Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rico’s native son, is revered in his country for humanitarianism before he is for any baseball accomplishments.
It was warm and only going to get hotter the morning we stepped off of the Holland America Eurodam in the San Juan Cruise Port.
We had about seven hours in the city and I was on a mission.
Beyond seeing a new city and experiencing a new culture and all of the things you talk about doing when you travel, this city, and the timing of my visit, fueled in me a desire to learn more about a man I’ve heard a lot about as a baseball, particularly Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, fan – Roberto Clemente.
When I learned our ship was making this stop many months before when we booked our trip, the first thing I did was check to see if I could catch any baseball while I was in San Juan. The offseason is long and cold in Ohio, so the promise of seeing some live action in the warm sunshine of Puerto Rico was very appealing.
Alas, the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente had no games scheduled in San Juan that day, and the ones that were slated elsewhere on the island of two million people started at about the same time my ship was pulling up the anchor and heading to St. Maarten.
So, as I often do when there is no baseball to be watched, I set out to discover the baseball connections, particularly to Clemente, in San Juan.
There was only one problem: my husband and the 24 other people with whom we took the cruise. While there were a few dedicated Pirates fans like myself among this group of people, the majority were not in our favor and even I did not try to convince them to spend precious time on land traipsing around the island chasing the ghost of one of the finest men to ever play the game of baseball. I did have a guide who would lead a tour to notable places from Clemente’s life – Carolina, Roberto Clemente Park, the sports hall of fame at Sixto Escobar Park and a driving tour of the Old Town – but not enough time.
I settled then for trying to chat up some locals and buying a t-shirt, perhaps of the Liga logo – a drawing of his profile with the flag of Puerto Rico as part of his baseball cap – I figured that would be pretty easy to come by given the sheer number of Clemente shirts, jerseys, etc. you can pick up almost anywhere in Pittsburgh. So I asked our guide to point out shops where she thought I could pick one up on our walking tour through Old San Juan.
In Pittsburgh, where Clemente played 18 seasons, his presence is still felt – and honored. His statue at PNC Park, stationed near the Clemente Bridge, is a “must see” when taking in a game for the first time and fans, those who remember seeing him play and those who still get to run the bases at the park after Sunday games alike, proudly wear his number 21 jersey (and the old timers argue with the youngsters about why the name should be left off). It almost feels at times that you could grab any stranger wearing a Pirates shirt in the city and they could give you his career slash line – and would do so smiling, ready to recall a story about a dad or an uncle or a grandfather who saw him play.
In San Juan, things were different.
“We call him Bob” Enzo, a clerk in a men’s clothing store near the corner of San Francisco and San Justo streets, told me, “Everywhere else, he wanted to be Roberto, but here, we call him Bob.”
Enzo, it turns out, played baseball in high school with “Bob’s” sons. “I was the reserve player, they were the big stars,” he chuckled, patting a belly that protruded a little farther from his waistline then he probably liked.
At the back of the store, which sold a wide selection of futbol jerseys and the Puerto Rican National Team baseball cap along with an interesting selection of sportswear, was a bank of photos hanging on the wall. Enzo pointed Bob, who was featured in two of the many black and white images hanging there, out to me.
“We keep his photo up in here to remember him.”
And that wasn’t the only place that did this. In store after store, no matter if they were selling tourist baubles or straw hats handmade in Ecuador, somewhere, there was a photo or a painting of Roberto Clemente hanging. Some were for sale, some weren’t. Sometimes the clerks didn’t even realize it was there until I pointed it out to them.
Then they would say, “Oh, Bob, yes.”
When I asked people at the stores or restaurants where Clemente’s photo hung about him, more often than not, the response was quiet, humble and short: “Yes, he was a good man.”
Some of the reaction, Enzo explained, was likely due to the timing of my visit, December 30. It was ironic, he pointed out, that I’d come to learn more about the life of a man who died in a plane crash off the shores of the city 42 years and 364 days earlier.
I asked if the anniversary of Clemente’s death is noted by residents every year. He was quiet for a moment, then nodded with a slight sigh, “It’s a solemn occasion.”
He then perked back up and said, “I’m friends with one of Bob’s kids on Facebook,” and proceeded to pull out his cell phone, go to his Facebook page, and show me a post that included a photo of a family Pirates fans are used to seeing at PNC Park every Roberto Clemente Day. “Let’s send him a photo and tell him you were here asking about his dad.” And so I stood beside Enzo, smiling, wearing my Pirates t-shirt (because I am THAT person) while he took the photo and sent it off into the ether.
Traveling offers people many great opportunities, but to me, the most important thing you gain is a change in perspective. I went to Puerto Rico for my brief seven hours hoping to learn more about the man who is beyond beloved by the Pirates players, the organization, and its fans. I learned that in Pittsburgh, we celebrate the phenomenal baseball player who shattered records, won championships, and set the standards for giving back to a community in need. In Puerto Rico, I learned that at least within the small sampling of people I met in San Juan, they mourn the loss of a humble humanitarian who focused the eyes of a great nation on their homeland and had only just begun to realize the potential he had to do great things for the world.
Writer’s note:
I’m heading back to Puerto Rico for the Pirates/Marlins series on May 30 and 31. On that trip, I’ll devote more time digging into Clemente’s roots by taking that tour I had arranged for our cruise excursion. As for t-shirts, I never did come across the one I was looking for. In fact, the only shirt bearing Clemente’s likeness I could find was a 100% polyester beauty that was half tank-top, half basketball jersey. And even as much of a fan as I am, I could not bring myself to throw down the $20 to make it my own.
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