m Maureen from the National Postal Museum.
Makaki: Hello, and I’m Maria del Carmen - my nickname is Makaki - from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Maureen: Welcome to Stamp Stories, where we explore topics that appear on postage stamps. New stamps come out every year on wide variety of topics. Today we’re going to learn about the baseball player Roberto Clemente.
Makaki: Roberto Clemente was a great baseball player from Puerto Rico who spent his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was an inspiration to so many people. Let’s hear more about Clemente’s story by reading a book!
Maureen: This is an excerpt from the book Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates, written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Raúl Colón. Thank you to the author, the illustrator, and Simon & Schuster Incorporated for permission to use this book.
Makaki: On an island called Puerto Rico,
where baseball players are as plentiful
as tropical flowers in a rainforest,
there was a boy who had very little
but a fever to play
and win at baseball.
He had no money for a baseball bat,
so he made one from a guava tree branch.
His first glove he also made,
from the cloth of a coffee bean sack.
His first baseball field was muddy
and crowded with palm trees.
For batting practice he used empty soup cans
and hit them farther than anyone else.
Soup cans
turned into softballs.
Softballs
turned into baseballs.
Little League turned into
minor league turned into
winter league: professional baseball
in Puerto Rico.
He played so well
he received an invitation
to play in…the major leagues
in America!
What an honor!
But the young man was sent to a steel-mill town
called Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
where his new team, the Pittsburgh Pirates,
was in last place.
Now this was something very strange,
being on a losing team.
For the young Puerto Rican,
everything was strange.
Instead of palm trees, he saw smokestacks.
Instead of Spanish, he heard English.
Instead of being somebody,
he was nobody.
His first time at bat,
he heard the announcer stumble through his Spanish name.
“ROB, uh, ROE…BURRT,
um, let’s see, TOE
CLUH-MAINT?”
It echoed in the near empty stands.
Roberto Clemente was his name,
and this is pronounced “Roe-BEAR-toe Cleh-MEN-tay.”
As if to introduce himself,
Roberto smacked the very first pitch.
But it went right up in the infield…
and into the second baseman's glove.
Still, Roberto ran like lightning –
and beat the throw to first base.
The Pittsburgh fans checked their scorecards.
Who was this guy “Roberto Clemente”?
To his new fans in Pittsburgh,
Roberto was like a jolt of electricity.
He could score from first base
on a single.
He could hit line drives,
bunts, towering home runs,
sacrifice flies –
whatever was needed.
Once he even scored on inside-the-park
GRAND SLAM!
Playing right field,
he had no equal.
He was always leaping, diving,
crashing, rolling.
Once, trying to catch a pop fly,
running full speed,
he SLAMMED into the right field wall –
and fell to the ground.
At last, slowly he lifted his glove.
The ball was inside.
Maureen: But it wasn't just how he played.
He had style. He was cool.
He had this move he did with his neck
before each at bat,
creaking it one way,
then the other.
Soon kids who wanted to be just like Roberto
were doing it too, twisting their necks this way and that.
Roberto did it to ease the pain he felt
from playing his heart out in every game.
“If you don't try as hard as you can, “he said,
“you are wasting your life.”
Roberto tried so hard,
he helped the last place Pirates
make it all the way to the World Series
where they beat the mighty NEW YORK YANKEES!
After the series,
down in the streets of Pittsburgh,
Roberto walked alone among his fans,
who were so busy celebrating,
they didn't even notice him.
That didn't bother Roberto.
He was happy to feel lost in the crowd
of a party he had helped create.
But there was something
that would have made Roberto’s joy a little sweeter.
As much as fans loved him,
the newspaper writers did not.
When Roberto was in such pain he couldn't play,
they called him “lazy.”
They mocked his Spanish accent,
and when Roberto got angry,
the mainly white newsmen
called him a Latino “hothead.”
Roberto swore he would be so good,
he would have to get the respect he deserved.
He would become the greatest all-around baseball player
there ever was.
At home that Christmas,
Roberto went back to the same muddy field
he'd played on as a boy.
In his pocket was a bag full of bottle caps
that he emptied into the hands of some kids.
They threw him the caps, and he hit each one
again
and again.
When he returned to Pittsburgh come spring,
baseballs looked HUGE,
and he clobbered them as never before.
That season, he hit .351,
the highest batting average
in the National League.
The book goes on to describe the rest of Clemente’s incredible life and career. Let’s explore some details of that by looking at some museum objects.
