By
Steve Kallas (posted by Rick Morris)
NOTE:
December 31, 2018 marks the 46th anniversary of the death of the great Roberto
Clemente.
Today,
we live in a world where many people never saw players like Roberto Clemente or
Sandy Koufax or Mickey Mantle actually play baseball. So, now, Koufax was “overrated, as one
“expert” has said (preposterous, of course).
Or Mickey Mantle “only” hit .298 lifetime, so how good could he have
really been (one of the greatest players ever, that’s how good). In the case of Roberto Clemente, he didn’t
have power, so he can’t be an all-time great.
Well,
one needs only to look at the facts to (maybe) understand the greatness of
Clemente. Surviving film clips should be
reviewed, as well, to learn about Clemente, considered by a few contemporaries
to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, players of all time. Yet he is considered by some modern day “experts”
to be not worthy of a mention.
As
many of you know, the anniversary of the death of the great Roberto Clemente is
on December 31. In 1972, Clemente was
flying a rescue mission to help the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua when
his plane went down. His body was never
found.
Much
has been correctly written about Clemente as an incredible humanitarian who
cared deeply about other people. This is
necessary and fantastic to keep his legacy going. His passion, his selflessness and his
willingness to “do it himself” all should be celebrated. This article, however, focuses on Clemente
the ballplayer, specifically about the bad rap that he has received as a hitter
who did not have enough power to be considered one of the greatest players to
ever play the game.
Whenever
people talk about the great talents of Hall of Famer Clemente as a ballplayer,
they often come to what has been viewed as his major weakness as a ballplayer,
the thing that kept him from being considered in the same class as the all-time
greats. Clemente really didn’t have
power, they say, he only hit 240 home runs, how can he be considered as one of
the all-time greats if he didn’t hit a lot of homers?, etc. Well, a review of what some of his
contemporaries thought, as well as a review of the field (Forbes Field) he
played in for most of his career, will show that Clemente really did have
excellent power and should not be left out of the all-time greats conversation.
“HE
PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT”
This
all started a number of years ago when Hall of Famer Duke Snider was on WFAN radio
in New York City being interviewed by the famous duo of “Mike and the Mad
Dog.” Snider was on talking about many
greats, including Clemente. Clemente has
always been considered a great player, except for that one fact – he didn’t
have power. During the interview, one of the co-hosts said what virtually
everybody has repeated through the years – that he didn’t have power, that he
had only 240 career homers. Snider interrupted
the interviewer and said, with surprise in his voice, “Clemente had power. HE PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT.”
This
statement sounded surprising to this writer and others who were aware that Hall
of Famer Ralph Kiner, a Pittsburgh Pirate great (1946-53) right before Clemente
(1955-72), had led the National League in home runs for seven consecutive
years. How could Kiner a prolific home
run hitter, have done so well at Forbes Field while Clemente only managed to
hit 240 homers in his career?
GREENBERG
GARDENS
Well,
here’s the answer to that question: In 1947, the Pirates talked legendary
player Hank Greenberg into coming to Pittsburgh to play for the Pirates. According to various reports, in order to
sweeten the pot for Greenberg, the Pirates decided to move the bullpens to leftfield. Forbes Field, a massive ballpark first used
by the Pirates in 1909, was 365 feet down the leftfield line, 406 in left-center
going out to 457 feet in deep left-center field.
Prior
to the 1947 season at Forbes Field, according to baseball-statistics.com
(unfortunately, a site that no longer exists as a baseball site), a “double
bullpen, 30 feet wide by 200 feet long, was placed behind the left field wall –
it significantly cut the distance in left field, reducing the left field line
from 365 to 335 and the left-center power alley from 406 to 355 feet.” In Green Cathedrals by Philip Lowry, the
dimensions of Forbes Field are listed as “Left Field, 365 (1930), 335 (1947),
365 (1954), Left Center, 406 (1942), 355 (1947), 406 (1954).”
The
New York Times, in its April 19, 1947 edition, described the new “Greenberg
Gardens” as a “tailor-made home run area in left field. The ‘Gardens” are an enclosed bullpen which
shortens the 365-foot distance to the left-field wall by 30 feet.”
Well,
that answers a few questions.
The
Gardens, re-named “Kiner’s Korner” by some (maybe the forerunner to Ralph
Kiner’s post-game New York Mets show in later decades) since Greenberg retired
after the 1947 season, stood at Forbes Field until Kiner, in a dispute with
Branch Rickey (yes, that Branch Rickey post-Brooklyn Dodgers), was traded
during the 1953 season. According to the
New York Times, Rickey tried to immediately take down the bullpen and shorter
fence, but the National League ordered Rickey to leave it up until the end of
the 1953 season, when it was removed.
