The Pittsburgh Pirates joined all of MLB in celebrating Roberto Clemente today by giving back to the community with some very special guests in tow.
For the seventh year in a row, according to the Pirates, players, coaches, their wives and front office staff, along with members of Roberto Clemente’s family, visited a Pittsburgh Elementary school to hang out with the students and staff and hand out backpacks. This year, they paid a visit to Pittsburgh King School K-8 and by the looks of their smiles on Twitter, everyone had a great time!
We're visiting with kids from Pittsburgh King to celebrate today's #ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/1I5KW7o8ns
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 7, 2016
The event included a dance party where Josh Harrison learned some new moves…
Getting the #ClementeDay started with a school dance party. https://t.co/KcV2BjspB8
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 7, 2016
Andrew McCutchen delivered New Era caps to the students…
.@TheCUTCH22 and @NewEraCap are going back to school, providing caps and backpacks to students. pic.twitter.com/4FNT1fWIaD
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2016
Matt Joyce’s wife, Brittany, practiced her children’s reading skills in preparation for their new family addition by reading to a group of kindergartners…
https://twitter.com/BrittJoyce_/status/773579915719503873
Wile Matt gave out lots of hugs, Josh Bell and Jared Hughes gave many a-high-five and danced with the students and Pierogies and other players signed autographs and helped distribute backpacks with skipper Clint Hurdle. The backpacks are filled with food and school supplies to ensure that everyone has enough to eat when the school day ends and the right tools to study hard and do well in school.
A BIG Thank You to Pittsburgh King PreK-8 school for hosting us for today's #ClementeDay visit! pic.twitter.com/p3H6G4f979
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 7, 2016
The school visit is just one aspect of how the team will celebrate perhaps their most famous and respected player, known as much for his spirit of service as for his stellar stats.
During batting practice, the team wore these t-shirts to honor Clemente and kick off Hispanic Heritage month. It’s a fitting tribute to the Puerto Rican, who helped Latin American players get a foothold into the big leagues.
Today the Pirates will wear these tees during BP in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. #PonLeAcento pic.twitter.com/u3iiOulTCU
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 7, 2016
Groundskeepers were hard at work at PNC, adding “21” in right field, in front of the Clemente Wall.
#ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/dzHBIf10IR
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 7, 2016
And, tonight prior to the game, just like throughout MLB, the team nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award will be honored. Established to recognize the life-long Pirates right-fielder for his exemplary contributions to his communities and baseball, the award is given annually during the World Series to the “player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field,” said an MLB press release.
The Pirates nominee for 2016 is reliever Jared Hughes, who is well-known for his positive attitude and involvement in the community.
“Roberto Clemente’s legacy is continually honored throughout the Pirates organization. As a Pirates’ minor league player for a number of years and now as a major league player, I have been a student of Roberto Clemente’s legendary passion for the game and desire to serve others,” Hughes said. “That’s what makes this award so special to me. I plan on holding this nomination close to my heart, because here in Pittsburgh, we see ‘heart’ as synonymous with Clemente.”
Fans can vote for Hughes to win the league-wide honor by adding #VoteHughes to tweets and MLB and Pirates’ facebook pages.
To learn more about the impact Clemente had on Pittsburgh, take a look at the video below.
https://twitter.com/ClementeCards21/status/773573342158688257
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