Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente is robbed on a 430-to-450-foot putout. With two on, two out and no score in the 6th, Dodgers centerfielder Duke Snider goes to considerable lengths to frustrate his favorite right fielder. Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times reports: “Clemente clouted an ‘extra-baser’ which Snider caught with one hand near the center-field wall.” Clemente, however, has little cause for complaint. A mere two innings earlier, he himself performed a bit of “armed” robbery with Norm Larker playing the hapless victim though Larker, for his part, would claim it’s the umpire who robbed him. Frank Finch continues: “Round Four started well enough for L.A. when Tom Davis got a bad-hop single and raced to third on Norm Larker’s single to right. However, Bob Clemente’s rifle peg to Rocky Nelson nipped Larker trying to get back to first base. Larker snorted and stomped like a Brahma bull, getting the bum’s rush from umpire Ken Burkhart for throwing the tantrum. From the press box, it appeared that Larker had gotten back in time, but he had no excuse for the play even being close.” Clemente’s “lethal weapon” once again proves pivotal two innings later. George Lederer of the Long Beach Independent writes: “Stan Williams learned how costly his [7th-inning] error was when John Roseboro led off the 8th with a single. Roseboro, batting for Williams, lined Vern Law’s first pitch into the right field corner and was held to a single only by Roberto Clemente’s quick retrieve and bullet throw to second. Trailing by three runs instead of one, manager Walter Alston could not call for the bunt that otherwise would have been in order. Maury Wills, leading off in Alston’s revised lineup, promptly grounded into a double play to wipe out the Dodgers’ last serious bid.”

On August 2, 1960 — Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente is robbed on a 430-to-450-foot putout. With two on, two out and no score in the 6th, Dodgers centerfielder Duke Snider goes to considerable lengths to frustrate his favorite right fielder. Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times reports: “Clemente clouted an ‘extra-baser’ which Snider caught with one hand near the center-field wall.” Clemente, however, has little cause for complaint. A mere two innings earlier, he himself performed a bit of “armed” robbery with Norm Larker playing the hapless victim though Larker, for his part, would claim it’s the umpire who robbed him. Frank Finch continues: “Round Four started well enough for L.A. when Tom Davis got a bad-hop single and raced to third on Norm Larker’s single to right. However, Bob Clemente’s rifle peg to Rocky Nelson nipped Larker trying to get back to first base. Larker snorted and stomped like a Brahma bull, getting the bum’s rush from umpire Ken Burkhart for throwing the tantrum. From the press box, it appeared that Larker had gotten back in time, but he had no excuse for the play even being close.” Clemente’s “lethal weapon” once again proves pivotal two innings later. George Lederer of the Long Beach Independent writes: “Stan Williams learned how costly his [7th-inning] error was when John Roseboro led off the 8th with a single. Roseboro, batting for Williams, lined Vern Law’s first pitch into the right field corner and was held to a single only by Roberto Clemente’s quick retrieve and bullet throw to second. Trailing by three runs instead of one, manager Walter Alston could not call for the bunt that otherwise would have been in order. Maury Wills, leading off in Alston’s revised lineup, promptly grounded into a double play to wipe out the Dodgers’ last serious bid.”

Source:
Baseball Reference August 2
National Pastime
Retro Sheet
Hall of Fame
SABR Games Project
Replay The Game