The
old, gigantic pre-1947 dimensions of Forbes Field were restored after the 1954
season (to have an understanding of how massive Forbes Field was, they stored
the batting cage in left-center field ON the field DURING the games).
Of
course, Roberto Clemente was a rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates one year later
in 1955.
CLEMENTE’S
MINOR LEAGUE “CAREER”
Some
of you know the crazy rule that existed in the 1950s. If you signed a player for more than $5,000,
if that player was not put on the major-league roster for that season, he could
then be drafted after a year in the minors in the “Rule 5” draft. According to the excellent Clemente biography
by David Maraniss, this is what happened to Roberto Clemente.
After
a glowing report from Dodger superscout Al Campanis (interestingly, he gave
Clemente an A+ for power), Clemente was originally signed by the Brooklyn
Dodgers (to keep him away from the New York Giants so they wouldn’t have Willie
Mays and Clemente in the same outfield) and his bonus and contract made him
someone who would have to be in the majors or subject to a draft at the end of
the year. The Dodgers did the same thing
a year later with a young pitcher named Sandy Koufax – but the Dodgers kept him
on the major league team in 1955.
The
Dodgers tried to “hide” Clemente in the minors in 1954 but many knew of his
great talents. So, while Koufax was
“protected,” Clemente had a one-year minor league career – only 87 games,
only 147 at-bats, only a .257 batting average.
The
attempt to hide Clemente didn’t work and the Pirates took him with the first
pick of the Rule 5 draft.
CLEMENTE’S
MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER
So
Roberto Clemente showed up at the airport (Forbes Field) in 1955 as a very
young (20), very inexperienced (147 minor league at-bats), very out of place
(in Pittsburgh) player. Below is a
discussion of some of the power he showed and what some of his contemporaries
thought of him from a power perspective:
ROGERS HORNSBY – A coach for the Chicago Cubs
in 1959, the Hall of Famer witnessed Clemente hitting a home run out of Wrigley
Field on May 17, 1959 that landed on Waveland Avenue, well over 500 feet. It went out to the left of the scoreboard in
center field. Hornsby said it was one of
the longest home runs he had ever seen in his 45 years in baseball.
SANDY KOUFAX – Two Koufax stories: 1) In the
excellent Clemente biography by Kal Wagenheim, Koufax said that the longest
ball ever hit off him to the opposite field was “hit off me by Clemente at the
Los Angeles Coliseum in 1961. It was a
fastball on the outside corner, and he drove it out of the park; not over the
fence, but he knocked it way out.”
Koufax went on to say that Clemente “could hit a PITCHOUT for a home
run.”; 2) On May 31, 1964 at Forbes Field, Clemente hit a home run off Koufax
30 feet high off the light tower in center field. Koufax said he couldn’t recall anyone hitting
one longer off him (from “Tales of the Tape”).
JOHNNY PESKY – Many don’t know that the face
of the Boston Red Sox was a coach for Manager Harry Walker of the Pirates for
three years when Clemente played in Pittsburgh.
Two Pesky stories: 1) The Wagenheim bio talks of the day (May 15, 1967)
when Clemente hit three home runs and a double against Cincinnati, driving in
all seven runs in an 8-7 loss. Pesky,
who played with the great Ted Williams, said he had never seen such a fearful
display of power in one game.; 2) According to the Maraniss bio, Pesky told
writer Len Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press that the only hitter he had ever
seen get solid wood on the ball time after time as much as Clemente was his
[Pesky’s] friend, Ted Williams.
HARRY WALKER – Walker was the manager of the
Pirates in 1966. Before the season
started, he went to Clemente and told him (according to the Wagenheim bio):
“Roberto, I wish this year you would go for power, hit 25 homers and get 115
runs batted in. We will need it for the
pennant.” Clemente went out and, in his
MVP season in 1966, hit 29 home runs and drove in 119 runs (and scored 105
runs). This was staggering because it
was (and remains today) the third highest home run total for a right-handed
hitter in the 61-year history of Forbes Field (excluding, of course, the
Greenberg Gardens years of 1947-53).
CLEMENTE v. STARGELL v. KINER – It’s
obviously hard to compare, but understand a few things about this trio.
Clemente only averaged about 5-6 home runs a year at Forbes Field, a place he played in for fifteen-and-a-half
seasons. Willie Stargell (WILLIE
STARGELL!) only averaged about 10 home runs a year at Forbes Field in the
seven-and-a-half seasons he played there.
Yes, Stargell was a lefty and it was just about equally hard to hit home
runs for lefties (although the deepest part of the park was 457 to left
center).
The
Kiner comparisons are fascinating. Kiner
played one year, his first, at Forbes Field when it was an airport (the year
before Hank Greenberg came to Pittsburgh).
