Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Hello and welcome. I'm your host, Danny Torres, and thanks for tuning in for another exciting talking 21 podcast, the official podcast dedicated to the extraordinary life and legacy of the legendary 21 Provelto Clemente Walk. Once again, I want to thank our faithful pod listeners who have continued to spread the word via social media and word of mouth. It's been wonderful to read some pretty amazing reviews, and I just wanted to acknowledge those loyal fans and most importantly, my own family and close friends. For episode seven, I thought we would go in a different direction with our next guest. Our previous episodes, we've had some of Roberto's friends and teammates, a Roberto Clemente Award winner, a baseball hall of Famer, and even a former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But as Dave Cash, Roberto's teammate, mentioned in our last episode, florelto always felt a certain kinship with the common man. And our next guest represents this particular group. Pittsburgh native Robert Miller lives and breathes with the Pirates. Growing up in the city of bridges, those great ball clubs of the 1960s and 70s were a critical aspect of his childhood. And yet, there was one extraordinary puerto rican player who captured his imagination. As a kid, Robert went to countless games at Forbes Field and Three River Stadium to watch the buckles with his late father. He even remembers his first game in 1965. Like so many of us, Robert became enamored with the Pirates right fielder and could vividly recall some of his proudest moments on the field.
Sadly, events that occurred on December 30, 172, would also leave a lasting impact on a young Robert. Eventually, he would learn the reason behind his idol's tragic airplane accident while en route to deliver relief supplies after a devastating earthquake in Nicaragua. To this day, Robert continues to walk in the footsteps of his namesake and childhood idol. He even said this to me. The role models in my life were my grandfather, my father, and Roberto Clemente. These gentlemen made me who I am. Robert. Or I think now we could say Roberto was the kind of guy Clemente was drawn to. In one of Clemente's final interviews, he actually said, I am in the minority group. I represent the poor people. I represent the common people of America.
And as such, it was important for us as the talking 21 podcast to share that perspective with our listeners. Robert, today you're representing, as Roberto Clemente once said, the common people of our country. Thanks for joining us on the talking 21 podcast, and we're really excited to hear your unique perspective on the great one. What can you tell our listeners about your home state of North Carolina?
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Well, I've lived here in Charlote since 1983. Moved down here after I graduated from college up at Edinburgh University, which is outside of Pittsburgh. Came down here and have a degree in accounting and got involved in the tax business and have been working in the tax business for 31 years. Met my wife in 2009. She's originally from Peru and she works in the banking business. Charlote is a wonderful town. A lot of Pittsburgh people down here. We do have AA baseball team here affiliated with the Chicago White Sox, but I do miss Pittsburgh. I have a brother and a sister up there still, and other relatives and friends and all that.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: That's great to hear that news there. So first, you were born on August 30, 1960, which happens to be the same month as Roberto's birthday and the year the Yankees lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series. You were also born in the same hospital that Roberto would often visit the sick and infirmed. Share with our listeners and describe what your earliest recollections were of Pittsburgh.
[00:04:38] Speaker B: Pittsburgh was a wonderful, wonderful city to grow up in. Yeah, I was born in Allegheny General Hospital, which is right there on the north side.
Matter of fact, I just spoke with my mother today. She's 90 years old, and I was talking to her about Bill Mazarovsky's famous hit, the 1960 World Series. And of course, I was only two months old, but she said, she recalls holding me in her arms, rocking me. But my father was actually at that particular game that day. That was an afternoon game. As far as growing up in Pittsburgh, I'm one of six or eight children, five brothers, two sisters, and we were always active. Grew up in a small little community just north of Pittsburgh, an area called Ingamar north, about 8 miles north of downtown area.
Just a lot of good memories, playing baseball in the summertime, played hockey in the wintertime.
My grandparents, my mother's parents only lived about 2 miles from us.
We were a very close knit family.
