MLB: Ichiro becomes all-time hits leader among foreign-born players
Roberto Clemente: 3,000 career hits
Roberto Clemente was the first foreign-born player to reach 3,000 hits. He came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955 and played 18 years for the team, leading the league in hitting four times. He was a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove winner. He also received MVP votes in 12 seasons and won the NL MVP Award in 1966. Sadly, Clemente’s 3,000th hit was the final hit of his career.
Clemente got that hit on September 30, 1972, during a season in which he hit .312/.356/.479. Even at 37 years old, he was a well above average hitter (135 wRC+) and still good on defense. He was worth 4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR, per FanGraphs). He still had a few good years left in him.
Clemente wasn’t able to play those years because he died in the offseason following the 1972 season. He was delivering supplies to Minagua, Nicaragua, after a massive earthquake hit the city a week before. The plane was overloaded with supplies and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
It was a devastating loss for the Pirates, their fans and the baseball community as a whole. Most of the Latin American players who came to the major leagues after Clemente were influenced by Roberto. Some people have even suggested MLB should retire his number 21 across baseball like they’ve done with Jackie Robinson’s number 42.