While the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente day tributes were spot on Wednesday at PNC Park, their performance was far from it, losing to the White Sox, 8-1.
Hey, at least they won in the pregame.
In the morning, there was a drive up distribution even near PNC Park, with Pirates employees and the recently retired Steve Blass filling the cars of those in need. The team, as a group, tipped their caps to the Clemente family, who were able to watch the game from a box. During the warm up tosses before the first inning, right fielder Gregory Polanco took a knee between the 2 and the 1 that was mowed into Clemente’s position.
This was destined to be a memorable Clemente day. For one, it was the first since the passing of Vera, Roberto’s wife, who died in November. There was a moment of silence before the game to honor the matriarch of the family.
Secondly, this was the first time the Pirates were all allowed to all wear Clemente’s number, like how Major League Baseball does with Jackie Robinson’s 42 on his day. That was spearheaded by Derek Shelton, who saw the influence Clemente had to Puerto Rican ball players in his time as a coach, and pushed for the idea once he saw what Clemente still means to Pittsburgh.
“If you spend any time in Pittsburgh, the No. 21 is still the most prevalent number here,” Shelton said on Sept. 2, the day the Pirates announced they would all wear 21. “I think that says something the last time it was worn was in 1972 and it's still probably the jersey that you see the most… I just think it's an extremely important thing not only to honor Roberto the player but Roberto the humanitarian and the person and I think we never lose sight of how those things work together."
At first just the Pirates were going to be allowed to change their numbers, but Major League Baseball allowed all Puerto Rican players to make the switch as well.
By doing so, MLB took a big step towards potentially retiring Clemente’s number league-wide, like Robinson.
“I want to see 21 retired,” Polanco said before the game. “He deserves that. I’m thankful and grateful to wear it tonight because it’s special.”
Clemente’s influence to the games Latin and Hispanic players is unparalleled, with Polanco saying, “he’s our Jackie Robinson," so wearing 21 is special for a group of players who were born decades after Clemente.
Making sure Clemente's legacy spans those decades is one of the main reasons why Shelton hopes wearing 21 becomes a yearly occurrence.
“For our generation, my generation, I'm 50. I get it,” Shelton said before the game. “I've got to make sure Jackson, my son, who's 20, gets it. We have to make sure his kids get it… It's what he did off the field, how he gave, and that's something that's extremely important.”
Josh Bell was the Pirates’ recipient this year for the Clemente award, principally for how he has used his platform to speak out against racial and social injustice. That includes starting the #SocialReformSunday initiative to promote change in communities and the Building Bridges series, where a member of the Pirates’ organization talks candidly about social reform.
Usually reserved, Bell looked for ways to make a difference after the murder of George Floyd in May.
“[I] really went soul-searching for how I can get out and do good,” Bell said this week. “I just know that fire has been started, and the acknowledgement that I’m doing good is more fuel. I don’t know exactly where this is going to go, but I do know that nothing is going to stop me in regards to getting out and trying to listen to my spirit and listen when there’s a voice inside me that says there’s more to be done.
“There are people you can help. There are voices that aren’t heard that need hearing. I was happy to start that this summer. Definitely excited to continue that in the future.”
Bell also continued to reach out to that next generation, like Shelton said.
He has worked with the Pirates’ RBI (reviving baseball in inner cities) program for years. The program works to increase participation and diversity in youth baseball and softball with a focus on the under-served and under-represented.
Since baseball activities have been shut down due to of COVID-19, in late June, Bell reached out in a different way, starting a series of Zoom calls with high school-aged players.
“They openly talked about race in the game of baseball,” Nelson Cooper, the co-founder and executive director of the RBI program and the PIttsburgh Hardball Academy, was telling me. “It was a motivating and uplifting call for our kids, both black, white, Latino, any background, to hear their story, hear their journey, hear their voice on the many different things going on in this country. How we all, no matter our background, can all be a positive force for moving forward equity and justice for all people in this country.”
Bell also has thrown his efforts into children's nutrition, often collaborating with Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Brian Gulish, the vice president of marketing and communications at the Food Bank, told me how the yearly “An evening with Josh Bell” events at the Roberto Clemente museum brought in $40,000 in both 2018 and 2019. At the distribution event Wednesday, $15,000 was donated in Bell’s honor. Between just those three gifts, roughly $100,000 has gone to the Food Bank through Bell. That doesn’t include any individual donations he has given or the commercials he has appeared in that draw attention to the charity.
“I went to a private catholic school, and we had mandatory community service hours every year. It became more and more each year," Bell said on his charity work. "Just being able to get out and get out of your comfort zone and realize that your problems aren’t as big as you might think they are. That laid a foundation.”
Speaking of foundations, what is the final grade for this first grander scale Clemente day? Is there more to come in the future?
"I think we 100 percent made a statement,” Shelton said about the night. “The fact of being able to honor Clemente, seeing all the 21s out there and being able to make a statement not only in Pittsburgh but in Puerto Rico and for baseball. This is a monumental step for our organization being able to honor the Clemente family. Not just Roberto, but Vera also.
“So yeah, I think we made a really big step forward and it was something very cool to be a part of. Obviously the game didn't end up the way we wanted but tonight was a monumental night."
JUSTIN BERL / GETTY
• Onto the game, where the White Sox were just in complete control all night.
JT Brubaker was hit hard in the fourth and sixth innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and allowed two home runs.
"They hit mistake pitches," Brubaker said. "I had a couple more this game than usual. Just something that, moving forward, working on still being in the zone, just making sure I’m down a little bit more.”
Following a four-run fourth inning, Brubaker returned to retire the White Sox in order in the fifth. That gave Shelton the confidence he needed to send him back out again.
This was uncharted territory in terms of workload for Brubaker, who set a career high in innings pitched and total pitches (98).
"We were trying to extend his breaking ball out a little bit trying to get him through the fifth and just kind of extend him out," Shelton said, "[It[ just didn't work out."
• The Pirates' only run of the night came in the eighth, on a catcher's interference, of all things. Polanco's swing nicked backstop James McCann's mitt with the bases loaded and two outs.
It was only fair for McCann to gift the Pirates a run after he homered twice and drove in four runs Wednesday.
• Nick Tropeano has the White Sox number, tossing the final three innings without allowing a run. He struck out five and surrendered two hits.
He gave four scoreless against the White Sox in his debut with the team on Aug. 25.
• Adam Frazier went 1-for-3, extending his hitting streak to 12 with his first inning bloop to right.
Erik Gonzalez was hitless in his four trips to the plate, ending his streak at nine.
For the other team, Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 22 games, tied for the eighth-longest in White Sox history.
• For what it's worth, Shelton didn't think the festivities of the day had any effect on the Pirates' performance on the field.
"We just didn't play very well," Shelton bluntly put it.
• Factoid of the night: Wednesday's loss snapped a five-game PNC Park winning streak for the Pirates against the White Sox. They won two games in 2015 and in 2018 as well.