Roberto Clemente

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"I love people. I love the minority people. And I love people who are not big shots. I like common people. I like workers. I like people who have suffered. Because these people, they have a different approach to life than people who really have everything." These are the famous words of Roberto Clemente, the first Hispanic to play professional baseball. He made a huge difference both on and off the field. Roberto Clemente changed the way baseball is played today. He made sacrifices that few make today. Roberto Clemente was born August 18, 1934 in Carolina, Puerto Rico and died December 31, 1972. Roberto was the son of Melchor Clemente, whose job was to cut sugar cane for the Rubert Brothers Sugar Company. Roberto's mother, Luisa (Walker) Clemente, was in charge of running a grocery store for the plantation workers. He was the youngest of 7; 3 brothers, a sister, step sister, and step brother.Roberto would spend time at night tossing a baseball against his bedroom ceiling at night and would play in the sandlots during the day. Roberto worked a milk delivery route which helped him develope into a strong athlete. This helped him succeed at track and field, including the high jump and the javelin throw. He was a student athlete on the Sello Rojo Rice Company team and at Julio Vizcarrondo High School. He played shortstop but was eventually was moved to right field. Roberto's life consisted of a lot of hard work mixed with stress. That made him a stronger person both physically and mentally. A hero should have faced hard times in their life involving stress or difficulty. For example, Jackie Robinson faced racism and prejudice because he was black. That caused him to be courageous and break the color barrier in professional baseball. That makes him a hero. Roberto Clemente is a national hero to his home town of Carolina, Puerto Rico because of his courageous acts of bravery along with his life sacrifices.

Roberto Clemente shows he's a national hero with courage. The way he stood up for who he was would make anyone a hero. He showed everyone that he was different but no one accepted him for who he was because he was Hispanic. Roberto's courage was noticed by everyone. People were always talking about who he was and what he did. "Clemente was outspoken about his perceptions of prejudice toward Hispanic players."Latin American Negro ballplayers are treated today much like all Negroes were treated in baseball in the early days of the broken color barrier," says Sport magazine. "They are subjected to prejudices and stamped with generalizations" (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Roberto Clemente wasn't afraid to speak his mind. This is similar to another National hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both were faced with racism and were constantly being called names because they were different. Roberto's achievements were not easily earned. He was always faced by racism and prejudice because he was different. "To achieve all this and earn deserved praise in the United States, he had to overcome racism and prejudice against blacks and Hispanics and persistent physical ailments that hampered him and brought cruel accusations that he was hypochondriac and malinger" (Arbena). Even though faced with racism and prejudice, Roberto never let that stop him from being the best he could be. He was a man of courage who stood up for his race and what he believed in. He wouldn't let anyone tell him differently. Roberto Clemente is a hero for the things he did for himself and all other Hispanics who will and who have played Major League Baseball.

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Roberto took pride for his home country and for the sport he loved. When his country was in need, he would always help. He would go back home to teach kids about baseball and taught them that hard work pays off. Roberto was often compared to the famous Jackie Robison because of the way they took pride in whom they were or where they came from." Clemente was our Jackie Robinson," said Puerto Rican journalist Luis Mayoral. "He was on a crusade to show the American public what a Hispanic man, a black Hispanic man, was capable of." Roberto would spend time helping people understand life from his point of view. Roberto would never back down when criticized. He felt all people should be treated equally whether you liked them or not. "Roberto Clemente had a very strong sense of self-worth. He would not let others treat him unequally. Clemente felt that having to ask his teammates for food was insulting. He later became a strong believer in the messages of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior" (Ember). Clemente's work helping poor people, especially those in Puerto Rico, became a very important part of his life. Roberto Clemente felt that all should be treated equally. He didn't like asking his team mates to get him food. Therefore he would buy it himself. This was the first step into a difference made by Roberto Clemente. Roberto did the little things in his life time to make a big change in ours and for future players today. That's what made him a hero.

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Roberto Clemente was one of Puerto Rico's and Baseball's national heroes. He changed the way baseball is played today by showing people that Hispanics can play baseball, too. Roberto Clemente was a man of great character who showed it on and off the field. He showed how he took pride in who he was and the sport he played. He proved to everyone he had the courage to do what it took to accomplish the things he did. That's what makes him a hero. That's what made him the man he was and the man he will always be remembered for. Roberto Clemente is an inspiration to me by the way he would always work hard at everything to be the best at everything. He showed me that the ones who suffer and work hard will go places in life. The ones who don't, get nowhere in life. He inspired others by making them wanting to stand up for who they are. Many kids back in Puerto Rico received this message from Roberto himself. Places around the United States have been named after him in his honor. Roberto was hard working on and off the field. He knew nothing in life came easy. He knew nothing was handed to you. You had to earn it. That is what he believed in and he didn't let anyone on this Earth tell him differently. "Anytime you have the opportunity to accomplish something for somebody who comes behind you and you don't do it, you are wasting your time on this Earth." - Roberto Clemente.