Max Macon on Roberto Clemente

“Another wonderful prospect. Why, he's only 19; can you imagine what he'll be like a few years from now? But I don't know if we can hold him. Clyde Sukeforth scouted him and I'm pretty sure the Pirates intend to draft him.”

“Hide is not actually the right word. I had no orders from Buzzy Bavasi not to play him. Just to use him sparingly. There was no conspiracy to make him look bad. There's no way to make Clemente look bad. We had three veteran outfielders at Montreal – Sandy Amoros, Dick Whitman and Gino Cimoli – and Buzzy said use Clemente sparingly. He was my fourth outfielder and whenever I was forced to use him, he looked great. He was colorful ... and got better ... and better ... and better. We tried to sneak him through the draft, but it didn't work.”

“He followed us around watching Clemente and we used to go out a lot together and eat after a game. It got to be funny. I'd say how bad Clemente looked. He'd say "I'll get in touch with you after the season. You've lost a ballplayer. We're a cinch to finish last and get first draft choice." Yes, I know Clemente thought we were really trying to make him look bad. I now kid him about it all the time. If he did good and I didn't play him the next night, he wouldn't speak to me. Like a petulant kid.”

“I never had any orders not to play Clemente. I was told Roberto was only 18 when actually he was 19, but I had three proven Triple A outfielders in Sandy Amoros, Gino Cimoli and Dick Whitman. When the Dodgers took Amoros to Brooklyn, I had Jack Cassini and Don Thompson. I was told to win at Montreal and simply had to play more experienced men. Roberto got in 87 games and I think that's good for a rookie. To me Roberto was a 'fill in guy,' an enthusiastic rookie you would spot in a game without rushing him. Amoros and Whitman didn't have the strongest arms in the world and if we were leading late in a game, I would take one of them out and put Clemente in for defensive purposes. He always did the job. He was always unhappy when he did not play, happy when he did. It did not disturb me when he got mad at me for not playing him. I would have been upset if he did not get angry at me. I'd say this very fact of him having desire and determination has been a great asset to him all of these years. There was little doubt of his potential but his growing up came along later. He put things together to become a star. Nobody could be more delighted about his career than I. All along I have felt he has never been given the credit due him. He is certainly a more complete ball player than many fellows who are given more publicity.”

“He was a wild-swinging kid, but he just radiated ability. He was a temperamental kid, and he could hardly speak any English, but luckily we had some players on the team who spoke Spanish.”

“If you had been in Montreal that year, you wouldn’t believe how ridiculous some of the pitchers made him look. And he had the habit of always taking a strike, getting himself in the hole, when there were runners in scoring position. But he might look foolish at the plate one time, then come back and really tee off on the ball.”

“I knew it was a mistake to sign a player this good to a triple-A contract. We couldn’t protect him, and some team was bound to grab him.”

“Historically, the Montreal club always drew well. It was instrumental in paying for a lot of the parent club's tab. Buzzy never once told me to hide Clemente. Hell, there was no way you could hide him even if you wanted to. Don't play him at all, then everybody gets suspicious, anyway. The only orders I had from Bavasi were to win and draw big crowds.”

“He didn't believe me, I guess, but we got along. He didn't harbor a grudge. The career he had with the Pirates, that made it easier for him to let it pass.”