Puerto Rican players follow Pirates' push to wear No. 21, celebrate Roberto Clemente - TribLIVE

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Josh Bell admits he knew little about Roberto Clemente before arriving in Pittsburgh, where mementos, murals and museums serve as constant reminders of the Pirates Hall of Fame right fielder.

Nothing represents Clemente quite like his No. 21, which Bell and his Pirates teammates and coaches will wear Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park in celebration of MLB’s annual Roberto Clemente Day.

“It’s definitely really special, especially representing him here in Pittsburgh,” Bell said. “The Clemente name is everything in this city.”

That reverence stretches beyond city limits, as a groundswell of support for the Pirates initiative has stretched throughout baseball. MLB granted a request by Puerto Rican players to wear Clemente’s No. 21 and has given all players an option to wear a patch with the number.

That started with St. Louis Cardinals star catcher Yadier Molina wearing No. 21 for a doubleheader Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins – both teams are off Wednesday – and will see Pirates players wearing Clemente’s number for the first time since his death in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972 while delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

“Our purpose for it was for us to honor someone that’s extremely special to the City of Pittsburgh and the Pirates organization,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “One of the things that we’ve talked about is, if you walk around, No. 21 is still the most visible. It’s black and gold everywhere in this city, whether it’s Pirates, Penguins or Steelers. When you see 21, you think of one guy.

“The fact that (support is) growing, I think it’s outstanding. But our initial thought was, we wanted to represent Roberto on Roberto Clemente Day and have it in a Pirates uniform. I think it’s really special for everyone to wear, but it’s going to be even more special for our guys because it is a Pirate uniform.”

The Clemente family long has advocated for MLB to retire Roberto’s No. 21 the way it did Jackie Robinson’s No. 42. Where Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Clemente paved the way for Latin players in the majors as the first Latin ballplayer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a 15-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove winner, 1966 NL MVP and 1972 World Series MVP who collected 3,000 career hits.

As of last week, the Clemente family had not met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. The public push by Latin American players and coaches to honor Clemente, however, might be the organic development that forces Manfred to finally grant that request.

“It’s not just retiring (the number) for the sake of retiring it,” said Luis Clemente, Roberto’s son and president of the Clemente Foundation. “It is the right thing to do, but it should be done in such a way that it becomes more prestigious with that action.”

Having the commissioner’s blessing is monumental. The Roberto Clemente Award, presented annually to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contributions to his team,” was known as the Commissioner’s Award prior to being renamed in Roberto’s honor in 1973 following his death.

“I think it’s extremely impactful for not only our players but for all players to realize you know, not only with Clemente the player but Clemente the person and the humanitarian,” Shelton said. “In the society we are in today and how we have a forum to help people and this guy is one of the greatest humanitarians to ever play the game.

“It’s why the award is named after him, that they give to the baseball player who does it. I think it’s extremely important for the Pirates, I think it’s extremely important for the island of Puerto Rico, I think it’s extremely important for Major League Baseball, for us to educate who he was, what he stood for and how he went about it.”

Bell is the Pirates’ nominee, as the All-Star first baseman gained national acclaim for using his public platform for activism in speaking out about racial and social injustices. Bell was behind the “Building Bridges” campaign, where Pirates employees speak out about their personal experiences in requesting racial and social reform.

Bell remembers first meeting Roberto’s wife, Vera Clemente, while being honored as minor league player of the year honors for the first time in 2014. Bell’s mother, Myrtle, a professor at the University of Texas-Arlington, conversed with Vera Clemente in Spanish about “she had her eyes glued to the television as a kid in Louisiana, always watching the games” because Roberto was her favorite player.

Vera Clemente died last November, so this will be the first time the Pirates celebrate Roberto Clemente Day without her. And Josh Bell, their Clemente Award nominee, will be wearing a number and renewing the push for it be retired throughout baseball.

“It’s definitely a start, a step in the right direction,” Bell said. “Being a Pittsburgh guy, you see the ‘Retire 21’ shirts all the time. I think that’s a very good start. It’s awesome to be able to honor him, honor the family, honor the sacrifice. It’s definitely cool to be a part with the Pirates. I know they have a lot of support in Puerto Rico. I know that we have a lot of people watching all over the world because of that man. It’s definitely cool to show him some respect.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Puerto Rican players follow Pirates' push to wear No. 21, celebrate Roberto Clemente - TribLIVE

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