Roberto Clemente 1966 NL MVP
The Great One: Roberto Clemente, 1966 NL MVP and Hall of Famer.
Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1966.
Quick Facts
- Batting average
- .317
- Home runs
- 29
Lore & Background
After his death, the National Baseball Hall of Fame changed its rules so that a player who had been dead for at least six months would be eligible for entry. In 1973, Clemente was posthumously inducted, becoming the first Latino and Caribbean player and second of Hispanic descent (after Lefty Gomez in 1972) to be honored in the Hall of Fame.
Reader's Guide
Clemente was an All-Star for 13 seasons, selected to 15 All-Star Games. He was the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove Award winner for 12 consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. His batting average was over .300 for 13 seasons and he had 3,000 hits during his major league career. He also was a two-time World Series champion. Clemente was the first player from the Caribbean and Latin America to win a World Series as a starting position player (1960), to receive an NL MVP Award (1966), and to receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).
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