Editing Roberto Clemente (section)

====Stardom====
Early in the 1960 season, Clemente led the league with a .353 batting average, and the 14 [[extra-base hit]]s and 25 [[Run batted in|RBIs]] recorded in May alone resulted in Clemente's selection as the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]'s [[Major League Baseball Player of the Month|Player of the Month]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=United Press International |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kzAgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I08EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5148%2C1037333 |title=Clemente NL's 'Best in May': Roberto Solid Choice for Award |newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]] |date=June 4, 1960}}</ref> His batting average would remain above the .300 mark throughout the course of the campaign. On August 5 at [[Forbes Field]], Clemente crashed into the right-field wall while making a pivotal play, depriving [[San Francisco Giants|San Francisco]]'s [[Willie Mays]] of a [[Leadoff batter|leadoff]], extra-base hit in a game eventually won by Pittsburgh, 1–0. The resulting injury necessitated five stitches to the chin and a five-game layoff for Clemente, while the catch itself was described by Giants beat writer [[Bob Stevens (sportswriter)|Bob Stevens]] as "rank[ing] with the greatest of all time, as well as one of the most frightening to watch and painful to make."<ref>{{cite news |author=Stevens, Bob |title=Spectacular Game: Virdon Circles Bases on Error |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=August 6, 1960}}</ref> The Pirates compiled a 95–59 record during the regular season, winning the NL pennant, and defeated the [[New York Yankees]] in a seven-game [[1960 World Series|World Series]]. Clemente batted .310 in the series, hitting safely at least once in every game.<ref name=AP:CBBB>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1973/01/02/page/53/article/clemente-baseballs-big-bargain |title=Clemente: Baseball's Biggest Bargain |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=January 2, 1973}}</ref> His .314 batting average, 16 home runs, and defensive playing during the course of the season had earned him his first spot on the NL [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] roster as a reserve player, and he replaced [[Hank Aaron]] in right field during the 7th and 8th innings in the second All-Star game held that season (two All-Star games were held each season from 1959 through 1962).<ref name=clemente-stats>{{cite web |title=Roberto Clemente Career Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero01.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

During spring training in 1961, following advice from Pirates' batting coach [[George Sisler]], Clemente tried to modify his batting technique by using a heavier bat to slow the speed of his swing. During the 1961 season, Clemente was named the starting NL right fielder for the first of two All-Star games and went 2 for 4; he hit a triple on his first at-bat and scored the team's first run, then drove in the second with a [[sacrifice fly]]. With the AL ahead 4–3 in the 10th inning, he teamed with fellow future [[National Baseball Hall of Fame|HOFers]] [[Hank Aaron]], [[Willie Mays]], and [[Frank Robinson]] to engineer a come-from-behind 5–4 NL victory, culminating in Clemente's [[walk-off home run|walk-off]] single off [[knuckleball]]er [[Hoyt Wilhelm]]. Clemente started again in right field for the second All-Star game held that season and was 0 for 2, flying and grounding out in the 2nd and 4th innings. That season he received his first [[Gold Glove Award]].<ref name=clemente-stats/>

Following the 1961 season, he traveled to Puerto Rico along with [[Orlando Cepeda]], who was a native of [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]]. When both players arrived, they were received by 18,000 people. During this time, he was also involved in managing the [[Senadores de San Juan]] of the Puerto Rican League, as well as playing with the team during the major league off-season. During the course of the winter league, Clemente injured his thigh while doing some work at home but wanted to participate in the league's all-star game. He pinch-hit in the game and got a single, but experienced a complication of his injury as a result, and had to undergo surgery shortly after being carried off the playing field. This condition limited his role with the Pirates in the first half of the 1965 season, during which he batted .257. Although he was inactive for many games, when he returned to the regular starting lineup, he got hits in 33 out of 34 games and his batting average climbed up to .340.<ref name=clemente-stats/> He participated as a pinch hitter and replaced [[Willie Stargell]] playing left field during the All-Star Game on July 15.

[[File:Roberto Clemente - Pittsburgh Pirates - 1966.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Clemente in 1966]]
Clemente was an All-Star every season he played in the 1960s other than 1968—the only year in his career after 1959 in which he failed to hit above .300—and a Gold Glove winner for each of his final 12 seasons, beginning in 1961. He won the NL [[batting title]] four times: 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and won the league's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|MVP Award]] in 1966, hitting .317 with a career-high 29 home runs and 119 RBIs. In 1967, Clemente registered a career-high .357 batting average, hit 23 home runs, and batted in 110 runs. Following that season, in an informal poll conducted by [[Sport (US magazine)|''Sport Magazine'']] at baseball's [[Winter Meetings]], a plurality of major league [[General manager (baseball)|GMs]] declared Clemente "the best player in baseball today," edging out AL [[Triple Crown (baseball)|Triple Crown]] winner [[Carl Yastrzemski]] by a margin of 8 to 6, with one vote each going to [[Hank Aaron]], [[Bob Gibson]], [[Bill Freehan]] and [[Ron Santo]].<ref>[[#Markusen|Markusen]], p. 171.</ref>

In an effort to make him seem more American, sportswriters started calling him "Bob" or "Bobby". His baseball cards even listed him as "Bob Clemente", a practice that persisted through to 1969. He disliked the practice, which he felt was disrespectful to his Puerto Rican and Latino heritage. Clemente would correct reporters who referred to him as "Bob" during post-game interviews, but the issue continued throughout the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/baseball-history/clemente-overcame-societal-barriers-en-route-to-superstardom |title=Clemente overcame societal barriers en route to superstardom |author=Markusen, Bruce |publisher=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]]}}</ref>