Welcome to the
Baseball History Podcast
Featuring This Week in Baseball History, baseball dictionary and a tour of baseball cities
I’m your game announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 9 of the 2006 baseball season
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 1 week of April.
April 6 in 1973 on Opening Day at Three Rivers Stadium in front of record crowd of 51,695, the Pirates retire Roberto Clemente’s uniform number 21 posthumously. The Pittsburgh right fielder died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Managua, Nicaragua.
Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, August 18, 1934.
This rising star was on the lookout of many Major League scouts. He had everything that a coach would want; hitting, fielding and a tremendous arm. Clemente first caught the eye of major league scouts while playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League. At the age of 18, he hit .356 in the winter league of 1952-1953. Scout Al Campanis signed Clemente for the Brooklyn Dodgers with a $10,000 bonus later in 1953. His new team, however, was unable to fit him into a star-studded outfield featuring 1953 National League All-Stars Carl Furillo, Duke Snider, and Jackie Robinson. Aware of a rule that would make Clemente available in a minor league draft after the 1954 season, the Dodgers tried to hide him with their minor league affiliate, the Montreal Royals.
Despite the Dodgers’ efforts, Pittsburgh Pirates president Branch Rickey drafted Clemente with the first selection in the post-season draft. Pittsburgh at the time was a fixture at the bottom of the National League and had lost 100 games in each of the three previous seasons. With little to lose, the Pirates installed Clemente into their outfield early in the 1955 season. Although Clemente’s skill with the glove was immediately apparent, he was less impressive at the plate; he batted .255 with 5 home runs and 47 Runs Batted In in his first full season in 1955. In 1956, though, he hit his stride, producing a .311 batting average. It was the first of thirteen seasons in which Clemente would hit above .300.
Clemente spent his entire eighteen year Major League Baseball career playing for the Pirates. Roberto played in two World Series, batting .310 in 1960 and .414 in 1971. He was the National League Batting Champion four times, was awarded twelve Gold Gloves, selected National League Most Valuable Player in 1966 and was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the 1971 World Series. On November 14, 1964, he married Vera Cristina Zabala in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They went on to have three sons.
Clemente collected his 3,000th career hit on September 30, 1972, at Three Rivers Stadium, in Pittsburgh. The hit was a double off New York Mets pitcher Jon Matlack. It was Clemente’s final at bat of the season and, tragically, the last of his career.
On New Year’s Eve of 1972, Clemente died in a tragic plane crash. The plane was taking medical, food and clothing supplies to earthquake stricken Nicaragua. Vera and friends begged him not to take the trip because of poor weather and an unstable cargo plane but Roberto was determined. He was infuriated that the previous supplies had not made it to the victims. Roberto was going to personally see to it that the victims received the much needed supplies. Unfortunately, the plane went down off the coast of Puerto Rico. Roberto’s body was never found. Just months after Roberto joined an elite group of players with 3,000 hits, he was gone.
Roberto’s tragic death prompted the Hall of Fame’s Board of Director’s to unanimously wave the customary five year period for induction, opening the door for the Baseball Writers Association of America to hold a special election on Clemente’s behalf. By an overwhelming vote of 93%, Clemente became the first player of Latin American descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Today Roberto is remembered as one of the greatest athletes and humanitarians of all time. One of Roberto’s dreams, the Roberto Clemente Sports City, is one part of the legacy he left behind. Visitors to Carolina, Puerto Rico are greeted by a twelve foot statue as they enter into a 304 acre sports complex.
In this inning we’ll open up the
Baseball Dictionary
Under the letter: H
Hit for the Cycle
To hit a single, double, triple, and home run, and not necessarily in that order, within the course of a single game. It is a rarity that many top hitters never accomplish in a career. As a side note, former umpire Ron Luciano notes an odd variation of the term in his book The Umpire Strikes Back. After asserting that Lou Piniella was the worst baserunner of all time, Luciano noted that Piniella did something unequaled in baseball history: “He ran for the cycle. In a single game he managed to get himself thrown out at every base.”
On another side note, I have witnessed a hitter hit for the cycle only one time in all of the games I have gone to. I watched former Angel outfielder Jeff DaVanon accomplish this on August 25, 2004.
And now for the ninth inning…
Continuing our trip around baseball cities…
The Iowa Cubs are the Triple-A affilate of the Chicago Cubs. The ICubs play their home games at Principal Park in downtown Des Moines and are a member of the Pacific Coast League.
Principal Park is located at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers just south of downtown Des Moines.
Principal Park continues to rate as one of the top minor league facilities in the country. The stadium, which was built prior to the start of the 1992 season, has seen more than three million fans pass through its gates.
The stadium was built on its current site in 1947 and called Pioneer Park. In 1959, it was renamed Sec Taylor Stadium in honor of former Des Moines Register and Tribune sports editor Garner W. (Sec) Taylor. Planning for a new stadium began in August 1988. The $12 million rebuilding effort began with the demolition of the old stadium on Sept. 10, 1991. The new stadium was constructed on the old site beginning that October. The first game was April 16, 1992.
On August 5, 2004, the stadium was renamed Principal Park. After the 2005 season, the The 12,000-seat stadium received a $6.8 million renovation.
The ballpark has earned many awards for the Iowa Cubs. In 1992, the Cubs were honored by Baseball America magazine with the Bob Freitas Award, which recognized Iowa as the top triple-A team in the country. Also in 1992, the Iowa Cubs were named the top tourist attraction in the state by the Iowa Tourism Council. In 1996, Baseball America ranked Sec Taylor as one of the best minor league ballparks in the country, and did so again in 1998. The stadium is also regarded as the minor league facility with the best view.
For those of you that want to stick around, here’s an
Extra Inning
I’ve noticed that I have been using initials and acronyms for some baseball terms. It recently dawned on me that even though most listeners will be baseball fans, I need to be aware that some may not be. Therefore, I will try to use the full term in the future. I may forget sometimes because some of them are feel like words or phrases to me. A few that stand out are ERA for Earned Run Average and RBI for Runs Batted In.
You can now email me at baseballhistory@gmail.com. Well, that’s it for today’s game of Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