We had a lot of very close friends. It was just a wonderful city to grow up in. And of course, went to a lot of pirate games and things like that. So anybody asks me, even to this day, where are you from? My heart is in Pittsburgh. That's where I tell them I'm from.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: And I'll tell you, I've been to Pittsburgh often, so I could only imagine why you say that often at Charlote. Sadly, Robert, you lost your father in 1988, and yet I was happy to hear that your beloved mother is still alive at the age of 90. Talk about that close relationship between your late father and the trips to Forbes Field and eventually three river stadium.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Yes. My dad, after he came out of World War II, which would have been roughly around 1945, he took a job, automatically took a job with a family owned Chevrolet dealership there in Pittsburgh, Parker Chevrolet. And so he had a lot of connections with the Pirates organization, also with the Steelers organization, through his work. Some of the guys that played on the team were customers of his, some of the coaching staff, et cetera, et cetera. So he knew a lot of the guys on the team.
And my dad, I had a business acumen about me. So as I was growing up, I was very close with my dad in that I would talk business with him when he'd come home from work, I'd ask him, did you sell any cars today? Et cetera, et cetera. But my dad was also very athletic. And he loved baseball. He loved football. And my recollection of going to my first Pirates game was 1965, I can remember. And my dad took us, my brothers and I, down to Forbes Field, which was the old ballpark, which was right there where the University of Pittsburgh was located. And I can remember going in, and we sat on the first base line. And I remember, saw this fella standing out there in right field in a Pirate jersey, number 21. And from that point forward, he made a great catch.
And I just remember that feeling of, wow, this guy is amazing. Keep in mind, Pirates had a lot of great players on that team, including Willie Stargill and Bill Burden and all of those guys. But Clementi Roberto was my man from that point forward.
But I took a liking to the Pirates team right from the beginning and played baseball and imitated Roberto when I played in right field, things of that nature.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Now, I could say this, and I'm a little jealous. I'm going to tell you right now, I'm a little jealous that here it is 50 years ago, you were ten years old, and you were at Three River Stadium, which was relatively a new ballpark. That same month, the month of July, there was actually a Roberto Clemente Day, an actual celebration in honor of the great one.
So here it is. I want you to give me some insight on that particular moment.
[00:09:07] Speaker B: Yeah. On Roberto Clementi Day, the Pirates had just moved into three River Stadium from Forbes Field. They were actually supposed to move into three rivers at the beginning of the 70 season, but due to construction delay, they didn't. The first game was July 17, 1970. And I remember watching with my family, we were watching that first series, the home series against the Cincinnati Reds on my parents brand new color tv. And I can remember seeing on the tv the Astroturf and things like that, but never really got an appreciation for how pretty that stadium was until the following week. My parents took us down to the ball game that Friday night, July 24, 1970. And I can remember like it was yesterday, walking in. We sat out there in right field, Gate C, and I remember going up the escalators and going in, walking into the ballpark, and the first thing I saw was that astroturf, and I was like, wow, this is amazing.
And we sat there, out there in right field. I had my binoculars, and that was Roberto Clementi night. And I remember right from the beginning, he had some young kids from Puerto Rico, ball players there down on the field. And then he also had the children from, the crippled children from children's hospital down there on the field with them. They had all these seats lined up on the first base line for family and friends.
And I remember the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pete Flaherty, speaking to the crowd first.
And then Roberto's very, very close friend, Bob Prince, the pirates announcer, got up and spoke. And then I remember Roberto getting up there to speak, and Roberto got up there to speak, and he started speaking in English, and he made it about a minute into the speech, and then he stopped. And I looked through my binoculars, and you see that famous pose of him leaning his head down, and he stopped.
I could see that he was crying.
And then Vera got up out of her chair, Roberto's wife, and came walking over to him and held Roberto in her arms and said something to him. At that moment, he composed himself, and then he started speaking in Spanish. And by that time, this ten year old boy right here was crying. It was just such an emotional, emotional evening. And we gave him a standing ovation. I want to say it was 510 minutes standing ovation. And that evening, they played the Houston Astros, and they beat him up pretty good that night. But Roberto had two hits in that game, and he had a fantastic catch chasing the ball down the right field line almost right there at the fence where the bullpen was. But that was a beautiful evening to honor Roberto.
