Roberto Clemente Stats

Roberto Clemente was born on Saturday, August 18, 1934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Clemente was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 17, 1955, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Roberto Clemente baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Roberto's two-out home run in the fourth inning of the deciding seventh game gave the Pirates their 2-1 win. In the heat of that series, Roberto said, 'I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all he had to give.' Although this was Roberto's second World Series win with the Pirates (the first was in 1960), in 1971 he definitely led the show. An international audience finally saw what Pittsburgh fans had seen from The Great One for nearly two decades." - Roberts, Jerry. Author. Roberto Clemente: Baseball Player. Checkmark Books. 1 November 2005. Page 5. [Roberto Clemente Quotes]

Roberto Clemente

Roberto 'Arriba' Clemente Autograph on a 1959 Topps Baseball Card (#478 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1959top01' title='1959 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Roberto 'Arriba' Clemente Autograph on a 1959 Topps Baseball Card (#478 | Checklist)

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Birth Name:   Roberto Clemente
Nickname:   Arriba, Bob, Sweetness
Born On:   08-18-1934  (Leo)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Carolina, Puerto Rico
Year of Death Data Died On:   12-31-1972 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cemetery:   None (Died At Sea)
High School:   La Escuela Julio C Vizcarrondo (Carolina, Puerto Rico)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-11   Player Weight Chart Weight:   175
First Game:   04-17-1955 (Age 20)
Last Game:   10-03-1972
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $10,000 Bonus Baby

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Hitting Stats

1955 21 Pirates 124 474 48 121 23 11 5 0 47 18 3 60 4 3 2 14 .255 .284 .382
1956 22 Pirates 147 543 66 169 30 7 7 1 60 13 2 58 8 4 4 14 .311 .330 .431
1957 23 Pirates 111 451 42 114 17 7 4 0 30 23 1 45 0 1 0 13 .253 .288 .348
1958 24 Pirates 140 519 69 150 24 10 6 0 50 31 1 41 3 3 0 15 .289 .327 .408
1959 25 Pirates 105 432 60 128 17 7 4 0 50 15 2 51 3 3 3 10 .296 .322 .396
1960 26 Pirates 144 570 89 179 22 6 16 1 94 39 4 72 4 5 2 21 .314 .357 .458
1961 27 Pirates 146 572 100 201 30 10 23 1 89 35 10 59 1 3 3 18 .351 .390 .559
1962 28 Pirates 144 538 95 168 28 9 10 2 74 35 9 73 1 6 1 18 .312 .352 .454
1963 29 Pirates 152 600 77 192 23 8 17 1 76 31 6 64 4 3 4 24 .320 .356 .470
1964 30 Pirates 155 622 95 211 40 7 12 0 87 51 16 87 3 5 2 9 .339 .388 .484
1965 31 Pirates 152 589 91 194 21 14 10 0 65 43 14 78 2 3 5 17 .329 .378 .463
1966 32 Pirates 154 638 105 202 31 11 29 0 119 46 13 109 1 5 0 14 .317 .360 .536
1967 33 Pirates 147 585 103 209 26 10 23 0 110 41 17 103 0 3 3 15 .357 .400 .554
1968 34 Pirates 132 502 74 146 18 12 18 0 57 51 27 77 0 3 1 13 .291 .355 .482
1969 35 Pirates 138 507 87 175 20 12 19 1 91 56 16 73 0 4 3 19 .345 .411 .544
1970 36 Pirates 108 412 65 145 22 10 14 0 60 38 14 66 1 2 2 7 .352 .407 .556
1971 37 Pirates 132 522 82 178 29 8 13 0 86 26 5 65 1 4 0 19 .341 .370 .502
1972 38 Pirates 102 378 68 118 19 7 10 0 60 29 7 49 0 6 0 15 .312 .356 .479
18 Years 2,433 9,454 1,416 3,000 440 166 240 7 1,305 621 167 1,230 36 66 35 275 .317 .359 .475

