Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente at All-Star FanFest

Rod Carew was in disbelief the first time he met Roberto Clemente.

He said he was "Living the Dream" when he died, played and scored against his childhood hero of 1967 in baseball All-Star Game in Anaheim, five years before Clemente in an airplane crash while trying to earthquake victims in Nicaragua assistance.

Their names were back together Tuesday as they were when the 47th and 48 Player in the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame on the All-Star FanFest anchored in Anaheim.

"Roberto is an inspiration to all Latins," said Carew. "I had the opportunity to play against him as a young child, and I had the honor."

Carew was a party on a small stage of Clemente's widow, Vera, and several baseball greats, including Orlando Cepeda, Manny Mota and Juan Marichal.

"He was always, until the day he died, tries to help the Latin players better and responsible," Vera Clemente said of her late husband. "He wanted her to as high as they could reach a level.

"He has the manner in which he lived and died. When he was a young boy, he was helping people. I know that people never forget how he died and how he lived."

Clemente, who played in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was the first player, the Latin name Rookie of the Year will be first league most valuable player and the first World Series Most Valuable Player.

He was also the first Latin player named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and is the only player to have waived five years waiting period since its establishment in 1954.

How many Latin players of his time, he treats not only confronted with obstacles because of his color, but also a language barrier.

"Every time we are together, we talk about the times and the struggles we went through, to get here," said Carew. "And we persevered."

Carew is the only player in the Panamanian Baseball Hall of Fame are included. He had a .328 career batting average and had runs batted in. hits 3053 and 1015

These kind of numbers are not commonplace, but now because of the hard work of players like Carew and Clemente, the Latin players more frequently in the Major League Baseball.

"Before, if you played every day as a Latin player, you would not play in the big leagues," said Carew.

Latin players make about 30% of league players, with many of them with their clubs.

That all started with Clemente and the hand which he gave to players like Carew.

"If we continue to have other young people of this and persevere and let them see that they can do what they want to" do with their lives, "said Carew," then this is all worth it. "