43,000 or so folks in the stadium that evening.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Now, you know, it's interesting. As someone who was just ten years old, it just really tells me how much Roberto impacted your life at such an early age. So now we're going to go two years later, 1972. You know the date. We all know the date, and that's September 30, 1972. They're playing my New York Mets, and John Matlack is on the pitcher's mound for that record setting September date and how he connected with that historic final regular season at bat against that Met left handed pitcher. He entered the record books with hit number 3000 as a twelve year old. So this is two years later from Roberto Clemente day you were there. I'd love to hear what the stadium felt like, the cheers and witnessing Clemente standing at second base. And I'm going to ask you this point blank, do you still have that scorecard?
[00:13:14] Speaker B: I still have my game program. I would like to say I'd like to roll back to the night before the Friday night, September 29, 1972. And that's when Tom Seaver was pitching for the Mets that evening. And Roberto came up to bat and smacked a Seaver pitch to the Mets second baseman who bobbled the ball. Roberto reached first base and the scoreboard at Three Rivers said hit number 3000. And we all stood up and cheered. And then about a minute later or so they announced on the PA system there at Three Rivers it was rolled in.
Know of course we booed. But looking back Roberto even said it was the correct call. So the Friday night game was actually a lot more crowded the next day, went back the next day and it was a Saturday afternoon game. It was kind of overcast.
Not many people there. I want to say maybe 13,000 people there. And yes I do remember him coming up and striking that Matlack pitch to left center and Roberto obviously reached second base.
If that photo had not been taken of that famous pose of him at second base I probably would have almost forgotten about that. What I remember the most about that was at the end of that particular inning. I remember I was sitting out in right field, same spot. And I remember there was a bunch of people, must have been from Puerto Rico or what have you, sitting over in center field. And when Roberto at the end of that inning came walking back out into right field they all stood up and were yelling to him in Spanish. And of course I didn't know any Spanish at that time at all so I didn't know what they were yelling to him. But he took his hat off and he acknowledged them and that's what I really remember the most. And then what I remember at the end of that game they actually had pulled Roberto in the 7th inning of that particular game to get him ready for the playoffs coming up against Cincinnati. But what I remember at the end of the game I had my binoculars and I remember Willie Mays, who was on the Mets at that time getting, coming out of his dugout and walking directly across the field, over to Roberto in the Pirates dugout and standing there and of course talking with them, and you see the photos of that with Willie and Roberto. There was a tremendous amount of respect between those two. Great ball know.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Once again, Robert, it's just fascinating to hear how you're really pretty much just describing each moment from the moment that he connects, he's standing at second base to being in the dugout with Willie Mays. And it's just fascinating to really get that perspective from a fan. And this happened so many years ago, but I purposely wanted to talk about the 3000th hit because it would happen two years later. But here it is now, this upcoming year, 2021, we're going to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates. Because we all know what happened in the previous year before Clemente connects with hit number 3000, we know that Roberto was the MVP. We also know that the Pirates won the World Series. So put me now as someone who obviously did not grow up in Pittsburgh, but now you are there. Not necessarily. I'm not even sure if you were at one of the World Series games, but at least give me the perspective of someone who certainly is quite familiar with all of those players, certainly the number one player in Robert's life, Roberto Clemente. But give me the perspective of how you saw Clemente's teammates.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: He had so many great teammates you could go around the horn, starting with Bob Robertson, you know, Bill Mazarovsky, Dave Cash, Gene Alley, Jackie Hernandez, Jose Bagon, Richie Hebner, Willie Stargel, Vic Davalio, Al Oliver, Steve Blast, the whole crew that so many great players on that particular team.
