Roberto Clemente was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player . Clemente spent eighteen Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons playing in the National League (NL) as a right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming the first Latin American and Caribbean born player to be enshrined. His death established the precedent that, as an alternative to the five-year retirement period, a deceased player for at least six months is eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame. Clemente was an All-Star for twelve seasons and fifteen All-Star Games . He was the NL Most Valuable Player in 1966, the NL batting leader in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967, and a Gold Glove winner for twelve consecutive seasons from 1961 through 1972. His batting average was over .300 for thirteen seasons and he had 3,000 majo...