The legacies of Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente are well-known beyond baseball circles. The pair of trailblazers, Robinson for breaking the sport’s color barrier and Clemente for being among the first Black Latino players, have long been linked together.
Clemente first signed as a free agent out of Puerto Rico with Robinson’s Dodgers in 1954, but later that year was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates (whose front office was led by the same Branch Rickey who had signed Robinson in 1946). That first season was something of a struggle for the 20-year-old outfielder, as Clemente hit just .255/.284/.382 (77 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 11 triples, and 5 homers.
Things turned around from there, of course, as Clemente became one of the best hitters in Pirates history. He’d bat .317/.359/.475 (130 OPS+) over his 18-year career with 440 doubles, 166 triples, 240 home runs, and exactly 3,000 career hits. Clemente was a 15-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove Award winner, won four batting titles, and was the NL MVP in 1966.
Clemente visited Nicaragua following the 1972 season as the manager of Puerto Rico’s national team at the Amateur World Series. A massive earthquake struck the country just weeks later, prompting Clemente to arrange for planeloads of supplies to be sent to support relief efforts. However, he’d quickly learn that corrupt officials on the ground were seizing the supplies before they could reach victims.
Clemente would fly to Nicaragua himself on the next delivery, but the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff — a combination of mechanical issues and being more than 4,000 pounds overweight. While most of the wreckage was found, the bodies of Clemente and three other passengers were never recovered. Clemente was just 38 years old.
Three months later, in a special election held by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, members voted to waive the usual five-year waiting period and inducted Clemente into the Hall of Fame. The Pirates would retire his No. 21 just two weeks later.
MLB started recognizing players for their philanthropic efforts in 1971 with the creation of the Commissioner’s Award. Two years later, following Clemente’s tragic passing, it was renamed the Roberto Clemente Award. For many players, it has become the most prestigious individual award one can win.
Since 2002, September 15 has been designated as Roberto Clemente Day across MLB. The league chose the date as it coincides with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, but MLB’s efforts to honor Clemente have been toned down somewhat compared to recent years (much like what they did in April with Jackie Robinson Day). It is still when the league often reveals the nominees for this year’s Roberto Clemente Award.
The full list of this year’s nominees — each club selected the player they believe best embodies the league’s values, character, community involvement, and contributions off the field — was announced on Monday, with bios about each player’s charitable efforts.
Notably, the work Liam Hendriks does with LGBTQ+ organizations — something he’s long been openly proud of — was conspicuously left out entirely, unlike previous years.
in MLB dot com write ups of Roberto Clemente Award nominees, Liam Hendriks' work with LGBTQ+ organizations was referenced in 2022, 2023, and 2024. there is no mention of it in this year's write up. www.mlb.com/news/roberto... (previous years can be found changing "2025" in the url slug)
— jen ramos-eisen 🇵🇭 (@jenramose.online) 2025-09-15T22:31:31.069Z
Just 18 of the 30 teams were scheduled to play on Monday, but those that did wore “21” patches on their uniforms. Additionally, per Chris Creamer at SportsLogos.net, players of Puerto Rican heritage, past Roberto Clemente Award winners, and each club’s 2025 nominee were given the option to wear No. 21 during Monday’s game. Many elected to do so. The entire Pirates roster wore No. 21, as well.