Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest baseball players on and off the field. I’ve indicated to you in the past that I’m older than infield dirt, and I did get to see Clemente. I didn’t see him frequently, yet even my young eyes could see generational greatness. I remember moments that were astounding. And while his hitting ranked among the greatest of all time, so many moments I remember were of him in the field, throwing a laser from right field, as effortlessly as a second baseman throws to first, and yet those pegs would amaze a runner as he was tagged out at third.

Then, of course, I remember his death and the disbelief that came with the news. That shock was soon superseded by sadness, further emphasized when I learned about the humanitarian mission this great man was on. National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the nation’s history, culture and achievements. Today’s quiz is my contribution. Have fun, and learn a lot.

Buena suerte.

1. On Sept. 30, 1972, Clemente and the defending champion Pirates were playing the Mets at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. In the fourth inning, Clemente roped a double, the 3,000th and last regular-season hit of his career. He had over 1,200 plate appearances against four teams. Against which team did he have the most hits?

a. Cubs

b. Phillies

c. Dodgers

d. Giants

2. Four Puerto Rican-born players are in the Hall of Fame. Rank them by hits.

a. Ivan Rodriguez

b. Roberto Clemente

c. Orlando Cepeda

d. Roberto Alomar

3. Which pitcher was called the “Dominican Dandy”? He had a lifetime 23-8 record against the Cubs.

a. Pedro Martinez

b. Ervin Santana

c. Juan Marichal

d. Bartolo Colon

4. Of the same four, who leads all Dominican-born pitchers in wins?

a. Pedro Martinez

b. Ervin Santana

c. Juan Marichal

d. Bartolo Colon

5. Cuban-born Jose Abreu has fewer RBI than the following Cuban Hall of Famers. My question to you: Does he have more home runs than any of them?

a. Tony Perez

b. Minnie Mi?oso

c. Tony Oliva

The Roberto Clemente Award is bestowed annually to the player who best represents baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field. Every year, each MLB club nominates a player to be considered for the award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.

6. The Cubs’ nominee for this prestigious honor contributed $300,000 to organizations that helped low-income communities in Chicago that were struck especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been vocal and taken action to address racial inequalities, helping bring Black youth and police officers together. In addition, among many other efforts, he has been a prominent contributor to Cubs Charities, with more than $166,000 in donations. He is:

a. Jason Heyward

b. Jason Heyward

c. Jason Heyward

d. Jason Heyward

7. The White Sox’ nominee for what I consider to be baseball’s most important award is a well-known activist. He has delivered meals to local minority business owners, shown his support and outreach for gay pride and spoken out against gun violence. He has a long history of adamant support for organizations focused on animal welfare, including Tony La Russa’s animal rescue foundation, One Tail at a Time, among others. His South Slydah Society focuses on serving those most in need and empowers selfless individuals and organizations that give a voice to underrepresented communities. He is:

a. Liam Hendriks

b. Liam Hendriks

c. Liam Hendriks

d. Liam Hendriks

8. On July 25, 1956, Clemente became the only player to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam. Which team was the victim of this event?

a. Dodgers (the team that first signed him; he hit .345 lifetime against them)

b. Cubs (this is the Chicago Sun-Times; he hit 41 homers against them)

c. Reds (he hit 40 homers against them)

d. Braves (he hit .329 with 25 homers against them)

9. This year marks the 50th anniversary of when the Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star tragically died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972. Clemente was attempting to deliver supplies to:

a. Wildfire victims in Argentina

b. Earthquake victims in Nicaragua

c. Flooding victims in Santurce, Puerto Rico

d. Hurricane victims in Haiti

ANSWERS

1. If you picked the Cubs, you’re wrong. Clemente had 395 hits against the Dodgers, 384 against the Phillies, 374 against the Cubs and 339 against the Giants. Now, if I ask you against whom did he score the most runs, go with the Cubs (190).

2. Clemente, 3,000; Ivan Rodriguez 2,844; Roberto Alomar 2,724; and Orlando Cepeda 2,351.

3. Juan Marichal, who had one of the most beautiful windups in baseball history, was the “Dominican Dandy.” In the 1960s, Marichal led the majors in wins with 191, topping Bob Gibson, who “only” had 164.

4. Marichal was the “Dominican Dandy,” but Bartolo Colon was called “Big Sexy.” And if you think wins are sexy, in his 21-year MLB career, Colon had 247 wins, four more than Marichal, 28 more than Pedro Martinez and 96 more than Ervin Santana.

5. Tony Perez had 379, which is more than Abreu, but Abreu has more homers than Tony Oliva, who had 220, and Minnie Minoso, who had 195.

