The Clemente Story

Written by: AcerJack

Summary: In this short one-shot fanfiction, while in Pittsburgh for a short work break vacation, the New York Pizza Cats encounter a cat named Clemente, who tells them a bit of the story of his namesake, the legendary Roberto Clemente, which gets the interest of the group, especially Sundance.

Disclaimer and writer's notes: I do not own Samurai Pizza Cats. All characters and locations are properties of Saban Entertainment/Tatsunoko Production, except for Clemente, who is an original idea of mine. For all baseball fans out there, happy belated Roberto Clemente Day. This fanfiction was written in honor of the great man, who died helping Nicaraguans on New Year's Eve 1972. May your honor be forever cherished by the baseball world.

(P.S) Here's to hoping Brandon Crawford takes the Roberto Clemente Award this year. Also, did I forget to mention this is probably the first fanfiction on this site starring the New York Pizza Cats as the main cast?

Another great day had already begun in Pittsburgh, and in town were the New York Pizza Cats trio; Sundance, Deedee, and Cosmo. They had taken a short work break vacation to the city after Abigail had allowed them to, after quite a good work week. All of them, especially Sundance, had been excited, as the day they went there, was Roberto Clemente Day. It also just so happened that the New York Yankees were in town, to face the Pittsburgh Pirates that night.

While at a restaurant near PNC Park, a cat, who was a fan of the group, approached them. He asked them, "Are you the famous New York Pizza Cats trio?"

Sundance, who just saw him, said, "Yes, we are. And you are?"

The cat responded, "Oh, I don't think I have been introduced. I am Clemente, a huge Pirates fan. And I'm assuming you three are gonna see them tonight?

Cosmo then responded, "Yes, we are gonna see the Pirates tonight. Guess we're even then."

Clemente sat down with them, then responded, "I might have a bit of a story to share in the baseball world involving why I think you're here today, and that's the story of the great Roberto Clemente. And before you ask, yes, I'm named after him."

Deedee said, "That sounds interesting. I have heard from Sundance about Clemente. Can you continue your story?"

The cat, whose fur color was near the shade of yellow for Pittsburgh, began his story.

"Briefly recapping his early life, he was born in August 18, 1934 in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He was the youngest of a group of seven siblings, three of which were from his mother's previous marriage. Interestingly enough, he could have been a track and field star, before he switched his focus to baseball. In fact, he participated in both high jumping and javelin throwing in high school, which helped improve his game in the long run. He began playing baseball professionally in a league in his country at age 18, which today is named after him. He played for them for two years before moving to Major League Baseball."

Sundance then asked him, "Did he then land in Pittsburgh, where he played until his last breath?"

With a smirk, Clemente replied to him, "Nope! He actually landed in Brooklyn first, where he played for the Dodgers' minor league system in Montreal for 1954, then after that he was noticed by a Pirates scout during practice, then was taken by them in the Rule 5 Draft in the same year, and that is how he ended up in Pittsburgh. However, my friend, you are technically correct, if you only counted his days in the majors. He also once served the US Marines for a while."

Cosmo asked him, "How did he end up with his fabled number 21?"

The cat then responded, "I'm just getting there. In fact, he only played the first 7 weeks of his career not wearing that number, since a teammate of his had that, then it was assigned to him. And in 1956, one of his most well known moments happened."

Deedee then said, "Was it just some regular walk-off home run?"

"Something even better!" the cat said. "An inside the park walk-off grand slam! Something no one has done since!"

At the thought of that, the gold-armored cat fell off his seat, fainting. After a while of reviving by Cosmo rubbing his face with a wet towel, he got back up. He then said, "Good thing Lucinda isn't here today… this place would get blown up in minigun fire if she heard that kind of thing happening… she had some things to deal with back home in New York. Anyway, continue your story."

Clemente then cleared his throat, then said, "Well, let's get back to the story. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, the 60s was where he had been a star. That decade, save for 1968, he played in the All-Star Game. He won a batting title four times, in 61, 64, 65, and 67. All was put together for his only National League MVP season in 1966. In fact, he barely won it, edging out Triple Crown Winner Carl Yastrezemski by 2 votes. That was how close it was."

Cosmo then asked him again, "Concerning the end of his life and career, how much closer are we to that?"

Clemente responded, "We're almost kinda there. Anyway, American media began calling him "Bob" or "Bobby" in an effort to make him seem American, for some reason. As expected, the man hated it, since it felt like straight up disrespect to his background as Puerto Rican and Latino. 1970 was the last season his team played at their old grounds, the legendary Forbes Field, and for Clemente, it was emotional to him, since he "spent half his career there." That first game at the new Three Rivers Stadium was attended by many Puerto Ricans wearing traditional attire of the country, and the man requested to donate several thousands of dollars to charity. And that detail will be important in a bit. I think I forgot to mention this, but Clemente also had two World Series rings to his name, including a World Series MVP in 1971."

Sundance then asked him, "I think I know about that detail you said about his love to give back to charities, is it important in this last part of his life story?"

The cat asked him, "How do you know?"

Sundance responded back, "I'm a baseball fan too, ya know?"

"Anyway, that brings to the tragic end to not only his career, but his life too. Before that, on September 30 that year, he recorded his 3,000th hit, and what would be his last. That offseason, he focused work back to his love of giving back, and when an earthquake hit the capital of Nicaragua on the 23rd of December, and Clemente, who had visited three weeks earlier, got to work, sending supplies to the victims. However, the corrupt Somoza government officials saw this stuff and wanted it for themselves, so the first three relief flights never arrived to the victims, and after Clemente learned about this, he decided to accompany the fourth one on New Year's Eve 1972, hoping it would guarantee it would arrive there. Unfortunately for him, it didn't, and it took his life too, as it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean just after takeoff.

Deedee began to tear up a bit, and said, "That's just sad… A man who did good deeds taken his own life 38 years young… What happened after that?"

Clemente then said, "Many things happened, in fact. First, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown changed their induction requirements, so players who passed away six months earlier were now eligible to be inducted in it's halls, and in 1973, he was posthumously elected to Cooperstown. Then, he was honored with the Presidential Citizen's Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and recently, was formally recognized as a national hero in his native country of Puerto Rico. Major League Baseball declared September 15 as "Roberto Clemente Day", which is why you are probably here, and was also put in the Hall of Fame for the Hispanic Heritage Museum, the Carribbean Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Sports Hall of Fame for the United States Marines. That Puerto Rican league where Clemente began, was, as I mentioned, renamed in his honor, and 21 is now permanently retired there. And that is the end of my story."

The trio were amazed. Cosmo then said, "After lunch, should we all go to the game together, to celebrate his life?"

Clemente responded to him, saying, "Well, I'm going to the game tonight, so why not?"

After lunch, the four of them set off to PNC Park, ready to watch the Pirates face the Yankees, on a day honored for a man who did so much for people, while also playing baseball.

The End.