MLB legend Roberto Clemente is the namesake of the award given to the one player in the league "who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field." That's no small honor, and it's rightfully named after someone who exemplified the exact description above.
However, Carlos Delgado, a fellow Puerto Rican ballplayer who, like Clemente, is well-known for his activism and charity work, thinks that the league should do more. One suggestion that he had, which was floated to him in an interview by Mets Vice President of Media Relations Jay Horwitz, is that MLB retires his number alongside Jackie Robinson's.
"I hope that we get to the day that Major League Baseball actually retires number 21. And you mentioned Jackie Robinson... I want to believe that Clemente should be in addition to Jackie Robinson, not instead of Jackie Robinson," Delgado said on the "Amazin' Mets Alumni Podcast," available on Audacy. "I think both had a great career, they broke a lot of barriers and they had phenomenal careers on the field while battling different issues off the field, and that's remarkable, you know what I mean?
"Let alone trying to perform on the field when everything is like peaches and cream, but when you have racial issues, when you have civil rights issues, when you have Latino issues, I mean it's remarkable. So I can't wait until the day that MLB actually retires No. 21 along... No. 42 of Jackie Robinson in every Major League stadium."
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Delgado also thinks that the Roberto Clemente Award ceremony, typically held prior to a World Series game, should be a bigger event.
"The way they present that, just before a game during the World Series, it kind of steals some of the thunder from the award," Delgado said. "I think it needs more recognition, I think it needs another event, something bigger than that, because if you look at Clemente, his history and his life, I mean, it's bigger than just baseball. And you want to have your institutions and your organizations cherish those values that he represented, you know what I mean?
"Dignity, solidarity, social justice, [bravery], so for us it was the biggest thing, it was more important than that third game of the World Series... I think this is something that I hope MLB gives a little more thought that how important it is to continue that tradition and to show some of the younger generation the legacy of Clemente."
As of now, Roberto Clemente Day is celebrated on September 15, and this year, more people were allowed to wear his jersey number on the special occasion. All uniformed personnel of Puerto Rican descent, all of that year's Roberto Clemente Award nominees, all active players who were previously Roberto Clemente Award recipients and any player who requested to wear No. 21 in time were allowed to wear Clemente's number in the 2021 season.
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