6. Jason Heyward, who still will do many great things.

7. Liam Hendriks. Also, Jake Diekman, now on the White Sox, is the nominee for the Red Sox. He has a foundation inspired by his ulcerative colitis diagnosis at age 10. His mantra “Gut it Out” inspired his recovery and his foundation. Outside of his foundation, he has been very involved with children’s hospitals through fundraisers and other support systems.

8. Clemente did it in a 9-8 win over the Cubs at Forbes Field. The Cubs had an 8-5 lead when, with the bases loaded, Roberto hit a ball to the left-field fence that rolled toward center field. Clemente ignored the stop sign of Pirates manager and third-base coach Bobby Bragan as the relay throw came in from center fielder Solly Drake to Ernie Banks to catcher Hobie Landrith. Clemente slid, missed the plate, then reached back to rest his hand on home.

9. On Dec. 23, 1972, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. The resulting damage left between 4,000 and 11,000 dead, 20,000 injured and over 300,000 homeless. Clemente’s plane was overloaded with supplies to help the victims.

As always, thank you for reading and playing. I’m always looking for questions and themes for the weekly quiz. Email me at [email protected].

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The question isn’t whether the Fire should remove sporting director Georg Heitz. It’s who should replace him. And there’s a pretty big name out there who would check all the boxes Heitz doesn’t.

Unlike Heitz, Seattle Sounders general manager and president of soccer operations Garth Lagerwey knows how to win in Major League Soccer. An Elmhurst native, Lagerwey won an MLS Cup with Real Salt Lake before moving on to the Sounders, where he has won two more league titles. This spring, Lagerwey and Seattle climbed the tallest mountain in North American club soccer, as the Sounders became the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League.

Crucially, Lagerwey’s contract is up at the end of the season, giving Fire owner Joe Mansueto a chance to flex his economic muscle and sign perhaps the league’s best executive.

Even though the Sounders have struggled since winning the Champions League and might miss the playoffs, nabbing Lagerwey won’t be easy. Other teams that need a top soccer decision-maker will come calling if he wants to leave Seattle. Atlanta United is in the market for a new leader and would give Lagerwey the chance to rebuild a franchise that has slipped on the field since its rapid rise to the top of MLS but maintains a prominent place in its sports market that the Fire can only dream of.

The Fire obviously would be a greater challenge, but Mansueto has to present an offer that would make it incredibly difficult for Lagerwey to refuse.

If that also means giving Lagerwey a say in the business side of the franchise, so be it. If Lagerwey wants to hire a new coach instead of keeping Ezra Hendrickson, so be it. If Lagerwey isn’t interested or is hesitant to join a losing organization and Mansueto needs to give him a historic financial offer to get him to come home, so be it.

This is Mansueto’s time to act because the 2022 Fire built by Heitz were one fiasco after another.

They squandered a pair of 2-0 leads at home in 3-2 losses and endured a 10-game winless streak that undid their hot start. They bowed out of the U.S. Open Cup in their first match, losing to a team in the third tier of American soccer. On-field discipline was an issue, the depth was lacking, there weren’t nearly enough goals and the designated players didn’t live up to their status.

Most important, there are no tangible signs of progress. Under Heitz, the Fire finished 11th in the East in 2020, 12th last year and could plummet to 13th this season.

Lagerwey could change all of that, and maybe the Fire’s woes could be used to recruit him. Nothing Lagerwey could do would be as difficult but potentially as impactful for American soccer than restoring the Fire, a team that has dragged down the sport in the third-biggest U.S. market.

If Lagerwey can’t be pried from Seattle, Mansueto should look for somebody with MLS experience who can navigate the league’s tricky rules. Of course, as the Nelson Rodriguez era proved under former owner Andrew Hauptman, that’s not a guarantee of success.

However, Lagerwey is no Rodriguez, and Mansueto is no Hauptman. Mansueto can show that again by getting rid of Heitz and making it impossible for Lagerwey to pass on the chance to restore the Fire.

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Lovie Smith didn’t get it done in two rough seasons as coach of the Buccaneers. Having moved on from Tampa to the University of Illinois, he failed — over five really long years — to lift the Illini to significantly higher ground.

Now, Smith — 64, and a decade removed from the end of his highly respectable nine-season run with the Bears — is back in town with his latest team, the Texans. Did the Bears make a mistake by firing him after the 2012 campaign? That was question No. 1 in this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter.

“At the time, no,” @TweetlessCarson commented, “but in hindsight, yes.”

Marc Trestman, John Fox and Matt Nagy didn’t exactly come along and make Smith look bad. We’ll see about Matt Eberflus.

