WORCESTER—For generations of Worcester residents, especially within the city’s Puerto Rican community, the baseball field tucked behind Curtis Apartments already had a name.
Not Great Brook Valley Playground Park.
Just Clemente.
Now, city officials and community leaders are trying to make that official.
At their most recent meeting, councilors voiced strong support for renaming Great Brook Valley Playground Park as Roberto Clemente Park, honoring the late Hall of Fame baseball player and humanitarian whose legacy has long been tied to the East Side field.
The proposal, brought forward by District 1 Councilor Tony Economou and backed by Worcester Housing Authority CEO Alex Corrales, was referred to the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which oversees the naming of city parks. The commission indicates on
Corrales told councilors the renaming is about more than baseball.
“Roberto Clemente is a symbol of pride, resilience, and excellence” within Worcester’s Puerto Rican community, Corrales said during public testimony. “This renaming is about recognizing the people who live there today in a meaningful and visible way.”
Clemente, the Pittsburgh Pirates star who became the first Puerto Rican player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, died in 1972 while attempting to deliver earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua. Beyond his accomplishments on the field, he remains widely revered for his humanitarian work and advocacy for Latino communities.
Corrales said the field and surrounding park space already function as an informal landmark tied to Clemente’s name.
“For years, residents and visitors have already been calling it Clemente Park,” he said. “They feel a connection to that name.”
The proposal arrives as the city continues a major renovation of the park property near Great Brook Valley Gardens and Curtis Apartments. Corrales argued that the current name no longer accurately reflects the space itself.
“The park is not in Great Brook Valley, it’s behind Curtis Apartments, and there is no playground at the site,” he said. “What exists is a well-used field and a gathering space.”
Economou amended his original request during the meeting to rename the entire park — not just the baseball field — Roberto Clemente Park.
“Everybody knows it as Roberto Clemente Field,” Economou said. “My entire life, nobody’s referred to it as Great Brook Valley Park.”
Several councilors spoke emotionally about the role the field has played in Worcester’s Latino community over the decades.
Council Vice Chairman Khrystian King said the park’s significance extends well beyond athletics.
“There’s a deep, deep history here that goes beyond baseball and softball,” King said. “It extends and it brings folks from all over together, and the legacy of Roberto Clemente runs deep.”
King also requested that city officials invite representatives of the Clemente family, including Roberto Clemente Jr., to any future renaming ceremony, along with local student athletes and members of Worcester’s Puerto Rican and Latino communities.
District 4 Councilor Luis Ojeda connected the proposal to his own childhood memories growing up around the league that once played there.
“Not many people know this, but my father was one of the founders of the Roberto Clemente Softball League,” Ojeda said. “Going down there every Sunday really mattered.”
Ojeda recalled riding in the back of pickup trucks with other neighborhood kids to spend Sundays at the field watching games, eating food and gathering with families from across Worcester and beyond.
“It meant a lot to a lot of families,” he said. “People came from as far as Springfield and Connecticut.”
In the Worcester Housing Authority’s announcement supporting the change, Corrales described the proposed name as a message to young residents living nearby.
“It sends a message to our young and most vulnerable youths of what they can accomplish,” Corrales said. “It shows them what is possible.”
The parks commission addressed the item at its May 14 meeting, deciding to place a final vote on June 11.
Have a story tip, community concern, or insight to share? Email Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org.
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