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
I was pitching 100 percent at this time of year regardless.
I was pitching 100% at this time of year regardless. It was my job after the guys came out and put the numbers on the board -- threw strikes, not walk anybody, get them back in and swinging the bat a little bit.
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.
It took a lot of work from a lot of guys in this clubhouse. It made it worth the wait. It made it worth my decision to come back. Playing this time of year never gets old.
You're playing late in the year and the weather is getting cooler, it is nice to be part of that,
If I put my mind to it, and I put the work in, I have no doubt I could do it (pitch 4-5 additional years), but I made a promise to the people who've supported me for so many years. It's time to give back to my family.
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.