Several Orioles will wear No. 21 on Roberto Clemente Day

The Orioles are joining all of Major League Baseball in celebrating the 19th annual Roberto Clemente Day tonight during their game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. This commemorative day was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente's legacy and to officially acknowledge local club nominees of the Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards, and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks.

Clemente spent his 18-season Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight every Pirates player and coach will wear No. 21 for the game against the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park. It will mark the first time a Pirates player has worn the number since Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

MLB has granted permission to Puerto Rican players to wear No. 21 as part of celebrations today, and all players will be allowed to wear a patch with the number to honor the legacy of the late Pirates Hall of Fame right fielder.

Four Orioles will wear No. 21 tonight: starting pitcher Jorge López, infielder Andrew Velazquez, third base coach Jose Flores and assistant hitting coach José Hernández.

Flores, a Puerto Rican native who still lives on the island, managed the Puerto Rican national team in 2011-12 in the Pan Am games. He was a coach on Puerto Rico's team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

"I think what Clemente did on the field, the way he respected the game, is something that we preach on a daily basis and hope the Orioles organization sees that as an example," Flores said during a Zoom interview this afternoon. "How he ran the bases, how he went about his business on a daily routine. How he respected his teammates. It didn't matter what color skin they had. It says a lot about his character.

"The message that we have on our BP tops today is a slogan that Clemente said back in the day, that when he puts his uniform on he feels like the proudest man on earth. It's something that we should not take for granted and realize that it's true. When each and every one of us puts the uniform on, on a daily basis we should feel proud of what we are representing. Doesn't matter whether we are from Puerto Rico, Japan, from the USA, from wherever we are we should just feel proud of what we are accomplishing as coaches and players."

Here is more from the Orioles on what this day means to them:

Hernández: "I have had some chances to meet (Clemente's) family in P.R. and in the states in different ballparks. It's unbelievable to follow him. We heard about him as a player, just outstanding. Great guy, and he did so much for the community too."

Velazquez: "The example that he left for guys like us, Puerto Ricans, but not just Puerto Ricans, every baseball player, what he did on and off the field. Coming over on the bus I looked up some of the numbers and it just reassured how good he was. Like a 15-time All-Star and 14-time Gold Glove. Crazy numbers, 3,000 hits. To be that type of player and how humble that he was off the field, amazing."

Flores: "For us this means a lot. Not only as a player what Roberto did, but off the field, his community work. His humanitarian work. He died helping people that suffered from an earthquake in Nicaragua on Dec. 31, 1972. That says a lot, never expecting something in return. That is something that sticks with us throughout our entire careers."

The Orioles and MLB announced last Thursday that Hanser Alberto has been named the Orioles' 2020 nominee for the prestigious Clemente Award. The most prominent individual player award bestowed by MLB, the award is the annual recognition of a player from each club who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, sportsmanship, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

Here is more on Alberto being nominated for the award.

"This is all about hard work off the field. And this is what we're working for, to help people." -@elpotroalberto

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-- Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) September 9, 2020