Outfielder, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 26 (Aug. 18)
6th season
with Pirates
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 175
Prior to 1960:
A native of
Puerto Rico, Clemente excelled in throwing the javelin and high jumping in high
school. He focused on baseball and played for an amateur club called the Juncos
Mules. Impressive with his hitting and throwing arm in the outfield, in 1952 at
age 18 he joined the Santurce Cangrejeros of the Puerto Rican League, where he
got to play alongside some prominent Negro League hitters that played winter
ball in Puerto Rico. Brought along slowly, Clemente saw limited action in the
1952-53 season but hit .288 in 1953-54 and was a league all-star. The Brooklyn
Dodgers signed him to a contract in 1954 for $5000 with a $10,000 bonus.
Assigned to the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League he played
infrequently (appearing in 87 games), struggled to hit consistently and ended
up with a .257 average. He did catch the interest of scouts from other teams
and was taken by the last-place Pirates in the annual Rule 5 draft. During the
offseason Clemente injured his back in a car accident but played again for
Santurce during the winter of 1954-55 and was a key player on the team that
went on to win the Caribbean Series. Clemente made Pittsburgh’s roster in 1955
and his aggressive and exciting outfield play made him a fan favorite although
his hitting tailed off and he batted just .255. A notorious “bad ball” hitter
he drew only 18 walks. He accounted for 18 assists in right field, rapidly
establishing himself as having an excellent throwing arm. In 1956 Clemente
batted .311 and knocked in 60 runs. He accounted for 17 outfield assists as
well. Due to his chronic back soreness and assorted other injuries, he appeared
in only 111 games in 1957 and his batting average dropped to .253. His average
rose back to .289 in 140 games in 1958 and Clemente had 22 outfield assists as
well. Following an injury-plagued season in 1959 in which Clemente appeared in
105 games and the Pirates dropped from second place in ’58 to fourth, both
player and team rebounded strongly in 1960.
1960 Season Summary
Appeared in 144
games
RF – 142, PH – 4
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 620 [13]
At Bats – 570 [9]
Runs – 89 [11]
Hits – 179 [5]
Doubles – 22 [18,
tied with Tony Gonzalez]
Triples – 6 [17,
tied with six others]
Home Runs – 16 [18,
tied with Bill White, Don Hoak & Daryl Spencer]
RBI – 94 [7]
Bases on Balls
– 39
Int. BB – 4
Strikeouts – 72
[20, tied with Ed Bressoud & Julian Javier]
Stolen Bases – 4
Caught Stealing
– 5 [20, tied with four others]
Average - .314
[4]
OBP - .357 [14]
Slugging Pct. -
.458 [12]
Total Bases – 261
[10]
GDP – 21 [1,
tied with Wally Moon]
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – 5 [15,
tied with five others]
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 16, 3B – 4, HR - 6, RBI - 53, AVG - .325, SLG - .464, OBP – .368
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) vs. St. Louis 5/19, (in 5 AB) at Chi. Cubs 8/24
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 5
HR on road – 11
Most home runs,
game – 1 on sixteen occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Cincinnati 4/14
Pinch-hitting –
0 for 3 (.000) with 1 R & 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 273
Put Outs – 246
Assists – 19
Errors – 8
DP – 2
Pct. - .971
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 29, AB –
29, R – 1, H – 9, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 4, SB –
0, CS – 0, AVG - .310, OBP - .310, SLG - .310, TB – 9, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH –
0, SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
8th
in NL MVP voting (62 points – 1 first place vote, 18% share)
---
Aftermath of 1960:
The Pirates dropped off in 1961, but Clemente won his first NL batting title as he hit .351 with 23 home runs and 89 RBIs along with a .390 on-base percentage. This time he placed fourth in the league MVP balloting and fueled by 27 outfield assists, won his first Gold Glove. Clemente hit .312 in 1962 with 28 doubles, 9 triples, 10 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .352 OBP. In 1963 Clemente batted .320 with 23 doubles, 8 triples, 17 home runs, 76 RBIs, and a .356 OBP. He followed up by winning his second NL batting championship in 1964, hitting .339 along with a league-leading 211 hits to go with a .388 OBP. Despite dealing with the effects of an offseason illness, Clemente won another league batting title in 1965, hitting .329 with 21 doubles, 14 triples, 10 home runs, 65 RBIs, and a .378 OBP. The Pirates contended in 1966 and Clemente batted .317 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 29 home runs, 119 RBIs, a .360 OBP, and a .536 slugging percentage, once again overcoming a series of physical maladies. He was voted league MVP for his efforts. A proud man who had chafed at not receiving the award in 1960, Clemente followed up with another batting championship in 1967 when he hit .357 and also topped the NL in hits (209) while compiling 26 doubles, 10 triples, 23 home runs, 110 RBIs, a .400 OBP, and a .554 slugging percentage. He placed third in league MVP balloting as Pittsburgh had a disappointing season. A shoulder injury limited Clemente to a .291 average in 1968, but he still received a Gold Glove for his play in right field, although his assists dropped to 9. He returned to form in 1969 as he hit .345 and led the NL with 12 triples. Pittsburgh topped the NL East in 1970 and Clemente contributed a .352 batting average. He hit .341 in 1971 as the Pirates repeated as NL East champs and won the league pennant. Clemente batted .414 with two home runs and 4 RBIs in the World Series win over the Baltimore Orioles and was named Series MVP. In a 1972 season plagued by injuries and illness, he batted .312 and capped the year with his 3000th career hit. The Pirates once more ended up first in the NL East, although they lost to Cincinnati in the NLCS. In December, he became involved in relief efforts for earthquake-stricken Nicaragua. He died at age 38 in the New Year’s Eve crash of a plane bound from Puerto Rico for Nicaragua carrying supplies. Altogether, over the course of his 18-season major league career that was spent entirely with the Pirates, Clemente batted .317 with 3000 hits that included 440 doubles, 166 triples, and 240 home runs. He drove in 1305 runs and scored 1416 along with a .359 OBP and .475 slugging percentage. He won four batting titles and was a 15-time All-Star. He also received 12 Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess. In the wake of his sudden and tragic passing, the five-year Hall of Fame waiting period was waived and in a special election of the BBWAA members, he was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973. The Pirates retired his #21 and his statue was placed outside Three Rivers Stadium and later transferred to PNC Park. Much admired for his philanthropy off the field, major league baseball renamed its Commissioner’s Award for Clemente which annually recognizes players who combine good play with a strong commitment to the greater community. Beyond the baseball community Clemente was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Nixon in 1973 and, long after his passing, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2003.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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