And I just remember the Pirates were actually, I did not make it to any of those games, that particular series. But I remember the Pirates being down the first two games against that great pitching staff for Baltimore 420 game winners and thinking, oh, wow, we're in trouble. But I knew that with Clemente, with Roberto, we're never in trouble. And I just remember how great he played. And it was his moment to shine to the rest of the world, to a lot of the fans that never really got a chance to see him play because they lived in different cities or lived in an American League city, if you will. This was Roberto's moment to show the entire baseball world what we had witnessed for the previous 16 seasons in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, I think he was hidden by the national media for so long, and I think deep down that bothered Roberto.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: Robert, let me ask you something, because certainly this just popped into my head right now. Could you think, and you say he was hidden by the national media because, let's be honest, he was a black.
Just during that time period, we didn't necessarily promote players of color. Do you think, Robert, that might have been the case during that time that Clemente played in Pittsburgh?
[00:19:10] Speaker B: Absolutely, I do. And not only was he a black Puerto Rican, but he was also one that would stick up for himself and stick up for his fellow Latino and black teammates, he did not shy away from doing that. Roberto really had, if you look at his entire career, he really had almost like two careers there in Pittsburgh. The front end of his career, when he first came to Pittsburgh, I can only imagine how rough that was for know, coming from Puerto Rico, struggling with the language, being a dark skin color, and know dealing with the adversarial press, if you will, the news media there in Pittsburgh who tried to at times embarrass, know things the way they were.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Written in a paper. Things written know. I heat the know H-E-E-T.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: Exactly. And that really bothered Roberto a lot because he was a very proud person and also a very intelligent person. And he thought that they were trying to make him look like he was not intelligent. But the back end of his career, as some of the Latino teammates came in, and of course, then Billy Stargill, Manny Sanguan, Jose Pagan and all those guys arrived there in Pittsburgh. And as he matured, as Roberto matured, he became the leader of that team back to the 71 World Series. What really touched my heart was at the end of that series when Bob Prince asked Roberto to come over in the locker room.
I can still hear, you know, the greatest right fielder in the game of baseball, Roberto Clemente. Roberto, come on over. And Roberto said to Bob, if anything at all, I'd like to say something to my parents in Puerto Rico. And that was very touching, very moving.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: And let's also add to that it was in Spanish.
It was in Spanish. He spoke those words, thanking his family, his parents, his children, and he said it all in his native language. And, you know, coming up to now, that 71 season, like I mentioned, we're going to be celebrating the 50th anniversary, Clemente connecting with his 3000 fit in September of 72. But we all know what happens in December. And I'd like, robert, if you can, for our talking 21 listeners to tell us what happened specifically with you when you heard the news that Clemente had passed away on December 31, 1972.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: On that particular evening, of course, back then, news did not travel like it does now. Now you can get your news instantly. But my family and I had actually, my dad was in the automobile business, and he had acquired his own dealership. And we had moved from about 2 hours out of Pittsburgh.
And on New Year's Day of January 1 of 73, we were in Church of the catholic faith. It was a holy day. And we were in church that morning. And it just so happened we had some people in that church that were Puerto Rico, that lived in that particular town. And the priest also spoke Spanish and English. And I remember this like it was yesterday. And I remember the priest making an announcement at the beginning of the mass, and he said something in Spanish. And I remember seeing these folks sitting over from me in the look on this lady's face, and I couldn't figure out for a second what was wrong. And then he made the announcement in English that Roberto's plane had gone down and it was missing. And they were still trying to find him and the other people on board of the plane. And I remember that feeling of my heart just sunk. And I was like, oh, my God, this can't be true. And then when we got back home from the mass, we immediately called my grandparents, my mother's parents in Pittsburgh, and they told us, yes, this is what has happened. And it was just a complete shock, like a death in the family for me personally, because I want to say that the three most influential men in my life is my father, my grandfather, and Roberto Clementi. Without question, those three. I remember the feeling of shock and then just hoping and praying it was all just a mistake and that they would find him and the rest of the people on that plane. And then going to bed that night and just crying that evening. It was just 92 days prior. I'm sitting there and watching him get his 3000 hit and then hear all of this just happened. And it was just a complete shock. But all these years later, I still have the original newspaper from the Pittsburgh paper from that event. But I celebrate his life because his life deserves to be celebrated.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: I just get a sense, Robert, since his passing, that it's been your mission to those who knew Roberto up close, to hear those personal stories, what has been like for you all of these years. And I know you also have a very great relationship with former Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Bob Veal, who was one of Clemente's teammates and a dear friend. As can you. For once again, our listeners, could you share any stories that Mr. Beal conveyed to you about his former teammate, who, sadly, is no longer with us, but certainly still lives in his heart?
