The only number to be retired for every Major League Baseball team, at present, is Jackie Robinson’s No. 42. Astros manager Joe Espada would like to see No. 21, for Roberto Clemente, added to that list.
Clemente was the first Latin-born player to win NL MVP, a World Series MVP and a World Series title as a starting position player in Major League Baseball. Not only was he a Hall of Fame talent on the field, but he was also widely known for his humanitarian work. He died on Dec. 31, 1972 in a plane crash while trying to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
“What Roberto Clemente has done, what he represents, what he did, opened the doors to a lot of people like me,” Espada said Sunday, via the Houston Chronicle. “I think it should be an MLB celebration where that number should be in every corner of every major-league stadium. That’s how I feel about that.”
Espada, like Clemente, was born in Puerto Rico.
Sunday was Roberto Clemente Day in MLB and a good number of players across baseball donned No. 21 in honor of the man himself, including seven Astros players, Espada and hitting coach Alex Cintrón.
Espada told the Chronicle he was proud of this “because it’s a celebration of a man that did a lot for Latin communities and represents more than just what he did on the baseball field.”
Clemente is one of three players to have a day in his honor in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson Day is April 15, Lou Gehrig Day is June 2 and Roberto Clemente Day is Sept. 15.
