Pirates Announce Special Roberto Clemente Day Broadcast

The standard English commentary will take place on the main SportsNet Pittsburgh television channel, while the Spanish commentary will come on SNP+, the second SportsNet Pittsburgh television channel, and SNP 360, the streaming app for the station.

Clemente, who hailed from Carolina, Puerto Rico, spoke Spanish and was proud to speak the language and took great pride of his Puero Rican heritage.

"El día de Roberto Clemente: Los Piratas en español", is the name for the special broadcast and will have his son, Roberto Clemente Jr., plus former three-time All-Star and Puerto Rican Carlos Baerga providing commentary.

“I am honored and extremely excited for this historic moment on Clemente Day," Roberto Clemente Jr. said. "Bringing a Spanish broadcast of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been a vision of mine for many years, and on Sept. 15, that dream becomes reality. To broadcast Los Piratas en Español live from PNC Park is not only a milestone for me personally, but a meaningful celebration of this city and its fans.”

Roberto Clemente Jr. and Baerga will have special guests come on in former Clemente Award winners, honoring on MLB player each year who, "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team."

This includes former winners in Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Delgado, Edgar Martinez, Albert Pujols and Sammy Sosa.

Roberto Clemente Jr. will begin with play-by-play responsibilities and Baerga will provide the color commentary, but both could swap roles in the game, according to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com.

While some might see this as a nice gesture from the Pirates, Roberto Clemente Jr. provided Spanish commentary for the New York Yankees in the 1990s-2000s and did work for ESPN, bringing great experience into this game.

“It is important to all involved that we continue to lead the way in ensuring Roberto’s legacy lives on for generations to come,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a press release. “It is very fitting that, as we honor The Great One’s legacy both on and off the field, his son, Roberto Jr., will be calling the action in their native language. It is a special moment for the organization, the Clemente family and the baseball community around the world.”

Roberto Clemente excelled for the Pirates for 18 seasons from 1955-72. He finished with a slash line of .317/.359/.475 and an OPS of .834, while amassing 3,000 hits, 440 doubles, 166 triples, 240 home runs, 1,305 RBIs and 621 walks in 2,433 games.

He would win the National League MVP in 1966, hitting .317/.360/.536 for an OPS of .896, while getting 202 hits, 31 doubles, 11 triples, 29 home runs and 46 walks.

Clemente finished with 15 All-Star nods, won 12 consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards from 1961-72, won the NL Batting Title four times in 1961, 1964. 1965 and 1967.

He also won two World Series with the Pirates in 1960, defeating the New York Yankees in seven games with fellow Pirates Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski hitting the walk-off home run at Forbes Field, and beating the Baltimore Orioles in seven games in 1971.

Clemente won World Series MVP in 1971, hitting .414 with 12 hits in 29 at-bats and also hit the decisive solo home run in the 2-1 win in Game 7 in Baltimore.

The Puerto Rican was known for his humanitarian work across the Caribbean and Latin America, which cost him his life, as he died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972. He had chartered the plane to bring emergency goods for the people of Nicaragua, who just endured a massive earthquake.

Clemente would earn special induction into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first Caribbean player to do so and second player from Latin America.

The Pirates honor Clemente at PNC Park with a statue outside the center field gate, a 21 foot high right field wall in honor of his No. 21 jersey number, plus a "Clemente" marker on the wall as well.