Roger Clemens

William Roger Clemens
(The Rocket)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 4", Weight 220 lb.
School San Jacinto College-North, University of Texas at Austin
High School Dulles High School, Spring Woods High School
Debut May 15, 1984
Final Game September 16, 2007
Born August 4, 1962 in Dayton, OH USA

Biographical Information[edit]

“The only thing he wants to do is just win.” - Jorge Posada

Roger Clemens is considered by many to be the greatest pitcher of all-time, having notched over 300 wins and 4,000 strikeouts while winning an unprecedented seven Cy Young Awards for four different teams. During his career, he twice struck out 20 batters in a single nine-inning game: against the Seattle Mariners on April 29, 1986 and against the Detroit Tigers on September 18, 1996. But he has also been a very controversial figure because of some ungentlemanly behavior over the years, and accusations of PED use that led to his trial for perjury in 2011.

Clemens was signed by the Boston Red Sox and scout Danny Doyle as a 1st round pick, 19th overall, out of the University of Texas, in the 1983 amateur draft. Roger had shone with the Texas Longhorns, becoming the first man in program history to have his uniform number retired. He once pitched 35 consecutive scoreless innings, an NCAA record that stood until 2001. A two-time All-American, he won a College World Series in 1983 as capo di tutti capo of a staff that included fellow future big leaguers Mike Capel, Bruce Ruffin and Calvin Schiraldi. For his collegiate prowess, the Rotary Smith Award, deigned upon the best college pitcher, was re-named the Roger Clemens Award, honoring the nation's best pitcher.

Roger wasted little time in the minor leagues, making his big league debut in May 1984 before suffering a devastating injury for the time, a torn labrum in his shoulder. An doctor by the name of James Andrews, still little-known at the time, operated on him, fixing "The Rocket" up good in time for the 1985 season, a 15-start affair. He became a household name in 1986, when he reeled off 14 straight wins to begin the year; he was named the 1986 American League MVP, the last starter to win MVP honors for 25 years until Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in 2011. No one has since matched his 14-0 start, although for a long time, he was the one who came closest, starting with 11 wins in 1997; Max Scherzer finally topped that in 2013, with 13 straight wins before his first loss. During his meteoric rise, he took down 20 Seattle Mariners batters via strikes on April 29th, allowing just 3 hits in a 3-1 victory at Fenway Park. In a match-up of the rising stars, Roger dueled with fellow phenom Dwight Gooden at the All-Star Game, later seeing him again in the World Series when the Sox fell in 7 games to the New York Mets. During the infamous Game 6 of the Fall Classic, Sox skipper John McNamara later alleged that Clemens "begged out" of the game, with the club a game away from their first World Series in 68 years. Clemens vehemently denied such a charge, one of many ludicrous statements McNamara made in later years (for an idea of John's reliability vis a vis the truth, he also claimed Dave Stapleton, who had routinely relieved Bill Buckner at first base during this particular postseason, was merely a second baseman, unable to play first, and nicknamed "Shakes" due to his inability to handle pressure). In his MVP season, Roger was 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA and 238 strikeouts, leading the American League in wins and ERA with 10 complete games and 254 innings under his belt. He won that year's Cy Young Award in addition to the MVP.

Having truly arrived, Rocket calmly reeled off some more dominance in 1987, repeating as Cy Young Award winner with a litany of league-leading totals. Roger was tops in victories (the 20 in 20-9, becoming the first pitcher in the AL to enjoy back-to-back 20-win seasons since Tommy John in 1979), complete games (18) and shutouts (7), with a 2.97 ERA and 256 strikeouts in 281 2/3 innings. The Sox won another division title in 1988, and Roger was still smokin' em inside to the tune of an 18-12, 2.93 record, leading the league in strikeouts (291), complete games (14) and shutouts (8, a career best). In the heat of the pennant race, he spun a one-hitter against the Cleveland Indians, allowing only a Dave Clark single in the 8th inning of a 6-0 victory on September 10th. In the postseason proper, he failed to record a victory against the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings in his sole appearance in Game 2 and departing trailing, 3-2, as the Sox fell, 4-3. In 1989, he surged to his 1,000th strikeout, fanning Brook Jacoby of the Indians in April, one of 230 men to take a seat in a 17-11, 3.13 season. Roger had another outstanding season in the heat of a division title race in 1990, going 21-6 with a league-leading 1.93 ERA and 4 shutouts as well as 209 strikeouts. Once again, he failed to beat Oakland in the ALCS, and the Red Sox were swept. His second start in the Series, in Game 4, ended in the 2nd inning when he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes by home plate umpire Terry Cooney.

Roger had two strong seasons in 1991 and 1992, leading the league each year in ERA and shutouts, topping the AL leaderboard with 241 strikeouts while winning his third Cy Young Award on the strength of a 18-11, 2.41 record. For the first time since 1985, Roger failed to top 200 innings in 1993, looking awfully mortal en route to a 11-14, 4.46 record in 29 starts. His ERA rebounded in the strike-shortened 1994 to a real respectable 2.85 in 24 starts, but he once again failed to dominate in 1995, finishing with only 132 strikeouts in 23 starts and a 10-5, 4.18 record. In 1996, Roger battled back to win another AL strikeout crown, mowing down 257 hitters in 242 2/3 innings. On September 18th at Tiger Stadium, he logged 20 strikeouts again, mauling the Tigers in a 4-0 five-hitter. He made only two more appearances with the Sox that season, then became a free agent. Dan Duquette, then Boston General Manager, made comments he would forever regret by claiming that Roger was in the "twilight of his career". Insulted, Clemens bolted for the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency to the tune of four years and $40 million.

With something to prove, Clemens headed up north and returned to complete and utter dominance. In 1997, he won his fourth Cy Young Award, winning the pitching Triple Crown behind a 21-7 record, 2.05 ERA and 294 strikeouts with further league-leading tallies in complete games (9), shutouts (3) and innings pitched (264). In his first game with the Blue Jays, April 2nd, he struck out 9 members of the Chicago White Sox; it stood as the team record for a player in his debut for Toronto until David Price struck out 11 on August 3, 2015. On July 12, Rog made his return to Fenway Park and thoroughly humiliated his old club, allowing just an earned run on 4 hits with 16 strikeouts in 8 innings, a 3-1 Blue Jays victory. His next time at Fenway, in September, he merely struck out 10 in 7 innings, angrily glowering at the owner's box whenever he could. For an encore, in 1998, Roger calmly won a second straight pitching Triple Crown and Cy Young Award, finishing 20-6, 2.65 with 271 strikeouts. On August 25th, he thoroughly humbled the Kansas City Royals to the tune of 18 strikeouts in a three-hit shutout at SkyDome. But all was not well for Roger. A competitor at heart, he asked out of town following his second season, feeling he would never play for a winner with our neighbors to the north. On February 18, 1999, he was dealt to the New York Yankees for David Wells, Graeme Lloyd and Homer Bush, contributors all to the Yankees 1998 world championship.

With an ace like Roger in the fold, the Yankees continued their stretch of dominance. Though he was not all-world in 1999, finishing 14-10, 4.60 with only 163 strikeouts, he had two strong postseason outings, shutting down the Atlanta Braves by allowing just four hits over 7 2/3 innings in the clinching Game 4 of the World Series. In 2000, Roger became a little more ornery en route to a 13-8, 3.70 record. On July 8th, during the second game of a Subway Series doubleheader with the New York Mets, he beaned All-Star Mike Piazza in the head, causing the catcher to miss some time. In the postseason, he was accused by Lou Piniella of being a headhunter after spinning a one-hit shutout with an ALCS single-game record 15 strikeouts while buzzing Alex Rodriguez's tower against the Mariners. In Game 2 of the World Series, against the Mets in the first Subway Series in years, he once again tangled with Piazza, picking up the shard of a broken bat of Mike's from a foul ball and angrily tossing it at him, nearly triggering a brawl. Amid all the rumbling grumblies, despite an 8.18 ERA in the ALDS, he did not allow a run in the ALCS and World Series, earning a second ring.

