Inside the discovery of Roberto Clemente: ‘He was the greatest we ever had’

The next person to touch Roberto Clemente was Pedrin Zarrilla, who owned the Santurce club. He was the man who discovered Clemente on the country softball team, and he was the man who signed him for a $400 bonus.

“He was a skinny kid,” Zarrilla recalled, “but even then, he had those large, powerful hands, which we all noticed right away. He joined us, and he was nervous. But I watched him, and I said to myself, ‘This kid can throw, and this kid can run, and this kid can hit. We will be patient with him.’ The season had been through several games before I finally sent him in to play.”

PART 1: Roberto Clemente’s last mission was a story of sacrifice

PART 2: Before the legend, there was a teacher: Roberto Clemente ‘was like my son’

Luis Olmo, an outfielder with the Brooklyn Dodgers,