Roberto Clemente was not only a legend on the field, but off the field as well. He was not only the best player all around in right field, but he was all class in the locker room. Due to his community service and legacy down in the Dominican Republic from being a true leader, the MLB created an award in his name given out to the player who best represents the game as a good sportsman. Because of Roberto having such an iconic image, the talent of his game was sometimes not seen in the spotlight. To add to his unseen stellar performances, Hank Aaron as well as Willie Mays also played in the NL during the same time period, and their names were big due to their game. But still, Roberto was arguably just as dominant.
Playing during the second dead ball era, Clemente was the true five-tool player, collecting 12 gold gloves, 4 batting titles, an MVP, and a WS MVP. On his way to 3000 hits, he collected 200+ hits in 4 different seasons, while managing a average over .300 thirteen times. He was not only a contact hitter, but also had some power as he hit 440 total doubles, 240 total homers, while collecting a .475 slugging percentage for his career. Considering Clemente was a top of the lineup bat, he sure had a lot of power and bigger numbers than most leadoff hitters would have. Some of the best leadoff hitters of all-time had fewer than 1100 RBI’s and a slugging percentage of less than .430, but Roberto is above that with a grand total of 1305 RBI’s. Despite having Willie Stargell batting behind him late in Roberto’s career, Clemente’s 4492 total bases did not come easy. He sure ran the bases well despite only having 83 stolen bases. On multiple occasions he easily turned a double into a triple (166), and that takes speed. But, his tremendous speed really paid off in the outfield.
From 1961-1972 he won the gold glove in right field every year. His range factor was always above league average, while it helped him save 205 more runs than the league average. Once he collected the ball in his glove, the base runner had to be careful, as Clemente arguably had one of the greatest arms of all-time. He threw out a total of 102 base runners in his day, which was 2.2% more than the league average. He also held a mere 50% of guys from advancing to the next base. All in all, he was god in right field.
Overall, Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest all-around players of all-time. From clutch (WS MVP, .318 in playoffs), to hitting for power/average, to having a fabulous glove, to being valuable off and on the field (classy guy, WAR of 5.3), there was no one better than Clemente.
