Remembering Roberto Clemente’s 3000th Hit
A man recalls a cherished baseball bat from Roberto Clemente, initially believed to be a regular game-used bat, until a former Pirates trainer revealed it was actually the one Clemente used for his 3,000th hit. The revelation contradicted the family's long-held belief that another bat had been donated to the Hall of Fame for that milestone. The story highlights confusion over which bat was used and how memorabilia can carry hidden histories. The bat’s authenticity is supported by its unique features and the trainer’s firsthand account.
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My father has lots of old baseball bats given to him by players he worked with over the years. He has Mickey Mantle bats from his years with the Yankees, and Willie Stargell and Dave Parker bats from his days with the Pirates. The one I always loved best was an Adirondack model with R CLEMENTE embossed in modest block letters, instead of the usual signature burned into the barrel. On the bottom of the knob, Roberto had written a tiny “37” in ballpoint pen, presumably to indicate its weight: 37 ounces. It also had a series of scrapes around the middle where someone had scratched off the trademark stripe that encircled all Adirondack bats. Former Pirates GM Joe Brown gave my dad this bat several years after Roberto died.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at kottke.org.
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