Clemente’s Legacy: Boricua brotherhood of Minnesota’s Berríos, Rosario

Berríos was a bit more fortunate because most of his immediate family was visiting him in Minnesota at the time, but he and Rosario felt similar callings as they kept track of the hurricane’s destruction.

The Twins’ two young stars ached for their fellow Boricuas. They knew they needed to help their people. They sensed a calling to help, a calling to live up to the high standards that were set long ago by the Great One, Roberto Clemente, the Hall of Fame right fielder that every Puerto Rican ballplayer learns about long before they can hit or throw a curveball.

“Roberto Clemente felt it was an obligation to help,” Rosario said of Clemente’s legacy. “I was in the United States (during the hurricane) and I knew my relatives and people I love were trapped on the island without help. That obligates you to want to help and to look for a way to help.”

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria approaches, La Vida Baseball will highlight the way today’s Puerto Rican ballplayers lived up to the saintly Clemente’s legacy in helping lift their island during the recovery process by giving their fellow Boricuas something to cheer about with their play on the field and, more importantly, by their efforts back home.

On the field, Boricuas continue to make an impact. The Cubs’ Javier Báez is making a strong a case for the National League Most Valuable Player award while pacing Chicago toward another NL Central crown. Fellow All-Star and childhood friend Francisco Lindor is leading the Indians to the AL Central title, and 2015 Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa is helping the defending World Series champion Astros make another run to the playoffs.

The Twins are not in playoff contention this year, but Rosario and Berríos have had strong seasons. Berríos, 24, earned his first All-Star berth this season. Rosario, 26, has 23 home runs already and appears destined to set a new career mark for runs batted in.

“I grew up watching and loving baseball. I was a fan of all the Boricuas,” Berríos said. “If you asked me which team was my favorite team, I couldn’t give you one. I always went for the one with a Puerto Rican. I always loved the Boricuas and baseball.

“Now to be part of what they were for me in the past, it’s an honor to give them happiness to represent my country in the best way and, more than anything, represent God here on earth as a representative of Puerto Rico.”

Their offseason activities, however, have been even more rewarding.

In helping their devastated island recover last offseason, they truly found the power of their celebrity on the streets of their hometowns.

Berríos and Rosario both helped distribute supplies to their fellow Boricuas. That’s when and where they realized that it is indeed better to give than to receive.

“I took food, medicine, water,” Rosario said. “And truly you felt special when people would cry on your shoulder just because you gave them a little help. It’s a different sentiment. … It’s a special sentiment.

“I never imagined that I would feel that way. I felt it for the first time and truly it felt very beautiful to be able to help people who needed help. I’m very happy with what I could do for my pueblo and the people I could help. It was a special feeling for me.”

Berríos, who grew up hearing stories about Clemente from his father and grandfather, Angel Berríos Sr. and Angel Berríos Jr., also walked the streets of his hometown passing out supplies.

He was grateful that Hurricane Maria’s impact wasn’t as devastating in his hometown of Bayamon as it was in other parts of the island. The scars remain, though, because no part of the island was spared.

“I can tell you it impacted all of us, some more than others,” Berríos said. “My family didn’t go through a lot of damage. We just didn’t have light (electricity). It’s the same as other people who coped with long lines to buy gas, food and water, all that was happening in the country. But truly the coast of the island suffered more damage.”

Puerto Rico officials have estimated the death toll from Hurricane Maria at almost 3,000.

The island is slowly recovering. Boricuas are proud and hard-working people, and they have bonded together to help each other cope with Maria’s aftermath.

“Thank God things are getting better,” Berríos said. “All the help, external and internal in Puerto Rico, God sends it and Puerto Rico keeps improving.”

Through the rubble and destruction, Puerto Ricans have been reminded how the entire island embodies Clemente’s spirit.

The pain has been softened somewhat by the knowledge that Boricuas continue to show the giving spirit that Clemente had until his very last breath on the plane crash that took his life on Dec. 31, 1972, when he was on a cargo plane packed with relief supplies for earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Clemente surely would have been proud of the way his fellow Boricuas have rallied for each other.

“It affected everyone on the island,” Rosario said of Hurricane Maria. “It affected all Boricuas, all Puerto Ricans. Maria left a mark on all of our lives. Things grew from that.

“Families united. Friends united. Neighbors united, and the Pueblo united even more to help Boricuas. Truly, it’s something that’s very impactful for every Boricua.”

Featured Image: Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images Sport