I finished writing a couple of narratives on Jackie Robinson's Major League debut and Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit and I'd like to share what I've written.

I feel like I've covered a lot of the important details for both of them, but I feel like I could also add more to both of them, especially the Jackie Robinson game.

I don't normally ask for second opinions before recording my narratives, but because of how special these moments were, I really want to make them good.

Here's the one I did for Jackie Robinson's Major League debut:

Going into the 1947 season, Major League Baseball had been a segregated sport for over 60 years.

When professional baseball started in the 19th century, it was common for Caucasians to not want to play with African-American players. This would lead to the game becoming segregated and in 1887, the Negro League would be formed.

For many years, the Negro League would thrive, producing many great teams and players. Then in 1945, a shortstop by the name of Jackie Robinson made his Negro League debut for the Kansas City Monarchs. In his stint for Kansas City, he would hit .389 and play in the '45 Negro League All-Star Game.

At around this time, there were Major League teams who had serious interest in signing an African-American player, which included the Brooklyn Dodgers. Their general manager Branch Rickey began to scout the Negro League for a possible addition to the Dodgers roster and was impressed with Robinson's potential.

Rickey would interview Robinson for a potential Minor League contract and wanted to know for sure that Robinson could face the racial antagonism that he would receive. Robinson agreed and on October 23rd 1945, it was officially announced that he would be assigned to the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Montreal Royals.

In 1946, Robinson would tear up the International League, leading the league with a .349 average and would be awarded the Most Valuable Player.
Robinson's presence would also have a big impact on Minor League attendance that year, with more than one million people going to games that involved him.

Then on April 9th 1947, Robinson would get called up to the Major Leagues and play first base and six days later, would make his Major League debut before a crowd of 26,623, which included more than 14,000 African-Americans.
It was the first time since the 1880s that an African-American had broken the Major League Baseball color line.
Robinson would be hitless in his first two at-bats, but would reach on an error in the 7th inning and score the winning run, as Brooklyn would defeat the Boston Braves, 5-3.

Although Robinson went hitless in his debut, he would have an excellent rookie season, hitting .297 with 12 home runs and 48 runs batted in and would score 125 runs and lead the National League with 28 stolen bases, winning Major League Baseball's first Rookie of the Year award.

During the '47 season, black fans would flock to Major League ballparks to watch Jackie Robinson play and even though he had plenty of racial tension, he would endure it and his impact would pave the way for not only more African-American players, but would also open the door for Latin American and Asian players.

After Robinson's memorable first season, he would continue to put up big numbers. He would make his first of six straight All-Star appearances in 1949 and win the National League M.V.P. award that year and would be a big part of the Dodger dynasty in the 1950s, helping guide the Dodgers to six National League pennants and the franchises first World Championship in 1955.

Robinson would end his career in 1956 with a career batting average of .311, 137 home runs, 734 runs batted in and 197 stolen bases and would also win a batting title and lead the league in stolen bases twice and would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.

Then on April 15th 1997, 50 years after baking his Major League debut, Jackie Robinson would have his number 42 retired by Major League Baseball. Then in 1999, he would be named by Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century and be elected as the top second baseman to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Here's the one I did for Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit:

After Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, many more African-American players would make it to the Major Leagues. Robinson's impact would also open the door for many Latin American players and the first to make a significant impact was Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From 1956 to 1971, Arriba would bat over .300 12 times, win four batting titles, have four seasons of 30 or more doubles, nine seasons of ten or more triples, 8 consecutive Gold Gloves, and was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1966 and the M.V.P. of the 1971 World Series.

And he was just as well-known for his work off the field, being actively involved in charity work, where he frequently delivered baseball equipment and food to people in Latin American countries.
His work would help inspire the Commissioner's award in 1971, which would go to the most charitable player each year.

At the beginning of the 1972 season, the Pirates had come off their first World Championship since 1960 and were expected to contend for another title while Clemente was closing in on 3,000 hits.
He would start the season with 2,282 and have another All-Star year while the Pirates would run away with their third straight division title.
As the season winded down, Clemente would close in on the 3,000 mark and on September 28th in Philadelphia, would come to the plate in the 4th inning and single to right for hit number 2,999.

Clemente would be pinch-hit for in his next at-bat and his first opportunity for number 3,000 would come the next night at home against the Mets.

A crowd of 24,193 would flock to Three Rivers Stadium hoping to see history and Clemente would come up for this first at-bat in the bottom of the first. He would hit a ground ball to second baseman Ken Boswell and beat it out and it appeared that he had his 3,000th hit, but the official scorer would rule an error on the play and Clemente would go hitless for the rest of the game.

Clemente would start again the next day and would come to the plate in the bottom of the first. The crowd of 13,117 would come to their feet, hoping to see history, but Arriba would strike out. He would come to the plate again leading off the 4th and would reach the mark when he hit a double to left off Jon Matlack, making him just the 9th player to accomplish the feat and the first Latin American ever to do so.

Sadly, Clemente's 3,000th hit would also be his last.
In late December, a devastating earthquake would hit Nicaragua and on New Year's Eve, Clemente would accompany an emergency relief flight from Puerto Rico to deliver aid packages. However, the plane would crash in the ocean immediately after take-off and Clemente's body was never found.
Clemente's tragic death was devastating, not only to the city of Pittsburgh, but to people all over the United States and Latin America due to the positive impact that he had had both on and off the field.

However, as tragic as Roberto Clemente's passing was, his legacy would live on.
Along with having 3,000 hits, he also finished his career with a .317 batting average, 440 doubles, 166 triples, 240 home runs, 1,305 runs batted in and 1,416 runs scored and his inspiring numbers would open the door for many more Latin Americans in Major League Baseball.
In 1973, Clemente would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and also win the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2002, he would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, then in 2005, he would be named a member of Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team.
And at the 2006 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, Clemente was awarded the Commissioner's Historical Achievement Award, with commissioner Bud Selig stating that "Roberto was a hero in every sense of the word."
And through the years, his humanitarian work has continued to inspire. In 1973, the Commissioner's Award was re-named in his honor and to this day, players throughout Major League Baseball commit to charity work while thirty of them get nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award every year.
In 1997, Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired all over Major League Baseball and with the similar impact that Roberto Clemente has had on the game, someday his number 21 may be retired, too.