Forty years ago today, Roberto Clemente died.

I remember the story vaguely.  As a then-nine year old who grew up loving baseball, Clemente was a player I was very familiar with due to his high-profile play with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  My mom, dad and I went to Memorial Stadium in 1971 to watch the Orioles in the World Series and I always remember my father carefully explaining to me that Clemente was one of those players from the other team you always rooted for because of the fact that he played the game “the right way”.

Ironically, Clemente died “the right way”, too.

On December 31, 1972, Clemente was on-board a plane taking food and other disaster relief items to Nicaragua in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake there some eight days earlier.

The plane crashed and Clemente’s life ended.

He was the rarest of athletes, even back then.  Despite his status, his money and, his future, Roberto Clemente put that aside and climbed into that plane to help people who needed it.

Roberto Clemente wasn’t doing that for his Foundation.  He wasn’t doing it to get on SportsCenter or to be featured in an upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated.  It wasn’t a gimmick to curry favor with his local fan base.

People in Nicaragua needed help and Clemente said, “I’ll help.”

As 2012 comes to an end and a new year arrives, we should all be mindful of the story of Roberto Clemente.

I’d like to see more athletes today take some time to be more actively involved in their community.  And I’d like to see more of them do something to help out “just because they can” rather than “just because I need to”.

Just last week, someone sent me an email about a Ravens player that was involved in an autograph signing session where the player was charging money for his autograph on a piece of paper.  A 10-year old boy finally got his moment with the player and as he scratched his name on a photo of himself in action, the Sharpie type he was using went dry.  The boy, looking to help out, handed the player his own pen, but rather than a Sharpie, it was merely a blue ink pen.  The player said, “What am I supposed to do with this?” and shoved it back in the direction of the young boy.  When an assistant handed him a new Sharpie to sign with, the player said, to no one in particular, “If this one runs out, we’re done for the day.”

Yeah, it sure is an inconvenience to have your Sharpie run out of power when you’re getting money to sign your name, isn’t it?

Those stories bother me greatly.

They bother me because, for starters, the adoring fan deserves better, particularly when his father is paying for the right to have his son meet one of his heroes.

But it bothers me mostly because many of today’s athletes have clearly lost their way.

If you can’t sit at a table and sign autographs for one hour and be nice to everyone, you shouldn’t show up, and that’s not taking into account that you’re getting paid for it.

Roberto Clemente paid the ultimate price for just being nice and he wasn’t getting a dime.

Take a second or two today to remember him on this anniversary of his untimely death and pledge to yourself that sometime soon you’ll reach out and help someone who needs it.  Let that help come in whatever form you decide, but make it a point to lend a hand or an ear or some elbow grease during 2013.

During the dog days of summer there are two American past times to partake in.  One of course is taking in a Major League Baseball game.  The other is heading to the theaters to see some summer blockbusters.  This year’s MLB season has paralleled the summer blockbuster season so perfectly that I decided to give my take on both.

Here are the best comparisons between the two to date:

Avengers (LA Angels)- This team got off to an incredibly slow start but have made up some of the ground.  They are now one of the better teams in the American League and are above average at this point; just like the movie.  However, this team has its very own “Hulk” in Albert Pujols and “Captain America” in Jered Weaver who is unhittable more often than not.  So how can they not do well?

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Boston Red Sox)- Just like the movie, this team has been the butt of some jokes.  If you compare the idea of the movie to the Red Sox off the field issues this season, they are quite comparable.  That being said, the movie wasn’t entirely bad and similarly the Red Sox find themselves still at .500 and within striking distance of the wildcard.  With some players getting healthy and maybe a trade, Boston could turn a bad idea into resurrected season.

The Amazing Spiderman (Miami Marlins)- One of the most anticipated movies of the summer and one of the most talented teams (on paper) headed into the season have both disappointed.  Both reboots (the Marlins rebooting themselves in a new home), Spiderman’s cast and Miami’s roster had all the promise in the world but just didn’t work as a finished product.  Miami is now cutting its losses and shopping its players, most notably, Hanley Ramirez being traded to the Dodgers this morning.

Prometheus (Washington Nationals)-  Both invoking high anticipation levels and silently becoming sleeper picks before their premieres, the movie and the team have met and far exceeded expectations.  The Nationals starting pitching has been the driving force for their season just as Prometheus’s special effects made it shine.  The Nationals are poised for a postseason run and Prometheus is expected to make a splash at the Oscars.

Magic Mike (Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates)- These teams were written off as non-contenders to start the year along with Magic Mike being designated as the quintessential, no-good “chick flick”.  Well both these teams have surprised and if you can get past the male nudity scenes in Magic Mike, it’s a surprisingly good drama that’s also been brought up in Oscar considerations.  We will see if these teams can get past the other great teams out there to get to the playoffs, just as Magic Mike is trying to overcome the rest of the summer blockbusters.

The Dark Knight Rises (New York Yankees)- The Dark Knight Rises was one of the best films of the summer so far and the Yankees have been one of the best teams.  They both were saddled with high expectations due to previous performances and have lived up to them.  Both have All Star casts and both had a “twist”.  For the Yankees it was trading for Ichiro.  I cried at the end of the Dark Knight Rises but I will probably cry for a different reason at the end of the Yankees season; because we might be seeing them win a World Series…ugh.

Battleship (Houston Astros): Both are bad.  Not much more to say.