Remembering Roberto: Home plate memorial honoring his 3,000th hit to be placed in the North Shore
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Fifty years ago today, the amazing Roberto Clemente notched his 3,000th hit.
In celebration of the day, team officials, fans, and a special former Pittsburgh Pirate all gathered on the North Shore.
A memorial will soon be placed in the exact spot on the North Shore where Clemente cemented his legacy as one of the greatest baseball players ever.
Three Rivers Stadium's rock-hard astroturf is long gone, the fine dirt of the basepaths now replaced by blacktop but thanks to Len Martin and the efforts of others, the location of home plate is now known - the place where the great one took one final cut to get on base.
It was not easy.
"Lots of blueprints and laying them over with Google satellite images," said Martin.
The home plate location was part of the celebration of Roberto's 3,000th hit and those in attendance were familiar faces and others came a great distance for the moment.
"Puerto Rico, that's about 3,000 miles," said Phillip Ruiz Lugo.
Phillip Ruiz Lugo grew up in the same neighborhood that Clemente called home.
"Clemente was my first idol, I didn't have an idol until I met Roberto Clemente," he recalled. "In Puerto Rico, most of the kids my age wanted to be Roberto Clemente."
There was one other person who had a personal connection to "Number 21" in attendance on Friday and he is a Pirates legend in his own right.
"How lucky did I get?"
Former pitcher and all-around good guy Steve Blass.
If you ever want to hear Roberto Clemente stories, Blass is your man.
"He had the amazing ability to take a 10-year Major League Baseball player and make him into a 10-year-old kid," Blass recalled. "You didn't want to miss anything he did."
The plate and second base are the start - then first and third base and then the pitcher's mound will be added so generations can learn about Roberto Clemente and those lucky enough to have seen him play can say, "I remember Roberto."
As for when the home plate will become a permanent fixture is still to be determined.
