The Pirates had a game to play Wednesday night, but for a couple of hours earlier in the day, the Chicago Cubs were the last thing on the players’ minds.
In celebration of Roberto Clemente Day, the Pirates took part in five service projects in the Pittsburgh area as part of a league-wide day honoring the former Pirate great. Major League Baseball began observing Clemente Day in 2002 — almost 30 years after he died in a plane crash while trying to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
“This is what baseball is truly about,” Roberto Clemente’s son, Luis Clemente, said Wednesday.