Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens, nicknamed "Rocket", is a retired American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseballfor four teams. Clemens was one of the most dominant pitchers in major league history, tallying 354 wins, a 3.12 earned run average, and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, the most of any pitcher in history. Clemens was known for his fierce competitive nature...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth4 August 1962
CityDayton, OH
CountryUnited States of America
You knew when it got late, Phil looked at me, ... There's been three or four times throughout the year he asked me how I felt I was swinging the bat or if got my spikes handy. I didn't think he was serious, and he probably wasn't. But the look that he gave me this time was very serious, and there was no kidding about it. And so I got out to the bullpen.
My legs felt fine, ... I still need to get a little more strength in my lower half, but I think Jim Hickey, our pitching coach, and the skipper were happy with the way I was getting out over my front leg. So it makes a big difference; without the burning sensation in my leg, it was a lot nicer. My control was still off, and I think that was what was aggravating me a little early.
I felt fine. It was nice to get everything underway. It was neat getting back out there, seeing the fans and getting into a baseball atmosphere.
I ponder to myself, ... this could be my last couple of starts, or the last one. It was a real hard decision for me to continue to play because I felt I had touched just about every aspect of this game that I could. I never want to look back. I want to make sure that I put all my energy, all of my efforts into this game.
We tried to encourage him on many occasions to come out and work with us. He was a big-bodied kid. It was a lot of fun when he started showing up in the mornings, working with us. We had fun and got to know him better.
We were like two tired old men walking out of the tunnel, and then we were like two kids having a good time. We were holding each other up.
When I step away from the game, our game is in good hands. We have some good, young talented players, everyday guys, and definitely pitchers. He's right there at the top of the list. You feel you pass the baton along to the next generation of guys. I think the fans out here will enjoy this kid for a long time.
I've never really been nervous at all in my playoff experiences,
It was worth the wait. This is for the city. This is for our fans at home.
I've been trying to shut it down for two years and I still can't answer that now, ... I'm glad I left that percentage point open.
I've been doing enough work -- throwing and conditioning -- to get ready for what I'm going to do the next eight to 10 days, enough to train with Mac and the intensity he trains with. I broke a cleat off on this hard, red clay here in Florida, so that must mean I'm close to being ready.
I've been in a lot of wonderful playoff games, wonderful World Series games, but never anything like this. This game here was incredible.
I've been fulfilling some personal services (in his contract). I'm here for this, today.
These are really good games, fun to pitch in and fun to battle in, but I wish they'd come out on our side a little more often.