Davey Martinez never wore the No. 21 growing up. At least not when playing baseball. To do so, donning the number worn by his idol, Roberto Clemente, didn’t seem right to him.
In celebration of Roberto Clemente Day in the majors, however, he decided it was okay to put the number on the back of his Washington Nationals jersey.
Major League Baseball allowed all players of Puerto Rican descent to wear the number of the Carolina, Puerto Rico-born former major leaguer, who put up a .317/.359/.475 line over 18 seasons in the majors.
Major League Baseball celebrates Roberto Clemente Day each September, to honor the, “.