Pittsburgh Pirates Roberto Clemente signed print. 21/24 series. 9x10 inches Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker[a] (Spanish pronunciation: [ro__e_to en_rike kle_mente (_)wal_ke_]; August 18, 1934 December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Caribbean and the first Latin-American player to be enshrined. Because he died at a young age and had such a stellar career, the Hall of Fame changed its rules of eligibility. As an alternative to a player having to be retired for five years before eligibility, a player who has been deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry.