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Does MLB retire Roberto Clemente's number 21?

Zvon Aug 25 2005 01:28 AM

I say yessiree. I saw this guy play. He was phenominal. Hitting, fielding, throwing. And I say yes not just for how he played, but more for how he lived. A great human being. Died being a trulifehero. Not just a baseball hero. (I saw this in the daily news today. You can go there and vote on their website.)

Yancy Street Gang Aug 25 2005 06:05 AM

No. I think it's sufficient that the Pirates retired his number. If every number-retirement whim was indulged, every player on the field would have a three-digit number on his back.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 25 2005 07:45 AM

No

MFS62 Aug 25 2005 07:51 AM

No Zvon, I saw him play,too. He was one of the most exciting players I ever saw. If he had been the first Latin-American player to make it to the big leagues, a stronger case could be made for doing it. But others came before him. Good idea, but a sad no. Later

Bret Sabermetric Aug 25 2005 08:40 AM

Thrilling electric charismatic star player--he could do things no one else could do. No way do we retire his number.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 25 2005 08:52 AM

What impressed me most about Clemente was seeing his early baseball cards, where he was called Bob or Bobby. He had to really fight to get MLB to call him by his rightful name, at a time where fighting the system was a heck of a lot harder than it is now. I have a lot of respect for Clemente. That said, I vote no. We should be limiting retired numbers, especially on a league-wide basis.

sharpie Aug 25 2005 09:04 AM

Emphatically no. I also saw him play, he was an electric player but I hate the league-wide number retiring thing. I don't even like it for Jackie Robinson, though if anyone should have it it should be him.

Frayed Knot Aug 25 2005 09:20 AM

I vote no also. A terrific player but in a fair assessment falls short of being an all-time great. I think a large part of the push behind this is his status as Hispanic America's first icon. As pointed out, he wasn't the first to play but he was the first to make it big. That, plus the circumstances surrounding his death have pushed him into near deity status to many. He's got his number retired in Pittsburgh where it should be, plus an MLB award/honor named after him. That's sufficient.

metirish Aug 25 2005 09:33 AM

Valadius Aug 25 2005 10:16 AM

They named an award after him. That should be enough. If anything, the 3,000-hit club should be nicknamed the "Clemente Club", as he's the gatekeeper with exactly 3,000 hits, but that's it.

rpackrat Aug 25 2005 03:24 PM

Not a chance. A great player, a great human being, but he did not impact the game of baseball the way Jackie Robinson did. It's fine that the Pirates retire his number, but MLB should not.

Zvon Aug 25 2005 08:09 PM

I have to say I agree with the league wide retiring numbers aspect, but since they did start that, I think he should be one of them. His nationality in no way played a factor in my decision. Just his performance, his numbers, and his class as a person. But I respect all Ive read here, and you guys are probly right.