Legacy of Clemente celebrated
Winners of annual award hold it in highest regard
John Smoltz was an eight-time All-Star, a National League Cy Young Award winner and a World Series champion. Yet there’s no question which accolade from the first-ballot Hall of Famer’s illustrious career stands out the most.
For Smoltz, it was winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 2005.
“It’s the greatest accomplish that I’ve had in my career,” Smoltz told the PostGazette. “Everything we do on a baseball field gets judged and put into categories, but what Roberto Clemente did has an impact for the rest of your life.”
The admiration Smoltz has for the Pirates legend will be on display for a national audience at 2 p.m. Monday, as he’ll be part of MLB Network’s telecast that will exclusively present the winner of the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award.
Instead of presenting the award at the World Series, Major League Baseball pivoted due the pandemic and launched an afternoon special to celebrate Clemente, his family, past award winners and also this year’s recipient. (Josh Bell is the Pirates’ nominee.)
It will actually kick off a week of awards-based shows for MLB Network, with the Clemente Award followed by the Hank Aaron, Ford C. Frick and All-MLB Team presentations.
Along with Smoltz and other past winners such as Harold Reynolds and Jim Thome, three-time All-Star Al Leiter — the 2000 Clemente Award winner — will help steer coverage from Studio 21, MLB Network’s palatial homage to Clemente that includes a 15-foot sign at the entrance emblazoned with a Pirates-style “21,” as well as a 7-foot bronze medallion bearing the number.
“It really does mean a lot,” Leiter said of winning the award. “I’ve been to a few World Series. I won a couple of ’em. I don’t have a ‘dig me’ room, but I have an office. And I’ll be honest with you, I prominently display [the Clemente Award] in a nice spot. I have a couple little trinkets here and there, but it’s the Roberto Clemente Award that really means so much
to me. It does.
“Every year the fact that baseball has done an amazing job to recognize it and then also make players be aware of it and how we promote the award winner, I think that’s important.”
Smoltz and Leiter agreed that winning the Clemente Award — the last Pirate to win it was Andrew McCutchen, in 2015 — inducts you into a special fraternity, the type of thing that holds special significance whenever they’re all in one place, typically for some type of event honoring Clemente.
Particularly poignant moments for Leiter have been recent presentations to Yadier Molina (2018) and Carlos Beltran (2013), drawing a Puerto Rican parallel with the award. The more recent one had what Leiter believed to be the largest gathering ever of living Clemente Award winners — eight or nine in total.
“It’s not an MVP or Cy Young, but in my opinion, the award has every bit the same importance as the on-field stuff because it recognizes the player off the field, too,” Leiter said. “It’s about being a good guy, helping others in need and giving back.”
The yearly award presentation has led to some cool moments for Leiter, Smoltz and others, whether it was interacting with Vera Clemente or her three sons: Roberto Jr., Luis Roberto and Roberto Enrique.
This year will be extra emotional, Leiter and Smoltz said, because it will be the first without the matriarch of the Clemente clan, echoing comments made by Roberto Jr. this past season whenever the Pirates, at manager Derek Shelton’s behest, all wore No. 21 on Sept. 9 for Roberto
Clemente Day.
Leiter said Roberto Jr. had planned to do an anniversary fundraiser dinner this year in Puerto Rico, but it was shelved because of COVID-19. The Clementes did provide black-and-gold, Pirates-style watches to the living winners, something that also impressed Leiter.
“It really is a little family,” Leiter said. And a big responsibility. All past winners vote, and it’s a responsibility Leiter takes extremely seriously, poring over the massive binder that’s distributed, trying to find the most worthy candidate.
“It’s not just, ‘Who’s the biggest name?’ ” Leiter said. “I go for the guys who legitimately spend their time and money helping in their community, in their respective cities and where they live.”
That sort of excitement will manifest itself in MLB Network’s presentation of the award, which will include comments from past winners; an essay, vignettes and clips that celebrate Roberto and Vera; an appearance by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred; and an interview with this year’s winner.
“Nothing,” Smoltz said, “is quite like the Roberto Clemente Award.”
Scouting the Pirates
The Post-Gazette also asked Smoltz and Leiter for their thoughts on the Pirates. While other clubs typically get more attention on MLB Network, they did say a couple of things stood out about Pittsburgh’s situation.
For Smoltz, he believes the Pirates might actually be in a pretty good spot window-wise whenever they’re able to get competitive.
“I think they’re trying to start that process over,” Smoltz said. “The timing of the division ... we always look at this window, and I think their window is coming up. Other teams, it’s hard to sustain dominance. Hopefully they can maximize their window, whatever that length or timeframe is for them.”
Does Smoltz have an idea when that window might open again?
“A couple years,” he said. “I don’t know the ins and outs of their organization from a minor-league standpoint, but I would think that’s a fair assessment.”
For Leiter, he really liked the Shelton hiring, believing that’s the type of manager the Pirates — young, trying to build and taking their lumps — need right now. But he also sees a bunch of questions when he looks at Pittsburgh’s roster.
“Does Joe Musgrove take another step? Can Jameson Taillon help? I know Josh Bell wasn’t the player he was in 2019, but he’s a dynamic talent. There’s no reason not to like him just because it was a bad year this year. I like Bryan Reynolds a lot, but where does it go from there?
“Does Cole Tucker end up being a realdeal guy? I like Ke’Bryan Hayes, but I don’t know who they’re going to rely on and say, ‘Here’s our next five-year window for these guys.’ That’s the reality. But if you love baseball, you just have to bear down and say, ‘OK, we’re building around these three or four guys.’ I hope when I see guys like Taillon and Bell and some of their prospects coming up that they can make a move.”