“When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth.” -Roberto Clemente

On Roberto Clemente Day, we honor the man who loomed large on the field, and even larger off of it.

He was:
-the first Latin American player inducted into the Hall of Fame
-15x All-Star
-12x Gold Glove winner
-4x NL Batting Champion
-World Series MVP (1971)
-NL MVP (1966)
-3,000-hit club member

Off the field, he was the greatest humanitarian the game has ever known, a living example of the words he spoke: “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.”

During a career that ran parallel to the civil rights movement, Clemente’s humanitarianism and human rights work led him to speak out, often in his second language, against racism and racial injustice in the United States.

His lead is one we can look to today as we continue to work towards becoming a fairer, more just, and more equal world. One where we love and take care of each other.

Clemente died in a plane crash in 1972 while delivering aid packages to Nicaragua after it’s capital experienced a devastating earthquake.

I am lucky to be a Pittsburgh Pirate, where everywhere I go, in the stadium, or in the city, I constantly see the #21, and I am reminded of what we can all strive to be. And of who Roberto Clemente was. And to so many, what he still is.