In 2001, Roger came out of the gate guns blazing. He became the first man to start a season 20-1, shattering Elroy Face's 17-1 start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959. He finished his final 20-win season 20-3, becoming the first Yankee hurler to win 20 games with such few losses since "Louisiana Lightning" Ron Guidry in his magical 1978 campaign. He won his sixth Cy Young Award, becoming the final Yankee (as of 2020) to earn the honor. In his third straight World Series, he was 1-0 with a 1.35 record, taking a no decision in a duel with Curt Schilling by allowing only one run in 6 innings of Game 7, a game Luis Gonzalez would walk off for the first title in Arizona Diamondbacks history. He was solid in 2002, with a 17-9, 3.91 record but struggled in his lone postseason outing as the Bronx Bombers bowed early to the Anaheim Angels. Early in the 2003 season, he announced he would retire at season's end, being given fond farewells at every ballpark in which he made a final appearance. He began the march to the immortal 300 victories; while trying to do it against his old club, the Red Sox, he used a special logoed glove, an act that rankled manager Grady Little, who asked that it be removed. The umpire consented and Clemens, who lost the game, was forced to use his normal glove. He did the deal on June 13th against the St. Louis Cardinals, while also recording his 4,000th strikeout, the only man to earn both milestones in the same game. In his final start of the season, he allowed 3 runs in 7 innings, earning a standing ovation from the Florida Marlins in game 4 of the 2003 World Series at Pro Player Stadium on October 22nd.

But much like many other proud Texans, professional wrestler Terry Funk chief among them, this retirement was not about to stick. Clemens was wooed by the Houston Astros, who had successfully courted his old pal Andy Pettitte, and agreed to a one-year deal mere months after his retirement. In what could have been his first year of retirement, he merely went on to win his first National League Cy Young Award, his seventh overall, in 2004, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 218 strikeouts, his final leap above the 200 strikeout line. At 42, he became the oldest winner of the award. He started the All-Star Game at his new home park, Minute Maid Park, becoming the third pitcher to start the game in both leagues, joining Vida Blue and Randy Johnson (Roy Halladay has since joined them). Incidentally, he was rocked by American League batters, to such an extent that there was speculation that his catcher, old pal Mike Piazza, was tipping pitches in a continuation of their long-running feud. When the Astros offered arbitration for 2005, he delayed retirement one more time, becoming the winningest living pitcher on May 9th when he passed Steve Carlton on the all-time list. He established a record with a tenth appearance in an All-Star Game that season, pitching a scoreless inning at Comerica Park. Rog led the NL in ERA, finishing 13-8 with a 1.97 mark and striking out 185 hitters. Suffering a hamstring pull in September, he was limited from September on as the Astros made their first World Series appearance, a four-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox.

The Astros non-tendered Clemens on December 7th, which prevented them from re-signing him before May 1st of the 2006 season. The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees expressed an interest in signing him, but Clemens implied that he was leaning toward retiring after he pitched for the United States in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. On May 31st, it was announced he was coming out of retirement again to re-join the Astros for the remainder of the season. He signed a one-year contract worth $22,000,022, which was prorated to approximately $12.25 million for the final three-plus months of the season. Clemens made his first appearance of the season on June 22nd against the Minnesota Twins, losing to rookie Francisco Liriano, 4-2. He ended the season with a 7-6 record and 2.30 ERA, averaging only 6 innings in 19 starts.

In 2007, Clemens sent Yankee announcer Suzyn Waldman into a state of hysteria when he announced on May 6th that he was coming back to the Bronx and a Yankee club in desperate need of starting pitching. When Clemens faced Julio Franco on June 15th, it was the oldest pitcher-batter match-up since Rube Walberg pitched to Nick Altrock in 1933. With the Yankee bullpen worn out, Clemens volunteered to relieve on June 24th against the San Francisco Giants, having not pitched out of the bullpen since July 18, 1984, as a rookie. It was a major league-record 22 years, 341 days between relief stints, easily shattering the record of 15 years, 343 days set by Steve Carlton from 1971 to 1987. On July 2nd, he pitched eight innings of two-hit ball against the Minnesota Twins to pick up his 350th career victory, becoming the first pitcher since Warren Spahn in 1963 to reach this milestone. On August 18th, he became the first pitcher to allow a home run to a hitter who was not yet born at the time the pitcher first won a Cy Young Award; Cameron Maybin was the batter. In a match-up of 300-game winners, he faced Greg Maddux twice after they each passed the 300-game mark. His record in these match-ups was 1-1. He finally retired from MLB for real after the season, leaving his final start, Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, not with a bang but with a whimper, departing to a pulled hamstring.

On his retirement, Clemens became the only man to record 350 wins (354) with 4,500 strikeouts (4,672), a club that is not likely to add any new members any time soon. In addition to all the hardware (7 Cy Young Awards and the 1986 MVP), he had made 11 All-Star teams. He was a two-time pitching Triple Crown winner, while also winning seven strikeout crowns and five ERA championships. In 1999, he had been named to Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. It seemed his coronation in Cooperstown was an inevitability in the first few years after his retirement. But a funny thing happened on the way to immortality...

