Retiring Roberto Clemente’s number may not be enough to honor one of the all-time Pirates greats.
Baseball is a cyclical sport. So, too, are the discussions surrounding baseball as a business, and as a national pastime. And every once in a while, talk in baseball circles turns to Roberto Clemente and how and when MLB should honor the legendary sportsman and humanitarian. That talk always involves the act of retiring his jersey number – 21 – league-wide.
On April 15, 1997, on the anniversary of his breaking the “color barrier” in baseball some 66 years earlier, Jackie Robinson’s number 42 was officially retired throughout the league. Casual fans will be surprised to know that Robinson’s number is actually the only number retired in such a manner – individual teams have retired jersey numbers since the Yankees set the precedent by retiring Lou Gehrig’s number 4 in 1939. Since that time, according to SportRadar, another 166 numbers have been retired – but only one universally.
Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Greg Brown hopes it stays that way.
That’s not to say that Brown, who has called Pirates games on radio and TV since 1994, feels Clemente isn’t suitable for the honor. He thinks it’s not enough.
“I would much prefer that baseball do something unique to honor Clemente’s legacy,” he said in talking to Pirates Breakdown. “Retiring the number is something baseball did for Jackie – the kind of copycat mentality takes away from his legacy. We should do something different that best honors Roberto and who he was.”
The discussion into retiring Clemente’s number was recently sparked by a column published on January 22 by well-known sports analyst Buster Olney for ESPN. In it, Olney writes that Clemente’s spirit “hovers over” the island of Puerto Rico, where he was born, and over Pittsburgh, where he spent his major league career. He made an impact on the sport, which has included several other Hall of Fame caliber players from his native land. “…But Clemente will always be regarded as pre-eminent among players of his era and of Latin America, because of how well he played, collecting 3,000 hits in his career, but also because of the standard of bravery and grace he established,” Olney added. His piece goes on to argue that it is only right that MLB honor Clemente the way that they did Robinson, with a ceremony, a day established to annually commemorate the legend and the retiring of his number as an “important gesture for the enormous number of Hispanic players in professional baseball.”
Further fanning the flames was Houston Astros shortstop and native Puerto Rican Carlos Correa who, in his acceptance speech for American League Rookie of the Year Honors at a January 23rd Baseball Writers Association of America Awards ceremony in New York, stated that “… Nothing would make me more proud than eventually wearing No. 21 on Roberto Clemente Day in my Astros uniform. For me, that will be something really special.”
Brown agreed that an honor such as that, especially for a Latin American player, would be huge – but urges MLB not to stop there.
“[The tribute] needs to be unique – these types of honors shouldn’t just be willy-nilly – these are two special, once-in-a-lifetime players who did something for baseball, and for Clemente it wasn’t just for Puerto Rico, but for all Latin American players,” Brown said.
He took to Twitter yesterday with the issue, asking his followers to brainstorm more exciting and beneficial ways to honor Clemente than just retiring his number. And people responded, often as passionately as Brown himself.
@gbrowniepoints how about #21 on every RF wall
— Relhimself (@relhimself) January 25, 2016
@gbrowniepoints who ever wins RC award can choose to wear 21
— Matteoontheradio (@Burghermatt) January 25, 2016
@gbrowniepoints how about a #21 sighn put in every right field wall in all ballparks
— @rawjeescards (@rawjee) January 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/MWolesluggle/status/691666898539270144
“I love the fact that people got a discussion going on Twitter,” Brown said. “Nobody ever talks about other things to do to honor him.”
So, what would Brownie do to forever mark the legacy of Roberto Clemente in Major League Baseball?
He has several suggestions. “I think it would be so much neater to go back and completing his wish – Roberto Clemente Sport City – we saw it once when we played the Expos [in Puerto Rico] and frankly, it looked sad then. I can’t believe that was his vision. But what if the Pirates and players and Major League Baseball turned it into what he wanted it to be?” he asked.
Other thoughts included a Latin American series, the Pirates making a Puerto Rico series an annual event, or even singling the Pirates out to be the only team to play, at home, on Roberto Clemente Day.
“It boggles my mind that the Pirates are sometimes on the road or not even playing on Roberto Clemente Day – that just can’t happen. They need to be at PNC and it needs to be an event,” he said.
He also suggested moving the award ceremony for the MLB Roberto Clemente Award Winner from the World Series to Roberto Clemente Day the following year.
And while he could not more strongly suggest that the retiring of a baseball jersey number remain an exclusive tribute to Jackie Robinson, he has some ideas of ways Clemente’s number 21 could be honored, including changing the names on the backs of all of the players who currently wear the number 21 jersey to “Clemente” on Roberto Clemente Day. Maybe, he suggested, they also bear the Pirates unique lettering and number style. Or even wear the late 60’s early 70’s-era Pirates uniforms for that day. “It wouldn’t be as expensive for one player to wear that uniform versus a whole team. And think about what that could mean to that one player, especially if he were Latin American, who gets to honor Clemente that way,” he added.
Whatever the decision, to get MLB to seriously consider honoring Clemente, Brown thinks that the Pirates must lead the charge, with some help from baseball lovers in Pittsburgh and beyond. “I think the fanbase will play a big role in it. I think Commissioner Rob Manfred will listen to the input of the dedicated and intelligent front office staff at MLB, but he also pays attention to social media and what fans are saying, too,” he said.
Brown definitely got the ball rolling Monday. And even if this isn’t the movement that finally gets a firm plan in place, he knows it will eventually come. “It took them a while to come up with the right way to honor Jackie Robinson,” he said. “Eventually someone will come up with a brilliant idea on how to honor Roberto Clemente – but it has to be more than retiring his number.”
We here at Pirates Breakdown want to hear your thoughts on the issue. Comment, tweet or Facebook your opinion using the #HonorClemente hashtag.
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