Roberto Clemente and Servant Leadership
By: Philip Rogers
Tags: Baseball, Leadership, Humility, Civil Rights, Servant Leadership

I was nine years old when Roberto Clemente died. His tragic death, under the most heroic of circumstances, made a lasting impression on me then, and it continues to do so to this day.

I often ponder what it is about this particular man’s life that has left such an indelible mark on mine. The most obvious answer is that I’ve loved baseball ever since I can remember, and Clemente was certainly among the greatest players who took the field during my younger years. There must be more to it than that, though, and I think it comes down to who Clemente was as a human being. In fact, when I think of him, I am reminded of my recently departed Father, not because Dad was a baseball legend. It’s because so much about both men was characterized by living according to their principles, which I could simply articulate as “doing good deeds quietly, without any need for or interest in recognition.” And I have come to recognize that they were both servant leaders, in their own way.

As Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams Tweeted in 2018:

Happy Roberto Clemente Day! Today we honor the great one. He exemplified the definition of servant leadership. I will raise my children to emulate his spirit & love for the game & for others. I am proud to wear the Pirate uniform and carry on his legacy in Pittsburgh

What Clemente Did Off of the Field

For the benefit of anyone who may not be familiar with Roberto Clemente’s time on this earth, whether on the diamond or off, he was frequently involved with community service. And it was while performing one of his many selfless acts that he lost his life.

In late December, 1972, Managua, Nicaragua, was struck by a huge earthquake. Clemente, a Puerto Rican native, had visited Nicaragua many times, including only three weeks before the quake. He arranged many relief flights soon after the tragedy, but to his dismay, the notoriously corrupt Somoza government intercepted the aid packages, and they never reached the people who needed them. He thus made the fateful decision to board the fourth relief flight, hoping that he could ensure that the aid would reach the intended recipients. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve flight crashed soon after takeoff from the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, due to engine failure.

In recognition not only of the way he lost his life, but indeed how he lived his life in general, Major League Baseball has presented the Roberto Clemente Award every year since 1972 to an outstanding baseball player who was also personally involved with community service. And the accolades did not end there. To name just a few honors, which were given posthumously by two different US Presidents:

May 14, 1973: Roberto Clemente Walker Congressional Gold Medal

May 14, 1973: Presidential Citizens Medal

July 23, 2003: Presidential Medal of Freedom

What Clemente Did on the Field

Baseball sports writers are fond of using expressions like “the hand of god reached down and touched the shoulder” of a player with a great throwing arm, and Clemente was one such player. In addition to having a cannon for an arm, Clemente was among the best defensive players to ever play the game, winning twelve Gold Glove awards, tying him for the most such awards among outfielders, with the great Willie Mays.

As outstanding as his defensive skills were, Clemente was no less dangerous at the plate. For example, here are a few examples of his offensive prowess:

National League leader in batting average (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967)

National League leader in hits (1964, 1967)

National League leader in triples (1969)

One of only 32 players to record 3,000 regular-season hits (the “3,000 Hits Club”) [he achieved his 3.000th hit during the final game that he played]

And on top of all of those awards, he won the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1966, and was the World Series MVP in 1971.

In great contrast to so many modern-day players who are constantly looking to knock the ball out of the park, Clemente is quoted as saying this, which speaks to the way in which he approached the game:

I am more valuable to my team hitting .330 than swinging for home runs

Perhaps no on-the-field accomplishment best typifies who he was as a player better than this: On July 25, 1956, Clemente hit the only walk-off inside-the-park-grand slam in professional baseball history.

Clemente and Civil Rights

One of the aspects of Clemente’s life that is less familiar to many is to what extent he served as a role model to other minority players, especially players from Spanish-speaking countries. Even though he was not the first Puerto Rican player in the Major Leagues, he experienced discrimination as did many other players. “The Great One” did not get as much recognition in the United States as many of his contemporaries, but in Puerto Rico, he was the player everybody wanted to emulate. There is no question that his success helped pave the way for many great Puerto Rican players who would come after him, like Orlando Cepeda, Pudge Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar, Juan Gonzalez, Bernie Williams, and José Valentin.

Conclusion

Even though he was a man of few words, and indeed, his life did all of the talking for him, it seems appropriate to close with a couple of quotes from Clemente himself.

And this last quote is for you, Dad: