EXCLUSIVE: Roberto Clemente Jr. Met with Pittsburgh Pirates -Officers Monday to find out ways to honor the legacy of his legendary father after the scream of the team that removed an outfield tribute to the Baseball Hall of Famer.
Tribute was placed on the right field wall sign with Roberto Clement’s name and No. 21. Fans noticed before the team’s home opener that the tribute was removed in favor of an advertisement for an alcoholic drink.
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Roberto Clemente Jr., son of Hall of Fame Roberto Clemente, sits in Dugout before a game against Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. (Charles Leclaire-wherpresswire)
Clement’s son expressed dismay over the decision in a statement over the weekend, but he told Pakinomist Digital that the two pages “brainstorming” ideas on how to correctly correct the situation after having an initial conversation with the team.
“Right now we want to brainstorm. We have to iron some ideas that we have erected. I’m not getting into the details right now,” he said. “But I think we should have something in the next few weeks to at least really kind of tie in this new relationship with pirates. And I think things happen for a reason.
“This is something we feel really tied up with the team forever. I always say that I was born with an eye patch and I would die with an eye patch, even though I never played for the pirates, but of course I have been connected and it doesn’t matter where I go, I represent the pirates and we as a family have always been ambassadors, not only to the game but for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“I really know that fans show their support and some frustration over a lot of things going on. I think we can have a good result from this conversation that will benefit fans of Clemente in Pittsburgh.”
Clemente said he learned about the tribute’s removal through social media.
“I never really realize that the sign was down until later, when I got home through social media, where I saw the post there,” he explained. “It was very surprising to me. I was surprised and of course my reaction was ‘wow’. That’s all I said and I left it by it.
A amount of opening day looks at the pirates take on New York Yankees at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“A little bit I knew it would take fire, and there are obviously a lot of feelings with the fans and the team and some frustrations, and I think that was the last straw for a lot of the big pirate and clement fans, and they took it on themselves to express themselves, and it was obviously an overwhelming answer. The fact that it was that it was that it was that it was that it came that there was a piece of ad on the wall.
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The Pirates organization said it was an “honest mistake to remove tribute.”
“We did not intend to respect the legacy of Roberto Clemente by adding the advertisement to the pillow in the right field,” team president Travis Williams said in a statement.
“When we added the advertisement to the pillow, it was a supervision of not keeping the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately to me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake.”
The team said it would return logo # 21.
“We’ve been using this area for advertising for many years. When we didn’t have a sponsor who came out of Covid, we added an extra element in 2022 to honor the legacy of Roberto,” Williams added. “It was a copy of the three rivers that signed to honor him.
“This is beyond the many elements of the whole ballpark that honor his heritage, including the fact that the wall is called Roberto Clemente Wall, is 21 meters tall and has two No. 21s on it.
Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder Roberto Clemente on Forbes Field. (Malcolm Emmons-has Today Sports)
“We want to make sure that the Clemente family understands that we did not intend to respect their father. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Clemente family and excusing them and our fans for our honest mistakes.”
