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On March 20, 1957 — In today’s issue of The Sporting News, former Pittsburgh Pirates GM – and current Pirate batting instructor (at least while George Sisler recuperates from a recent operation), Branch Rickey, – raves about Roberto Clemente, who will be seen as Rickey’s most illustrious Pirate hire. The article features a classic example of bandwagon-jumping, coming in the wake of Clemente’s dramatically improved sophomore showing, as Rickey radically revises his initial, considerably more pessimistic prognosis made in January but which won’t be made public until years later. Moreover, he shamelessly inflates his own role in acquiring Clemente, in effect stealing the credit from his longtime subordinate, pitching coach Clyde Sukeforth, the man who actually discovered Clemente last year while on assignment from Rickey to scout demoted Dodger hurler Joe Black. Ironically, just as Rickey has jumped on the bandwagon, Clemente, thanks to an off-season back injury which has somehow escaped the “Mahatma”‘s omniscient eye, is about to embark on the worst season of his career.
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