[00:24:58] Speaker B: Bob is a very nice fella. I've enjoyed chatting with him. I've called him several times in the last couple of very, very nice talked. He shared many stories with me. But the one that sticks out to me is he said that Roberto, if he went on a hitting streak, he would wear the same shirt over and over and over until his hitting streak ended. And so he said he had his own little quirks. Said prior to the game, like to have a back rub, a rub down, if you will. And he used to always ask Bob Beal, because Bob was a big fella with big hands, and he used to always ask Bob, Bob, can you give me a rub down? And Bob would joke around with him, say, roberta, why me? How come not Tony barter room? Roberta would say, well, bob, because you have big hands and you do a good job. And he just said that he was a great teammate, a great leader, and that they were just also very fortunate to have him. And I wanted to share with you also, the first time I met Al Oliver here, he was here in Charlote on a promo with the AA team here about four years ago. And I went over to the ball game that day, and I met Al that day. And he shared with me a very touching story that when Al first got called up to Pittsburgh from Columbus, he said that he was sitting in the dugout, and he said his father had just passed away. Al's father had just passed away. And he said he's sitting in the dugout. And Roberto came over to him, and Roberto sat down next to him and said, al, I know that you just lost your dad. I know this is very difficult, but I want to welcome you here to the Pirates team. If you have anything at all that you need, you come see me. So Roberto, he said, roberto was like a father figure to him. And Roberto treated the rookies just like the veterans.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: And I've heard that story often about how Roberto mentored those players that came up through the pirate system and certainly was a father figure to a number of those guys, a big brother, so to speak.
You certainly have traveled to Puerto Rico. You've had the opportunity to meet Roberto's three boys, so you've had the opportunity to meet the boys. Any similarities?
[00:27:23] Speaker B: As a young boy growing up in Pittsburgh, sitting in three river stadium, I could have never imagined in a million years that I would end up meeting the Clementi family. But it all came to fruition for me. Back in 2015, my wife took a vacation down to Puerto Rico, and prior to us going down there, asked the lady at the hotel, do they have anything for Roberto? There. And she said, let me put you in touch with a lady over at the town hall in Little Carolina. And she put me in touch with Michelle, Gabrielle. And I told Michelle my story, and she said, when you and your wife come here to Puerto Rico, we will give you the grand tour. So we got to Puerto Rico. We said, we're here. And she came over. They came over, a whole group of them, the next day in a minibus and took us all over the place. I knew Roberto Clementi had brothers and sisters, but I thought they had all passed along. When Michelle told me that Roberto's brother Mattino was still alive at that point in time, I had asked Michelle, is there any way possible while I'm on this island, I could have a chance to meet him? And Michelle made it happen for us. She took us over to Matino and Carmen's home, and we visited with them that afternoon, stood outside, and that was very moving for me. And then a year later, we got introduced to Matino and Carmen's two daughter, well, daughter Jeanette, up there in Pittsburgh. And we become very nice friends with Jeanette and Judith, her sister. And that was the 45th celebration of the pirates in Pittsburgh. And that was when I was introduced to Roberto Jr.
My wife and I. And, yes, I see a similarity between him and his dad. We were introduced to him, and then two days later, we went back over to say goodbye to Jeanete and her husband and had breakfast with him at the hotel. And that's when I met Enrique Ricky, my wife, and I met him and his wife, Lorna, and I want to share were, of course, my wife speaks Spanish, so that was a huge help. So I was able to communicate with Ricky through my wife.
