CLEVELAND, Ohio – Roberto Clemente breezed across baseball diamonds like a graceful wind, kept runners honest with his rocket of an arm, and blasted shots off pitchers across the league. On the field, he was a force.
So is Tanisha Velez.
Velez - a Cleveland native, Lincoln West High School graduate and mother of three - saw a need to fix up Roberto Clemente Park in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. The fruits of her labor and that of other volunteers will be seen when hundreds of kids take to the field Saturday, June 3, for Opening Day of a neighborhood baseball league.
Velez’ love for community engagement and her memories of being a kid, playing in the same park, motivate her to be involved. As a kid, she and friends would grab a broomstick, pick up a few rocks, “and we would play baseball.”
“That’s just what you did. You don’t see that anymore,” Velez said. “We want to keep baseball alive.”
She’s doing more than keeping baseball alive. She is fostering community engagement. It all started last year, when about 25 to 30 volunteers came together. Their kids were playing in a different league with practices at the atrophied park.
“As our kids were practicing there we kept seeing how abandoned the park seemed. We played here as kids,” she said. “We saw how impactful it was for us as kids.”
The park’s renovation is rooted in the need to promote community engagement in an area where “the culture was already alive,” she said.
That was the beginning.
“Let’s start with the park,” she said.
Opening Day for dozens of kids at Roberto Clemente Park in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood is Saturday, June 3.
Residents and small businesses donated paint and wood. They painted fences and benches and designed a timeline of Clemente’s life. An artist donated time to create a mural facing the fields. The giant home plate with Clemente’s number, a huge “21″ in black and yellow, was refurbished - some bricks were refaced, others were added. A Roberto Clemente Day celebration was held.
“Pretty soon,” she said, “our whole summer was spent at the park.”
Then the thought hit: “OK, we did this, what’s next?”
A farmers market was next. That fits in line with Velez’ work and vision – things that matter to the community, specifically agriculture and positive youth programs.
It also holds a practical purpose, providing a chance for residents to pick up fruit and vegetables while keeping an eye on their kids.
Velez is a board member of the non-profit Cleveland Public Market Corp., created to manage the West Side Market. She also founded Cleveland Fresh, an urban agriculture operation with a focus on indoor growing, specifically microgreens.
But they still had a baseball league to create. The Cleveland Guardians offered positive coaching training. Businesses and organizations donated shirts and hats. Families are asked to provide gray pants, cleats or tennis shoes. And the league is free to families.
It’s open to anyone, but 97% of those families who signed up are Spanish-speaking, she said.
“It’s beautiful to see we created something that there was a need for,” said Velez, who added: “How do we keep engaging them in positive things that keeps them in line with their future goals?”
That creation took fundraising, teamwork and networking. Her partner, Darien Murdock, is director of the league. Volunteer Rosa Cruz also offered critical support throughout the project, Velez said.
Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente, the National League's leading hitter, shows a young fan where he likes to hit the ball. This is from 1961.
“It’s been a lot of us,” she said. “It like a family affair.”
She added: “We have parents who say, ‘If you need anything let me know.’ We don’t want to ask too much for parents because we know it’s already a lot to ask for them to bring their kids to practice and games. We’re just trying to support the community as much as we can, with what we can.”
Organizers were expecting 50 to 60 kids; eventually, 250 signed up. This year, 11 teams in five divisions covering ages 3 through 18 will play.
The message got out because parents recognize the work volunteers did. Velez said she hears from folks saying, “I want my kids to be a part of it.”
And that, she said, “is a beautiful thing to experience.”
Clemente, a Hall of Famer who spent his entire career with Pittsburgh, was killed on a humanitarian mission. The packed plane he was on, which carried aid for victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua, crashed after taking off. When he died on Dec. 31, 1972, he had 3,000 hits, exactly, to his name. He owned a .317 average and a pair of World Series titles. He was 38.
In the early 1990s, Wade-Seymour Park was renamed in honor of the Puerto Rican star. The park is believed to be one of 16 in the country named after him, said Velez, who also wants to see a scoreboard, lights and a statue in his honor.
“We all know the name of Roberto Clemente, right?” she said. “How do we continue to honor his legacy - through his humanitarian (efforts) and baseball. That’s what we’re trying to create with the space.”
Saturday, at 3690 Seymour Ave., in the shadow of interstate 90, that legacy continues with games and photos and a farmers market that will bring the community together.
“It’s going to be a celebration,” Velez said.
More info: Roberto Clemente League
Saturday, June 3: Games begin at 10 a.m. Photos start at 11 a.m. Games end at 3 p.m.
To help: For people who want to inquire about donating or supporting the league, email Velez at infojardin4life@gmail.com.
Related coverage: New Latin-focused market launches Saturday mornings in Cleveland’s Clark/Fulton neighborhood
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
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