Mark Madden: How would Roberto Clemente have fared in a few more seasons with Pirates?

Roberto Clemente’s birthday was this past Wednesday.

If Clemente were still alive, Gregory Polanco would be his superior in right field, but only marginally.

Keep in mind Clemente would be 87.

Clemente’s birthday sparked debate over how the Pirates might have fared had Clemente not been killed in that New Year’s Eve plane crash in 1972 and played, say, three more years.

Clemente was 38 but in great shape when he died. He seemed to be transitioning from being a full-time player: He appeared in 102, 132 and 108 games, respectively, in his last three seasons. Clemente was occasionally injury-prone and, some said, a bit of a hypochondriac.

But the ball still jumped off Clemente’s bat, and his arm remained a cannon. Clemente was an All-Star in each of his last three seasons, and a Gold Glover.

His slash lines in those last three seasons:

1970: .352/.407/.556

1971: .341/.370/.502

1972: .312/.356/.479

Those numbers aren’t necessarily overwhelming.

But keep in mind that batting average was king then, and Clemente didn’t walk much. He totaled just 93 walks in those three years. His career high was 56 walks in 1969.

Clemente totaled 27 home runs in those three campaigns. His power by then was primarily to the gaps. That mostly applied throughout his career.

But Clemente could muster home runs almost on command. Manager Harry Walker asked him to help the Pirates by generating more power in 1966, and the result was 31 doubles, 11 triples, a career-best 29 home runs, a .317 average and the National League MVP.

If Clemente plays three more seasons, it’s fair to expect him to at least maintain his performance and availability from 1972. Don’t dismiss Clemente’s big-game intangibles: He hit .318 in five postseason series and earned the 1971 World Series MVP.

The Pirates won the East Division in 1974 and ’75, losing in the National League Championship Series.

They finished 80-82 in 1973, two-and-a-half games out in the NL East. But the team was an utter wreck in ’73 after Clemente’s death, not least Clemente’s close friends Manny Sanguillen and Steve Blass. The latter saw his career instantaneously disintegrate because of wildness.

If Clemente lives and plays, it’s easy to think that the Pirates win the division in 1973 and likely get to (and perhaps win) one more World Series during those three seasons.

Clemente would get his career hits up over 3,400, not that his Hall of Fame credentials needed to be even remotely burnished. If he’d played a bit longer still, Clemente might have taken a shot at the National League mark for career hits, then held by Stan Musial at 3,630.

Baseball is about raw stats today, and those numbers are the law.

But you had to see Clemente. He was magnificent. When you watched him play, to quote Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.”

Barry Bonds was the best player the Pirates ever had, edging Clemente — but not by much.

Clemente, however, was the greatest Pirate ever. He was a Pittsburgh lifer, dominated the two World Series the Pirates won during his tenure, and always passed the eye test. Clemente gave maximum effort and was at his best when the most was on the line.

We don’t need to put Honus Wagner in this debate. There’s no one alive that saw him play.

My favorite Clemente memory doesn’t involve something that happened during a game.

When I was a young boy attending a game at Forbes Field, I saw Clemente loosen up his arm by standing at the base of the right-field wall and throwing several baseballs over the double-decker stands. Clemente then fired a series of knee-high strikes to third base and home plate. One bounce, and perfect. Pow, pow, pow. One after the other.

It was amazing. I won’t ever forget it.