Roberto Clemente Birthday.
Take Me Out To The Ballgame – Dr. John
The Star-Spangled Banner – Branford Marsalis
Roberto – Ismael Miranda
Sueño De Un Niño – Tito Allen
Somos La Fuerza Latina – Varios artistas – Andy Montañez & Ismael Miranda
Roberto Y Tirabala – Andy Montañez
Orgullo De Borinquen – Lefty Pérez
Clemente (Estrella 21) – Edel Borrero
Jugando La Pelota – Jesús “Chocolate” Coombs
Jardinero Del Amor – Wichi Camacho.
Lo Mejor Que Dios Ha Hecho – Ángel Ramírez
Roberto Clemente – Bill Tiberio Band
Roberto Clemente – Nelson Feliciano and His Orchestra, feat. Junior Cordova
Te Recuerdo – John McCutcheon
Category Archives: Baseball
18 August 2025
Filed under Albuquerque, Baseball, Music, New Mexico, Pittsburgh Pirates, playlist
There’s a lot in a name
Isn’t it odd that the same person who removed the Indigenous name Denali from the mountain in Alaska now wants to return the name of the Washington football team to a racist slur because “Our great Indian people … their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”???
Spoiler:
This is a rhetorical question.
There is nothing odd about it.
It is the same old white supremacist bs that undergirds the dominant society and is being expressed in so many ways by the current administration.
Here endeth the lesson.
Here begineth and continueth the advocacy.
Advocacy opportunities related to the use of Indigenous names and imagery include
National Congress of American Indians
Committee of 500 Years of Dignity and Resistance
Not Your Mascot
National Museum of the American Indian Webinar: Changing the Narrative About Native Americans
Twin Cities PBS: Not Your Mascot: Native Americans and Team Mascots
The Lakota Law Project provides many opportunities for advocacy around issues facing Indigenous peoples
In Whose Honor? – video from more than 20 years ago that, sadly, remains relevant in the current atmosphere
For information about the naming of Denali and the suggestion to change back the names of the Washington football team and the Cleveland base ball see:
Denali name change
Proposed sports name changes
Filed under Antiracism, Baseball, Current Events, Football, Human Rights, Sports
15 September 2024
16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL, bombed 1963.
Roberto Clemente Day in Major League Baseball.
4 Little Girls – Wendell Morrison
Birmingham Sunday – Tom Paxton & Anne Hills
Two Black Churches: No. 1, Ballad of Birmingham – Will Liverman & Paul Sánchez
Birmingham Sunday – Rhiannon Giddens
Alabama – John Coltrane Quartet
Roberto – Ismael Miranda
Te Recuerdo – John McCutcheon
Sueño De Un Niño – Tito Allen
Somos La Fuerza Latina – Varios artistas
Roberto Y Tirabala 6:32 Andy Montañez
Orgullo De Borinquen – Lefty Pérez
Clemente (Estrella 21) – Edel Borrero
Jugando La Pelota – Jesús “Chocolate” Coombs
Jardinero Del Amor – Wichi Camacho
Lo Mejor Que Dios Ha Hecho – Ángel Ramírez
Roberto Clemente – Bill Tiberio Band
Roberto Clemente – Nelson Feliciano and His Orchestra, feat. Junior Cordova
Roberto Clemente – Phil Coley
Roberto Clemente – Franck Junior Flores
Roberto Clemente – Moe D
Filed under Baseball, Current Events, Exercise, Human Rights, Music, Pittsburgh Pirates, playlist
Recuerdo Roberto 2023
t seems difficult to believe that fifty years ago today, Roberto Clemente died on an errand of mercy.
I will remember how he played. I will remember how he lived.
Remembering, I made a donation to the Roberto Clemente Foundation.
Remembering, I created this playlist:
Roberto – Ismael Miranda
Sueño Se Un Niño – Tito Allen
Somos La Fuerza Latina – Andy Montañez & Ismael Miranda
Roberto Y Tirabala – Andy Montañez
Orgullo De Borinquen – Lefty Pérez
Clemente (Estrella 21) – Edel Borrero
Jugando La Pelota – Jesús “Chocolate” Coombs
Jardonero Del Amor – Wichi Camacho
Lo Mejor Que Dios Ha Hecho – Angel Ramírez
Roberto Clemente – Bill Tiberio Band
Roberto Clemente – Nelson Feliciano and His Orchestra (feat. Junior Cordova)
Te Recuerdo – John McCutcheon
Filed under Baseball, Human Rights, Music, Pittsburgh Pirates, playlist
Recuerdo Roberto
Graceful athlete
Dedicated humanitarian
Forever hero
Filed under Baseball, Human Rights, Pittsburgh Pirates
Annual ritual completed
I have completed an annual ritual. It took a bit longer than I expected. But it is now done.