And we have, at the end of breakfast with Ricky, I said something to the effect, Ricky, I just want you to know that your father has left you and your two brothers a wonderful legacy of care and compassion for others. And Ricky went to give me a hug, and I just wanted to say that I could feel Roberto's spirit coming all through me that particular day. It was just like something I cannot describe. And then from there, we went back down to Puerto Rico and had a chance to meet Vera and Luis and a bunch of the family. And it's been wonderful.
[00:30:16] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you this. I've known the family for a number of years as well. And I think beyond feeling Roberto's spirit, let's be honest. The Clemente boys have huge hands, like their dad. So when they give you that handshake or that embrace, those are really where I see the similarities. They have huge know, Robert, just listening to these stories, and certainly I've got a few myself of when I met Mrs. Clemente for the first time. But I'd like you now for our listeners to put us now in your shoes. When you met Mrs. Clemente for the very first time in Puerto Rico, that.
[00:30:59] Speaker B: Was a wonderful, wonderful experience.
My wife and her mother and I decided to take another trip down to Puerto Rico. And of course, we had let Jeanette and Judith and Mattino and Carmen know that we were coming down there, and they said, ok, when you come, know we want to see you. And I said, oh, that's went over. We met up with Jeanette, and we went over and spent the afternoon with her parents that afternoon. And that was a wonderful afternoon. And then toward the end of the afternoon, Jeanette said that Vera was going to be getting back home from church and that she wanted to have a chance to meet us. And that was just a wonderful feeling. So we left Jeanette's parents house. We stopped at the store, and Vera liked Bailey's irish cream, so we stopped and got a bottle of that, and we got some appetizers and some flowers, and we drove over with Jeanette to her home, and she came out the front door with her little dog, Kiwi.
And she being Venito's la casa. Welcome to the house. And we walked in, and I can tell you I felt like I've known her my whole entire life. And Jeanette's husband fixed us all a beverage and asked if I would do the toast.
And I said I would be honored to do so.
And I said something to the effect that I could have never imagined in a million years that I would be standing here in the home of my childhood hero with such a wonderful.
And Mrs. Clemente, you were such an inspiration to, you and Roberta were such an inspiration to all of us in Pittsburgh. And we spent a couple hours with her that evening. And what I will remember the most is, of course, she signed my jersey for me. But I remember that when we went to leave, she said to us, she said, just remember, when you come back to Puerto Rico, you have another family, and that's the Clementes. And that was very touching. And then I wrote her a letter a week after I got back and said how much we really enjoyed seeing her. And we have some wonderful photos of that. And she's such a kind hearted soul, and God rest her soul.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: I was at the memorial service at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, and you were actually, there I spotted you because our mutual friend Paul Cutch had said your name. But it didn't dawn on me at that moment that literally, almost a year later, we will finally make the connection. And certainly may she rest in peace, because she was a gentle, you know, again, Robert, listening to you, listening to your heartfelt stories, knowing how genuine you are, knowing so much how Clemente talked about the common people. I represent the common people. And I'm sure Clemente would have loved you. And I'm sure Clemente would have loved so many of our talking 21 listeners who are just simply wanting to live and walk in the same footsteps of helping the less fortunate. And there was a story that you shared with me.
Know, it really moved me that this is something that you did recently. Here it is that there was a clothing drive to help a needy family or some needy families from Honduras. And besides donating the shoes and the clothing, you donated a Clemente replica jersey. The gentleman interesting enough had no clue who Roberto was. And because your wife is peruvian and certainly speaks spanish espanol, she was able to convey your words to this gentleman who you helped out, who you gave that Clemente replica jersey. So again, this is something going back to what you even text me the other day as well. You said, danny, it's about sharing Roberto's legacy of kindness and compassion. That's my goal. Give me a little bit more insight of how that came to be.
[00:35:27] Speaker B: Robert well, I want to go back to my childhood in that watching Roberto as a young appreciated. I knew about Roberto's kindness and compassion, but I appreciated his baseball skills as a younger child, probably a little bit more as I've gotten older.