Clemens was enveloped in all manner of steroid allegations. The winds of PEDs first blew in 2005, when Jose Canseco sounded the alarm against The Rocket in his best-seller Juiced. Allegations soon swirled around him from a growing chorus including journeyman reliever Jason Grimsley, whose own credibility was shot by his own PED problems. Roger completely denied usage of PEDs in testimony to Congress in 2005. But then, on December 13, 2007, a larger bomb dropped when Roger was one of the players named as a user in the Mitchell Report. Clemens denied the claims and appeared on 60 Minutes to try to clear his name. He also filed a defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee, who was his trainer from 1998 to 2001, who made most of the allegations of PED use and produced physical evidence in the form of used syringes which he claimed were used to inject Rocket with various illegal substances. Clemens and McNamee testified before the House Oversight Committee on February 13, 2008. Both held to their past positions and were caught in contradictions by the Congressmen. Andy Pettitte, Clemens' former teammate, said that Clemens had told him that he used Human Growth Hormone. Clemens claimed that Pettitte did not correctly recall the conversations. Other damaging information about Clemens came out at the time, including allegations of having had a decade-long affair with country music star Mindy McCreary that had started when the singer was only 15. The tale took on added poignancy when McCreary committed suicide in 2013, only 37, after years of run-ins with the law and numerous bouts of drug addiction.

On August 19, 2010, Clemens was indicted on six counts of perjury for his 2008 testimony under oath, which was alleged to have contained a number of lies and misleading statements in order to obstruct the work of Congress. The trial began in Washington, DC on July 6, 2011, after the trial of Barry Bonds had found the latter guilty of one count of obstruction of justice, but could not come to an agreement on the charges of perjury leveled. In prevision of the trial, the prosecutors revealed some of the evidence they had against Clemens, including items of medical waste supplied by McNamee that were allegedly used to inject Clemens with PEDs. On July 13th, after jury selection had been completed, both sides presented their opening arguments. The trial was expected to revolve around the credibility of McNamee, who supplied much of the physical evidence and was the prosecution's key witness. Also slated to appear was convicted drug dealer Kirk Radomski, who claimed to have supplied some of the substances. For its part, the defense countered that "Clemens' only crime was having the poor judgment of staying connected with McNamee." His lawyers claimed that none of the allegations were founded and that the physical evidence was the result of tampering. Then, in an unexpected development, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial the next day, explaining that the prosecution had repeatedly ignored his directives regarding how evidence could be introduced to the jury. The defense thought the errors were deliberate and asked for the charges to be thrown out entirely, but Judge Walton instead ordered a new trial, which began on April 17, 2012. Highlights included testimony from Pettitte, who stated that he was "50-50 sure" about having a conversation with Clemens on PED use in the early 2000s, and incriminating testimony from McNamee, who swore that he had injected Clemens with illegal substances on numerous occasions, although the defense strategy was to discredit McNamee's character and reliability as a witness, something it managed to do quite successfully. On June 18th, Clemens was acquitted of all charges by the jury.

Clemens may have been acquitted of charges by a jury, but in the court of public opinion, he faced a much harder fight. The results of the 2013 Hall of Fame Election were a case in point. His numbers should have made him a shoo-in for election on the first ballot; instead, he finished well down, with only 37.6% of the vote, behind his contemporary Curt Schilling, who had much less impressive career numbers, but had been outspoken in favor of a "clean" game. With a large number of voters being on record that they would never vote for players tainted by steroids, his eventual election by the BBWAA was highly doubtful at that point. His vote total did not increase in 2014 and in fact dropped slightly, to 35.4%, although he did pass Schilling. In 2015, he was back behind Schilling, at 37.5%, and in 2016, he improved to 45.2%. In 2017, he finally exceeded the 50% threshold, at 54.1%, and was showing some significant upward movement in his support, but he then stalled at 57.3% the following year, his improvement in percentage being solely a result of fewer ballots. In 2019, he went up to 59.5%, as the resentment against Barry Bonds and him was fading, and reached 61% in 2020, with two years of eligibility remaining. In 2021, he finished at 61.6%, one vote behind Bonds. He thus entered his final year of eligibility in 2022 unlikely to make up the ground still needed before his case was to be passed to the Veterans Committee. Indeed, his total in his final year of eligibility was at 65.2%, still significantly below the required 75%.

