Roger Clemens Biography

Baseball Player

Name at birth: William Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens is the hard-throwing and controversial right-hander who has seven times won the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in the American League. Raised in Texas, Clemens attended San Jacinto Junior College (1980-81) and then the University of Texas, where his superb fastball helped the Longhorns win the 1983 College World Series. The same year he signed with the Boston Red Sox. He made the big leagues in 1984, and by 1986 -- when he struck out 20 batters in one game and won his first Cy Young Award -- "the Rocket" was a superstar. He was a Red Sox hero for another decade, even as his frequent belligerence (and inside pitches) made him unpopular elsewhere. He left Boston after a bitter contract dispute in 1996 and played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997-98) and then the New York Yankees (1999-2003). The Yankees won the World Series -- a first for Clemens -- in 1999 and 2000. He played for the Houston Astros in 2004-06, then -- still pitching at age 44 -- returned to the Yankees in 2007. Late in his career, Clemens has been dogged by allegations that he used steroids to improve his performance; critics point to his remarkable and unusual improvement after age 35. Clemens has steadfastly denied the allegations. In 2008 he was called to testify before Congress on the topic.

Extra credit: Clemens won Cy Young awards in 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2004... His jersey number is 21... He married the former Debra Godfrey on 24 November 1984. They have four children: Koby (b. 1986), Kory (b. 1988), Kacy (b. 1994) and Kody (b. 1996). Koby is an infielder who signed with the Houston Astros in 2005... In a famously enraged moment, Roger Clemens heaved a broken bat at rival batter Mike Piazza in the second game of the 2000 World Series... By the end of 2007, Clemens had 354 career wins, 4672 strikeouts, and a career earned-run average (ERA) of 3.12.

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