; Whereas in Clemente’s 18 seasons with Pittsburgh he won 4 batting titles, hit 240 home runs, and posted a lifetime .317 batting average; Whereas, in late 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake ravaged Managua, Nicaragua, and killed 5,000 people; Whereas, in his philanthropic spirit, Clemente sent shipments of humanitarian aid to the country; Whereas after learning that 3 previous shipments had been diverted by corrupt Somoza Government officials, Clemente decided to accompany one of the aid shipments; Whereas the four-engine DC–7 plane Clemente chartered for a flight on New Year’s Eve crashed in the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff from the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico; Whereas, on December 31, 1972, Clemente died in the plane crash at the age of 38 years young; Whereas, since 1973, Major League Baseball gives out the Roberto Clemente Award to one player in the league who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team ; Whereas, in 2002, Major League Baseball declared the first annual Roberto Clemente Day; Whereas, in 2021, Major League Baseball announced September 15 would be the permanent date of Roberto Clemente Day to coincide with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month; Whereas, on Roberto Clemente Day 2022, the Tampa Bay Rays put out a lineup of all Latin American players for the first time in history; Whereas Clemente’s tragic death left behind his wife, Vera, and three young sons, Roberto, Jr., Luis Roberto, and Roberto Enrique; and Whereas Clemente was a legend in life and death, a baseball star, a humanitarian activist, and a symbol of Latin American pride: Now, therefore, be it