Makaki: Roberto Clemente was a game-changer in Major League baseball. He opened the door for all Latinas and Latinos regardless of skin color to play the game. Baseball fans know Roberto Clemente as “The Great One” and his family called him by his nickname, “Momen.” He started playing professional baseball in his native Puerto Rico when he was 18 years old. He worked hard and he was very proud of his success on the field. In the Major Leagues he gained the respect of fans in the United States and Latin America. He was also a giver. During his breaks from baseball he traveled back to Puerto Rico to help children learn to play the game in communities around his island.
Roberto Clemente wore this batting helmet during the best time of his career playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The helmet was made with exceptionally durable material to protect the player. In the first years playing for the Pirates Clemente often expressed his frustration at striking out by throwing his helmet to the ground. It is estimated that he cracked 22 batting helmets during his first year in the majors. He eased up on the helmets as he grew older. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 years, winning batting titles and many other awards.
The baseball jersey worn by Roberto Clemente is one of the most important objects in the collection of the National Museum of American History. His baseball talent and his work helping communities in his native Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries won him the admiration of Latinas and Latinos and baseball fans all over the world. His family was modest but he learned the game from his older brothers. When he was ready, he came to the United States as an immigrant to play in the Major Leagues. However, he kept strong bonds with his family and his place of origin. He always relied on his family for support while fighting for their rights and dignity of all people. He became a big baseball star and was proud of being Afro-Latino. He used to say, “When I put on my uniform I feel I am the proudest man on earth.”
His legacy is part of a larger story of Latinas and Latinos in baseball, and these stories are featured in our bilingual exhibition: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues | en los Barrios y las Grandes Ligas. The exhibition can be seen in person at the National Museum of American History or online, and also is touring around the country. It takes audiences on a journey into the heart of American baseball to understand how generations of Latinas and Latinos have helped make the game what it is today. Their inspirational stories share larger themes in American history that connect us all on and off the diamond.
Maureen: Roberto Clemente was determined to be the best baseball player he could be, and he achieved amazing success. Clemente has been honored in so many ways, and he’s one of only a few baseball players to be selected for a postage stamp image more than once. He’s been featured on a stamp twice, in 1984 and in 2000. The stamp from 1984 that you see here marks the first time the Puerto Rican flag was ever put on a United States postage stamp. The other stamp you see here is a US stamp dedicated to Puerto Rico that came out in 2011. Clemente had great pride in his homeland, and he was treated like a hero there. He tried hard to be a good role model for his fellow Puerto Ricans. Not only did he travel back there to connect with other Puerto Ricans after he became famous, he also made sure his three sons were born there. He once said, “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.”
This stamp from 2001 shows Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Clemente spent 18 seasons as a Pittsburgh Pirate and some of his family members still live in Pittsburgh today. He led the Pirates to two World Series wins and the Pirates retired the number 21 after Clemente’s final season. Major League Baseball also honored Clemente in 1973 by renaming 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." And Clemente certainly loved his team. Although Pittsburgh was very different from Puerto Rico, and Clemente struggled to be accepted when he began playing, he always loved his team and his fans. As he once said, “I think the fans in Pittsburgh are the best in baseball. They’ve always been on my side, even when I’m going bad. I’ve made plenty of friends and I would not trade these people for anybody, anywhere.”
The second time Roberto Clemente was featured on a stamp, it was part of the Legends of Baseball series that came out in 2000. And he is definitely a legend! He won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1966, and over his career he played in 15 All Star games. He spent four seasons as the National League batting leader and he won a Golden Glove award every season from 1961 to 1972. Clemente’s very last hit was hit number 3000. Only 33 players in the history of Major League Baseball have ever had that many hits in their career. In 1973, Clemente became the first Latin American player elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame. Sadly, his career had been cut short by a plane crash. Clemente was on his way to Nicaragua to help victims of an earthquake there when his plane crashed into the ocean. Clemente was not just an amazing baseball player, he was also a humanitarian, meaning he dedicated himself to helping others in need. He truly did become a role model for others and he is remembered today for all different types of greatness.
Makaki: I love how books, stamps, and objects can help us tell stories about people. At the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, we enjoy bringing stories to life all over the country. Thank you.
Maureen: Thank you so much, Makaki, and thank you to our audience for joining us today. You can learn more about Roberto Clemente and about baseball postage stamps by visiting the National Postal Museum’s website. We encourage you to just keep exploring!