Jean Fruth visits with Vera Clemente: “She is the story of Roberto Clemente”
Ever since La Vida Baseball began, Roberto Clemente has been our guiding light, not just for his performance on the field, but for his philanthropic approach off of it.
As one of the top baseball photographers, Jean Fruth shares this vision of Clemente’s influence and wanted to bring more of his history to life on film.
“I connected with a baseball historian, Jorge Colón-Delgado, and I said ‘Let’s find everything Roberto Clemente,’” she said.
In the video above, Jean discusses her experiences with the Clemente legacy, from her journey to document the meaningful moments in Clemente’s life in Puerto Rico to accepting an invitation to the Clemente home from Clemente’s widow Vera.
“She is the story of Roberto Clemente,” Fruth says.
Clemente Presente
Fruth was able to photograph Clemente artifacts and witness the family’s annual pilgrimage to the site of Roberto’s plane crash. “Vera said, ‘We would like you to be there, to say the prayer and hold hands,’” Fruth says.
Listening to Jean’s stories makes it clear just how big a shadow Clemente casts over both baseball and the people who knew him. Beyond that, his life remains a vital influence on the game and the culture.
Just this week, El Profe Adrian Burgos, Jr. wrote about how Clemente should guide our responses to the current border crisis:
Knowing the pain of Latino immigrant and refugee children being separated from their parents is what has driven many of those associated with baseball to consider taking action or speaking out.Clemente stands as an enduring example to consider what those actions and what their words might be. It is time for all of us to speak up and to act on the behalf of fellow Latinos, and for our children.
As Hurricane Maria ravaged the land of Clemente’s birth last winter, Burgos Jr. recalled his relief work in Nicaragua:
When Nicaragua was rocked by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on December 23, 1972, a day before Nochebuena — or Christmas Eve — Clemente took it upon himself to support relief efforts.Nicaragua was not Clemente’s homeland, but fellow Latinos were suffering.When Clemente heard the call, he moved into action. And so did his homeland of Puerto Rico.
Perhaps with Clemente’s actions in mind, players took up his mantle:
The Pittsburgh Pirates honored Clemente’s memory by delivering 460,000 pounds of relief supplies via charter jet.The Houston Astros, under the direction of owner Jim Crane, have chartered several planes to transport supplies and bring back Puerto Ricans with serious medical issues.Carlos Beltrán, the elder statesman among the 28 players from the island that performed in the majors last season, pledged $1 million just hours after the devastation became clear.
Still Inspiring
Major League Baseball continued its relief efforts during this year’s Puerto Rico Series as the Clemente family unveiled a statue in Roberto’s honor:
The power went out around 10:30 a.m. all across the island as MLB and the Clemente family were unveiling a memorial marker in honor of the late Hall of Famer. It was placed at the shoreline near where Roberto’s plane crashed on Dec. 31, 1972.
The power outage didn’t keep the league from showing up where it mattered most:
On a bigger scale, MLB donated $350,000 to Habitat for Humanity for two mobile response units — a cargo van and truck — outfitted and stocked with supplies to support home construction and repairs across the island. MLB also gave more than 2,000 Little League players new uniforms and apparel as part of a total donation of $1 million this week.MLBPA and The Players Trust donated another $200,000 to Feeding America, which has been running a food bank on the island since Hurricane María.
Even with all these examples of Clemente’s legacy, perhaps the post poignant comes from his son, Roberto Jr., in an interview with La Vida Baseball last summer:
It’s amazing that every single year there are more fields, more schools, more leagues, more kids learning about him in school. There is a younger generation learning about Roberto Clemente not only here and in Puerto Rico, but across the United States. Obviously, he was very young when he passed away, but what he accomplished in his 38 years is still growing.
In photos, in the game and in philanthropy, Clemente endures, a living tribute to his own words: “Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth.”
For more of Jean Fruth’s work, follow La Vida Baseball on Instagram.
Featured Image: Jean Fruth / La Vida Baseball