THE CLOSE CALL

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Ham Porter loved calling shots.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about the time Roberto Clemente got kidnapped.

We all know Clemente.

He’s not only one of the greatest ballplayers to ever grace a diamond, but also one of the most impactful off the field.

Of course, his story has a tragic ending, but something that’s not often mentioned is the incident in ‘69 when he got kidnapped in San Diego.

The Pirates we’re playing the Padres in their first year as a new franchise.

Clemente and the boys had never played in San Diego before, so it was Roberto’s first time in the city.

After the first game of the series, he stopped at a restaurant to grab some grub before heading back to the hotel.

According to Clemente, he was walking back from the restaurant and was about 400 feet from his hotel when he noticed that he was being followed.

Just then, four men rolled up on him and forced him into their car at gunpoint.