Latest news with #Clemens
New York Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Roger Clemens proposes bold rule change to get starters to pitch longer
Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free Roger Clemens gave a bold take on the YES Network broadcast during Old-Timers' Day. As the Yankees pulled starter Luis Gil from the mound during the top of the sixth inning in their 5-4 victory over the Astros on Saturday, Clemens talked about the changes baseball has seen since his final MLB season in 2007. While the Yankees legend was in favor of a number of tweaks, what Clemens said he isn't in favor of is how starting pitching has changed, with the sport seeing shorter and shorter outings. So he proposed an idea on how MLB could push starters to go longer. 3 Roger Clemens (22) is introduced during the Yankees Old-Timers' Day on Aug 9, 2025. AP 'If you want to stop these guys going three or four innings, looking over their shoulder, you tie your DH to your starting pitcher,' he said. 'If your starting pitcher comes out [of] the game before the seventh inning, you lose your DH. And that'll change that.' The seven-time Cy Young Award winner did say he likes the pitch clock and is a fan of the automatic strike zone and the ability for a batter, catcher or pitcher to challenge a pitch — which appears likely to come into play in 2026. 3 Roger Clemens throws during the Old-Timers' Day game at Yankee Stadium on August 09, 2025. JASON SZENES/ NY POST 'It only takes two seconds,' he said about the challenge system. Clemens said he was also an innovator in how he and his catchers would call pitches. CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS 'I was PitchCom before PitchCom, I called about 95 percent of my game from the mound,' Clemens said of the devices pitchers and catchers use now to call pitches in place of hand signals. Clemens added one more take, this one about the name 'Old-Timers' Day. He thinks it should really be called 'The Alumni Game.' 3 Yankee Old Timers Roger Clemens (22) when the New York Yankees played the Houston Astros on Saturday, August 9, 2025 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post 'It sounds a lot better,' he said. 'I don't like Old-Timers. We are not old. We are not going to let any grass grow beneath our feet.' Also during his appearance, Clemens addressed the reason behind his No. 22 Yankees jersey. In his first few starts with the Yankees in 1999, he wore No. 12 because No. 21, the number he wore for the first 15 seasons of his career, was already taken by Paul O'Neill. He eventually chose 22 because legendary Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith — who wore the same number. '[He] is a big fan of my boys and everything like that, so they made the phone call. And said, 'Get 12 off your back. You're not a quarterback. Put double deuce on there and look strong. And the wins started coming with 22 on my back,' Clemens, a two-time World Series champion in The Bronx, said.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Roger Clemens makes Old-Timers' Day debut at Yankee Stadium, fields questions about his Mike Piazza incident
'There's still a question with the broken bat, with Piazza and the whole thing in Game 2,' Joe Torre said at the podium right as Clemens walked in. 'I think if Mike knew that the ball was foul, he wouldn't have been starting to run to first base. That ball went over the first base dugout, was foul right away. He didn't know where it was, so he started running.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Clemens made his first appearance as the Yankees honored the 2000 team, the last to win three straight titles. Clemens heard a nice hand from the crowd as a montage of his highlights played on the center field video board — but omitted his famous toss at Piazza. Advertisement 'I didn't know he was running and Mike said that same thing, too,' Clemens said. 'He didn't know where the baseball was. So my first instinct when I shattered that bat in about four pieces, I thought it was a baseball coming at me.' Advertisement The Yankees went a combined 22-3 in the 1998 and 1999 postseasons, but struggled at times in 2000, losing 15 of their final 18 regular-season games, before outlasting the A's by winning a Game 5 on the road in the Division Series. After beating Seattle in a six-game ALCS, the Yankees beat the Mets in a five-game Fall Classic where every game was decided by two runs or fewer. Clemens joined the Yankees in a trade with Toronto during spring training in 1999. He was 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 1999 and then 13-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 2000. During the postseason, Clemens won three games, including Game 2 against the Mets. 'When he was on the other team, you didn't like him very much,' Torre said. After two seasons of an on-field question and answer session with radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, the Old-Timers' Day game returned and Johnny Damon hit an RBI single off Clemens. Clemens was among several 2000 Yankees at the event that did not feature former captain Derek Jeter. Jeter delivered a taped video message after Mariano Rivera was the final player introduced. 'He was in spring training,' fellow pitcher Andy Pettitte said of Clemens. 'So it was good to see him in spring training and then of course here. A huge part of our 2000 team and it was good.' The only former player not introduced was current manager Aaron Boone, whose team entered Saturday with six losses in seven games. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875). In two stints with the Yankees, Clemens was 83-42 with a 4.01 ERA and retired after the 2007 season. Advertisement He was named in the Mitchell Report in December 2007 and Related : Besides members of the 2000 team, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Ron Guidry, Bucky Dent, and Mickey Rivers were introduced as members of the 1977 and 1978 World Series teams. The widows of five-time manager Billy Martin, captain Thurman Munson, and Bobby Murcer were also introduced as part of an event that began in 1947 when Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth first appeared. Related :
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mariano Rivera sustains what Clemens says was an Achilles injury in Yankees Old-Timers' Day game
