Each year I try to read 1 or 2 baseball books in the spring. Of all the different sports and therefore the different types of sports books, baseball is the best.
Baseball was the sport of my youth. Summer was for baseball when I was growing up. The Golden Era for baseball was the 50's and 60's.
Roberto Clemente played for the Pirates from 1955 through 1972. He was killed in a tragic plane crash New Year's Eve 1972 as he was flying to earthquake-plagued Nicarauga, which had been hit by a masive quake December 24. Clemente was taking needed supplies to that poor country. He was on a journey of mercy. Unknown to him, the plane he was on was defective. The plane was not fit to fly, but Clemente didn't know it.
I saw Clemente play an exhibition in Birmingham. It must have about 1968. I'm not sure of the exact year.
He was a great, graceful, underrated player.
He ended his career with exactly 3,000 hits and two Pirate World Championships. He was immediately named to the Hall of Fame after his untimely death.
This will be the definitive biography of Roberto Clemente for all-time.
1 comment:
Sounds like an interesting book. I recently read about a baseball book called Moneyball. Have you heard of/read it? It looks good. It takes a different view about baseball than is typical...
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