Clemente’s Legacy: Honoring the name

Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar knows names matter. Names are a way of identifying individuals. They can also be a way of honoring someone from the past or present.

Alomar’s siblings – brother Sandy Jr. and sister Sandia – carry variations of their father’s first name. Santos Alomar Conde Sr. gave the youngest of the three Alomar children a different responsibility with his name.

Roberto Alomar, who was born on Feb. 5, 1968, carries the name of a man his father deeply admired. His parents named him in tribute to the Great One, Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.

Robbie Alomar was therefore entrusted to honor the name of Roberto in addition to his parents’ surnames, Alomar and Velázquez.

Special Player

Roberto Alomar was a special player, a 12-time All-Star and part of consecutive World Series championship teams with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993.

Roberto Alomar, a switch-hitter, finished with a .300 career average with nine seasons batting .300 or higher. He had excellent speed and baseball intelligence, stealing 474 stolen bases at an 81 percent success rate. He also hit with good power for a second baseman, drilling 210 home runs.

That combination made him a constant threat on offense, garnering Alomar four Silver Sluggers awards.

He was a spectacular defensive second baseman, arguably the best in baseball history. He possessed an acrobatic grace and tremendous agility that led to highlight-reel plays. He won 10 Rawlings Gold Glove awards.

Roberto Alomar’s all-around performance over 17 seasons earned him a place next to Clemente among the baseball immortals who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

High Expectations

Alomar understood the measure of greatness for Puerto Rican players is not just how good they perform on the playing field. All he had to do is look at his first name to see what a lofty standard there is for Puerto Rican ballplayers.

Like everyone else raised in Puerto Rico, he knew that Clemente was a humanitarian. The Alomar children were also taught that the Great One lived his life as a humble yet fiercely proud man.

Clemente was proud of who he was and where he came from. Alomar was taught additional lessons and values about what it meant to be a Puerto Rican ballplayer. He learned that being a blessed player also meant helping others by extending a hand to the less fortunate, especially in times of crisis.

Those values were the ones that Sandy Alomar Sr. and Maria Alomar (nee Velázquez) imparted on their three kids.

Clemente’s Inspiration

Status did not protect anyone from Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact. Roberto Alomar went through the same experience of worrying, of not knowing, and wondering whether his loved ones were safe.

“It was a sad moment not only for myself, for all Puerto Ricans,” he said, “especially knowing that my family was there. … I didn’t know how bad it was until I had the chance, after a week and a half, to be able to talk to my parents.”

The toughest part of Hurricane Maria’s aftermath, according to Alomar, was the not knowing. Communicating with those on the island was so hard.

“After I got there, I saw the devastation. I knew that we needed to do something. I just went there [Salinas] and tried to help as much as I can,” he said.

Answering the Call

Alomar moved into action once in Puerto Rico. He began to facilitate the process of getting food and relief supplies to those in need. He personally handed out supplies in Salinas and its surrounding communities. The people were touched to see him, one of their own, there for them.

The Hall of Famer knew that his participation in the relief and recovery efforts was important. This is part of his heritage as a Puerto Rican player, as a member of the Alomar family, and as someone named after Clemente.

“I think Roberto Clemente will always be recognized for the things that he did. He inspired not only us [ballplayers] but he inspired everybody in Puerto Rico,” he noted.

The inspiring legacy he left behind went well beyond the playing field. Clemente in fact left two legacies, according to Alomar, one as a person and another as a player.

“I think that he was a bigger human being than he was a player. … I think we all admire him for that. And that is what I try personally to do. I try to go the same path that he went,” he said.

For Alomar, that path includes working with children and also those with special needs. His foundation is helping rejuvenate youth baseball in Puerto Rico, and also creating new opportunities in Toronto.

“It’s important for my foundation to give back to communities, especially in the things that I know, baseball,” he said. “With the help of MLB we have created programs with kids in Puerto Rico. Rob Manfred has been an unbelievable help. And through my foundation I help a lot of people in Canada, especially the kids with disabilities. That is something that I am really hands on about. And thanks to all the help in Toronto we are going to be able to build two ballparks in Toronto for the handicapped kids.”

Alomar, the Hall of Famer, is proving that he is worthy of all his names, Roberto Alomar Velázquez.

Featured Image: Abelimages / Getty Images Sport

Inset Image: Jean Fruth / La Vida Baseball