“It set the franchise back years when they fired him,” @dan_starzec wrote.

We also pitted Smith against Eberflus — they’re battling on Sunday, after all — and forced respondents to choose between the three Bears coaches who came in between that pair. Oof. And on to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Did the Bears make a mistake by firing Lovie Smith after the 2012 season?

Upshot: @GridAssassin correctly points out that Smith’s post-Bears career has been a string of disappointments. On the other hand, @Grizzly990 had a more common take: “A mistake firing Smith? No. The clown-college parade they hired to replace him was the mistake.” It’s certainly true the Bears became sort of stagnant in the post-Super Bowl years under Smith, who never was accused of paying much attention to an oft-struggling offense.

Poll No. 2: Would you rather have Matt Eberflus or Lovie Smith as coach of the Bears?

Upshot: Eberflus is our shiny new toy, right? He was bound to get the lion’s share of this vote. Then again, Trestman — an offensive genius! — would have gotten a majority of the vote after his first two games. Same, for sure, with Fox, who came to town with Super Bowl pedigree. Nagy, too, was a guy Bears fans were awfully eager to like. That’s just how it works.

Poll No. 3: You’re running an NFL team and have to hire one of these men as your coach:

Upshot: Could we have teed this one up any better for all the yuksters out there? “Trestman for the comedic value,” @youarethemrd commented. “Chicago sports radio was absolute gold when he was coach. Never laughed so hard in my life.” Seriously, though, do people not remember how awful the Bears were under Fox? @bsdtectr must, putting it this way: “You go without a head coach.”

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In retrospect, Matt Nagy’s first game as the Bears’ head coach — against the Packers in 2018 — was the first red flag.

On the opening drive of the much-anticipated Nagy era, the Bears opened with the T-formation and Mitch Trubisky at quarterback and drove 86 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead at Lambeau Field.

The Bears drove 60 yards on nine plays for a field goal on their next drive — and that was about it. The Bears averaged 7.3 yards per play on those first two drives, but 3.1 after that in a 24-23 loss that was considered a pretty good start for Nagy in Chicago.

It didn’t take long for the NFL to figure out Nagy’s offense. The Bears scored a touchdown on their opening drive in three of his first four games (75.0%) — but only six times in the next 37 games (16.2%) before Nagy gave up play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in 2020.

So here we are, just two games into another new era and Bears fans are getting a little nervous about Luke Getsy, Justin Fields and another formative offense that doesn’t isn’t forming quickly enough.

Again against the Packers at Lambeau Field, Getsy’s offense started quickly. The Bears drove 71 yards on seven plays for a touchdown on their opening drive. And then, not much. Three consecutive three-and-outs, and just three more points.

The Bears averaged 10.1 yards per play on their opening drive, but only 4.5 yards per play after that. And Justin Fields threw just 11 passes despite the Bears being down by two touchdowns the entire second half.

Here we go again? It’s a little too early for that. Getsy and his offense won’t be defined by two games. Or three games, for that matter. Still, Sunday’s game against the Texans will be an early litmus test for Getsy and Matt Eberflus’ entire staff. The Bears have big improvements to make on offense and defense — in a very playable situation at home against a Texans team that ranks 29th or lower in most NFL power rankings. Let’s see how they do.

With a roster of many unestablished players with modest credentials, Eberflus is counting on the coaching staff to produce the progress that will set up the Bears for a giant leap in 2023.

“We will do a better job,” he said when asked about wide receiver Darnell Mooney having just two receptions for four yards in the first two games. “We’ve got great coaches. Those guys are smart. They know how to get it done, and we will get it done.”

We are at an awkward stage of an NFL season, when early results seem defining to observers outside of Halas Hall, while coaches like Getsy see each game as 1/17th of a rebuilding process.

So Getsy celebrated the offense’s fast start — “You saw a team come out prepared, execute and score –and its resilience after three consecutive three-and-outs that followed.

“That was to me so impressive how they stuck together,” Getsy said. “I’ve been on a lot of sidelines that when you go three-and-out that many times in a row, things get weird. [But] those guys were tough. They stuck together. It was about how can we get better the next play? And how we’re ready to roll. We’ve got the right kind of men in that room. I’m excited to see what’s next for them.”

I’m guessing a lot of Bears fans are rolling their eyes at that explanation. They’ve been here before. Getsy has not. You can’t blame Bears fans for their skepticism. You can’t blame Getsy for his enthusiasm. That’s why every game is a big one for the new Bears coaching staff. It’s early, but it gets late around here awfully quick.

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