I now appreciate his kindness and compassion as much as his baseball skills. And Roberto said many years ago, anytime you have a chance to help somebody that's coming up behind you and you don't, then you're wasting your time on this earth. And the people that I've met that played baseball with Roberto, that knew Roberto on a personal level, they've all said that he was all about being nice to the common people.
I had a friend of mine, a good budy of mine, whose mother was a nurse at the children's hospital there in Pittsburgh, and she said Roberto used to come into the hospital, come in through the back door unannounced, didn't want any notoriety. But he was the type that would talk to anybody, from the janitor all the way up to the president of the hospital. And I've tried to keep that in mind as I go through life to try to help people and talk to people that a lot of people don't want to talk to and give them encouragement when they're feeling down. Because I say to folks, if you really want to know about Roberto Clementi, take a look at the interview, the very last interview that was ever done by Sam Nova in October of 1972. That 30 Minutes interview, 29 minutes of it, is nothing about baseball. It's about how to live our life, how he wanted to raise his children, how he wanted his children to be. And talking about the common man, I.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: Will tell you that it's interesting you mentioned Sam Nova, because I have to share a story with you one day, and it was in 2009. I actually interviewed Sam Nova, and that's actually one of my prize interviews that I cherish to this day. And sadly, he's no longer with us. But it's an amazing, Robert, as I'm listening to you, here it is. 60 years ago, you were born in the hospital that Roberto actually visited the sick and infirmed, and look what you're doing now, 60 years later. So here it is, Robert, you've shared so much of your experience growing up a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, growing up a fan of the great one. But now, Robert, I'm going to put you in a position where once again, the common man, the common person has an opportunity to sit down with the commissioner of Major League Baseball, or one on one, to basically present to the commissioner of Major League Baseball why Clemente's numbers should be retired throughout Major League Baseball. Here it is. You are representing us. You can speak to the commissioner. Maybe it's something that you share right now for the talking 21 listeners, what would Robert Miller say?
[00:38:41] Speaker B: I would say to the commissioner, I would hope and pray that you would retire his number, Roberto's number, for what he stood for, for the latin american community, the latin american ball, what he, what he was all about. And that was helping people in their time of need.
I would also say that if you don't have it in your heart to retire his number, whatever you do, I beg you never, ever to take away that humanitarian award that you award once a year to a ball player in Major League Baseball. That exemplifies what Roberto was all about. Because in my estimation, that humanitarian award is the most prestigious award in all of sports. It represents Roberto to a t. And I would hope and pray that they would never, ever take that award away, for whatever reason. But yes, I would say to the commissioner, he deserves to have his baseball, his jersey, retired without question.
[00:39:54] Speaker A: Robert Miller, I want to say thank you very much. I want to maybe even say maybe you are truly the number one Roberto Clemente fan that I've ever met in my life. So to our talking 21 listeners, I want to thank you so very much.
[00:40:08] Speaker B: And thank you so much. And I just want to say real quickly, I am one of many young boys and girls from Pittsburgh that loved and admired Roberto. I am just a small piece of the puzzle. I think all of us, if we had a little bit of Roberto in us, we could make a huge difference in this world. And it was an honor to have a chance to see you at Vera's funeral service in Puerto Rico and also get a chance to meet Carol Bass, Paul Kutch and a lot of Roberto's teammates. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing me on to your podcast.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Thank you. Robert Miller once again, another great show and I really enjoyed this conversation. Hearing some pretty amazing stories about your childhood in Pittsburgh, seeing Roberto Clemente up close, being introduced to the Clemente family, and most importantly, finally meeting Roberto's lovely wife, the late Mrs. Vera Clemente. She was truly a gentle soul. And finally, I want to personally applaud your efforts in keeping Clemente's memory alive in your heart by what you do on a day to day basis. Until our next episode. Many thanks for listening and please be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram at talking 21 podcast for all the latest information about our episode drops. If you are enjoying the show, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. And a very special thank you to our executive producer Rasquevara and Senor Basil. Tune in next time for our continued conversation about the great one. And as always, this is your host, Danny Torres. And be sure to follow me on Twitter at Danny T 21.
