The opportunity to honor the legacy of Roberto Clemente in baseball seems to always be ongoing. His stature amongst the ever-growing number of Latinos in baseball on and off the field remains legendary, but for those not on the long side of history there are sometimes questions into what made Clemente special. One of the boldest moves in recent years was reflective of that lack of fully understanding his value to the game, namely creating a Clemente Day across baseball similar to Jackie Robinson Day. Many of the plans that were designed to be implemented in the 2021 season were met with delays and ambivalence, and while they are still in a virtual file somewhere, they never made it to the sphere of relevance needed for implementation. I am often reminded of that “what if” for Clemente when driving from Northern New Jersey to the city of Newark along the Passaic River. There, Route 21 is known as “The Roberto Clemente Highway.”
Back to all things Clemente. This weekend the Pittsburgh Pirates took a Clemente gaffe and played it into a classic example of how one owns up, admits a mistake, moves on and shortens a news cycle. It is somewhat similar to an error in judgement made in college hoops a few weeks ago, where the offended admitted wrong, eliminated a growing social media storm, and moved on cleanly and professionally, just as the Pirates did this weekend.
In short, The Pirates say they will reinstate a Roberto Clemente logo on the right field wall at PNC Park after Clemente’s son expressed displeasure that the logo had been replaced by an advertisement. The Pirates had replaced a sign honoring Clemente in the right field corner with an advertisement for Surfside, an alcoholic beverage. The change was revealed when the Pirates hosted the New York Yankees in their home opener on Friday afternoon.
What could have been an extended mess for the organization was fixed quickly and professionally and was used as a teachable moment. In a statement released Sunday, Pirates team president Travis Williams said the change was an honest mistake.
“We did not intend to disrespect the legacy of Roberto Clemente by adding the advertisement to the pad in right field,” he said. “When we added the advertisement to the pad, it was an oversight not to keep the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake.” Williams also explained how the tribute initially came about and emphasized that the team had not intended to disrespect the Clemente family.
On Saturday night, the Pirates addressed the decision to replace the tribute via a statement from Brian Warecki, the club’s senior vice president of communications and broadcasting. The tribute was “never meant” to be permanent, said Warecki, who added that the Pirates were sorry for not giving advance notice to the Clemente family and fans.
According to The Athletic, “Warecki also noted ways the team continues to honor Clemente, including various tributes throughout the stadium and outside of it. Among them is a 12-foot bronze statue of Clemente outside the stadium and a right field wall that was designed to be 21 feet tall in his honor. Clemente wore No. 21, which the team retired.”
Self-evident what should be done, right? It is amazing though how many brands, or organizations, would have let this fester or would have tried to avoid blame or spin in a different way. The direct answer, the admission and the solution were clear and clearly implemented, and the news cycle came to a quick close.
Beyond the admission, however, maybe something bigger arises. A re-look at all things Clemente and his value beyond signage in the city he impacted the most. “21” and the impact he had continues to be a legacy play, and this misstep could awaken the groundswell of interest in getting a Latin King his due. Regardless, kudos to the Bucs leadership for stepping up, owning up and moving on. Crisis, albeit a self-inflicted one, avoided.
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