In that first year (old dimensions), Kiner hit 23 home runs. Then, with the advent of Greenberg Gardens,
Kiner hit 51, 40, 54, 47, 42 and 37 in his next six seasons (Kiner often
credited his mentor, Hank Greenberg, with teaching him (Kiner) how to pull the
ball, making him especially deadly with Greenberg Gardens in left to
left-center field at Forbes Field).
This
is not to detract from Ralph Kiner in any way.
In fact, his 23 home runs in 1946 led the National League. But Kiner, according to The Baseball
Biography Project (www.bioproj.sabr.org) , only hit eight home runs (of his 23)
at Forbes Field in 1946. In 1947, with
the advent of Greenberg Gardens, he hit 28 (of his 51) at Forbes Field. In his one season playing his home games in
the old Forbes Field, Kiner hit 23 home runs for the season. In the next six seasons playing his home
games with the much shorter left to left center field fence, Kiner AVERAGED
over 45 home runs a season.
Give
that a little thought when you think about Roberto Clemente.
ALL-TIME LEADING HOME RUN HITTERS AT FORBES
FIELD – Without question, this is a somewhat misleading stat. But it’s presented to show the futility of
trying to hit home runs at Forbes Field.
The all-time list at Forbes Field, according to baseball-statistics.com,
is 1) Ralph Kiner, 175, 2) Roberto Clemente, 85, 3) Willie Stargell, 74, 4)
Frank Thomas (obviously of the old Pirates and, later, Mets, not the more
modern day slugger), 64, 5) Wally Westlake, 62.
Obviously, Clemente is high on the list because he played many years
there, but the point here is that NOBODY could hit a lot of home runs in Forbes
Field (again, except during the Greenberg Gardens years).
PIE TRAYNOR AND TRIPLES – While this quote
from legendary Pirate Pie Traynor wasn’t about Clemente, it makes a further
point. Dave Anderson wrote a column in
the New York Times on July 11, 1970 (just before the closing of Forbes Field),
discussing the fascinating point that, in the 61-year history of Forbes Field,
a no-hitter was never pitched there.
Anderson quoted Traynor as saying: “The reason for that is that it’s a
‘triple’ ball park, not a ‘homer’ ball park.
Hitters shorten their swings.”
Fascinating
stuff. On more than one occasion,
Clemente told sportswriters about the absurdity of trying to hit home runs in
Forbes Field. In 1964, for example,
Clemente told a sportswriter that “As long as I’m in Forbes Field I can’t go
for home runs; line drives, yes.”
Indeed, Clemente hit 166 triples in his career, playing home games for
fifteen-and-a-half seasons in a “triple” park. Who knows how many of them would
have been a home run in a “normal’ park or in Greenberg Gardens?
Interestingly,
to almost prove Traynor’s point, two no-hitters (by Bob Gibson in 1971 and John
Candelaria in 1976) were thrown in the Pirates new stadium, Three Rivers
Stadium, in the first seven seasons there.
Pie Traynor had a point.
1967 – With information at
baseball-reference.com, a review was made of virtually every Clemente at-bat in
the 1967 season. The goal was to try to
get a feel for how many additional homers Clemente might have hit in Greenberg Gardens
or a more “reasonable” ballpark. Not
scientific, but the results are interesting.
In
1967 home games, Clemente hit approximately 18-20 fly balls that were fly outs
to left or center (including sac flies) or extra base hits to the outfield
f(mainly triples). There were eight home
games for which actual at-bats were not available. An exercise in futility? Not really, because it’s just to make the
additional point that Clemente had power that didn’t show up in his home run
totals because of where he played in the 1950s and 1960s.
SANDY KOUFAX AND FERGUSON JENKINS – Clemente
didn’t hit more than six home runs against any individual pitcher. But the two that he did hit six home runs
off, Sandy Koufax and Ferguson Jenkins, are two Hall of Fame pitchers. Interestingly, he hit six off Koufax in only
107 at-bats. He hit six off Jenkins in
only 94 at-bats. Both work out to 30+
homer seasons with about 500 or so at-bats.
THE 1971 WORLD SERIES – The Baltimore
Orioles, big favorites to beat the Pirates, didn’t really know how to pitch to
Clemente (not that anyone else did).
Clemente stood far away from home plate and he would often be pitched
away under the theory that he couldn’t reach the outside pitch. Of course, he had excellent power the other
way and many of his blasts were to right and right-center field. But National Leaguers knew it was a waste of
time to pitch him inside. Clemente once
said, “pitch me inside and I’ll hit the ball to [expletive deleted]
McKeesport.”
In
the ’71 World Series, Clemente’s (finally) national recognition MVP World
Series, according to the Maraniss bio, the Orioles had decided to pitch
Clemente inside (contrary to Gene Mauch’s (Phillies manager) Clemente Rule –
“Don’t pitch him inside. He’ll kill
you.”). This led to his .414 Series
average.
