Clemens, "Roger" (William Roger)
Baseball
b. Aug. 4, 1962, Dayton, OH
Nicknamed "Rocket" because of the fastball he throws at well over 90 miles an hour, Clemens also has a sharp-breaking slider, a good curve, and excellent control. That combination won him American League Cy Young Awards in 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, and 2001.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Clemens grew up in Texas and helped take the University of Texas to the 1983 NCAA championship. He then entered the Boston Red Sox organization, joining the major league team during the 1984 season.
He missed much of 1985 with an injury, but came back to win the Cy Young Award in 1986, when he led the league in victories and winning percentage with a 24-4 record and in ERA at 2.46. Clemens set a major league record for a 9-inning game by striking out 20 Seattle Mariners on April 29. He was also named the league's most valuable player that season.
In 1987, he led the league in victories with a 20-9 record, in complete games with 18, and in shutouts with 7 to win his second Cy Young. After going 18-12 in 1988 and 17-11 in 1989, he led the AL with a 1.93 ERA in 1990, when he had a 21-6 record.
Clemens won his third Cy Young Award in 1991, leading the league in ERA with 2.62, in shutouts with 4, in innings pitched with 271 1/3, and in strikeouts with 241, although he won only 18 games against 10 losses.
In 1992, Clemens led the league in ERA for the third consecutive season with a 2.41 average, and he was also the shutout leader with 5. A groin injury bothered him in 1993, when he went just 11-14 with a 4.46 ERA before going onto the disabled list with an inflamed elbow.
Clemens had three more mediocre seasons with Boston, during which he won a total of only 29 games. He did have one brilliant performance during that period, though, striking out 20 in a nine-inning game for the second time on September 18, 1996, against the Detroit Tigers. Kerry Wood had tied the record in the meantime, but Clemens is the only pitcher to have done it twice.
Clemens signed with the Toronto Blue as a free agent in 1997. He immediately returned to his old form, winning two consecutive Cy Young Awards with Toronto and winning 41 games against just 13 losses.
In 1999, the Blue Jays traded him to the New York Yankees because they couldn't work out a new long-term contract. He won his sixth Cy Young Award with the Yankees in 2001, when he had a 20-3 record. In 2003, he passed two major milestones, recording his 300th victory and 4,000th strikeout.
Early in the 2003 season, Clemens announced that it would be his last in the major leagues, and he was saluted by fans in his "final" appearance in every American League park—even Fenway, where, as a turncoat Yankee, he was not popular among Boston fans.
But his retirement didn't last long. In January of 2004, he decided to sign a one-year contract with the Houston Astros, because they were near his adopted hometown. On May 5 of that year, he notched his 4,137th career strikeout, putting him second on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan.
He got off to a sensational start with Houston, winning his first nine decisions, and he was named the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star game, which was played in Houston. He had a bad outing there, though, giving up six runs (three earned) in the one winning he worked.
It's been suggested that the nickname "Rocket" could be applied to Clemens' temper as well as his fast ball. He was ejected in the second inning of the fourth game of the American League Division Series in 1990 for cursing home plate umpire Terry Cooney on a disputed call.
He also had a couple of celebrated confrontations with catcher Mike Piazza, who hit him well. In a Yankees-Mets game on July 8, 2000, Clemens hit Piazza in the helmet, causing a concussion. When the two met again in the World Series, Piazza broke his bat on a Clemens pitch and a sizeable piece of the bat flew out near the mound. Clemens picked it up and tossed it in the direction of Piazza, who was on his way to first base, nearly touching off a brawl. Clemens was later fined $50,000 for the action.