Amid all the controversy, Clemens returned to the world of baseball on August 20, 2012 by signing with the Sugar Land Skeeters in the Atlantic League. While the return was portrayed as a one-time favor to Skeeters manager Gary Gaetti, a personal friend, there was also speculation that it could mark his eventual return to the major leagues in some capacity, now that he had put his legal issues behind him. Covering all the bases, the Houston Astros sent a scout to look him over, as well as teammate Scott Kazmir, just in case. He returned to the mound on August 25th, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Bridgeport Bluefish before a sold-out home crowd. He showed good control and velocity and left the door open for more appearances with the team in the future, but a couple of days later, he stated that the outing had been a "one-time deal" and that for now, he was concentrating on his golf game, as he was playing the the World Amateur Handicap Championship. He immediately reversed himself by announcing he would make another start for the Skeeters on September 7th. That day, he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Long Island Ducks. His son Koby Clemens started at catcher for the Skeeters, having signed a one-game contract with the team and allowing the father-son duo to play together for the first time. In 2013, Clemens went to spring training with the Houston Astros - as a special instructor only.

Clemens' oldest son, Koby, was selected by the Astros in the eighth round in 2005. His second son, Kacy Clemens, was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 35th round in 2013 but decided to follow in his father's footsteps and attend the University of Texas; he was drafted again, by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 8th round in 2017. The Astros also drafted his youngest son, Kody Clemens, in the 35th round in 2015. Kody did not sign and went on to Texas; he was drafted again, in the 3rd round in 2018, by the Detroit Tigers and reached the majors with them in 2022.

Outside baseball, Roger appeared in The Simpsons legendary episode "Homer at the Bat". He also appeared in the movie Anger Management and television programs Arli$$, Hope & Faith and Spin City as himself. In roles not as himself, he was in the Cobb biopic as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and portrayed Skidmark in the 1996 bowling comedy Kingpin.

Notable Achievements[edit]

11-time All-Star (1986, 1988, 1990-1992, 1997-1998, 2001 & 2003-2005)
AL MVP (1986)
7-time Cy Young Award Winner (1986/AL, 1987/AL, 1991/AL, 1997/AL, 1998/AL, 2001/AL & 2004/NL)
1986 All-Star Game MVP
2-time AL Pitcher's Triple Crown (1997 & 1998)
7-time League ERA Leader (1986/AL, 1990-1992/AL, 1997/AL, 1998/AL & 2005/NL)
4-time AL Wins Leader (1986, 1987, 1997 & 1998)
3-time League Winning Percentage Leader (1986/AL, 2001/AL & 2004/NL)
2-time AL Innings Pitched Leader (1991 & 1997)
5-time AL Strikeouts Leader (1988, 1991 & 1996-1998)
3-time AL Complete Games Leader (1987, 1988 & 1997)
6-time AL Shutouts Leader (1987, 1988, 1990-1992 & 1997)
15 Wins Seasons: 12 (1986-1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 & 2004)
20 Wins Seasons: 6 (1986, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1998 & 2001)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 15 (1986-1992, 1996-1998, 2000, 2001 & 2003-2005)
200 Strikeouts Seasons: 12 (1986-1992, 1996-1998, 2001 & 2004)
Won two World Series with the New York Yankees (1999 & 2000)

AL MVP
1985	1986	1987
Don Mattingly	Roger Clemens	George Bell

AL Cy Young Award
1985	1986	1987
Bret Saberhagen	Roger Clemens	Roger Clemens
1986	1987	1988
Roger Clemens	Roger Clemens	Frank Viola
1990	1991	1992
Bob Welch	Roger Clemens	Dennis Eckersley
1996	1997	1998
Pat Hentgen	Roger Clemens	Roger Clemens
1997	1998	1999
Roger Clemens	Roger Clemens	Pedro Martinez
2000	2001	2002
Pedro Martinez	Roger Clemens	Barry Zito

NL Cy Young Award
2003	2004	2005
Eric Gagne	Roger Clemens	Chris Carpenter

Records Held[edit]

Strikeouts, game (9 innings), 20, April 29, 1986 and September 18, 1996 (tied)
Strikeouts, AL, career, 4,167

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Roger Clemens

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Biographical Information[edit]

Notable Achievements[edit]

Records Held[edit]

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