Roberto Clemente 1965 Timeline

This is the 1965 installment in a chronology of memorable moments in the professional career of Roberto Clemente.

__ Apr 12 __ Mays vs. Momen: ‘When is Scoring Position Not Scoring Position,’ Part 2

An older and wiser Mays has clearly profited from his July 25, 1958 debacle.

"They say that if you don’t get to Veale early, you never will. The Giants almost did in the fourth and some say third base coach Charlie Fox suffered from a flash of conservatism. Willie had singled into left and was wild-pitched to second. Hart struck out, looking. McCovey popped to second base. Two out. Jesus Alou strung a line drive single into right field, a ball solidly hit. Fox stopped Mays after Willie had gone 15 feet down the third base line toward home. Willie went to his knees as he applied the brakes and had to scramble back on all fours to get back to the bag. Haller struck out. If Fox had opened the gates and let Mays go, and if Willie had made it, the Giants would have won in nine innings. But I think Clemente’s throw would have eaten him up.”

As does Mays himself:

“The ball was hit too good and Clemente got it at his knees. I just couldn’t take a chance on Clemente’s arm."

__ May 12 __ Wrong-Field, Game-Tying Triple Beats Bricks But Not Braves

Clemente's booming triple and two wasted singles will not be sufficient to subdue Braves:

"The Bucs came back with a pair in their half of the third on Schofield's single, Roberto Clemente's triple to the right-center wall and Gene Freese's single."

__ May 13 __ Clemente Nails Menke and Torre; Torre and Bolling Beat Bucs

Startling defensive play temporarily preserves Bob Veale's shutout (and takes a 6-week chunk out of Denis Menke's season), but one out later Braves break through, and over the next four innings, Veale and reliever Don Schwall combine to blow the rest of an early 4-0 lead, with Menke's replacement Frank Bolling and Braves catcher Joe Torre doing most of the damage (with said damage limited by RC's second assist, gunning down Torre to limit decisive 8th-inning rally to one run).

Menke had to be taken to Presbyterian Hospital for X-rays of an injury to the back of his right knee. The play occurred in the fourth when he tried to score from second on a single by Sandy Alomar. Bob Clemente made a tremendous throw to the plate where Pag had blocked off the runner.

Writing in Baseball Stars of 1966, Arnold Hano goes into somewhat greater detail:

[W]ith Denis Menke on second base, Sandy Alomar rifled a base hit along the right field line. Clemente flew over to the line, keeping the ball from going to the fence for a double, and then to everybody's astonishment, threw a bullet to catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Because Menke could not believe any human would be able to make the play close, he went into his slide quite late, and awkwardly. Not only did Pagliaroni tag him out, he tagged him out of the Braves' lineup for most of the season.

__ May 28 __ Sickly Momen Starts to Mend On Steady Diet of Met Miscues

Dick Young documents this process lovingly:

"As 32,619 cheered, the Amazin’ Mets last night wrested last place from the Pittsburgh Impostors, 6-1. The Amazin’s recaptured their hallowed ground on pure merit, with Warren Spahn tossing up two very large gophers, and Jim Hickman making the clutch throwing error in the eighth [that] led to four unearned runs… [After said error], there were two on with none out, and you could see the Met breakthrough coming. Here, Spahn almost made a mistake. He threw a DP ball to Clemente, and Roberto hit it like a DP, sharply to McMillan. Mac flipped to second for one. Bobby Klaus threw a changeup to first – a real handful of bubbles – and speedy Clemente beat it. Ump Ken Burkhart jerked his thumb into the air at first before realizing that Clemente had beaten the nothing throw, and then called Roberto safe, which makes Burkhart a rare and noble umpire.

"So, instead of two out and a man on third, there was one out and a man on first and third – and if you want to count the out that Hickman didn’t get, the inning should have been over by now. It was far from over. Clendenon walked, and Mazeroski flied amply to right, Bailey scoring on the fourth out of the inning. It was here that Spahn caught the true spirit of things, and threw up the ball that Willie Stargell hit far over the Met bullpen in right, and 10th place was assured… Wrapup run was scored off [reliever] Bethke. He walked two, and Clemente singled through the left side. Roberto stroked three of the seven Buc hits. The NL batting champ is up to .283 after an atrocious start."

