BALTIMORE -- Roberto Clemente Day is always a special day in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have taken part in a Day of Service in honor of the right fielder and humanitarian, and players, coaches and front office personnel will do so again this year.
The celebration of Clemente on his day -- annually on Sept. 15 -- will continue on to that game for the first live Spanish speaking Pirates broadcast.
Monday’s broadcast -- “El día de Roberto Clemente: Los Piratas en español” -- of the Bucs’ contest against the Cubs at PNC Park will have Roberto Clemente Jr. and three-time All-Star and Puerto Rico native Carlos Baerga on the call. They will be joined over Zoom by Clemente Award winners Sammy Sosa, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltrán, Edgar Martinez and Albert Pujols to talk about their experience and what it means to be a recipient of the award.
“This one in particular is going to be a very special broadcast,” Clemente told MLB.com. “Whoever joins in is going to have a treat, because we’re going to be celebrating Clemente Day in a big way.”
The broadcast will air on SportsNet Pittsburgh’s SNP+ and the SNP360 app, alongside the English broadcast on SNP. For those outside of the Pittsburgh market, Major League Baseball will distribute the telecast throughout the U.S. and worldwide, including Puerto Rico, via live streaming on MLB.com.
“We are proud to partner with the Clemente family and SportsNet Pittsburgh to host this first-ever Pirates Spanish-language telecast. It is important to all involved that we continue to lead the way in ensuring Roberto’s legacy lives on for generations to come,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a released statement.
“It is very fitting that, as we honor The Great One’s legacy both on and off the field, his son, Roberto Jr., will be calling the action in their native language. It is a special moment for the organization, the Clemente family, and the baseball community around the world.”
The plan is for Clemente to handle play-by-play duties to start, with Baerga doing the color commentary, but don’t be surprised if the two swap roles at times during the game. Clemente had previously been the Spanish voice for the Yankees in the 1990s and 2000s, and he also did work with ESPN.
Doing a Pirates broadcast has been a goal for years for Clemente, and after years of discussion, it’s coming to fruition. Clemente noted that some Spanish players may not have been interviewed in their native language at PNC Park, and that having a broadcast like this could be a moral boost for Spanish speaking players and fans.
Clemente is also hopeful that a successful broadcast could lead to more in the future.
“I’m really making sure that we have an awesome broadcast, a great show,” Clemente said. “We’re going to make it count. It’s been six years of conversations with the Pirates, trying to push this through. I think this is a great start. I’m looking forward to mapping out some games for next year and doing it the right way for the fans of the Pirates in Spanish.”
Clemente’s impact and story has lived on through the generations after his untimely passing in 1972, and his impact is still omnipresent, like in the Pirates’ Day of Service. A Spanish broadcast helps ensure that his name, and the day, are enjoyed by an even wider demographic.
“It is amazing that a man who only lived 38 years on earth had this impact and still has this impact into different generations,” Clemente said. “He is one of those stories that will never get old because he is a human interest story. It’s not a baseball story. He was more than baseball.”