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Fielding Stats

1955 Pirates CF 10 7 201 20 2.0 20 20 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.69
1955 Pirates RF 112 100 2,694 254 2.3 248 230 18 6 4 n/a n/a n/a .976 2.49
1956 Pirates 2B 2 0 12 3 1.5 2 1 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .667 4.50
1956 Pirates 3B 1 0 6 3 3.0 2 0 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .667 9.00
1956 Pirates CF 23 18 498 55 2.4 52 51 1 3 0 n/a n/a n/a .945 2.82
1956 Pirates LF 24 17 474 41 1.7 37 36 1 4 1 n/a n/a n/a .902 2.11
1956 Pirates RF 102 95 2,517 213 2.1 207 192 15 6 1 n/a n/a n/a .972 2.22
1957 Pirates CF 14 11 306 32 2.3 31 29 2 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .969 2.74
1957 Pirates RF 97 96 2,529 255 2.6 250 243 7 5 0 n/a n/a n/a .980 2.67
1958 Pirates RF 135 129 3,452 339 2.5 333 309 24 6 3 n/a n/a n/a .982 2.60
1959 Pirates RF 104 102 2,700 252 2.4 239 228 11 13 1 n/a n/a n/a .948 2.39
1960 Pirates RF 142 140 3,767 278 2.0 270 252 18 8 1 n/a n/a n/a .971 1.94
1961 Pirates CF 1 0 15 4 4.0 4 3 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 7.20
1961 Pirates RF 144 142 405 285 2.0 276 250 26 9 4 n/a n/a n/a .968 18.40
1962 Pirates RF 142 138 3,686 298 2.1 290 270 20 8 1 n/a n/a n/a .973 2.12
1963 Pirates CF 8 8 213 15 1.9 14 14 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .933 1.77
1963 Pirates RF 143 140 3,729 247 1.7 237 225 12 10 2 n/a n/a n/a .960 1.72
1964 Pirates RF 154 154 4,085 305 2.0 295 282 13 10 2 n/a n/a n/a .967 1.95
1965 Pirates CF 4 0 15 1 0.3 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1965 Pirates RF 145 143 3,792 306 2.1 296 280 16 10 1 n/a n/a n/a .967 2.11
1966 Pirates CF 1 1 24 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.13
1966 Pirates RF 154 152 4,119 347 2.3 335 318 17 12 3 n/a n/a n/a .965 2.20
1967 Pirates CF 2 0 6 1 0.5 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.50
1967 Pirates RF 144 141 3,744 298 2.1 289 272 17 9 3 n/a n/a n/a .970 2.08
1968 Pirates RF 131 128 3,479 311 2.4 306 297 9 5 1 n/a n/a n/a .984 2.37
1969 Pirates RF 135 128 3,372 230 1.7 225 199 26 5 1 n/a n/a n/a .978 1.80
1970 Pirates RF 104 102 2,704 206 2.0 199 188 11 7 3 n/a n/a n/a .966 1.99
1971 Pirates RF 124 120 3,244 282 2.3 280 269 11 2 4 n/a n/a n/a .993 2.33
1972 Pirates RF 94 88 2,437 204 2.2 204 199 5 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.26
RF Totals 2,306 2,238 56,455 4,910 2.1 4,779 4,503 276 131 37 n/a n/a n/a .973 2.29
CF Totals 63 45 1,278 129 2.0 124 120 4 5 2 n/a n/a n/a .961 2.62
LF Totals 24 17 474 41 1.7 37 36 1 4 1 n/a n/a n/a .902 2.11
2B Totals 2 0 12 3 1.5 2 1 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .667 4.50
3B Totals 1 0 6 3 3.0 2 0 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .667 9.00
18 Years 2,396 2,300 58,225 5,086 2.1 4,944 4,660 284 142 40 n/a n/a n/a .972 2.29

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Miscellaneous Stats

1955 Pirates 2 5 .286 11 1 n/a 94.8 7.9 10.1 - - -
1956 Pirates 6 6 .500 11 1 n/a 77.6 9.4 9.1 - - -
1957 Pirates 0 4 .000 3 0 n/a 112.8 10.0 15.0 - - -
1958 Pirates 8 2 .800 6 1 n/a 86.5 12.7 10.4 - - -
1959 Pirates 2 3 .400 0 2 n/a 108.0 8.5 8.6 - - -
1960 Pirates 4 5 .444 4 0 n/a 35.6 7.9 6.1 - - -
1961 Pirates 4 1 .800 2 0 n/a 24.9 9.7 6.4 - - -
1962 Pirates 6 4 .600 2 1 n/a 53.8 7.4 7.3 - - -
1963 Pirates 12 2 .857 3 1 n/a 35.3 9.4 7.9 - - -
1964 Pirates 5 2 .714 1 0 n/a 51.8 7.1 7.1 - - -
1965 Pirates 8 0 1.000 9 0 n/a 58.9 7.6 9.1 - - -
1966 Pirates 7 5 .583 1 0 n/a 22.0 5.9 5.4 - - -
1967 Pirates 9 1 .900 5 0 n/a 25.4 5.7 5.3 - - -
1968 Pirates 2 3 .400 2 0 n/a 27.9 6.5 8.8 - - -
1969 Pirates 4 1 .800 6 0 n/a 26.7 6.9 5.6 - - -
1970 Pirates 3 0 1.000 4 1 n/a 29.4 6.2 6.9 - - -
1971 Pirates 1 2 .333 10 0 n/a 40.2 8.0 6.1 - - -
1972 Pirates 0 0 .000 10 0 n/a 37.8 7.7 6.3 - - -
18 Years 83 46 .643 90 8 n/a 39.4 7.7 7.2 - - -

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1955 Pittsburgh Pirates 13, 21 $6,000.00 - -
1956 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $7,500.00 - -
1957 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $15,000.00 - -
1958 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $20,000.00 - -
1959 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $17,500.00 - -
1960 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $17,500.00 Stats Stats
1961 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $17,500.00 Stats -
1962 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $26,000.00 Stats -
1963 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $26,000.00 Stats -
1964 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $26,000.00 Stats -
1965 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $34,000.00 Stats -
1966 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $40,000.00 Stats -
1967 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $40,000.00 Stats -
1968 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $45,000.00 - -
1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $45,000.00 Stats -
1970 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $100,000.00 Stats -
1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $125,000.00 Stats Stats
1972 Pittsburgh Pirates 21 $150,000.00 Stats -

