When talking about the "tough odds" that Clemente went through, the author states that Clemente went through many difficulties before achieving success.
When reading the article by Mary Kate Frank, we can see that:
The article talks about Roberto Clemente, a Puerto Rican who played baseball in the major American leagues.
Clemente had a successful career and was greatly admired across the country.
However, his life was not just about success.
Clemente went through many difficulties, such as economic difficulties, lack of resources, child labor, and little professional support.
Furthermore, he had to endure many cases of xenophobia and intolerance when he arrived in America.
But he overcame all these problems very resiliently, and managed to achieve his dream of being a great player.
Clemente's difficult childhood is what makes the author of the article say that he went through "tough odds" before arriving in America, which reinforces the idea that Clemente's life was not easy.
