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‘Greater than baseball’: Cubs join MLB to honor legacy of legendary Roberto Clemente

4 weeks agoAndy Martinez

Cubs players and coaches wouldn’t have been born or old enough to remember Roberto Clemente.

But his impact still endears through generations.

“He is the Jackie Robinson for all the Latinos that play baseball. He’s a great human, not only for Puerto Rico but for all the Latin Americans,” Cubs assistant hitting coach Juan “Pipi” Cabreja said. “What he represents for us is greater than baseball. The kind of human that he was, the things he done outside of the field, I think that’s why a lot of the Latino players, they wear number 21 because of him.”

Sunday, the Cubs joined the rest of the league in celebrating Roberto Clemente Day and the legacy of the legendary Puerto Rican. Cabreja and other Cubs Latino coaches and players spoke about Clemente and the impact he’s had on Latino baseball players, 52 years after his passing.

[WATCH: Fergie Jenkins reflects on facing Roberto Clemente and his legacy in baseball]

Clemente was a Hall of Famer with 3,000 hits but was known as much for what he did off the field. Clemente was a humanitarian who would help others when he could. He died giving back to others. On New Year’s Eve 1972, he was on a plane that was filled with cargo to provide relief to Nicaragua after an earthquake that crashed into the ocean. MLB renamed their humanitarian award after him and honors him every year on September 15.

Every player wore a 21 patch on their jersey Sunday to honor Clemente. A pair of players — Puerto Rican infielder Luis Vázquez and infielder Patrick Wisdom, wore the number 21 in Clemente’s honor during Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.

09152424 21 Patch

[MORE: Rick Sutcliffe shares what it means to win Roberto Clemente Award]

Wisdom was the Cubs’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is awarded to the player that “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

The winner of the award will be announced at the 2024 World Series and fans can vote for the Roberto Clemente Award winner at MLBTogether.com/clementeaward. 

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