Roger Clemens' Great Return to Form

by Harold Friend

Going into the game against the Red Sox, Roger Clemens was 11-6. In his second season with the New York Yankees, Roger had started slowly. He was placed on the disabled list on June 10 with a strained groin, returned on July 2, and then finally started pitching the way the Yankees had expected him to pitch. After coming off the disabled list, Roger Clemens was dominant.

A Roger Clemens-type Record

Roger started nine games, worked 56 1/3 innings, allowed only 43 hits, and struck out 47. In the nine games, Roger was 5-0 with a 2.24 ERA. Pretty good for a 38 year-old pitcher - or for a 24 year-old pitcher.

The Red Sox Game

On September 8, Roger started against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. At the start of play, the Yankees led the second-place BoSox by six games. The Red Sox didn't have a chance.

Roger Clemens' last pitch, in the eighth inning, was a 96 mile-an-hour fastball. He had completely overpowered Boston's hitters, shutting them out on five hits while striking out seven.

"A Locomotive"

Manager Joe Torre, who was more than pleased when he not only obtained Roger's services on February 18, 1999, but also got rid of David Wells, commented about Roger becoming the Roger Clemens of old. "He's been like a locomotive. He's gotten stronger and stronger."

The Fastball Returns

Clemens' fastball had returned. It was clocked as high as 98 mph, and was consistently between 95-96 mph. One baseball writer speculated that "Maybe there was a river of adrenaline rather than just a steady stream, for this was the first game in Boston since the Red Sox hammered him for five runs in two innings in a playoff game here last October."

Perhaps the writer attributed the wrong hormone or chemical as the reason Roger was once again Roger Clemens.

Undefeated

In his next start, Clemens faced another of his former teams, beating the Blue Jays handily. He was now 9-0 since coming off the disabled list on July 2.

"He's got this body language and attitude," said Joe Torre. "He goes out there and dares people to beat him."

A Remarkable Turn Around

What a remarkable turn around. In his first season with the Yankees, Roger was a pedestrian 14-10, with a 4.60 ERA and a 103 ERA+. In his games after coming off the disabled list, his ERA was 2.21.

Roger continued to pitch well, but on September 23, he was hit on the right thigh by a ground ball in the third inning. The Tigers knocked him out in the fifth, although the Yankees came back to win 13-8.

The Yankees struggled mightily in September, but managed to hang on to win the division with only 87 victories. They won the pennant, and met New York's other team in the World Series.

Memorable World Series

It was a memorable World Series, which many non-New York fans remember primarily as the World Series in which Roger Clemens tossed part of a broken bat in the direction of Mets' catching great, Mike Piazza. There is an excellent chance that Roger's rage was not due to an adrenaline rush.

References:

BUSTER OLNEY. (2000, August 12). Clemens's New Deal Is Most Unsual. New York Times (1857-Current file),p. D3. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2006). (Document ID: 360565122).

BUSTER OLNEY. (2000, September 9). Clemens Dismantles Red Sox With a Revitalized Fastball :YANKEES 4 RED SOX 0 Clements Dismantles Red Sox With Revitalized Fastball. New York Times (1857-Current file),p. D1. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2006). (Document ID: 360657662).

JACK CURRY. (2000, September 14). Clemens Stakes Claim As Yanks' No. 1 Starter :YANKEES 3 BLUE JAYS 2 INSIDE PITCH. New York Times (1857-Current file),p. D3. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2006). (Document ID: 360670802).

RomiezzoLegend

113 days ago

Score 0

1999 was the first year I followed baseball religiously. The year after the McGwire/Sosa single season home run record chase, was Roger Clemens... and the Yankees winning the World Series for the second straight time. Since they were the reigning champs, the Yankees was the team I paid most attention to and Roger Clemens was the guy I watched all the time. When you look at his stats in his first season, as you said, LG, they are not all that great, as he was only 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA; I always thought it was because of the "David Wells" syndrome... he had a big belly back then. However, in 2000, he was back to his old dominating (probably juiced) self. His stats at the end amazed me... especially coming right off the DL. From where I stand, out of the 18 starts after he came off the DL, he only had 2-3 "bad" starts. For any pitcher, that's good, never mind a 37-38 year old.

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

113 days ago

Score 1

It's amazing how well he was able to return from injury. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

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The oldest manVarsity

113 days ago

Score 2

The Beginning of the End.......Steroids Steroids and more Steroids that is the plain and simple truth then and now. Anyone in the medical field or trainer of a major league baseball team that didn't see it or didn't want to see it is just as guilty as Clemens. My 9 year great great grandson asked me the other day what was all the trouble with using steroids and then he said something he heard on the television and mentioned performance enchancing drugs and what were they and what did they do. Nobody comes back at 38 or 39 years old after losing his fastball and gets it back even faster and harder. I honestly don't know what Clemens was thinking about and if what he did wasn't going to come back and bit him in the butt...Clemens was blessed with a gift that he screwed up back feeding himself steroids and hgh or whatever to allow himself to continue to pitch at that level. The only person he is fooling is himself and that is one of the saddest things I have seen in my 92 years. Let us go back in history and wonder what Ruth would have done if he had gotten ahold of anabolic steroids or hgh and how many homeruns he would have been able to hit if he hadn't gotten old after the 1935 season. He played some pickup games just before the second world war at the farm and hit against Lefty Grove at the field and some of the hits that he still could drill to center field even today remembering make he wonder. An old man at 40 and Lefty wasn't going to give him anything except as hard and fast as he could and not inside and I remember one going so and so high that we lost it in the skyline and I didn't find the ball until the war was over almostd 6 years later. My father would say today that Clemens was and is a complete fool for doing what he did. His legend and baseball history will read "How much of it was due to Drugs".

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