Exclusive: Roberto Clemente Jr. met Pittsburgh Pirates Officials found a way to further respect his legendary father’s legacy on Monday following protests over a team that will remove an outfield homage to the baseball hall of fame.
The tribute was placed on the wall of the right field. This has noticed that the tribute was removed in favor of the ads for alcoholic beverages before Roberto Clemente’s name and sign No. 21, and the team’s home opener.
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Hall of Fame son Roberto Clemente Jr. sits in the dugout before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. (Charles Leclaire-Uspresswire)
Clemente’s son He expressed his disappointment Although it was a decision in a statement over the weekend, he told Fox News Digital that he was “brainstorming” ideas on how to properly correct the situation after having his first conversation with his team.
“We’re brainstorming now. We need to solve some of the ideas we listed. I’m not going to go into the details right now,” he said. “But I think we should have really, really, so many things in the next few weeks, at least in this new relationship with the pirates, and I think things will happen because of that.
“This feels like we’re bound by our team forever. I always say I’m born in ophthalmology and die in ophthalmology.
“I really know that fans are showing their support and showing some frustration with so many ongoing things. I think we can get great results from this conversation that benefits the fans of Clemente in Pittsburgh.”
Clemente said he learned about removing tributes through social media.
“I never really noticed this sign was down until I got home through social media, or when I was watching the post there,” he explained. “It was a very surprising thing for me. I was surprised. Obviously my reaction was ‘amazing’. That’s everything I said and I left it on it.
On the opening day, spectators watch the Pirates face the New York Yankees at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“I didn’t know it would be igniting, but obviously there was a lot of emotion with the fans and the team, some frustration, and I think that was the last straw for a lot of big pirates and Clemente fans. They took it to express themselves. There was an ad on the wall.”
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The Pirates organization said removing the tribute was an “honest mistake.”
“We were not going to downplay Roberto Clemente’s legacy by adding it to the pads on the right field,” Team President Travis Williams said in a statement.
“When I added the ads to the pads, it was monitoring that it didn’t keep the number 21 logo. This was ultimately me and not anyone else in the organization. That was an honest mistake.”
The team is no. I said I would return the 21 logo.
“We’ve been using this area for advertising for many years. When sponsors didn’t come out of Covid, we added an additional element in 2022 to honor Roberto’s legacy,” added Williams. “It was a replica of three rivers honoring him.
“This is 21 feet tall, with 21 feet of 21 seconds, in addition to many elements throughout the ballpark that honors his legacy, including the fact that the wall is named the Roberto Clemente Wall.
Roberto Clemente is the outfielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbesfield. (Malcolm Emmons – USA Today’s Sports)
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“We want to make sure that Clemente’s family understands that it is not intended to be rude to their father. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Clemente family and apologizing to them and their fans for their honest mistakes.”
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