Pirates' past, present get together in meeting between Andrew McCutchen, Roberto Clemente's family

Roberto Clemente III, also known as R.C. III, is a lucky boy.

Not only does he have a grandfather who has been revered and celebrated inside and outside the baseball world for more than a half-century, but he gets to have two birthday celebrations this month.

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— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 6, 2023

He turns 5 on June 30, but the festivities began Tuesday in the tunnel outside the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park clubhouse before the game against the Oakland A’s. He met the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen.

R.C. III is the son of Roberto Clemente Jr. The family, including wife and mom Kailee and Leo (in his dad’s arms), enjoyed a few moments with McCutchen.

“It was cool to meet (R.C. III),” McCutchen said Wednesday morning. “He said he was a big fan. It was neat, just to have that interaction with him. It’s one of those things where, of course, I never met Roberto Clemente himself but you feel within that family the presence of him because of the bloodlines.”

The meet-and-greet was especially meaningful because McCutchen won the MLB award named after R.C. III’s grandfather in 2015. The Roberto Clemente Award has been given annually since 1971 to a player in major-league baseball who demonstrates the values Clemente displayed in “his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others,” according to an article on MLB.com.

Each club nominates a player in September, and the winner is selected during the World Series. Originally called the Commissioner’s Award, the honor was named for Clemente in 1973, the year after his death.

McCutchen and Willie Stargell (1974) are the only Pirates players to win the award.

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— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 6, 2023