21 fascinating facts about Roberto Clemente

Major League Baseball moved the 2016 edition of Roberto Clemente Day up from its normal September observance to May 31 to correspond with the Marlins and Pirates playing a series in his homeland of Puerto Rico.

The games were moved out of San Juan due to concerns about the Zika virus, but the lauding of Clemente goes on. There's always reason to celebrate Clemente, the greatest player to come out of Puerto Rico and a role model on and off the field. His story is known by many, but there's so much about his life and Hall of Fame career that is forgotten or glossed over.

As baseball celebrates his life and legacy, here are 21 facts - to match his famous uniform number - you probably didn't know about Clemente.

1. Ace javelin thrower

Clemente's arm was the stuff of legend, but how did it get so good? Perhaps from throwing the javelin in high school, which he once tossed 190 feet, according to one account in Bruce Markusen's biography.

2. Clemente was a Dodger?

Though he never played for the team, Clemente was initially signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers for $5,000 and a $10,000 bonus. The Milwaukee Braves offered more money, but Clemente had already committed to Brooklyn.

3. Best Rule 5 pick ever

Because Clemente was signed for more than $4,000 and spent all of 1954 with Triple-A Montreal, he was deemed a "bonus baby," which left him eligible for what's now called the Rule 5 draft. Brooklyn thought it could hide Clemente in the minors for a year while developing him, but the Pirates spied his talent and drafted him away that winter - which meant they grabbed a Hall of Famer for literally nothing. No other Rule 5 pick has ever reached Cooperstown.

4. His first uniform number

It's hard to believe, but Clemente played the first month of his big-league career wearing No. 13. Outfielder Earl Smith had No. 21, but he was released in April after only five games. Once he was gone, Clemente grabbed No. 21, and never took it off.

5. 21 is special

Clemente was a proud family man, and had a special reason for wearing No. 21: His full name - Roberto Clemente Walker - was 21 letters long.

6. Inside-the-park grand slam

On July 25, 1956, Clemente made jaws drop. With the Pirates trailing the Cubs 8-5 in the ninth inning at Forbes Field, the 21-year-old took Jim Brosnan's first pitch deep into left field, where it took a strange bounce. Hank Foiles, Bill Virdon, and Dick Cole scored easily, and Clemente followed them to circle the bases for the first and only inside-the-park walk-off grand slam in MLB history. Only 12,681 people were there to witness the incredible feat.

7. 1960 World Series heroics

Clemente hit safely in all seven games of the Pirates' remarkable World Series win over the Yankees, and kept their eighth-inning rally going in Game 7 by legging out an RBI single. Without his heroics, Bill Mazeroski might not have gotten the chance to hit his famous series-ending homer.

8. Exclusive all-around company

Clemente is one of just four players to possess at least 10 Gold Gloves and a .300 career average. The others? Willie Mays, Ichiro Suzuki, and fellow Puerto Rican Roberto Alomar.

9. Consistent production

Though he dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, Clemente's consistency became his trademark. From 1960-1972 he hit at least .300 every season except 1967, while keeping his on-base percentage above .350 in each year.

10. Unstoppable for 48 hours

For two days in 1970, the Los Angeles Dodgers simply couldn't get Clemente out. He set a since-tied Pirates record by recording 10 hits over two consecutive games, going 5-for-7 in a 16-inning game on Aug. 22, then 5-for-6 with four runs scored on Aug. 23.

11. Hit No. 3,000

Three-thousand hits was an important milestone for Clemente, and he got there Sept. 30, 1972 with a double off Mets hurler Jon Matlack at Three Rivers Stadium. None of the fans in attendance knew they had just witnessed Clemente's last career hit in his last career at-bat, making him the lone member of the 3,000-hit club to finish with that exact number.

12. Clemente's night

Clemente became so beloved in Pittsburgh that the Pirates organized "Roberto Clemente Night" on July 24, 1970. He was presented with a scroll containing 300,000 signatures of thanks from other Puerto Ricans.

13. 1971 World Series

Clemente saved his best performances for when it mattered most. Like in the 1960 classic, he hit safely in all seven games against Baltimore, slashing .414/.452/.759 with 12 hits, including a home run to open the Game 7 scoring. For his efforts, which delivered the Pirates' third World Series title, he was named World Series MVP.

14. One last series

Clemente did have a few more appearances after hit No. 3,000. The Pirates made the postseason in 1972, and he recorded four hits in his team's 3-2 NLCS loss to Cincinnati.

15. A teammate's search

The circumstances of Clemente's tragic death, aboard a plane that crashed while heading to Nicaragua with earthquake relief supplies, is well known. It sent shockwaves through Puerto Rico, Pittsburgh, and all of baseball. Every one of his teammates attended his funeral, except one. Catcher Manny Sanguillen spent that day, and several more, diving into the waters off San Juan in hopes of rescuing his close friend. Clemente's body was never recovered.

16. Hall of Fame induction

Because of his sudden death, Clemente was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973 via a special election. The only other player to be inducted before the five-year post-career waiting period expired was Lou Gehrig.

17. Latino hero

Like Jackie Robinson did for African-Americans, Clemente paved the way for Latin players by enduring racist taunts and stereotypes to become a superstar. He was the first Hispanic player to win a World Series MVP, a regular-season MVP, and to earn induction into the Hall of Fame.

18. A mistake is corrected

For many years after his induction, Clemente's plaque in Cooperstown read "Roberto Walker Clemente," which was incorrect - per Hispanic naming customs, his mother's maiden name, Walker, should appear after his surname. In 2000, the Hall of Fame finally corrected the error by replacing his original plaque with one bearing his proper name.

19. The Clemente award

The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team." It's a fitting tribute to a man so devoted to the award's values, though it wasn't created with him in mind. Originally named the "Commissioner's Award," it was first presented to Willie Mays in 1971, and was renamed for Clemente following his death.

20. Neil Walker's connection

Clemente has a unique connection to a now-former Pirate. A Montreal Expos pitcher named Tom Walker was supposed to be on the plane that took the lives of Clemente and others, until Clemente urged his winter ball teammate to go enjoy New Year's Eve. His life saved, Walker eventually returned to his native Pittsburgh to raise his family. Neil Walker, Tom's son, went on to spend seven seasons playing second base for the Pirates. In 2011, Neil hit an Opening Day grand slam, one of only two such homers in Pirates history. The other was hit by Clemente.

21. A fitting tribute

When the Pirates designed PNC Park, they did so with Clemente in mind. The stadium's right-field wall is 21 feet high in his honor.