Why should I be more ‘cautious, careful,’ as you say? I stay in the big leagues as long as I do because I play only one way. I know I take too many, … - Roberto Clemente
" "Why should I be more ‘cautious, careful,’ as you say? I stay in the big leagues as long as I do because I play only one way. I know I take too many, maybe. I know I should not sometimes dive for the ball—or hit the wall trying to catch it— as much as I do. But you catch the ball, you help your team. You don’t catch it, you don’t help your team. I believe playing, how you say, ‘all out’ has prolonged my career. If a ballplayer starts loafing, he tends to lose that little push that is so necessary, so important. You get lazy, won’t take even the smallest chance; kind of lose interest. Your rhythm, I guess it is, gets all messed up. Fly balls start falling on you, when they should not. And you find yourself not getting around on the ball like you should. Once you lose this ‘little push,’ then it is awfully hard to get back in the groove… get yourself going again. Your ambition – desire – suffers. And you become the kind of ballplayer you don’t want to be.
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About Roberto Clemente
Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican Major League baseball player from 1955 through 1972, exclusively with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A posthumous inductee to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (following his fatal plane crash on December 31, 1972, en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua), Clemente became both the first Latin American and the first Caribbean player to be enshrined. The National League's Most Valuable Player in 1966, as well as the 1971 World Series MVP, Clemente was also a 4-time NL batting champion, 12-time Gold Glove winner, and 12-time All-Star.
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Roberto Clemente Walker
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Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker
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Additional quotes by Roberto Clemente
I feel better now than I did at any time last season; the shoulder really hurt me bad last year. The left shoulder still gives me some trouble. It makes me swing differently. I have to adjust. Sometimes I find I'm over-cutting the ball. That is not my natural style. I used to swing and I just knew I could hit the ball hard. I knew when I could hit to right field, when I could pull. Now it's different. I have to force myself more than I ever did. Maybe it's because I'm getting old. Maybe.
To hit in, it's okay; for power, it's not. If you get a line drive in this park, you're in good shape. It's best to hit to right field in this park because of the wall. He explained that balls bounding off and around the right field wall produce more extra base hits. He also said that he doesn't try for the home run. If I tried hard, I might hit 20 to 25 homers a year. But if you hit for a high average, you will help the ball club more.
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If I had not won the MVP, I would not have been mad, because Sandy Koufax was a great pitcher and he deserved it. Besides, I know I would have been close and not snubbed like I was in 1960. And I tell you one thing. I didn't win the MVP alone. I couldn't win it without having a good team, without men getting on base an without us winning. I was sad because we didn't win the pennant. But I thought the MVP was something the ball club could be proud of because it gave our whole team recognition.
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