This boy can do everything. In a couple of years, Ill bet hell be a st — Roberto Clemente

"No matter where I threw it, he’d hit it. He would hit pitches thrown over his head, down by his ankles, inside, outside. I’d get two quick strikes on him and never get the third one."

"I’d say he’s the best hitter I’ve seen since I’ve been in the big leagues. I remember a game with the Pirates two years ago – we beat em 8-7. He knocked in all seven runs for em with three homers and a double. He hit one of his homers to left field, another to center and the third one to right Unbelievable! It was the finest exhibition of hitting Ive ever seen in one game."

"I told them Clemente hit the outside pitch, but youve got to pitch him low and away—carefully. [...] His weakness is dangerously close to his strength."

"Is he keeping his hands behind him on the bat, even while he strides forward with his front foot? This is usually the sign of a great hitter, who can commit part of his body to a pitch while maintaining sufficient control and arm strength to do you damage at the last split-second. Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente had this superior ability to wait on a pitch with their arms back, even as they stepped forward. There was no set way to pitch them except to vary your pitch selection while remaining alert to signs of particular strengths, weaknesses, or preferences that they exhibited in any given at-bat."

"Roberto Clemente was the best player I’ve ever played against. Anything between the on-deck circles was a strike to him. I’ve seen him double on knock-down pitches."

"Houston manager Harry Walker, who has been in baseball 34 years, and Coach Buddy Hancken, who has been in baseball 36 years, both said it was the greatest catch they had ever seen. "I never saw one like that off the wall," Walker said. "He hit it wide open. He never slowed up. I dont see how he could keep the ball in his glove. The thing that makes him so great is that he does it all in a jam," Walker said. "Hes one of the best clutch players in the game."