1962
Born August 4, 1962
Dayton, OH, USA
Roger Clemens Marquee
b. August 4, 1962 · Boston Red Sox 1984–1996, Toronto Blue Jays 1997–1998, New York Yankees 1999–2003, 2007, Houston Astros 2004–2006
He went 24-4 with a 2.48 earned run average in 1986, his third season, and was named both Cy Young and Most Valuable Player. He won six more Cy Young Awards, the last in 2004, and no one else has won more than five. He led his league in strikeouts five times, in wins four times and in shutouts six.
He pitched 24 seasons for four clubs and finished with 354 wins, ninth in the record, and 4,672 strikeouts, behind only Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. His earned run average was 3.12 over 4,916 innings. He completed 118 of his 707 starts, threw 46 shutouts, and won the pitching triple crown in both 1997 and 1998.
The 2007 Mitchell report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball named him, and he was never suspended. He appeared on ten writers' Hall of Fame ballots from 2013 through 2022, rising from 214 votes of 569 to 257 of 394 but never reaching the three-quarters he needed, and era committees of sixteen members considered him in 2023 and 2026 without electing him.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 11 | 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 11 | 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 |
| Player of the Week | 9 | 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003 |
| Cy Young Award | 7 | 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 5 | 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 2001 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 5 | 1986, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher | 3 | 1997, 1998, 2001 |
| Triple Crown (pitching) | 2 | 1997, 1998 |
| All-Star Game MVP | 1 | 1986 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1986 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 1986 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | BOS | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | BOS | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | BOS | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | BOS | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | BOS | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | BOS | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | BOS | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | BOS | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | BOS | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | BOS | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1997 | TOR | 34 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1998 | TOR | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | NYY | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | NYY | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2001 | NYY | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2002 | NYY | 29 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| 2003 | NYY | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | HOU | 33 | 72 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 0 | .167 |
| 2005 | HOU | 32 | 58 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 0 | .207 |
| 2006 | HOU | 19 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .074 |
| 2007 | NYY | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Career | — | 709 | 179 | 5 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 0 | .173 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | BOS | 9 | 4 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 133.1 | 146 | 64 | 29 | 126 | 4.32 |
| 1985 | BOS | 7 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 98.1 | 83 | 36 | 37 | 74 | 3.29 |
| 1986 | BOS | 24 | 4 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 254.0 | 179 | 70 | 67 | 238 | 2.48 |
| 1987 | BOS | 20 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 281.2 | 248 | 93 | 83 | 256 | 2.97 |
| 1988 | BOS | 18 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 264.0 | 217 | 86 | 62 | 291 | 2.93 |
| 1989 | BOS | 17 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 253.1 | 215 | 88 | 93 | 230 | 3.13 |
| 1990 | BOS | 21 | 6 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 228.1 | 193 | 49 | 54 | 209 | 1.93 |
| 1991 | BOS | 18 | 10 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 271.1 | 219 | 79 | 65 | 241 | 2.62 |
| 1992 | BOS | 18 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 246.2 | 203 | 66 | 62 | 208 | 2.41 |
| 1993 | BOS | 11 | 14 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 191.2 | 175 | 95 | 67 | 160 | 4.46 |
| 1994 | BOS | 9 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 170.2 | 124 | 54 | 71 | 168 | 2.85 |
| 1995 | BOS | 10 | 5 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 140.0 | 141 | 65 | 60 | 132 | 4.18 |
| 1996 | BOS | 10 | 13 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 242.2 | 216 | 98 | 106 | 257 | 3.63 |
| 1997 | TOR | 21 | 7 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 264.0 | 204 | 60 | 68 | 292 | 2.05 |
| 1998 | TOR | 20 | 6 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 234.2 | 169 | 69 | 88 | 271 | 2.65 |
| 1999 | NYY | 14 | 10 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 187.2 | 185 | 96 | 90 | 163 | 4.60 |
| 2000 | NYY | 13 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 204.1 | 184 | 84 | 84 | 188 | 3.70 |
| 2001 | NYY | 20 | 3 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 220.1 | 205 | 86 | 72 | 213 | 3.51 |
| 2002 | NYY | 13 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 180.0 | 172 | 87 | 63 | 192 | 4.35 |
| 2003 | NYY | 17 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 211.2 | 199 | 92 | 58 | 190 | 3.91 |
| 2004 | HOU | 18 | 4 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 214.1 | 169 | 71 | 79 | 218 | 2.98 |
| 2005 | HOU | 13 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 211.1 | 151 | 44 | 62 | 185 | 1.87 |
| 2006 | HOU | 7 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 113.1 | 89 | 29 | 29 | 102 | 2.30 |
| 2007 | NYY | 6 | 6 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 99.0 | 99 | 46 | 31 | 68 | 4.18 |
| Career | — | 354 | 184 | 709 | 707 | 0 | 4916.2 | 4185 | 1707 | 1580 | 4672 | 3.12 |
On this day & linked events
1984
Major-league debut: Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens made a major-league debut on May 15, 1984.
1998
Kerry Wood's 20-Strikeout Game
In just his fifth major league start, 20-year-old Cubs rookie Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros, tying the single-game record, while allowing only one hit and no walks.
2007
Final major-league game: Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens played a final major-league game on September 16, 2007.