Like the man himself, Roberto Clemente professional model bats tend to have a flair all their own. While Clemente was of modest size at around 175 pounds during his playing career, he wielded one of the biggest bats in the game. Many of his bats weigh in the 36-38-ounce range, with a small number actually exceeding that weight. Compared to contemporary stars like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, Clemente gamers look like caveman clubs. The majority of the known Clemente bats feature his primary uniform number "21" on the knob or barrel in black marker, but there are two distinct styles: One "21" contains a loop at the bottom of the "2" while the other does not. The iconic Pirate did wear number "13" during his rookie year, but it was for a brief period of time.
A distinct characteristic that you will occasionally see on a Clemente gamer is grooving along the hitting surface of the barrel. Clemente would carve light grooves into the barrel, usually several of them, in order to create spin on the ball after contact. It is important to note that the vast majority of his bats do not possess this type of modification.
Early in Clemente’s career, his nickname "Momen" was burned into the barrel instead of "Roberto." The "Momen" bats were shipped to Clemente until about 1960. Bats featuring his nickname are certainly more difficult to find than the latter and often sell for a premium. Speaking of premiums, due to Clemente’s early death in 1972, finding autographed professional model bats can be challenging. There are some authentic examples that exist, but they are tough to locate.
For the bulk of his career, Clemente preferred H&B bats (endorsem*nt contract) and signed with the company in 1954, but he did use some Adirondack (block letter) bats during the final few years of his career. The knob style of his bats tended to vary as well, from the more traditional-looking knobs to the distinct flared knobs. Finally, Clemente had a propensity to change bats more often than the average player, which resulted in the majority of his gamers exhibiting only moderate use.
Roberto Clemente Walker(August 18, 1934 - December 31, 1972) is widely considered the greatest Latin player to ever put on a Major League Baseball uniform with a .317 career batting average, a .973 fielding percentage and a record 254 career assists for a right fielder. In his native Puerto Rico, Clemente played for the SanturceCangrejeros ("Crabbers") before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954. While coming off the bench for the Montreal Royals, Brooklyn’s minor league affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates took Roberto in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft offering him the opportunity to play everyday and win the right field position at the 1955 spring training. Clemente never played a minor league game again as he easily won the right field job and batted .255 with 121 hits and 47 RBI as a rookie. Though he hit .311 in 1956, Roberto’s break out year came in 1960 when he earned his first of 15 All-Star Game selections after batting .314 with 16 home runs and 94 RBI. He helped lead the Pirates to their first World Series title that year as they captured MLB’s top prize in dramatic fashion with Bill Mazeroski’s Game 7 walk-off series clinching home run. Clemente hit .310 with three RBI in the 1960 World Series. In 1961, Roberto hit 23 home run and hit .351 to lead the National League for the first of four times during the 1960s.
He was a perennial vote-getter for National League MVP and in 1966, after leading the league in batting average the previous two seasons, won the award with a .317 average, 31 home runs and 119 RBI while also posting 17 outfield assists. The 12-time Rawlings Gold Glove recipient played his entire career with Pittsburgh (1955-1972) and helped lead them to a second World Series title in 1971. Roberto Clemente collected 3,000 hits, hit 240 home runs, had 1.305 RBI and batted .317 over 18-year seasons with the Buccos. Above and beyond his numbers at the plate, Bob possessed a powerful and precise arm that helped him achieve a .973 fielding percentage with 4,696 putouts. Clemente was heavily involved in humanitarian efforts in the third world Latin American countries and was killed on December 31, 1972 assisting in delivering aid to Nicaragua after an earthquake devastated the small country. Major League Baseball presents The Roberto Clemente Award to the player that best exemplifies Clemente’s humanitarian efforts. Roberto Clemente Walker was posthumously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
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