Today marks the 50th anniversary of Roberto Clemente’s 3,000th major league hit. Like yesterday.
Confused? So were many of the 24,193 fans at Three Rivers Stadium on the night of September 29, 1972.
Clemente beat a goaltender in the first inning to Mets second baseman Ken Boswell, who briefly threw the ball, and when no “E” appeared on the scoreboard, most in the ballpark assumed the Pirates right fielder he had just become the eleventh member of the team. Stick of the 3,000 hits.
Second base umpire Frank Pulli threw the ball to Mets first baseman Ed Kranepool, who handed it to Clemente as the crowd rose to its feet and cheered. Clemente then handed over what was, at the time, a treasured memento to first base coach Don Leppert, who put it in his back pocket for his safekeeping.
No one could have imagined then that the 3,000th hit would not be officially recorded until nearly 20 hours later.
LUCAS SPRING he started to panic. The McKeesport Daily News reporter, acting as his official scorer, accused Boswell of a play error. But the message did not immediately reach those who manage the scoreboard, located one floor above the press box.
“What the hell is going on?” Quay exclaimed. Meanwhile, fans rose to their feet and began to applaud, convinced that they had witnessed Clemente’s historic base hit.
Quay’s message was finally broadcast and an “E” appeared on the scoreboard. The cheers immediately gave way to a cascade of boos.
Clemente was furious after the game, a 1-0 victory for the Mets and Tom Seaver. He believed that an official scorer had once again stolen a hit from him. In his mind, he would have won a throw at first even if Boswell had fielded the ball cleanly.
“My whole life they’ve been stealing hits from me,” Clemente said.
Clemente was then asked by a reporter, “Do you think it was a success?”
“Think? I know it was a hit,” he replied, anger bubbling just below the surface. “Everyone knows it was a hit. There was no way he could have caught me.”
Restless and frustrated, Clemente, a known insomniac, was unable to sleep that night. At 4:30 in the morning, he decided it would be best to skip bed.
Clemente dragged himself to the Pirates’ clubhouse later that morning for a game at 2:15 pm.
“He didn’t sleep at all that night,” remembers receiver Manny Sanguillén, Clemente’s best friend on the team. “He was nervous. He was too tight. He used to make him laugh doing crazy things. He said, ‘Man, you’re too much.’ I said, ‘I want you to get a hit today.'”
Sleep-deprived Clemente did exactly that at 3:07 p.m.
THE METs started off left-hander Jon Matlack, who would claim NL Rookie of the Year honors thanks to a 15-10 record and a brilliant 2.32 ERA. He knew Clemente well, as he had been a teammate of the San Juan Senadores the previous offseason in the Puerto Rico Winter League. He had even visited Clemente’s house.
But Matlack had no idea on September 30, 1972, that Clemente was on the verge of a historic achievement.
“I was a 22-year-old rookie who had no idea this baseball icon was sitting in 2999 when I went out to pitch that game. None,” he said years later.
Matlack fanned Clemente with a curveball in the first inning, but didn’t fool Clemente in the fourth when he delivered another curveball on a 0-1 count. Clemente hit the ball off a rebound off the wall.
“A resounding double,” recalls Pirates pitcher Steve Blass. “Just a vapor trail to left center field.”
Matlack could have kicked himself.
“When it came out of my hand, I was a little upset, because I realized this wasn’t going to make it to the strike zone,” he said. “But he took that long step, stayed back and took it off the left-center wall.”
As Clemente reached second base, the relatively sparse crowd of 13,117 erupted. Clemente, with one foot on base, held his batting helmet aloft in acknowledgment of his cheer, the giant numbers 3000 lighting up on the scoreboard behind him. Second base umpire Doug Harvey took the ball from Mets shortstop Jim Fregosi and handed it to Clemente, shaking his hand as the crowd continued to roar. Clemente then threw it at Leppert.
For the second time in less than 24 hours, Clemente delivered hit No. 3,000.
MOMENTS LATER, Sanguillén singled to drive in Clemente, who was harassed by his teammates as he reached the dugout. He received another loud ovation in the top of the fifth as he jogged over to his position in right field and doffed his cap in response.
A special visitor greeted Clemente on the bench after Dock Ellis retired Joe Nolan to end the inning. Mets outfielder Willie Mays, who wasn’t playing that day, walked across the diamond to congratulate the newest member of the 3,000-hit club. Mays had joined in 1970.
Clemente was supposed to hit in that inning, but manager Bill Virdon sent retired second baseman Bill Mazeroski to pinch hit. Sadly, Clemente would never face a pitcher in a regular-season game again. Ninety-two days later he would die while flying to deliver relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua, and his overloaded plane sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico.
CLEMENTE, WHO had been furious the night before, was in a much better mood after the Pirates’ 5-0 victory. He even admitted that Quay, by his decision on Boswell’s work, did him a favor.
“I was hoping to get a hit [for No. 3,000] that was not in doubt,” he said. “Deep down, I was hoping it would be a clean hit.”
Clemente then reminded reporters of his first hit, back in 1955 against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that signed him and then lost him to the Pirates in the annual Rule 5 supplemental draft. Since then, he had won four batting titles, an MVP award and multiple Gold Gloves, and racked up more hits than any Latino player, culminating that afternoon with No. 3,000.
“I dedicate this success to the fans of Pittsburgh,” Clemente said. “They have been wonderful. And to the people of Puerto Rico, especially the guy who pushed me to play baseball, Roberto Marín.”
The final word on Clemente’s eventual success is found in a Pittsburgh Press editorial: “In a world that seems to be losing many of its values, Clemente stands out as an inspiration. Because it took more than athletic ability to achieve his goal. Without his fierce pride and determination, he would never have made it. All of us are indebted to Roberto Clemente for reminding us that in every field of activity, in every phase of life, strength of character and perseverance are needed for great achievement.”
Like recording a 3,000th hit, twice.
Source: www.indianagazette.com