Roberto Clemente

Holding his batUnknown author / [Public domain] via WikimediaSometimes, you have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to help others out in the world.  Well-known baseball player Roberto Clemente was a man who never stopped to make the world a more loving place.  He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 1934. His parents were hard workers which inspired him to become a hard worker too (“Roberto Clemente.” Dictionary).  Clemente was a great Hall of Fame baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and proved to many people that Latin Americans could play baseball too.  He would live in anxiety that he would never get to see his three sons grow up. That nightmare became a reality on December 31, 1972, when a plane he was on heading to Nicaragua to help earthquake victims crashed into the ocean.  Clemente always put his life out on the line to assist others because of his passion to care for anyone that needed help. The traits of love, care, and dedication Roberto Clemente possessed show why he’s a true, deserving hero.

Clemente’s ways of looking out for others always, even when he didn’t need to, made him dedicated.  Roberto Clemente’s wife Vera is talking about him for a magazine: “In Sports Illustrated, Steve Wulf quoted his wife, who said, ‘He would rather be late for a meeting with the governor than pass by a stranger who needed help with a tire’” (“Roberto Walker Clemente”).  Vera is explaining to Steve Wulf of Sports Illustrated just how much Clemente’s drive to support others was.  If anyone else was put in Roberto Clemente’s shoes, they would’ve never have helped that stranger because Clemente was a unique man.  He would always do the things that others would be reluctant to do, like help out a random stranger. Only people considered true heroes would do what he did.  The compassion of Clemente is represented in that quote too through his friendliness and selflessness. While in Puerto Rico “despite his busy schedule, he made time to hold baseball clinics for kids, especially for those from low-income families” (“Beyond Baseball”).  The author in this quote is describing how much Clemente is dedicated to help out these kids who aren’t fortunate enough to afford any athletic activity. It was tough for him to find time to give these kids a fun time, but he had a great spark in him to make sure that these kids stayed healthy and active.  He was very optimistic that these kids would succeed in life and sports. Lots of ballplayers back then wouldn’t have cared to help out these kids because of their busy schedules. Clemente’s main priority was the kids because, in his life, they were more important. This demonstrates just how selfless and dedicated Clemente was.  Roberto Clemente never quit/gave up in anything that he ever did:  “It was his goal that ‘every single child from poverty [could] learn to play sports and someday maybe make some success as I did,’ according to Roger Kahn's Sports Illustrated profile” (“Roberto Clemente.” Dictionary).  Kahn is quoting Clemente in this passage about his opinion on the children living in poverty.  Clemente is passionate towards giving every child in poverty a chance to learn to play and some day be accomplished in sports.  Since Clemente never backed down from his goals, this quote means that he wouldn’t ever have stopped trying to help out these kids because he was too dedicated.  When Clemente helped those kids, they could possibly have learned from him to always help others. Those kids then could’ve spread that same helpfulness to different people, and then those people to others, and so on.  Imagine how many lives were changed through Clemente’s dedication. No one can ever match the dedication that Roberto Clemente had for this planet, but his love and care towards other people was another key to him being a hero.

Clemente getting his picture takenUnknown author / [Public domain] via WikimediaThe willingness of Clemente to help out Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and their citizens made him a loving and caring human being.  While in Nicaragua to play baseball, Clemente was talking to a kid without legs, “He met a hospitalized child without legs and asked him why he had no artificial limbs. When the boy said that he could not afford the $800 legs, Clemente responded, ‘When I go back to Puerto Rico I will raise the money…’" (“Roberto Clemente.” Dictionary).  Anywhere Clemente went he was a loving and caring person. The quote talks about how much love and care Clemente had for this little boy because he then had to raise a lot of money for a boy.  This boy didn’t even ask for the money, but Clemente and his dedication set out to raise enough money for this unfortunate boy. The charitable side of Clemente is shown in this quote because of what he didn’t have to do.  Instead of helping out that kid, he could’ve just looked at the boy and felt bad for him, which is what most people would’ve done. Since charity is an option and t that this deed was an option too, this proves that Clemente was charitable.  Due to this characteristic of charitability that he possessed, this quote also proves how much love and care that Clemente passed on to other people. Since he was so nice to that boy, he would have spread this beacon of positivity around so then others would’ve been subject to his love and care.  Clemente also could’ve told the boy that he didn’t have that much money, but because he cared/loved for that boy so much he ended up telling him that he would go fundraise it in Puerto Rico. Only a person with true love and care for someone would go to a different country like Clemente did. Clemente would have loved anybody put in front of him whether he was familiar with them or not: “Pirates outfielder Orlando Merced told Wulf, ‘Roberto Clemente means a dream to me, and to a lot of kids and people. . . He has pushed me to be a better player and a better person’” (“Roberto Walker Clemente”).  Merced is telling Wulf just how much Clemente loved and cared for him, kids, and people. When you have someone that said first handedly that someone meant so much to them and the people around him/her, that “someone” was for sure a loving and caring person because those are traits that an influencer for others possess.

