The Pirates had a game to play Wednesday night, but for a couple of hours earlier in the day, the Chicago Cubs were the last thing on the players’ minds.
In celebration of Roberto Clemente Day, the Pirates took part in five service projects in the Pittsburgh area as part of a league-wide day honoring the former Pirate great. Major League Baseball began observing Clemente Day in 2002 — almost 30 years after he died in a plane crash while trying to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
“This is what baseball is truly about,” Roberto Clemente’s son, Luis Clemente, said Wednesday. “It’s about giving. It’s about spreading your wealth, your knowledge with everyone, and the guys do it very well,” Clemente said. “This is not a big effort from us — it’s a privilege to be here. And they really mean it with how they feel. When they were playing, you could see, they were not pretending — they were having fun.”
President Frank Coonelly, manager Clint Hurdle, bench coach Dave Jauss, pitching coach Ray Searage and infielder/outfielder John Jaso helped throw a barbecue lunch on the North Side. Players David Freese and Adam Frazier were among the celebrity bingo callers at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Aspinwall. Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison and several other players and coaches shopped for winter clothes with children at the Dick’s Sporting Goods in Cranberry. Josh Bell and Chad Kuhl and led a group of speakers at an assembly for middle and high-school students at Westinghouse Academy in Homewood.
Meanwhile, at the Allegheny Intermediate Union Latino Family Center in Hazelwood, the Pirates’ full contingent of Latin players and personnel were on hand for a special celebration.
Just before 11 a.m., about a dozen children and their parents waited patiently inside the building, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the big-league ballplayers. Pittsburgh Pierogies Cheese Chester, Jalapeno Hannah and Sauerkraut Saul were first to enter, followed by the Pirates players and personnel, all decked out in their Sunday throwback jerseys.
The kids got a chance to meet and take pictures with some of their favorite players, from outfielders Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco to pitchers Ivan Nova and Felipe Rivero. Following the introductions, the players and families traveled outside, where a makeshift baseball diamond had been set up in the parking lot.
After warming up with some baserunning drills in a game of “Rundown,” an impromptu Wiffle ball game broke out in the middle of the Second Avenue lot.
Rivero took his usual spot on the mound — where the pitcher’s mound would usually be, at least — with Nova, Polanco, Angel Sanchez and Cheese Chester manning the infield. One by one, the kids stepped up to take a crack at one of baseball’s most intimidating pitchers. Unlike the vast majority of Rivero’s appearances, the hits kept on coming.
After getting knocked around by the kids, Rivero tapped on his right shoulder and signaled to the bullpen, calling on Sanchez to take his place. Despite the performance, Rivero was all smiles.
“Being a baseball player, you have a lot going on. You have to go out to the community so they get to know you, and they get to know the team,” Rivero said. “They need to know the players better than just in the uniforms. We have a heart, we have family and all that. So, in years to come, it could be you waiting for players to say hi to your kids, so that’s what we do.”
When all the children had taken several swings and trips around the bases, Luis Clemente stepped up to the plate and took one final hack, sending a Polanco offering over the cars in left field for a walk-off home run.
Once the game was over, everyone went back inside to enjoy a freshly prepared meal featuring rice, beans, burritos, tamales and more.
“It’s amazing that we’re at a Latino Center, because here in Pittsburgh, I’ve never experienced that before. So it is very special,” Clemente said. “This has been incredible. Spending time with the Latino community in Pittsburgh, eating our type of food and everything. I’m really, really happy to be here.”
After the meal, it was time for the players to say goodbye and hop on the bus to get ready for game three of a four-game set with the Cubs at PNC Park.
“It doesn’t matter how it goes on the field tonight. It’s already a very memorable day,” Polanco said. “You see these kids playing, laughing, running, sliding in the parking lot. I was so happy. That’s what it’s all about.”
Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com.
First Published: September 6, 2017, 10:18 p.m.