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Roberto Clemente was a Major League Baseball player with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955-1972). However, there is so much more about this legendary ballplayer than that alone. The Commissioner's Award was designed by Major League Baseball to honor a single player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team. In 1973, two years after the Commissioner's Award was first given, it was rightfully renamed after Roberto Clemente following his death in a plane crash while delivering supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake. Join Baseball Almanac as we look just a little beyond the stats:

Roberto Clemente Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Roberto Clemente Rookie Card | 1955 Topps Baseball Card (#163 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

0 - Roberto Clemente never once led National League right fielders in fielding percentage, but what Tim McCarver said, "some right fielders have rifles for arms, but he had a howitzer" about Clemente was beyond true. The Hall of Fame (link) commented, "He was equally brilliant in right field, where he displayed a precise and powerful arm" and his plaque at Cooperstown includes, "rifle-armed defensive star". Clemente did, however, play 2,306 games in right field (the most ever in history), led the league in putouts by a right fielder twice (1958 & 1961, finishing in the top ten 14 more times), double plays by a right fielder three times (1955, 1961 & 1967, finishing in the top ten 9 more times) and assists by a right fielder five times (1958, 1960, 1961, 1966 & 1967, finishing in the top ten six more times).

1 - Roberto Clemente was inducted posthumously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American to be enshrined. Clemente is also the first Latin player to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award (1966) and the first to win the World Series Most Valuable Player Award (1971).

Roberto Clemente Hall of Fame Plaque | Baseball Almanac

Roberto Clemente | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1973 (HOF)

4 - Roberto Clemente won the National League batting championship four times (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967), the second most by a Pittsburgh Pirate, trailing only Honus Wagner. In 1967, he registered a career high .357 batting average to go with his 23 home runs and 110 runs batted in. During the entire decade of the 1960s, Arriba batted over .300 every year except 1968, when he "only" hit .291.

11 - Roberto Clemente hit a double off Jon Matlack of the New York Mets at Three Rivers Stadium on September 30, 1972, becoming only the eleventh player in Major League history (at the time) to enter the 3,000 Hits Club.

12 - Roberto Clemente won twelve Gold Glove Awards in the outfield, all consecutively (1961 through 1972), tying him with Willie Mays for the most in history by any outfielder from any league.

15 - Roberto Clemente was a fifteen-time All-Star (1960–1967, 1969–1972), who played in fourteen of them, started seven of them, and his career All-Star Game batting average is .323.

20 - Roberto Clemente was ranked twentieth overall by The Sporting News when they released their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in the history of baseball.

21 - Roberto Clemente wore #21 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and on April 6, 1973, the number was retired forever by the team.

Roberto Clemente MLB Player Questionnaire

Roberto Clemente MLB Player Questionnaire | William J. Weiss | 2 September 1954
Baseball Almanac Research Library

The following poem was written by Juan A. Pérez in memory of Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder from 1955 to 1972 born in Carolina, Puerto Rico who died on New Year's Eve at the early age of 38 while in a mission to help the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua:

The Game's True Leaders

He played the game
of childhood dreams
with humble grace
of mountain streams.
He learned so early
through his time
the selfless purpose
of his life.

His human pride,
his elegance,
not in a hundred
years surpassed.
From far away
gave us a gift,
too valuable
to leave adrift.

Some saw the game
as being the end
he knew the end
and played, he played!
When in the face
of human pain
some wasted time,
he ran and helped.

For all who saw
and didn't know
they were in front
of royal grace,
a modest place
where rivers wed
saved us a wall
of right field fence.

On holidays
of cheer and joy
when smiles abound
for girl and boy,
there is a town
down by the sea
where grown men cry
on new year's eve.

Remind me game
of boyhood dreams
that men of grace
knew how to play.
The game's true leaders
learn early in time
the selfless purpose
of their lives.

Roberto Clemente Plane Crash

Roberto Clemente Plane Crash | The Danville Register (Danville, VA) | January 2, 1973 | Page 6A
Baseball Almanac Research Library

The death of Roberto Clemente: The Great One spent countless hours during the off-season involved in charity work around the world. When Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, was affected by a massive earthquake on Saturday, December 23, 1972, Clemente (who had been visiting Managua three weeks before the earthquake) immediately set to work arranging emergency relief flights full of supplies. Clemente soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of the Somoza government. Clemente decided to accompany the fourth relief flight, hoping that his presence would ensure that the aid would be delivered to the survivors. The airplane he chartered for a New Year's Eve flight, a Douglas DC-7, had a history of mechanical problems and it was overloaded by approximately 4,000 pounds. The DC-7 crashed into the ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on Sunday December 31, 1972. A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane.