Exhibit honoring Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit at center of celebration of Pirates legend

The phone call had Roberto Clemente Jr. in tears when his brother Luis shared how powerful the experience was to see never-published images of their father, Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente.

The black-and-white shots will be on display through the Roberto Clemente 3000 Photographic Exhibit outside PNC Park this week, between the Willie Stargell and Clemente statues on Federal Street.

“To start this week here at ground zero where my father came up in 1955 and this unbelievable relationship with the city and the fans,” Clemente Jr. said Tuesday afternoon, “it’s amazing that, 50 years later, we’re still talking about that relationship and that love and respect towards him and the family.”

Clemente got his 3,000th and final hit Sept. 30, 1972, three months before his death in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve while attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

The 3000 exhibit captures behind-the-scenes moments with Clemente and his family through a 10-module perspective large-scale installation designed to reveal the number of career hits by the Hall of Fame right fielder when seen from a distance.

Curated by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo, director of photography for Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, and designed by the team of Luisel Zayas, Franco Marcano and Francisco Rullán of Formatería, the exhibit traveled from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will be on display throughout the Pirates’ seven-game homestand this week.

“They remind us with this exhibit just how important their journalism was and is with their capturing and sharing and preserving the first draft of history,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said. “Now they’re sharing some of that unpublished history with us and with all of Pittsburgh so that our fans can experience these never before published images of behind-the-scenes moments of when Clemente joined baseball’s elite 3,000-hit club.”

The unveiling of the exhibit is one of several events involving the Roberto Clemente Foundation surrounding Major League Baseball’s celebration of Roberto Clemente Day on Friday.

The foundation will host its annual dinner Thursday at Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. On Friday, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for the placement of a future home plate marker at the site of the former Three Rivers Stadium, on the sidewalk on the south side of West General Robinson.

The first 20,000 fans to Friday’s Pirates-Yankees game will receive a commemorative “21” baseball cap, and two-time All-Star closer David Bednar will be honored as the Pirates’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” On Sunday, the Roberto Clemente 2.1K Charity Walk will circle the North Shore, ending at the Clemente statue. Kids 14 and under at the game will receive a Roberto Clemente replica jersey.

Pirates president Travis Williams, general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton all explored the exhibit, and Shelton was most surprised to see that Three Rivers Stadium had dirt in the dugout of an AstroTurf field. Shelton didn’t have a full understanding of the exhibit’s gravity until Roberto Jr. shared his conversation with his older brother about the impact seeing the photos had. At second glance, Shelton was moved.

“It kind of took my breath away,” Shelton said. “Knowing the Clemente family had not seen some of them, the one that really kind of struck me was the one of Vera looking through the binoculars when they were doing the search. That’s just something you don’t see. That hits you. It’s almost like walking in the museum and seeing the propeller. You’re not prepared for that. On the heart-wrenching part of it, that picture really stood out.”

Bednar also attended the unveiling of the 3000 exhibit and was amazed as he looked at the photographs of Clemente, especially one where his children were trying on his uniform.

“I think it’s incredible what they’re doing to keep the legacy going,” said Bednar, a Mars alum. “His accomplishments on the field are obviously incredible and one thing, but it’s even more impressive for what he did off the field too. To preserve that legacy, be as he was here and continue that is something that’s so deep rooted in Pittsburgh and it’s something that everyone should aspire to be.

“It’s really humbling. I think when you’re up there for an award with the Clemente name with it, it’s humbling. I don’t think there’s another word to say that. What he achieved on the field, off the field, try to continue that legacy and honor it as best we can. This exhibit here is a very special way to do it and one of many things the Pirates are doing to carry that legacy on.”