Johnny Pesky on Roberto Clemente
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“Amazing. The only other batter I ever saw who gets good wood on the ball as consistently as Clemente was Ted Williams.”
“Clemente simply is a natural hitter. He’s hard to fool and ready at all times.”
“Johnny Pesky calls Clemente the best hitter since Ted Williams. "And Williams would be proud to have anybody say that," the Pirate coach added.”
“[On Clemente's wasted 3-HR-7-RBI performance of May 15, 1967] He hit one to right field and then to right-center. Then he homered over the left field fence. It was fantastic – absolutely sensational. [On the following day's 5-HRs-on-6-pitches batting practice clinic] It’s the first time I’ve seen that since Ted Williams’ days with the Red Sox.”
“He has to be one of the greatest who ever lived, in a class with Williams, DiMaggio, Aaron and Mays.”
“When I took the job, Joe Brown, who bossed the team, said to me, "I want you to keep Clemente happy if you can," and that was easy. I used to tell Roberto that he was as good as Ted Williams. And that was something from me. Williams was a god to me and I was putting Roberto in the same class with him. [...] I never in my life thought the man could play the way he did for the Pirates. I saw Roberto Clemente make plays that were just about impossible, and I was forever praising him and he loved every second of it.”
“Roberto was not exceptionally big physically, but he had a solid body and was very, very strong.”
“Great kid, wonderful player. Probably as good a player as ever played the game. He could run, hit, throw, hit home runs. I had Stargell out a couple of times for extra hitting, but Clemente didn’t need it. He was just so good. When you talk about Clemente, you’re talking about Mays. He was a hell of a player.”
“He was the best right-handed hitter I ever saw. He could run, throw — he was a hell of a player.”