Pirates to restore the sign of Roberto Clemente who had been replaced by Ad, apologizes to the family
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh pirates say that they restore a logo by Roberto Clemente on the right -wing wall at PNC Park after Clement’s son expressed his displeasure for the fact that the logo had been replaced by an advertisement.
In a statement released on Sunday, the president of the Pirates Team Travis Williams said that the change was an honest mistake.
“We did not intend to fail to respect Roberto Clemente’s inheritance by adding advertising to the pad in the right field,” he said. “When we added advertising to the pad, it was a supervision not to keep the logo n. 21. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake.”
Williams also explained how initially the tribute was born and stressed that the team did not intend to fail to respect the Clemente family.
“We used this area for advertisements for many years. When we did not have a sponsor that came out of Covid, we added a further element in 2022 to honor Roberto’s legacy. It was a replica of the signs of the three rivers in honor of honoring him.
The pirates had replaced a sign in honor of Clemente in the corner of the right field with an advertisement for surfs, an alcoholic drink. The change was revealed when the pirates hosted the New York Yankees in their home opening on Friday afternoon.
An advertisement now adorns the wall next to the foul pole on the right at PNC Park, taking the place of a sign that has honored Roberto Clemente. (Photo: Brendan Kuty / The Athletic)
Sunday, Roberto Clemente Jr. released a statement by saying that he was “shocked”, adding that the team did not contact the family before making change. He also complained of a “lack of a significant collaboration between the organization and on deeply personal and historically significant issues for us and fans”.
“The outburst of the support of Pittsburgh fans and throughout the country was overwhelming and deeply appreciated,” he said. “It is clear that the legacy of our father continues to inspire and unite people, not only for his successes on the field, but for the integrity and compassion he has shown of it.”
OH………….. https://t.co/qcl1o6zpz2
– Roberto Clemente Jr (@rlegedejr21) April 5, 2025
Saturday evening, the pirates faced the decision to replace the tribute through a declaration by Brian Worecki, the senior vice -president of the club for communications and broadcasts.
The tribute was “never understood” to be permanent, said Warecki, who added that the pirates were sorry for not having taken in advance of the family and Clemente fans.
Warecki also noticed the ways in which the team continues to honor Clemente, including various tributes throughout the stadium and outside of it. Among these there is a bronze statue of 12 foot of Clemente outside the stadium and a wall of the right field designed to be 21 feet high in his honor. Clemente wore n. 21, that the team retired.
“Roberto Clemente is more than a player from the Hall of Fame for us,” said Warecki. “His inheritance helps to define who we are as an organization. It would have been difficult to find a franchise that pays homage to one of their players historically big more than Pittsburgh’s pirates who make Roberto Clemente, and rightly.
Clemente, a native of Puerto Rico, was an All-Star champion, twice from the world of the National League MVP and winner of the National League. He played all 18 his seasons of the great league with Pittsburgh.
He died in a plane crash in 1972 while he was trying to take off from Puerto Rico to offer aid to the victims of the earthquake in Nicaragua. He was 38 years old.
(Photo: Charles Leclaire / USA Today Sports / Imagn)
