Major League Baseball player, a right-handed starting pitcher. Competes mostly with power via his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, also sports a splitter, slider and changeup. Rog is also known for his accuracy and command of the strike zone.
Nicknamed The Rocket, Roger made his name pitching with the Boston Red Sox, where he won 3 Cy Young Awards. But he was never able to win a World Series (see the Curse of the Bambino) and during the last four years of his stay in Boston, he seemed lethargic and uninterested.
He burned his bridges behind him at the end of his tenure in 1996, when he became a free agent and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. There he won another pair of back-to-back Cy Young Awards, reached the 200-win mark, and had his 3,000th strikeout. He'd hoped the Blue Jays would contend for the World Series, but the team struggled. So Roger moved on.
At time of writing, he pitched for the New York Yankees (traded for Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd and David Wells). Finally he has been part of that elusive World Series win, in both 1999 and 2000. He also won his sixth Cy Young Award with the Yankees in 2001, going 20 - 3.
Rog went 13 - 6 in 2002, and appeared in one post-season game - a no-decision in the Yankees' only win against the Anaheim Angels.
Rog retired from the Yankees in 2003, only to be lured out of retirement a week later by the Houston Astros. The chance to pitch in his hometown, in the National League, and with good buddy Andy Pettitte was too good to pass up. Part of Roger's deal excused him from road trips when he was not scheduled to pitch, so that he could spend more time with family, and also work with various charities including his own Roger Clemens Foundation. Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 218 strikeouts, good for yet another Cy. He led the Astros into the post-season, and almost into the World Series itself against his old team, the Boston Red Sox. Ah, what a show that would have been!
He's married with four children (Koby, Kory, Kacy and Kody) - all named with the letter K to honour his 4 of his 6 American League Cy Young Awards (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, and 2001). Rog also won the National League Cy Young pitching for the Astros in 2004.