Right field in Pittsburgh will always belong to Roberto Clemente.
Well, maybe not.
The Pirates made an odd decision recently to replace a ‘Clemente 21’ icon on the right-field wall at PNC Park with an advertisement for Surfside, a cocktail line of hard teas and lemonades.
Fans definitely noticed, including Clemente’s son, Roberto Jr., who wrote on X: “WOW…………..”
Former Pirates manager commented on Jr.’s post, “My lord,” and area native Darrelle Revis wrote, “This is not at all a good representation of ownership.”
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The Pirates issued a statement on the matter after it blew up.
“Roberto Clemente is more than a Hall-of-Fame player to us,” the statement read. “His legacy helps define who we are as an organization. One would be hard-pressed to find a franchise that pays tribute to one of their historically great players more than the Pittsburgh Pirates do of Roberto Clemente, and rightfully so. Each and every day, we proudly honor and celebrate Roberto Clemente, the person, the player, and the humanitarian in and around our ballpark, as well as through our charitable endeavors.
“The 21-foot-high wall that officially bears Roberto Clemente’s name continues to, and will forever, display his No. 21 in two separate locations. The temporary wall sign in question was put in place prior to the 2022 season and was never meant to be a permanent tribute, simply another cap tip to ‘The Great One.’ We apologize that we didn’t directly communicate that fact to the Clemente family and our fans.”
This likely didn’t make Pirates fans much happier.
It would’ve been very simple to just leave the icon on the wall. It doesn’t seem like super prime advertising space for a small company logo.
Why not just keep the franchise legend right at home where he belongs?
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