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Roberto Clemente was a lot of things. An NL MVP that propelled the Pittsburgh Pirates to the sky. A humanitarian who has dedicated his reasons to help others. An American navy. The first Latin American to be registered in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
And now, he's also a Google Doodle.
The tech giant paid tribute to Clemente Friday as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Clemente, from Carolina, Puerto Rico, was one of the biggest stars in baseball during her 18-year career. He was 15 times the star player, 12 times the Gold Glove, four-time batting, the most valuable player of 1966, and played an important role in the last two teams of the World Series of Pirates in 1960 and 1971.
But as impressive as he is on the pitch, he was even better. Clemente has dedicated her life to helping others, taking advantage of her winters to return to Puerto Rico and to Caribbean and Latin American countries to distribute food, supplies and baseball equipment. He took other Latinx players under his wing in the major leagues. He adopted his model status in the neighborhood where he grew up.
"I go out to different cities and different neighborhoods," he said. Smithsonian. "I gather children and talk to them about the importance of sport, the importance of being a good citizen, the importance of respecting their father and mother."
This dedication would eventually lead to his death. When an earthquake devastated Nicaragua in the winter of 1972, Clemente organized relief missions to provide the region with food and medical supplies. When his first three flights were deferred by the Somocisto dictatorship, he decided to go to Managua himself with 74 tons of cargo to make sure the supplies were in good hands. His overloaded plane never reached Nicaragua. He crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff, killing Clemente at age 38.
Although his life has ended, his legacy will never be. The work of the artist Roxie Vizcarra proves that his vision and ability to unite people are ubiquitous. She partnered with Clemente's surviving family – especially Roberto Clemente Jr. and Luis Clemente – to create a loving tribute. These sons and the rest of the Clemente family issued a statement paying tribute to the man whose love extended beyond the diamond:
47 years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the third game of the 1971 World Series, in which our father scored a goal against four with a 5-4 win in the Pirates against Baltimore Orioles. He was named MVP of this series, becoming the first Latino to do so.
At the end of the series, he asked to say something in Spanish to his parents and children in Puerto Rico. With this act, asking his parents the blessing in Spanish on a live worldwide broadcast, he galvanized the hearts of all Hispanics in the country. Today, we are proud that our father's legacy is stronger than ever, with many names such as baseball leagues, parks, schools, prizes and statues all over the world celebrating represented and defended, including the defense of injustice and the importance of humanism. Our father was an incredible athlete, but more importantly, he was continually using his platform to improve humanity.
To maintain and preserve our father's legacy around the world, our family has begun The Roberto Clemente Foundation several years ago, a non-profit organization incorporated in Puerto Rico. More specifically, our mission is to train tomorrow's leaders through training, sport and service to pursue their vision as we: build nations of good.
It's amazing to see a child from Carolina, Puerto Rico, remember this Google Doodle in the era of technology and new platforms to communicate with people around the world. The most interesting part is our father's human story, which we hope will inspire us all to do something to help our brothers and sisters.
We are very honored to be Roberto's sons and extremely fortunate to be also Vera's sons. It's an honor to carry the name of Clemente!
Clemente was an undeniable icon that cultural boundaries could not contain. On Friday, the Google Doodle gives us all another opportunity to remember the man whose human greatness has shone, whether he walks around the Three Rivers Stadium or spends his time helping others.
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