Plan to "somewhat" retiring Roberto Clemente's #21 may gather some steam....

IMO if they retire his number on other teams Latin players won't get to wear his number like they do now and they won't be able to show their respect for him like they do.
I'm sure there are a lot that would want to wear it. Any time I see a player on any team with the number 21, I immediately think of Clemente and the type of player he was in his day. They don't have players like that today.

At PNC it's fine...there are Clemente reminders everywhere...almost like he's still there in some way. :)
 
Guys, read the story AGAIN. They are thinking of partly of retiring his number.

I understand the story but if a player wants to wear 21 because Roberto was his hero or he just likes the number 21 it's not right that he can't wear it unless he has won that award.

There is a difference if the team has the number retired but I don't think a player should jump through hoops if it isn't retired.
 
I'm sure there are a lot that would want to wear it. Any time I see a player on any team with the number 21, I immediately think of Clemente and the type of player he was in his day. They don't have players like that today.

At PNC it's fine...there are Clemente reminders everywhere...almost like he's still there in some way. :)

Hell they named the bridge next to PNC after him. I hate that bridge, too long of a walk. LOL
 
Hell they named the bridge next to PNC after him. I hate that bridge, too long of a walk. LOL
I always point to his plaque on the downtown side of the bridge, then to his statue on the park side. At first my kids were like "cool dad"...now they just roll their eyes and look for cheap peanuts and water. I still like it though. And yes, it's been a really long walk after some of those beat downs in the past.:D
 
Games missed per season:
Code:
Name\Age           26   27   28   29   30  31   32   33   34   35   36   37

Roberto Clemente    8   18   10    7   10   8   17   30   24   54   30   60
Willie Mays         2    2    3    1    0   3    5    5    5   10   17   14
Hank Aaron          1   -1    6    1   17  12    4    7    2   15   12   23

JD Drew            27   62   17   90   16  22   53   25   23    -   18 (and counting)

How in hell do you justify giving a Gold Glove in 1972 to a guy who only played in the field in 94 of 162 games, and had only 5 assists? Or even in 1970, when he only played in the field for 104 games?

From 1959-1963, Vada Pinson not only didn't miss a game, he played in one more game than his team was scheduled for, as the rule for including statistics for games postponed due to rain delays was different back then.

The Boston Celtics retired Jim Loscotof's nickname. No one can ever be named Loscy again.
 
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I always point to his plaque on the downtown side of the bridge, then to his statue on the park side. At first my kids were like "cool dad"...now they just roll their eyes and look for cheap peanuts and water. I still like it though. And yes, it's been a really long walk after some of those beat downs in the past.:D

I always buy five bottles of water when I start to cross, by the time I have crossed I'm down to three. lol. My wife and kid usually split them. I also always buy a beer or two or three outside the park at that little stand down from the gate on Federal street before the game. A lot cheaper than inside the park.
 
Games missed per season:
Code:
Name\Age           26   27   28   29   30  31   32   33   34   35   36   37

Roberto Clemente    8   18   10    7   10   8   17   30   24   54   30   60
Willie Mays         2    2    3    1    0   3    5    5    5   10   17   14
Hank Aaron          1   -1    6    1   17  12    4    7    2   15   12   23

JD Drew            27   62   17   90   16  22   53   25   23    -   18 (and counting)

How in hell do you justify giving a Gold Glove in 1972 to a guy who only played in the field in 94 of 162 games, and had only 5 assists? Or even in 1970, when he only played in the field for 104 games?

From 1959-1963, Vada Pinson not only didn't miss a game, he played in one more game than his team was scheduled for, as the rule for including statistics for games postponed due to rain delays was different back then.

The Boston Celtics retired Jim Loscotof's nickname. No one can ever be named Loscy again.

Wow...if the quality of player is based on your logic, the the greatest shortstop that ever lived should be Cal Ripken.

8 times in the top 10 voting for MVP, winning it once WITH Wilie Mays in the National League. Sorry, Vida was a good ball player, but not in the same league as Clemente. And to continue to say JD Drew is comparable to Clemente, does not give you much credibility in my opinion.

IF you get a chance to check out the youtube link about Clemente... you will see greats like Mays and Aaron comment on his greatness. You will not see guys like that pay the same accolades to JD Drew and Vida Pinson, with all due respect to them.
 
Guys, read the story AGAIN. They are thinking of partly of retiring his number.
It's the same thing. To win the award you're probably a really successful player already with a lot of marketing built into you're current number, so you're not likely to want to change numbers from one linked to you to one linked to someone else.

All this is is a ploy to make it look like they're not, but they really are.
 
beside, my Braves already retired it for Warren Spahn :D

His career was awesome. Probably the best leftie ever in the game.
So, should we make it where only people who have won the Warren Spahn can wear the number?

BravesRetired21.png

And while we're at that. The Braves also retired Hank Aaron's 44. So should only Hank Aaron award winners get to wear that?
BravesRetired44.png
 
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Baseball can't just start retiring every number of a player that played baseball. I really don't think they should have retired Robinson's number. They have an award named after him, what more recognition does he need.
 
In Jackie Robinson's case his role as the first African American to play in the majors openly (there have always been rumors about some 'Cuban" players) affected the sport as a whole in a profound way not just his team. That led to the singular honor of having his number retired for the sport as a whole. Clemente wsa grat player too. he also has received a singular honor----being selected to the HOF without the 5 year waiting period.

I think each man should have their own distinctive honor. Since each was intended to be singular giving either to someone else makes it less special. That is my two cents anyway,
 

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