Bluefish Honor Baseball Great With Clemente Night

August 19, 2008 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Bridgeport Bluefish News Release


Bridgeport, CT - August 19 - The life and legacy of the late Roberto Clemente will be celebrated and remembered by the Bridgeport Bluefish on Thursday, August 21, 2008 prior to the Atlantic League game with the Lancaster Barnstormers. Immediately preceding the contest, the Bluefish and the visitors, in conjunction with the Bridgeport organization known as "Amigos de Clemente" (Friends of Clemente) will hold a ceremony, as part of Roberto Clemente night. Pre-game activities are slated to get under way at approximately 6:30 P.M. All who wish to attend the ceremony are urged to arrive at the ballpark early. Amigos de Clemente honors Roberto Clemente each year on December 31, the anniversary of his death in a 1972 plane crash. For over two decades, the organization composed of baseball fans and Clemente enthusiasts, has gathered at the Clemente statue adjacent to Seaside Park's Diamond 10, to commemorate Clemente's life, and his tragic death. At age 38, Clemente died in a plane crash, while bringing critical supplies to the victims of a Nicaraguan earthquake. Amigos de Clemente has also been active in the national campaign aimed at convincing Major League Baseball to permanently retire number 21, the number worn by Clemente during eighteen major league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year, the organization sponsored a baseball/softball tournament at Seaside Park and Wendt Field, on the weekend closest to Clemente's August 18 birthday. Two years ago, the Bridgeport Bluefish organization retired number 21, as a tribute to Clemente. The team has urged Major League Baseball Commissioner Allen "Bud" Selig to follow its example. Mary Jane Foster, the CEO of the Bluefish, expressed the team's support of retiring number 21: "Thirty-six years after his death, Roberto Clemente remains a role model, not only for the heroic way in which he died, but for the courageous way in which he chose to live his life. Clemente's Hall of Fame credentials are beyond question. However, the reason he has had such an impact, is because he was the rare superstar athlete who used his celebrity to help humanity, even to the point of disregarding his own safety. He is a hero not only to the Latino community, but to a society desperately in need of positive role models for its youth. Retiring number 21 sends the right message." The evening, which will include music and entertainment along with traditional Latino foods, is being sponsored by Compare Supermarket with Amtrak as a participating sponsor. Compare, which operates two stores in Bridgeport, has generously donated tickers to the game so that members of the Bridgeport Caribe Youth League can attend at no cost. The league, which plays its games at Seaside Park, and has just completed its fifth year of operation, provides an opportunity for over 300 mostly inner-city youth, ages five through fifteen, to participate in organized baseball. The Caribe Youth League is affiliated with the Cal Ripken Division of Babe Ruth Baseball, and has five divisions. Several Caribe Youth League players will participate in the pre-game festivities. Tickets for the game can be purchased at the Bluefish Box Office at Harbor Yard, and at several ticket locations---"Check Cashing and More, Maelo's Music Center, Nosotros Sports, and El Flamboyan restaurant, all of East Main Street, and Lafayette Hairstyling on Broad Street in Bridgeport.



Atlantic League Stories from August 19, 2008


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