Not many people have had someone that meant so much to them, like a Roberto Clemente, in their life. So just to hear it from someone who had that fortunate opportunity, and to say it with such gratefulness proves just how much Clemente loved and cared for others. Clemente strived to make Merced a better athlete and person, without any giving up in sight.  Clemente is most likely one of a handful of people who would care this much for others. A majority of people would simply not worry/care about the others out there. They would just hope the best for them, and then in the blink of an eye, be on their way. This represents just how many people in the world are selfish, but Clemente is one of those few who are selfless. He loved and cared for others before himself, which is exactly what a true hero would demonstrate and exemplify. When Clemente was "Moved by the plight of Nicaraguans devastated by a major earthquake, [he] feared that the Puerto Rican military was intercepting relief shipments. He insisted on personally delivering supplies collected by the people of Puerto Rico. The prop-driven DC-7 that was carrying Clemente and the aid packages on December 31, 1972 crashed into the ocean soon after taking off from San Juan. The cause of the crash was never determined; a cargo overload may have been a factor" (“Roberto Clemente.” Encyclopedia).  Clemente and the others on the plane died, and their bodies were never found.  Even though Nicaragua wasn’t his home country, he still decided to do the complete opposite of his home country and help out the Nicaraguans.  That for sure took a lot of guts to go up against the country that he adored and loved, especially his home country. Before he even got onto the plane, he knew that the plane was old and that it had tons of cargo loaded on it. That didn’t stop him though from caring and looking out for another country.  He knew that he would’ve left behind his wife and three children if worse came to worst, which it did. Most people most likely would have not gone on that plane because of all the risks that came with it, but Clemente cared and loved the world too much to not get on. The love and care that Clemente demonstrated was part of what made him an inspiration to others that looked up to him and admired him too.

Baseball cardSee page for author [Public domain]Everything about the traits that Roberto Clemente possessed make him a true hero and inspiration to this day..  The dedication that Clemente had played a huge part to why he is an inspiration because true heroes never give up on whatever they want to accomplish.  Also, the love and care that he showed let him reach out to people more easily. These personal connections that he had with others let him be an even bigger inspiration.  This passage states that “No single work of art can articulate the full meaning of Clemente’s life, but for Puerto Ricans, a cenotaph by Jose Buscaglia, installed in Carolina, may be the most encompassing expression.  Traditionally, cenotaphs are funerary monuments dedicated to heroes whose bodies are not recovered from the field of battle. So the very genre of Buscaglia’s work honors Clemente as one who gave all for his country. In the center panel, the lamb in Roberto’s arms is the lamb from the Puerto Rican coat of arms. In his life and death, Roberto lifted Puerto Rican identity to a new level in the world. The monument’s inscription reads ‘Son of Carolina, Exemplary Citizen, Athlete, Philanthropist, Teacher, Hero of the Americas and the World” (“Legacy - Beyond Baseball”).  This monument pictures how much Clemente inspired the people of Puerto Rico. To have a monument in one’s name is way more honorable than to have an award named for them. To have an award and a monument named after you on the other hand is something no one can ever imagine even in their wildest dreams. Anyone who walks by this monument will realize how much of an inspiration he was. Lifting up a country and being recognized for it is just amazing. The monument even has the lamb from the Puerto Rican coat of arms in Clemente’s hands! This symbolizes that he carried Puerto Rico from the ashes of earth to a whole new level.  Any country would want to be like the person who lifted them up to a whole new level. This monument is a cenotaph which meant for heroes, and heroes inspire others!! He’s also an inspiration because of the monument’s inscription. All of those phrases demonstrate who a true hero is and what the influence of a true hero is. The whole monument itself pictures how much of an inspiration he was.  With all the hate going on today, many people can see his story and see how good a person he was.  They then may be inspired to be like him, and then more love will be spread throughout because of his influential life story.  Clemente makes me want to be a better person, not just because of the traits he possessed but, most importantly, the great sacrifice that he committed for others while they were in need of aid.