What We All Can Learn From Roberto Clemente

What We All Can Learn From Roberto Clemente

"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."  - Roberto Clemente

In four days it will mark the anniversary of the death of a truly phenomenal human being. Forty-six years ago on December 31st, 1972 my hero, and hero for many others died in a tragic plane crash. This plane crash shook the world, not just the baseball world. People couldn't believe that something could happen to a human being like Roberto Clemente. Someone who was so empathetic, caring, and selfless. This is perhaps the real tragedy of it all. It didn't seem possible because it was believed he had much more work to do to help others. 

If you asked Clemente if he could see something like this happening so soon, this would be the response you would have received: 

As you can see, Clemente was mortal, and understood his mortality. In fact he re-lived an experience every night. Clemente had night terrors which made him a severe insomniac. He had a re-occurring dream of himself dying in a plane crash. This caused him to take pre-game naps to gain some rest. Taking this all into account, it makes his energy, effort, selflessness, and empathy even more paramount. To many others, Clemente seemed immortal, but to Roberto, he was just like everyone else. But what adds to the mythos of Clemente was that his last hit, would be that above discussed topic of hit number 3,000. On September 30th of 1972, Clemente would hit a double off of Jon Matlack of the New York Mets in the bottom of the 4th inning. That would be his last ever hit. 

Clemente grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The son of Melchor Clemente and Luisa Walker. Born into poverty, Clemente never seemed to resent that. Clemente always understood the importance of hard work and to respect the values that his mom and dad instilled in him. Perhaps no other quote sums up Clemente's opinion on helping others more than this quote, "Everyone knows I've been struggling all my life. I believe that every human being is equal, but one has to fight hard all the time to maintain that equality." To many Latin baseball players, Clemente was and still is their Jackie Robinson. Clemente was one of the first Latin born Major League players to become a star. Clemente would create a Hall of Fame Career, but not without facing hardships. 

When Clemente came to the Major Leagues he would not be called by his given name, even though he did prefer being called Roberto. Sportswriters would call him Bob or Bobby to try to "normalize" Roberto into American culture.  Another issue that sportswriters took with Clemente was that he would speak his mind.. Many sportswriters in Pittsburgh took offence to that and would write his quotes in the newspapers by how the words sounded coming out of his mouth. As his career progressed, things would change and the offensive writing would stop. In fact, Roberto would be called by his own actual name. Only one person was allowed to call Roberto by "Bob" or more affectionally as "Bobby." That man was Clemente's friend and Pirates play-by-play announcer Bob Prince. 

Clemente had many career highlights, but what has stood out to me and still stands out to me is his charity and philanthropic work. Clemente saw his career in professional baseball as a way to influence many Latin Americans. But what he didn't realize is his career was influencing human beings of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Clemente would do nearly anything and everything to help others. Whether that was financial, chiropractic knowledge, or baseball instruction camps. Clemente would always find time out of his busy schedule to host baseball clinics for children. Especially for children who came from low-income families. Clemente had also dreamed of creating a sports complex for all children to gain instruction and encouragement at their particular favorite sport. To Clemente this complex was another form to help out families and Puerto Rico. 

On December 31st, 1972 Clemente would die in a plane crash. Prior to his flight to the earthquake stricken Managua in Nicaragua to help those that experienced the earthquake, Clemente had sent three other relief flights to help out the people of Managua. He soon found out that the relief fell into the hands of corrupt officials. Knowing this, Clemente decided to go on the fourth relief flight to make sure no funny business happened. On New Years Eve, Clemente boarded a plane to send relief to Managua. The plane would crash due to engine issues. The plane crashed immediately after takeoff, crashing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Isla Verde in Puerto Rico. His body was never found.

Clemente is remembered today for his talents on the field, but more importantly for the sacrifices he made to those that were less fortunate than him. It was a passion of his, that his family still continues to do to this day. The Clemente family legacy is to help others no matter what the price is to provide a better world for others to live in. So heading into this New Year, my challenge to you is to help out those in need. That can be family, friends, mentors, or strangers. As Clemente said, if you are not making a difference in this world, then you are wasting your time here on Earth. Be the change you want to see in this world, just like how Roberto Clemente did.