__ May 29 __ Clemente's Convalescence Continues at Mets' Expense

Young continues Clemente chronicle:

"Felled by malaria during the winter, and so weak of body this spring he was recently benched, Roberto Clemente has made a remarkable comeback on the strongest antitdote known to baseball – Met pitching. He has stroked seven hits in two games at Shea, four of them yesterday, to help the Bucs rip off their eighth straight, 7-4. Clemente, often called the most underrated player in baseball, clubbed a triple, double and two singles. He knocked in two runs and scored three others, which accounts for five of the seven scored. Clemente is a smart hitter, too. He hits the ball mostly toward where Ron Swoboda plays. That’s where his first-frame triple went – a slice to right where Swoboda ran two ways at once before the ball dropped near his feet, then slipped on the rain-soggy track while trying to pick it up. One run came across on the triple, and soon Clemente was in on Donn Clendenon’s ample sac fly.

"Schwall was to be the winner. He got even in the fourth when Lary committed a balk that led to a run, fell briefly behind again in the fifth when he wild-pitched home a run, then was pulled even again by Clemente who doubled to right center and eventually scored on Bill Mazeroski's sac lineout to short left. Joe Christopher made a fine charging one-hander on the liner, but took his usual 35 steps before throwing the ball home.

"So It went 4-4 into the seventh, and the crisis came with Clemente staring [Met starter Frank] Lary in the face with men on second and third and two out. The two outs had come first, then a walk to Bailey, a single by Virdon, and a wild pitch. First was open. Stengel had a choice – he could pitch to the red-hot Clemente, or he could put him on and take his chance with Willie Stargell, leading Buc homer-hitter. It wasn’t much of a choice, but it was a choice. Stengel elected to take his chance with Clemente, and almost got away with it. Clemente’s sharp comeback chop skipped off Lary’s leaping glove-tip and was slowed just enough for McMillan to make a nice grab back of second. If not for the wild pitch, there would have been an easy force. Instead, Mac’s peg had to go to first, and the speedy Clemente just beat it. Thus, Clemente knocked in the lead run, and others came shortly."

__ Jun 06 __ RC's Bat Deals Duel Defeat to Still Lowly Mets

Two doubles and a triple in game one plus a solo blast off Spahn in the nightcap help propel Pittsburgh to two vital wins in their desperate attempt to climb back into contention after a miserable opening month minus a healthy Clemente and minus Maz altogether.

"Clemente drove in two runs and scored one in the opener. His double in the first inning scored Manny Mota. Clemente hit another double in the sixth, moved to third on a fly and scored when third baseman Charley Smith missed Mazeroski’s grounder.” "Pittsburgh got [its fifth and final] run when Clemente tripled off Tom Parsons to drive in Manny Mota in the seventh. [...] Roberto Clemente’s first homer of the season, slammed over the left-field wall, gave the Pirates their third run of the [second] game." "Clemente blasted a low line drive over the 406-foot sign on the left-center fence in the sixth inning."

__ Aug 13 __ Beware the Ides of March and Centerfielders Named Willie

Clubbed to the longest part of the ballpark, pulled down by Willie. So what else is new? No, no; this is that other center fielder named Willie:

"Osteen was working on a one-hitter until two were out in the seventh. The second out was Davis’ big contribution." "He almost climbed the centerfield fence at the 410-foot mark to rob Roberto Clemente."

RC takes another tack with Willie his next time up, with similar results:

"Davis robbed Clemente again in the ninth with a sparkling catch. This time he took the ball off his shoetops."

__ Aug 23 __ Mays vs. Momen: Pirates Drown Giants, Willie Burns Robbie

"The game began on an ominous note when the Giants loaded the bases with none away off a then laboring Law – and could score but a single run. This resulted when rookie Tito Fuentes and Matty Alou singled and Willie Mays walked. McCovey lined out to Clemente in right field, and ol’ carbine-arm fired the ball home. Lurid things happened. First baseman Donn Clendenon cut off the throw as Fuentes was headed home. Donn whirled and threw in the general direction of the plate, but Fuentes scored. Additional damage was averted when the ball hit umpire Paul Pryor in the general area of the umbilical cord and both Alou and Mays were prevented from advancing. This cost a run when Jimmy Hart flied out to deep center field. The Pirates got that run back in their first on successive triples by Mota and Clemente, and they lost one tally when Mays took Clendenon’s fly and threw out Clemente at the plate after the tag-up.."

