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Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards and pitched for the New York Yankees teams that won back-to-back World Series titles. But Clemens’ career was ultimately defined by baseball’s steroid era.
Clemens last pitched in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game in 2007, during his second stint with the Yankees. In 2008, he became embroiled in a federal investigation into the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by several prominent Major League Baseball players.
Clemens testified before Congress that he did not use banned substances and was acquitted of a federal charge of lying to Congress. Clemens is now one of eight Baseball Hall of Fame nominees selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he believes Clemens should be in Cooperstown.
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President Donald Trump arrives at Yankee Stadium for a game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers, Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
On the eve of the announcement of the most recent list of inductees, Trump took to Truth Social to effectively reject allegations of Clemens’ prior steroid use. “The only reason he is not (in the Hall of Fame) is because of rumors and innuendo, which were not proven,” Trump wrote.
Trump also pointed out Clemens’ nickname, “The Rocket,” saying that he “earned” the nickname “very early in his career because of his fiery fastball; he was just as dominant before those erroneous accusations were made against him. I sincerely hope that the Committee uses their great judgment (Roger’s opponents never showed anything against him, and he may have the best pitching record, overall, in the History of Baseball!), and that the Commissioner of Baseball has the Strength, the Wisdom and the Power to Do the Right Thing and Put Roger Clemens in the Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY!”
ROGER CLEMENS THANKS TRUMP FOR BASEBALL HALL OF FAME SUPPORT, RETURN TO CRITICS
Neither the MLB commissioner’s office nor the White House immediately responded to Pak Gazette Digital’s requests for comment.
The Baseball Contemporary Era Players Committee considers retired players whose eligibility to reach Cooperstown by a majority vote of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) has expired. The writers’ association is responsible for selecting recently retired players.
Roger Clemens throws a pitch during game two of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York on October 22, 2000. (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY/RED USA TODAY)
Clemens’ last chance to appear on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot was in 2022; that year he received just over 65% of the votes. Players must receive at least 75% of the vote to be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Powerful outfielder Barry Bonds, whose storied career was also tainted by allegations of PED use, is being considered this year by the committee. Bonds also avoided criminal charges in a steroid investigation. He had previously stated that he never knowingly used any banned substance.
Former Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens throws a ball before the game between the Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on Aug. 2, 2024, in Houston. (Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports)
Clemens and Bonds were two of the high-profile names included in the 2007 Mitchell Report.
The report was written by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, R-Maine, who conducted a month-long investigation into the alleged use of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Trump has previously expressed support for Clemens’ Hall of Fame hopes. After Trump wrote in a social media post that there was “no evidence” the retired pitcher used steroids, Clemens thanked the president for his support.
“Appreciate the love! DT knows more than anyone about the fake news circulating,” Clemens wrote on X in August. “Everyone has their agendas…I played to change the direction of my family generationally and to WIN!”
