History: Roberto Clemente rose to stardom in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates after starting his career as a prodigious teenager in his home nation of Puerto Rico. On September 30, 1972, Roberto Clemente became just the 11th player to record 3,000 hits in what proved to be his final regular season at-bat. He made one more regular season appearance, his 2,433rd as a Pirate, on October 3 to tie Honus Wagner’s record for most games played for the team. Clemente passed away tragically on December 31 of that year. Following his sudden death, Clemente was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame through a special election.