Pirates, Marlins to play in Puerto Rico for Roberto Clemente Day

The presence of the Pirates in Puerto Rico is significant.

Clemente, who starred for the Pirates, died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972. “He was dedicated to helping people right up to the end of his life, his last days”.

Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the Pirates will play in a two-game series in San Juan on May 30th and 31st.

Read the full Globe story here.

Marking the first time that regular season games will be played in San Juan since the NY Mets and Marlins met in June 2010, the pair of contests will be held at Hiram Bithorn Stadium while counted as home games for Miami.

Kudos to Major League Baseball for this one.

Traditionally, Roberto Clemente Day has taken place in September but will be moved up this year so the Pirates and Marlins can celebrate in his home country. Roberto Clemente Day will be observed on May 31, when Major League Baseball will announce the nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award for community involvement and sportsmanship. In 2015, Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen became the first member of the Pirates to claim the honor since Hall of Famer Willie Stargell in 1974.

From The Clipboard: Manfred also disclosed Thursday that Opening Day 2016 has a combined seven national ESPN telecasts.

The official announcement was through MLB’s public relations Twitter account.

The Pirates game vs. St. Louis, which was originally scheduled for Monday, April 4 at 1:35 p.m., will now be played at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 at PNC Park.