__ Aug 24 __ Mays vs. Momen: 'The Greatest Throw Ever Made At Forbes Field,'

And Robby Didn't Make It!

This time Willie burns Willie [Stargell, that is]; Giants still lose game, and – adding injury to insult – lose Willie as well.

"The Bucs scored two in their first at-bats on an error by Tito Fuentes, the rookie shortstop’s first as a major leaguer, a single by Bill Virdon, a double play ball second baseman Hal Lanier fumbled and a double to the centerfield wall by Donn Clendenon. It was here that Mays amazed again. He scooped up the ball at the base of the 406-foot sign, whirled and fired. It came in on one bounce, directly in front of catcher Tom Haller, who put it on the astonished Willie Stargell. It was described by old-timers as the greatest throw ever made in ancient Forbes Field, but it was a costly one. Mays hurt himself on the heroic effort."

_ Aug 27 __ Unique 'Outfield' Assist - RC Revisits Shortstop For One Play

When one hears of a runner being 'cut down going from first to third', what immediately springs to mind is probably not the following scenario – enacted in Houston's Astrodome by Pirate right fielder Roberto Clemente and recounted by TSN's Les Biederman:

"Clemente made an almost unheard-of assist in this game. With runners on first and second and Pirates charging for the plate, Bob Lillis pushed a bunt into the vacated shortstop position for one run. Walter Bond tried to go from first to third but Clemente, sizing up the situation quickly, came in from right field."

Second baseman Bill Mazeroski recalls:

"Roberto raced in from right field, dove for the ball, and with his face in the dirt threw out the runner going to third base!”

The dumbfounded Bond becomes the 8th frame's first out while Rusty Staub scores from second, building Houston's lead to two. Two more will score before this inning ends and yet another two in the top of the ninth. All this piling on and the resulting 6-run Houston margin makes Clemente's extraordinary effort look ever more irrelevant. However, Clemente's heroics will be rescued from the 'Wasted' and 'Irrelevant' bins by the Bucs' furious 9th-inning comeback. After scoring six to tie in the ninth and winning by one in eleven, the memory of that miraculously erased 8th-inning baserunner is restored to its rightful pride of place in this game's tangled narrative.

_ Sep 01 __ Robby's Revenge: Kayoed by Koufax in 17 Rounds

Striking out against Sandy Koufax? That's memorable?? Weelll, maybe not for Momen, but you'd better believe Sandy would not soon forget this time-and-energy-consuming K en route to tough-luck 3-2 defeat, en route to even tougher twin bill hiccup at hands of hot-but-too-far-back Bucs.

"Koufax fanned 10, as a matter of fact, and now is zeroing in on Bob Feller’s major league record of 348. It was the 78th time in his career and the 17th time this season that he struck out 10 or more batters.

Speaking of 17:

"Koufax made at least 17 pitches before fanning Clemente in the sixth inning, the slugging señor fouling one pitch after another."

_ Sep 06 __ Robby's Rifle Triggers Twin Bill Sweep

Fifth-place Pittsburgh sweeps Cincinnati, 3 - 1 and 4 - 2, knocking Cincy out of second while pulling themselves to within four of first-place L.A. 7th-inning doubles decide both halves of this twin bill, Gene Alley's 7th-inning, RBI double the former and Willie Stargell's bases-clearing blow the latter. Crucial to both contests are Roberto Clemente's contributions, drawing on both the most and least publicized of his five tools, the latter represented by his 1st-inning solo shot in the opener, putting Pittsburgh up, 1 - 0. After Bob Veale's 4th-inning wildness gives back that run, RC keeps the game tied by gunning down Charlie James at the plate with two out in the sixth, setting the stage for RBIs from Alley and Bill Virdon. Game two will remain scoreless until the 6th, when Tommy Helms' two-out RBI single is accompanied by Tony Perez's ill-advised and inning-ending attempt to challenge Clemente's arm by going first to third, thus setting the stage for Stargell's decisive double, which brings in Bob Bailey, Manny Mota and Clemente.