September 15th was not only the launch of Hispanic Heritage Month but also Roberto Clemente Day, a nationally celebrated occasion for baseball fans and players. On this day, Major League Baseball teams nominate players for the Roberto Clemente Humanitarian Award and wait for the flood of votes from fans to select the winner. This year, our very own Jose Ramirez was the Guardians’ nominee for the prize. The winner will be selected during the World Series, which started October 27.
Roberto Clemente, one of baseball’s first Hispanic players, was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1972 while traveling to Nicaragua to deliver humanitarian aid after an earthquake. During last month’s Roberto Clemente Day, MLB games across the U.S. and Canada reintroduced the legendary Puerto Rican baseball player through his memorable highlights and unforgettable stats. It was an amazing, heartfelt reminder of who Clemente was. Not only was he a great baseball player, but he was also the first of many to enter into the MLB baseball community with a double barrier – he was Latino and his first language was Spanish.
Cleveland hits a home run with Roberto Clemente Day event
In Cleveland, at Roberto Clemente Park at 3690 Seymour Ave. in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, a group of 150 neighbors, activists, and volunteers celebrated the second annual Roberto Clemente Day on September 23. At the event, volunteers that revamped the park and started the new Roberto Clemente Baseball League, a local league for Hispanic youth and families, hosted Roberto Clemente Jr., former Indians player Carlos Baerga and artist Susan Wagner. Wagner has sculpted several statues of Clemente (including a 12-foot-tall one located at PNC Park in Pittsburgh), and will make a future statue at Roberto Clemente Park in Cleveland.
Roberto Clemente Jr.’s first visit to Cleveland was in 1997 when the park was renamed after his father. “After many years, I’m coming back a second time to Cleveland and seeing the park in a different light,” Clemente Jr. told the crowd of people who assembled for Roberto Clemente Day. “Hearing and experiencing the community that is being built from an effort of just fixing up the park is beautiful. The stories of community members feeding the volunteers, and the kids being able to have a place to play baseball, is all that my father would want us to do. I am personally adopting this field and would love to work with the group that is running the league to make this into one of the baseball parks that continues to honor my father.”
During Clemente Jr.’s visit, he toured the park with Darien Murdock, director and head coach of the Roberto Clemente Baseball League; Rosa Cruz, who helped lead the park’s recent revitalization; Manny Che Santiago, the cacique (a Hispanic term for an Indigenous American chief) of the New Era Young Lords Ohio Chapter; and me, Tanisha Velez, Cleveland Fresh Farmers Market manager and a volunteer at the park.
As The Land reported in March, I grew up in the Clark-Fulton community and graduated from Lincoln-West High School on Cleveland’s near west side. Today, I’m a business owner and community advocate. I’m also part of a group of volunteers that have worked alongside the city of Cleveland to revitalize Roberto Clemente Park by adding a new playground, new amenities, public art, a farmers market, and the Roberto Clemente Baseball League.
On September 23, Clemente Jr. met with each vendor at the event and asked about their business and products. He was kind enough to take pictures with everyone who asked for one. He also listened to the future plans that the group has for the park, the community, and the baseball league.
Event leaders talk up future park improvements
There was also a brief ceremony to celebrate the first year of the Roberto Clemente Baseball League. This past summer, volunteers registered 250 youth from ages 3–18, 97% of whom were Spanish speaking. Through these efforts, they also got the youth involved in local farming, volunteer service efforts like cleaning up the park, and even helping the younger players learn to play baseball. They recently expanded their efforts to fall baseball as well as two adult teams.
At the event, leaders also cut the ribbon on the location where a statue of Roberto Clemente will be placed. Statue artist Susan Wagner said of the planned statue of Clemente, “I will do my best to not only capture his features to make it look as close to Clemente as possible, but I will also do my best to capture his spirit.” Roberto Clemente Jr. announced that he will support the efforts to bring the statue to the park and create a safer environment for youth to play baseball.
Park leader Rosa Cruz quoted Clemente with one of his many impactful sayings: “If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”
The group is currently fundraising for future plans to improve the field turf, open a concession stand, and install the Roberto Clemente statue. The league has been so successful that leaders there are expecting numbers to increase again next year.
Carlos Baerga shared how when he was 16 years old he was drafted by the Padres minor league. Trainers told Clemente Jr. to take 16-year-old Baerga under his wings. “That’s what community is about and also that’s how small the world is,” Baerga said. “Here we are together again many years later in the community, learning and supporting future efforts.”
To get involved in efforts to improve Roberto Clemente Park, visit our Facebook page or contact me at tanisha@clevelandfresh.com. To find out more about the Roberto Clemente Baseball League, check out our Facebook group.
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