Roberto was the first Latino MVP of the National League in 1966, and was the first Latin player in the Hall of Fame. However…
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Minnesota Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles, a Cuban, won the MVP award in the AL in 1965
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Cleveland Indians second baseman Bobby Avila, a Mexican, led the AL in hitting in 1954, and was 3rd in the American League MVP voting. Avila and black teammate Larry Doby split the pro-Cleveland vote, allowing Yogi Berra to win it.
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That same year, Cuban Minnie Minoso was 4th in the voting.
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In 1959, Venezuelan Luis Aparicio was 2nd in the AL MVP voting.
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Orlando Cepeda made his mark in the National League before Clemente did.
Great as Clemente was, he was not a real groundbreaker. There were a lot of Latin stars before him.
Also worth noting: while there’s an excellent chance Clemente would have been the first Latin Hall of Famer anyway, he was made eligible for induction without having to wait 5 years. If he’d lived, I assume he’d have played a few more seasons, and then would have had to wait 5 years to be elected. Some other Latin player (Marichal? Aparicio?) MIGHT have been elected before him.
