Thursday, October 28, 1999
Latin writers protest All-Century snub of Clemente
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — Upset over the exclusion of Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente from the All-Century Team named last Saturday, 21 Latin American sports reporters delivered a letter to commissioner Bud Selig protesting what they called an “unjustifiable exclusion.”
Clemente ranked 10th among outfielders the balloting conducted by fans with 582,937 votes, behind Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Ken Griffey Jr. and Pete Rose. Stan Musial, who finished 11th with 571,279 votes, was added to the team by a special panel of experts.
“We still cannot believe the omission of such a great ballplayer, who among other things opened the doors for the Major Leagues to benefit from the incomparable contributions of the great Latin American players,” the letter read.
Clemente hit .317, collected 3,000 hits in 18 seasons and enhanced his hitting with stylish, dynamic play in right field. The Hall of Famer died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve, 1972, while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
The Latin American journalists asked Selig to help publicize their own “20th Century Team” consisting entirely of Latin players. It included Reds legend Tony Perez, who was named as a third baseman. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda and Andres Galarraga were the first basemen.
Clemente was one of four unanimous selections to the All-Latin team, along with shortstop Luis Aparicio and right-handers Juan Marichal and Luis Tiant.
Clemente was great, but not All-Century Tim Sullivan column
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