From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of When Pride Still Mattered comes a full-scale biography of the great baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, who lived, played, and died with enduring Passion and grace.
The Clemente that Maraniss e.
He was, in a sense, the Jackie Robinson of the Spanish-speaking world, a ballplayer of determination, grace, and dignity who paved the way and set the highest standard for waves of Latino players who followed in later generations and who now dominate the game.
Born near the canebrakes of rural Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934, at a time when there were no blacks or Puerto Ricans playing organized ball in the United States, Clemente went on to become the greatest Latino player in the major leagues.
Roberto Clemente was that rare athlete who rose above sports to become a symbol of larger themes.
There is delightful baseball here, including thrilling accounts of the two World Series victories of Clemente\'s underdog Pittsburgh Pirates, but this is far more than just another baseball book.
His career ended with three-thousand hits, the magical three-thousandth coming in his final at-bat, and he and the immortal Lou Gehrig are the only players to have the five-year waiting period waived so they could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame immediately after their deaths.
During his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he won four batting titles and led his team to championships in 1960 and 1971, getting a hit in all fourteen World Series games in which he played.
He was a work of art in a game too often defined by statistics.
Anyone who saw Clemente, as he played with a beautiful fury, will never forget him.
Much like his acclaimed biography of Vince Lombardi, When Pride Still Mattered, Maraniss uses his narrative sweep and meticulous detail to capture the myth and a real man.
David Maraniss now brings the great baseball player brilliantly back to life in Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball\'s Last Hero, a book destined to become a modern classic.
On New Year\'s Eve 1972, following eighteen magnificent seasons in the major leagues, Roberto Clemente died a hero\'s death, killed in a plane crash as he attempted to deliver food and medical supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake.
Discover the remarkable life of Roberto Clemente--one of the most accomplished--and beloved--baseball heroes of his generation from Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss. of photos.
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of When Pride Still Mattered comes a full-scale biography of the great baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente, who lived, played, and died with enduring Passion and grace
