Happy belated Birthday to the “Rocket,” Roger Clemens. Over his twenty-four-year career, Clemens became one of the most dominant, fiery, competitive, and controversial pitchers ever. With his fierce competitive nature and hard-throwing pitching style, Clemens easily intimidated opposing batters. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (1984-2007):

354-184 W-L, 3.12 ERA, 4,916.2 IP, 4,672 SO, 1.173 WHIP

  • 11x All-Star
  •  7x Cy-Young
  •  7x ERA Champ
  •  2x Pitching Triple Crown
  •  2x World Series Champion

No pitcher has won more Cy Youngs than the seven that Clemens won. He ranks 3rd all-time in Strikeouts and is a 300-game winner while maintaining a 3.12 ERA 1.173 WHIP over an almost 5,000-inning career in arguably the greatest offensive era in baseball history. I acknowledge severe suspicions of PEDs involving Clemens during the second half of his career after leaving Boston. However, I advocate for Clemens to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame like I am with guys like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield.

WHY?

I don’t use the word “Generational” a whole lot because there are very few generational players; however, in the case of Roger Clemens, even just his time with the Boston Red Sox from 1984-96, I will use the word. 

Career w/ Boston Red Sox (1984-1996):

192-111 W-L, 3.06 ERA, 2,776 IP, 2,590 SO, 1.158 WHIP

  • 5x All-Star
  • 4x ERA Champion
  • 3x Cy Young
  • 1986 MVP

Let’s say after 1996, Clemens just retired; he would’ve made the Hall of Fame based on what he did in Boston alone. You’re talking about a guy who won 3 Cy Youngs, an MVP and led the ERA four times and WHIP twice. During that time, there was no debate on the best-starting pitcher in all baseball; he was among the top-3. Roger Clemens is in the same category as Bonds, Arod, and Sheffield, which, without PEDs, proved he was a Hall of Fame type of player.

Post Boston:

After he left Boston, Clemens would win four more Cy Youngs, three ERA titles, and two World Series. He spent 1997-98 with the Blue Jays, 1999-2003 with the Yankees, 2004-06 with the Houston Astros, and back with the Yankees in 2007. However, it’s very likely that after Clemens left Boston, he started getting involved with PEDs, so for my buck, whatever Clemens did after Boston deserves an asterisk next to it.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 22: Home plate umpire Charlie Reliford (C) comes between New York Yankees’ pitcher Roger Clemens (L) and New York Mets’ catcher Mike Piazza after Clemens threw Piazza’s broken bat at Piazza as he ran to first base during the first inning of the Second Game of the World Series in New York City 22 October 2000. (Photo credit should read GARY HIRSHORN/AFP via Getty Images)

Roger Clemens has yet to be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame; he never got the 75% required to get voted in by the writers. Besides the PEDs, Clemens has controversy, and deservedly so; remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. Was Clemens outspoken to teammates, opposing players, media, etc.? Sure. But that shouldn’t detract from what he did on the mound during his clean prime. No Red Sox has worn #21 since his departure in 1996, but it hasn’t been retired. Roger Clemens was at the top of the world in Boston; if he can’t get into the Hall of Fame, the Red Sox should at least retire his number. We should all remember Roger Clemens as a Red Sox.

References:

  1. Roger Clemens Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Clemens#
  2. Roger Clemens via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Clemens#