Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens was a great pitcher over a very long period, and won more Cy Young awards than any other pitcher in history, but his career has been tainted by allegations of steroid use.
Clemens was called up to the Red Sox in 1984, and after pitching sparingly but well in his first two seasons, he jumped straight to superstar status in 1986. That year he led the league with a 2.48 ERA and 24 wins, with only 4 losses, and won both the Cy Young and the MVP. He also set the record for most strikeouts in a 9-inning game, when he sat down 20 batters in an April game, a number that has been matched twice since (3 if you count Randy Johnson's game that went to extra innings without him pitching).
The Red Sox reached the World Series that year, but Clemens did not pitch well enough to get Boston their first title in decades. He led the league in wins, complete games, and shutouts in 1987, and won another Cy Young as well. Though he still pitched just as well in 1988, he failed to win the Cy Young when his record fell to 18-12, though he did win his first strikeout crown that year.
From 1990 to 1992 he led the league in shutouts and ERA, and finished in the top 3 of the Cy Young voting each season, winning the award for the third time in 1991 when he took home the strikeout title as well. He struggled for the next four years, though he did win another strikeout crown in 1996, but it appeared that his best years were behind him, and when Boston did not offer him the contract he wanted, he signed with Toronto as a free agent.
He pitched 2 seasons for the Blue Jays, winning the pitching Triple Crown and the Cy Young award each time, but he grew tired of Toronto's mediocrity, and asked to be traded to a contender. He got his wish before the 1999 season, when he was traded to the Yankees, who had just won the World Series.
His numbers took an immediate nosedive when he reached New York, but he got his wish in the postseason, as he was a member of the championship team for the first time. He was better in 2000, especially in the playoffs. In his appearance in the ALCS, he pitched a complete-game one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts against Seattle, then pitched 8 innings without giving up a run against the Mets in the World Series, earning him his second ring.
In 2001 he got off to a great start, becoming the first pitcher ever to start a season 20-1 and was awarded his 6th Cy Young award after the season. He pitched well through the postseason as well, and he held the Diamondbacks in check through 6 innings of Game 7 before Mariano Rivera blew a postseason save for the first time in his career, costing them the title.
Clemens pitched 2 more seasons for the Yankees, announcing before the 2003 season that it would be his last. During that season, he reached 300 career wins and 4000 strikeouts, doing both in the same game. Before the 2004 season started, he changed his mind on retiring, signing on with the Astros for a season, and he ended up with an 18-4 record and a 7th Cy Young, more than any other player in history, and he also became the oldest ever to win one at age 42.
He changed his mind about retirement again before the 2005 season, signing the largest contract ever for a pitcher, and had one of his best season, setting a career low in ERA at 1.87, but due to terrible run support his record was only 13-8. In April he pitched three straight shutouts that his team ended up losing 1-0 in extra innings.
Two months into his third retirement, he returned to the Astros again and pitched a decent season, then did the same thing the following year, pitching one final partial season with the Yankees before retiring from the Major Leagues for good, though he has pitched in the minors a few times since.
The biggest controversy of his career is the alleged use of steroids, which followed him for years. He was named in Jose Canseco's book on steroid use in baseball, as well as the Mitchell Report, and was indicted for lying to Congress about his use of steroids, though he was never convicted, and has never failed a drug test. The feeling among most fans and media members is that he probably did use PED's, and that has prevented him from being elected to the Hall of Fame, even though his career is first-ballot worthy.
In addition to the record 7 Cy Youngs, Clemens is one of 3 pitchers in the live-ball era to reach 350 wins, along with Greg Maddux and Warren Spahn, and is #9 among all pitchers in history in wins. He is also #3 in career strikeouts, behind Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. Even with the probable steroid use, there is no doubt that Clemens is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment