Roberto Clemente
MLB debut April 17, 1955 for the Pittsburgh Pirates Last MLB appearance October 3, 1972 for the Pittsburgh Pirates Career statistics Batting average .317 Hits 3,000 Home runs 240 Runs batted in 1,305 Teams Pittsburgh Pirates (1955–1972) Career highlights and awards 15× All-Star (1960–1967, 1969–1972) 2× World Series champion (1960, 1971) NL MVP (1966) World Series MVP (1971) 12× Gold Glove Award (1961–1972) 4× NL batting champion (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967) Pittsburgh Pirates #21 retired Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction 1973 Vote 92.7% (first ballot) Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was a Major League Baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1972. He was a National League, Most Valuable Player once, All-Star twelve times (15 games), batting champion four times, and Gold Glove winner twelve times. In 1972, Clemente got his 3,000th major league hit in the very last plate appearance of his career during a regular season game. Clemente was involved in charity work in Puerto Rico and Latin American and Caribbean countries during the off seasons, often delivering baseball equipment and food to those in need. He died in an aviation accident on December 31, 1972, while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Clemente was inducted posthumously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined. His death established the precedent that as an alternate to the five year retirement period, a player deceased for at least 6 months is eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame. Clemente is the first Latin American and Caribbean player to win a World Series as a starter (1960), to receive a National League MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).