Clemente inspires Pirates’ Walker

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

When Pirates second baseman Neil Walker takes the field at PNC Park, he needs only to glance over his shoulder at the 21-foot Roberto Clemente Wall in right field for inspiration.

Walker, one of the majors’ top rookies, grew up in Pittsburgh hearing countless stories about one of baseball’s greatest outfielders and a man whose influence in his native Puerto Rico extends far beyond the diamond.

While Clemente died 13 years before Walker was born, the two will be forever linked by the night of Dec. 31, 1972 — when Clemente’s plane, jammed with relief supplies for Nicaraguan earthquake victims, crashed off the waters of San Juan. Walker’s father, Tom, was one of the last to see Clemente alive and had been minutes away from climbing aboard the plane himself.

“I can remember it like it was yesterday,” said Tom Walker, a major league pitcher for six seasons from 1972-77. “We left the airport, and it was the last time I ever saw Roberto Clemente. He saved my life by not letting me get on that plane.”

The elder Walker and fellow Expos pitching prospect Balor Moore were playing winter ball together on Clemente’s team, which featured mostly Pirates prospects. When the devastating earthquake struck, Clemente asked his fellow Puerto Ricans for help. So respected was Clemente, who only three months before had gotten his 3,000th hit, his countrymen responded by donating tons of food, clothing and medical supplies.

“There was so much stuff — there were donations everywhere at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, our ballpark,” Walker said. “Balor and [former Pirates catcher] Manny Sanguillen and myself helped load up the trucks and we went to the airport. We told Roberto we wanted to go with him, but there was a party on New Year’s Eve and he would absolutely not let that happen.”

The DC-7 was so filled with 16,000 pounds of supplies, Walker said, “There was hardly room for anything else, but by no means did Roberto think the plane was unsafe.”

The aging plane burst into flames shortly after takeoff and was never seen again, killing Clemente and four others.