TEXAS — Spectrum News 1 got a chance to sit down with one of the biggest names in the Texas sports world, Roger Clemens. The Rocket had one of the most accomplished careers of any major league pitcher, with 11 all-star appearances, a record 7 Cy Young Awards, one MVP, 354 career wins and 4,672 strikeouts.
While Clemens ended up as one of the best to ever take the mound, but he wasn’t a phenom pitcher growing up.
“I tell people what’s really cool about my situation coming up playing, is you know my pops died when I was nine, so my mother and grandmother really raised me,” Clemens said. “My mom worked three jobs so I could have a sweet glove and sweet pair of cleats”
“Playing high school ball, I was probably a better defensive end than I was, you know, a pitcher. I started getting some offers both to play football and baseball. It was pretty exciting for me, because that’s the only means that we had that I was going to be able to further my education,” said Clemens.
Clemens graduated from Spring Woods High School in Houston in 1980 and started his college career at San Jacinto Community College in 1981. After one year there, he was able to transfer to Texas and make an immediate impact for the Longhorns. At UT, Clemens went 25-7 over two years, and was the winning pitcher in the 1983 National Championship game.
“It just really blossomed my career, I really matured,” Clemens says about his time at Texas. “It was just a huge stepping stone to my career and I had some fantastic teammates over those two years. I learned a lot.”
“Coach Gus [Cliff Gustafson] was great. The things he said and how he talked to us, he handled our personalities perfectly,” said Clemens.
Clemens was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 1983 draft. He quickly made his way through the minor leagues and made his big league debut in May of 1984. Two years later is when he fully arrived as one of the best players in baseball. In April of 1986, he set an MLB record with 20 strikeouts in a game. Also that season, he went 24-4, won his first Cy Young Award and was named the American League MVP. That season Boston lost in a memorable World Series to the NY Mets.
“Once I struck out 20, it really threw me on the scene and I got my nickname ‘The Rocket’,” Clemens said. “After getting to the World Series, winning my first Cy Young and MVP and all that, then it was back into Texas mode and time to win championships.”
Here's a small sample of an interview we did recently with Roger Clemens, the full conversation will air tonight at 9:30 on Beyond the Sport. @SpectrumNews1TX @rogerclemens @JTKtalent pic.twitter.com/VUBbcKM0Lo
— Travis Recek (@TravisRecek) January 22, 2021
It would take a while for Clemens to get that first title. He would win two more Cy Young awards pitching for the Red Sox before leaving for Toronto after the 1996 season. He was with the Blue Jays only two years, but won the Cy Young award both of those years. In 1999 he left for the NY Yankees and that’s when he won his first and second World Series titles in 1999 and 2000. Clemens pitched for the Yankees through the 2003 season, when he thought he was ready to retire. But the next season an opportunity came for Clemens to pitch for the hometown Houston Astros and he couldn’t pass it up.
“We had a great core group of players that had been in postseason play but never been to a World Series like [Jeff] Bagwell, [Craig] Biggio and Lance Berkman. The list goes on and on,” says Clemens. “It just worked out. We got to the World Series but didn’t win it. But for three years in Houston we flipped this town to a baseball town like you’ve never seen before.”
Clemens won his final Cy Young with Houston in 2004 and then helped them reach the World Series, for the first time as a franchise, in 2005 before losing to the Chicago White Sox.
He would go back to the Yankees for one final season in 2007 before finally calling it quits after a 24-year major league career.
“I was at peace with it. I didn’t leave anything out there,” says Clemens. “I was fortunate to have a lot of great players that I could look up to before me, and I think I handed the baton off just the same way to some of the younger guys that are out there now.”
Even though he wasn't playing, Clemens was still around the game of baseball a lot with his four sons. His oldest, Koby, was drafted out of high school by the Astros and spent a few years in the minor leagues. Kory was his next son, followed by Kacy and Kody. Both Kacy and Kody played at Texas, and Roger was a regular at the games watching them.
“I was happy because they ended up going to Texas, playing for a couple of great coaches,” says Clemens. “Of course Augie Garrido and the life lessons that he gave the boys. When Augie shut it down, David Pierce came on to coach and was great with the boys. They went all in, they bought into, you know, this is Texas and we win.”
Kacy and Kody are still playing, with Kacy trying to catch on as a pitcher this season and Kody as a part of the Detroit Tigers system. Roger has transitioned some of his time to playing with his twin grandsons and introducing them to the game of baseball. He also remains involved with his longtime charity, the Roger Clemens Foundation, that is dedicated to helping children.
“It shows where I came from as a child, you know, we came from a lot of hardship,” says Clemens. “Now we have the opportunity, once I made it, I can give back.”
More information on his charity can be found at RogerClemensFoundation.org.