Pirates' Gregory Polanco on Roberto Clemente: 'He's our Jackie Robinson'

Gregory Polanco is grateful he not only plays the same position as Roberto Clemente but for the same team, starting in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of the wall that bears his name and number.

Polanco showed his reverence while wearing Clemente’s No. 21 for the first time Wednesday night, celebrating Roberto Clemente Day by taking a knee on the number stenciled in the right field grass at PNC Park before the first pitch against the Chicago White Sox.

“It’s an honor for me, always, and especially today,” Polanco said before the game, “wearing No. 21, I’m thankful, man, for that guy, out there in right field, wearing that number and playing his position.”

"I am convinced that God wanted me to be a baseball player. I was born to play baseball."#ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/caMDuKXEOH

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2020

MLB granted the Pirates permission for the first time to wear Clemente’s No. 21 in honor of Clemente, who died at age 38 on New Year’s Eve 1972 in a plane crash leaving his native Puerto Rico to deliver relief aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Puerto Rican players for every team also were allowed to wear No. 21, and all MLB players were given the option to wear a circular patch with the number.

Clemente is the first Latin American ballplayer inducted into the Hall of Fame, and legend of his four batting titles, 12 Gold Gloves, 3,000 hits and rocket right arm has been passed down through generations.

“He’s our Jackie Robinson,” Polanco said. “He’s our idol. He’s the Great One, man.”

This celebration was a special one for the Clemente family, as generations of Clemente’s children and grandchildren appeared in a video on the scoreboard to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. It ended with Luis R. Clemente picking up a ball inscribed with the signature of his mother, Vera C. Clemente, and throwing the ball to his brother, Roberto Jr., who tossed it to toddler Roberto III.

First pitch from Puerto Rico.

We wouldn't have it any other way.#ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/S7508vjPb1

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2020

The Pirates and MLB were honoring the life and legacy of not only Roberto Clemente but his wife, who died in November. The teams held a moment of silence for her before the national anthem. Vera Clemente led the push for baseball to retire her husband’s No. 21, the same way it has honored Jackie Robinson for breaking the sport’s color barrier.

The Pirates have picked up where she left off, with Shelton pushing for the players and coaches to wear the number for the first time since ’72 and Polanco joining the calls for it to be the last time it’s ever worn.

“I want to see 21 retired. He deserves that,” Polanco said. “I’m thankful and grateful to wear it because it’s special. This is the first time wearing it. We’re going to wear it. We’re going to be thankful, grateful, and I hope they retire it. I hope the No. 21 is retired around baseball.”

Shelton saw the fervor the gesture created around the league, with Puerto Rican players pushing to join the Pirates. The rookie manager heard from friends around the game and joked third base coach Joey Cora wore his No. 21 jersey home and slept in it.

Special kicks.#ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/QE1cLcrMT9

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2020

Shelton and Cora wore custom cleats with designs to honor Clemente — Shelton’s had a portrait on one side, No. 21 on the other; Cora’s featured the Puerto Rican flag — and Cora shared with Shelton images of No. 21 all over San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The Pirates also wore gold wrist bands and No. 21 patches on their helmets.

Before the game, the Pirates took a team photo in right field with all of the players in their home whites wearing No. 21. They tipped their caps to the 21-foot Clemente Wall, which looms large over right field.

Tonight, we all wear 21.#ClementeDay pic.twitter.com/IoeOcUvIkO

— Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2020

“It’s a really cool feeling. I mean, it’s like a national holiday,” Shelton said. “There are seriously some bounce in steps. I know when I woke up this morning, I was extremely excited. Our group is extremely excited. … We’re doing something that nobody’s ever done before. One of the things I told my wife today before we left, I think it’s one of the things I’m most proud of, to be part of something like this. There is only one time this is going to happen.”