NEW YORK (AP) — Mariano Rivera was hurt playing center field during the Yankees' Old-Timers' Day Game on Saturday and former teammate Roger Clemens said baseball's career saves leader sustained an Achilles tendon injury. In his lone at-bat, Rivera singled off former teammate Andy Pettitte and easily ran to first base. During an at-bat by Willie Randolph, Rivera took a step and fell to the ground in shallow center field behind second base. The Yankees did not have an immediate update following their 5-4 win over the Astros. During an interview with WFAN broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, Clemens said Rivera hurt his Achilles tendon. 'It was a fun day until we heard about Mariano. Mariano hurt his Achilles,' Clemens told Waldman. 'I don't know what was going on. We all thought it was a hamstring, but I think it's a little worse than that. I think he's at the hospital now. Unbelievable.' The 55-year-old Rivera was playing in the game for the second time and the exhibition was played for the first time since 2019, when he hit an inside-the-park homer in his debut. The event commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 2000 championship team, the last team to win three straight World Series titles. Clemens was a first-time attendee at the event, which had captain Derek Jeter give a short video message when he was introduced following Rivera. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Before the event, Rivera said he intended to speak with struggling reliever Devin Williams. Rivera tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in May 2012 while shagging fly balls in batting practice in Kansas City. He returned for his final season in 2013 and finished as baseball's career saves leader with 652 and posted 42 postseason saves. In 2019, the 13-time All-Star was unanimously inducted into the Hall of Fame by getting all 425 votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants. ___ AP MLB:
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Roger Clemens returns to Yankee Stadium, questions about Mike Piazza bat-throwing incident resurface
NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Clemens came back to Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and so did the questions about his bat-throwing incident with Mike Piazza in the World Series 25 years earlier. HT Image Piazza was batting against Clemens in the first inning of Game 2 of the 2000 World Series when his bat shattered along the first-base line. Clemens picked up part of it and fired it toward the Hall of Fame catcher. Clemens made his debut in the Yankees' Old-Timers' Day game on Saturday and faced four batters in the first exhibition game of the event since 2019. His manager on the 2000 championship team defended the pitcher's actions in that at-bat against Piazza. 'There's still a question with the broken bat, with Piazza and the whole thing in Game 2,' Joe Torre said at the podium right as Clemens walked in. 'I think if Mike knew that the ball was foul, he wouldn't have been starting to run to first base. That ball went over the first base dugout, was foul right away. He didn't know where it was, so he started running.' Clemens made his first appearance as the Yankees honored the 2000 team, the last team to win three straight titles. Clemens heard a nice hand from the crowd as a montage of his highlights played on the center field video board — but omitted his famous toss at Piazza. 'I didn't know he was running and Mike said that same thing, too,' Clemens said. 'He didn't know where the baseball was. So my first instinct when I shattered that bat in about four pieces, I thought it was a baseball coming at me.' The Yankees went a combined 22-3 in the 1998 and 1999 postseasons, but struggled at times in 2000, losing 15 of their final 18 regular-season games, before outlasting the A's by winning a Game 5 on the road in the Division Series. After beating Seattle in a six-game ALCS, the Yankees beat the Mets in a five-game Fall Classic where every game was decided by two runs or fewer. Clemens joined the Yankees in a trade with Toronto during spring training in 1999. He was 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 1999 and then 13-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 2000. During the postseason, Clemens won three games, including Game 2 against the Mets. 'When he was on the other team, you didn't like him very much,' Torre said. After two seasons of an on-field question and answer session with radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, the game returned and Johnny Damon hit an RBI single off Clemens. Clemens was among several 2000 Yankees at the event that did not feature former captain Derek Jeter. Jeter delivered a taped video message after Mariano Rivera was the final player introduced. 'He was in spring training,' fellow pitcher Andy Pettitte said of Clemens. 'So it was good to see him in spring training and then of course here. A huge part of our 2000 team and it was good.' The only former player not introduced was current manager Aaron Boone, whose team entered Saturday with six losses in seven games. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens went 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875). In two stints with the Yankees, Clemens was 83-42 with a 4.01 ERA and retired after the 2007 season. He was named in the Mitchell Report in December 2007 and has denied PED usage. In his final year on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot in 2022, Clemens received 257 votes (65.2%). Besides members of the 2000 team, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Ron Guidry, Bucky Dent and Mickey Rivers were introduced as members of the 1977 and 1978 World Series teams. The widows of five-time manager Billy Martin, captain Thurman Munson and Bobby Murcer were also introduced as part of an event that began in 1947 when Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth first appeared.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Roger Clemens on famous Mike Piazza World Series broken bat drama: ‘If I wanted to hit him with it, I could have'
Two and a half decades later, Roger Clemens' broken bat throw at Mike Piazza is still a defining moment of the Subway Series rivalry. While many were outraged and confused when Clemens took a chunk of Piazza's broken bat and fired it into the ground right back at him, Clemens has set the record straight numerous times over the years and did so once again on the latest episode of Jack Curry's 'Yankees News & Views' podcast. Roger Clemens fields Mike Piazza's broken bat during Game 2 of the Subway Series World Series on Oct. 22, 2000. AP 'TV made it look like it was five feet from him,' Clemens said. 'I didn't think it was that close to the guy, and I definitely wasn't throwing it at him. I tease people now … if I wanted to hit him with it, I could have hit him with it.' Clemens detailed that the reason he fielded the bat in the first place was because his initial instinct was that the baseball was coming back at him. 'So, I broke down into my wonderful fielding position, and wouldn't ya know, that bat took two hops, came right up into my freaking lap, and I just grabbed it and whistled it on down to the on-deck circle,' he said. Of course, this led to mayhem as the benches cleared. Clemens and Piazza had to be separated by the home plate umpire during the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series in 2000. AP While the broken bat and the ensuing chaos weren't part of the plan, the fastball that shattered Piazza's bat was. 'Mike got in the box and I think my first three pitches were like 98, 98, 98. And I shattered his bat,' Clemens said. 'The scouting report with [Yankees pitching coach] Mel Stottlemyre was great, too. We were in the trainer's room going through the lineup, and when we got to Piazza, we said, 'We're gonna pitch him in. And we're gonna pitch him in. And we're gonna pitch him in.'' The Yankees pitcher went on to retire Piazza with a ground ball out, and the Pinstripes took down the Mets 6-5 en route to their 4-1 2000 World Series win.
