Martinez feels Clemente’s spirit on Hall tour

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Edgar Martinez lifted his right hand and placed his fingers on Roberto Clemente’s plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He gently brushed his fingers from side to side as if to read the words with the touch of his hand Monday afternoon.

The former Seattle Mariners designated hitter caressed the plaque for nearly 30 seconds, silently drawing a connection to his childhood hero and the patron saint of all Puerto Rican players.

The fifth and latest Boricua elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame was in awe while touching the plaque of the first Boricua to earn a place among baseball’s immortals. He was clearly moved while sensing the weight of the exclusive fraternity he will officially join on July 21 when he’s inducted to the 2019 class in this picturesque village in upstate New York.

“It’s almost surreal,” Martinez said. “Many players from Puerto Rico say the same (thing): we started playing the game because of Roberto Clemente. Today the game is such a big part of our lives.”

Martinez, who is almost done writing his induction speech, found himself in awe often during his first visit to the Hall of Fame since he was elected in January.

Martinez had visited the museum twice before Monday, once as a player with the Mariners for the Hall of Fame Game in 1994 and again in July 2016 when his good friend and former teammate Ken Griffey, Jr., was inducted.

This visit was different. This was a more intimate trip for the orientation that each Hall of Famer receives to prepare for induction weekend. He paid close attention as the Hall’s vice president of exhibitions and collections, Erik Strohl, gave him a personal tour.

He took particular interest in the game’s rich history. Martínez enjoyed learning about the game’s past so much, he said the game’s history is what he’s most likely to tell his children about when he tells them about his visit.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’ll probably talk a little bit more about the early days of the game, how it started, some of the time in baseball when the catchers didn’t use masks or talk about maybe Hank Aaron and when he hit his (715th record-breaking) home run, talk to them about Lou Gehrig’s speech.”

Martinez capped the morning portion of the tour with a visit to the Collections area, which is in the museum’s basement. Strohl had picked out several artifacts for Martinez and his wife Holli to see, including a 1995 San Juan Senadores jersey that Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar wore when they played in their native Puerto Rico winter league.

He saw a 100-year-old jersey of the Brooklyn Dodgers, which stood out because it was white with red and blue pinstripes. He also held bats from Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, and a ball used in 1968 by Bob Gibson during the season the Hall of Fame righthander posted a 1.12 ERA.

Holli Martinez stood in the background for most of the visit to the Collections, but she donned the white gloves to pose for a picture with her husband holding Ruth’s bat.

Martinez was left in awe, however, when Strohl handed him the Pittsburgh Pirates hat that Clemente wore when he collected his 3,000th hit in his final game before the ill-fated relief mission that ended his life.

“Even just holding it, you can feel the power,” Martinez said as he held the cap. “It’s almost like it has some magic in it.”

It was as though he felt the spirit of his childhood hero.

“I had like a real connection to that hat,” he said. “It felt so real, like if something was alive. It’s hard to explain. But it had definitely a different meaning to me just to have that hat in my hands.

“It probably had to do with all the history since I grew up in Puerto Rico. All the people from Puerto Rico, they all know the name. They all admire Clemente. His legacy means so much for Puerto Rico, having that hat that he used in that last game has such a special meaning.”

Clemente died on Dec. 31, 1972, on a relief plane that crashed into the sea off the coast of San Juan. He was voted into the 1973 Hall of Fame class in a special election.

His spirit lives on throughout Puerto Rico and Latin America.

Martinez, like most Puerto Rican stars, is clearly proud to carry Clemente’s legacy.

After a brief break for lunch with Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson and two other Hall of Fame officials, Martinez returned to the Museum to continue his tour at the Plaque Gallery.

The first stop was at Roberto Clemente Walker’s plaque.

“I didn’t get the chance to meet Roberto Clemente,” Martinez said. “He meant so much to me and all of us in Puerto Rico. I think by touching the plaque, it was like I was making a connection with Clemente, if that makes sense. It just felt, like I said before, it’s something magical about it. It meant so much more that my plaque is going to be here.”

Martinez capped the tour by signing the base where his own plaque will hang.

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy going through the process of being inducted,” he said. “But getting through the exhibit, getting through seeing all the plaques, getting a little bit of a picture of how it’s going to be during that weekend, it does help.

“It does help prepare and help with expectations how it’s going to be. So I’m glad I’m here. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easier.”

Featured Image: La Vida Baseball

Inset Images: La Vida Baseball