13 October is always a significant day for me. Lots of memories.
63 years ago on October 13, my father took me out of school on Neville Island for the day. We travelled 11 miles or so to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh to see Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, to see history. Heavy underdogs, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees when Bill Mazeroski hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Memories of my father and of the day remain clear. But time has blurred the source, particularly in regard to the game. Some of it, I believe I still remember on my own; some is from remembering each year; some I remember from reading, seeing photos, and watching clips on TV (see below), and some is from watching the full game for the last eleven years through the magic of film transferred to DVD.
This year the viewing took place over three days.
The Pirates still won.
Filed under Baseball, Family, Pittsburgh Pirates
Roberto Clemente Day – 2022
Reposted from 2019
A friend shared a post by a baseball fan lamenting never seeing Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ great right fielder from 1955 until his untimely death in 1972 play. “If there’s one athlete, past or present, that I wish I could have seen play, it would be Roberto Clemente.”
I understand the sentiment. Because I saw Clemente play. And I am forever grateful.
At Forbes Field and at Three Rivers Stadium, I had the privilege to see Roberto Clemente play. On numerous occasions, I saw him play with the skill and grace and passion that few brought to the game. Slashing hits. Unmatched arm. He covered right field like a blanket. He ran the bases with abandon.
But as great a player as he was, Roberto Clemente was an even greater human being. He cared for children, offering clinics in Puerto Rico and Pittsburgh. He advocated for civil rights. He demanded that he be treated justly as he challenged the systemic racism that permeated baseball and society.
Interviewed after he led the Pirates to victory in the 1971 World Series, Roberto Clemente spoke first to his parents – in Spanish. There was not a dry eye in my house. I suspect there was not a dry eye in many places. Tears fell in puddles when Clemente died on a humanitarian mission to aid the people of Nicaragua.
Yes. I saw Roberto Clemente play. More importantly, I saw Roberto Clemente live. And I am better for it.
Filed under Baseball, Current Events, Pittsburgh Pirates
18 August 2022
Roberto Clemente became my hero when I first saw him play. His commitment to justice and community involvement expanded my understanding of athletes and heroes. Feliz cumpleaños, Roberto. Te recuerdo.
Walking. North East, Maryland
Take Me out to the Ball Game – Dr. John
The Star-Spangled Banner – Branford Marsalis
Roberto – Ismael Miranda
Sueño Se Un Niño – Tito Allen
Somos La Fuerza Latina – Andy Montañez & Ismael Miranda
Roberto Y Tirabala – Andy Montañez
Orgullo De Borinquen – Lefty Pérez
Clemente (Estrella 21) – Edel Borrero
Jugando La Pelota – Jesús “Chocolate” Coombs
Jardonero Del Amor – Wichi Camacho
Lo Mejor Que Dios Ha Hecho – Angel Ramírez
Roberto Clemente – Bill Tiberio Band
Roberto Clemente – Nelson Feliciano and His Orchestra (feat. Junior Cordova)
Te Recuerdo – John McCutcheon
Filed under Baseball, Exercise, Family, Human Rights, Music, Pittsburgh Pirates, playlist
A baseball pilgrimage
The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory added a statue of Roberto Clemente this fall. Today brought the pilgrimage to view the statue and hold a bat used by Clemente.
6 November 2021
Filed under Baseball, Louisville, Pittsburgh Pirates
18 August 2021
Roberto Clemente became my hero when I first saw him play. His commitment to justice and community involvement expanded my understanding of athletes and heroes. Feliz cumpleaños, Roberto. Te recuerdo.
Walking. Germantown.
Stretching. Gym in the Apartment.
Take Me out to the Ball Game – Dr. John
The Star-Spangled Banner – Branford Marsalis
Roberto – Ismael Miranda
Sueño Se Un Niño – Tito Allen
Somos La Fuerza Latina – Andy Montañez & Ismael Miranda
Roberto Y Tirabala – Andy Montañez
Orgullo De Borinquen – Lefty Pérez
Clemente (Estrella 21) – Edel Borrero
Jugando La Pelota – Jesús “Chocolate” Coombs
Jardonero Del Amor – Wichi Camacho
Lo Mejor Que Dios Ha Hecho – Angel Ramírez
Roberto Clemente – Bill Tiberio Band
Roberto Clemente – Nelson Feliciano and His Orchestra (feat. Junior Cordova)
Te Recuerdo – John McCutcheon
Filed under Baseball, Exercise, Louisville, Pittsburgh Pirates
Along the Graybeard Trail 