In
Game 6, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer came inside to Clemente in the first
inning. He hit a triple down the left
field line. In the third inning, Palmer
pitched Clemente away. He hit a home run
to right field. With the game tied at
two in the tenth inning, Dave Cash singled but then stole second, allowing the
Orioles to walk Clemente intentionally.
The Orioles would win, 3-2, forcing a Game 7.
Orioles
ace Mike Cuellar started Game 7 for the Orioles. Long time rivals, Clemente turned on an
inside pitch and hit it 390 feet over the left field wall after Cuellar had
retired the first 11 Pirates he had faced in the pivotal game. The run turned out to be the difference as
the Pirates won Game 7, 2-1, and the World Series. Clemente had at least one hit in every game
and had two doubles, a triple and two home runs in the seven-game Series.
OTHER CLEMENTE MOON SHOTS –By no means
all-inclusive, here is a list of other Clemente notable smashes:
1.
In
1955, according to the Wagenheim bio, Clemente hit a Warren Spahn pitch OVER
the scoreboard in left field at Forbes Field. The New York Times, on February
11, 1954, explained in advance what a shot this would have to be when,
discussing the tear down of Greenberg Gardens, the Times wrote, “More
important, however, is that instead of clearing a twelve-foot screen to land in
homer territory, the hitter will now have to power his drive over the
left-field scoreboard, which rises 25 feet 6 inches.” A few days after the Spahn homer, Clemente
hit a 430-foot triple off Johnny Antonelli.
2.
On
September 8, 1958, Clemente tied a National League record by hitting three
triples in one game.
3.
Early
in the 1960 season, Clemente went three for three against Cincinnati, with two
doubles, a single and, according to the Maraniss bio, “a long sacrifice fly that
would have been a home run in any other park but was hauled in by Vada Pinson
near where the batting cage was stored at the 457-foot sign in deepest
left-center.”
4.
On
May 6, 1960, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Clemente hit a ball pitched
by Sam Jones into a terrific wind.
According to the Wagenheim bio, “the shocked fans and players saw the
home run ball land 450 feet away as Roberto calmly trotted around the bases.” According to “Tales of the Tape,” “Despite
the wind, the ball carried into the remote bleacher area beyond the left field
fence. Clemente and Ernie Banks are the
only two visiting players to reach that remote area of the park (along with two
Giant players).”
5.
In
June of 1966, according to the Wagenheim bio, during an 11-game home stand,
Clemente hit .444 with 28 hits and six home runs. Two of the home runs were to deep right
center in Forbes Field, landing “between the Barney Dreyfuss monument and a light
tower close to the 436-foot marker.”
During that home stand, according to “Tales of the Tape,” one of those
home runs, hit off the Cardinal’s Al Jackson, was hit so far that Cardinal’s
outfielder Curt Flood said, “I just didn’t think that anyone could hit a ball
that far.”
6.
On
September 6, 1966, Clemente got his 2,000th hit off Hall of Famer
Ferguson Jenkins, a mammoth blast into the upper deck in right field at Forbes
Field.
SO,
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
This
is in no way to say that Clemente had the power of a Mantle or a Mays or an
Aaron (even Clemente admitted that wasn’t true). But it is to say that Clemente had excellent
power and, if he had played somewhere else (or during the time of Greenberg
Gardens), his home run totals would have been much higher. As Kal Wagenheim astutely noted in his
Clemente bio, “Many a home run in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Cincinnati, or Philadelphia would have fallen innocuously into the
leftfielder’s glove at Forbes Field.”
Nor could you compare Clemente’s power to that of the great Joe
DiMaggio, who hit 361 homers while playing in his own airport at the old Yankee
Stadium.
But
Clemente had his moments (and many of them) where he showed what he could
do. He understood early on that it was
pure folly to try and hit home runs at Forbes Field. He stood far away from the plate; so most
people pitched him away. He had stunning
opposite field power for his time or any time.
He played mostly in the pre-1969 high mound “pitchers’ era.
He
came to the majors before he was ready, was thrown into the deep water and
survived and then thrived. The Maraniss
bio lays out well the many injuries that Clemente had and played with
throughout his career. Despite those, he
wound up passing the great Honus Wagner for most games played by a Pittsburgh
Pirate.
To
sum up, any conversation about the greatest players ever is simply incomplete
(and misguided) without the great Roberto Clemente’s name in the
conversation. He may not be a top five
player of all-time, but once you go to the bottom of the top 10, and certainly
to the top 15 or 20, Roberto Clemente’s name is in the mix and on the list.
Remember,
HE PLAYED IN AN AIRPORT (Thank you, Duke Snider).
© 2018 BY STEVE
KALLAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
