| Stuck on 298 |
| Denver, CO - Since 1984 William Roger Clemens has been compiling the awards, fans and statistics that will make him a sure first ballot Hall of Famer. He is among the most popular pitchers in the OOBL today and has become instantly recognizable from commercials, and now the SI swimsuit issue (his wife isn't too bad either). His hard nosed, old school, approach to pitching has won him legions of fans not surnamed Piazza. For all these reasons and more, virtually the entire baseball world is rooting for him to pick up at least two more victories and break the 300 win plateau. This 2003 season has easily been the most trying for the right-hander known simply as "The Rocket". After winning another championship with the New York Yankees in 2002, Clemens was surprised to be traded to the other side of the baseball world, also known as Colorado. Differing in time zones, leagues, altitude, status and most of all talent, Clemens was disappointed. At the time he was quoted as saying, "I really wanted to finish my career in New York. Had planned to win 300 in "The House That Ruth Built". The worst part is I probably won't get to face them this year" (Actually he faced two of his former AL employers, the Red Sox, and Yankees. He pitched poorly in both and was charged with losses.) Since then his attitude and outlook may have changed, but he has done little to lift the Rockies out of a dismal season. They are currently 20 games under .500 and among the worst teams in the NL. Clemens has been reported to have called several "players only" meetings this year, with less than stellar results. On the subject of 300 wins Clemens has been very low-key. He often only allows interviews when that topic is not discussed. In a rare moment though he said this to the OOBL Insider: "Some people think I'm hanging on just to get 300 wins. That couldn't be further from the truth. I am a competitor and I always have been. I compete because I think there is still something left for me to prove. When I wake up one morning and decide that there is nothing to prove, that's the morning I call my manager and tell him I'm through. 300 doesn't even come into play." Clemens may very well be the only soul in Denver who feels that way. With the Rockies struggles it remains the most talked about sports news item. Local sports radio personality Red "The Mouth" Huggins says that over half of the baseball call over the past 4 months have been Clemens related. Some analyst feel that Clemens is washed up and should soon retire. His recent perfomance (4-8 8.04 ERA) suggests that his talent is rapidly fading. He is currently the 5th starter for the Rockies and lately has seen most of his work out of the bullpen. Clemens has suffered through a difficult season with professionalism and grace. For almost 20 years of excellence Clemens deserves to walk off the mound a winner at least two more times. |
| William Roger Clemens Born: August 4, 1962 Position: P Throws: R Bats :R College: University of Texas Debut: May 5, 1984 YEAR ERA W L S G CG SHO IP ER BB K TEAMS 1984 4.33 9 4 0 21 5 1 133.0 64 29 126 BOS 1985 3.31 7 5 0 15 3 1 98.0 36 37 74 BOS 1986 2.48 24 4 0 33 10 1 254.0 70 67 238 BOS 1987 2.98 20 9 0 36 18 7 281.0 93 83 256 BOS 1988 2.93 18 12 0 35 14 8 264.0 86 62 291 BOS 1989 3.13 17 11 0 35 8 3 253.0 88 93 230 BOS 1990 1.93 21 6 0 31 7 4 228.0 49 54 209 BOS 1991 2.62 18 10 0 35 13 4 271.0 79 65 241 BOS 1992 2.41 18 11 0 32 11 5 246.0 66 62 208 BOS 1993 4.48 11 14 0 29 2 1 191.0 95 67 160 BOS 1994 2.86 9 7 0 24 3 1 170.0 54 71 168 BOS 1995 4.18 10 5 0 23 0 0 140.0 65 60 132 BOS 1996 3.64 10 13 0 34 6 2 242.0 98 106 257 BOS 1997 2.05 21 7 0 34 9 3 264.0 60 68 292 TOR 1998 2.65 20 6 0 33 5 3 234.0 69 88 271 TOR 1999 4.62 14 10 0 30 1 1 187.0 96 90 163 NYA 2000 3.71 13 8 0 32 1 0 204.0 84 84 188 NYA 2001 3.52 20 3 0 33 0 0 220.0 86 72 213 NYA 2002 4.03 14 8 0 28 5 2 199.0 89 82 144 NYA 2003 8.04 4 8 2 24 0 0 90.2 81 54 59 COL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career 3.25 161 597 47 4169.2 1394 298 2 121 1508 3920 |
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