Cy Young Profile: Roger Clemens, 2004

Pitcher, Houston Astros

Age:  42 (Aug. 4)

1^st season with Astros

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 205

Prior to 2004:

A native of Ohio who moved to Texas in high school, Clemens attended San Jacinto Junior College, which had a strong baseball program, before moving on to the University of Texas, passing up a contract offer from the New York Mets, who drafted him as an amateur in 1981. He was a power-pitching member of the Texas squad that won the 1983 College World Series before signing with the Red Sox, who made him a first round draft pick that year. The highly driven Clemens climbed readily through Boston’s minor league system and joined the parent club in 1984. Somewhat unsteady as a rookie, Clemens compiled a 9-4 record with a 4.32 ERA and was shut down in September due to a tendon injury in his pitching arm. Several injuries marred his 1985 season that concluded with surgery on his right shoulder after posting a 7-5 record with 3.29 ERA in just 15 starts. “The Rocket” broke out with a dominating season in 1986 as he compiled a 24-4 record with an AL-leading 2.48 ERA. His 238 strikeouts included a single-game record 20 against Seattle. Clemens was the league MVP as well as Cy Young Award recipient. He spent ten more seasons with the Red Sox, often highlighted by controversy. He briefly walked out during spring training in 1987 over a contract dispute and overcame a slow 4-6 start to end up with another Cy Young Award-winning season, ultimately posting a 20-9 record with the fifth place Red Sox. In 1988 he returned to the All-Star Game and compiled an 18-12 tally and topped the AL in complete games (18) and shutouts (7). Boston returned to the top of the AL East. Clemens led the AL in ERA for three straight years from 1990 to ’92 and won a third Cy Young Award in 1991. His performance slipped thereafter as his record dropped to 11-14 with a 4.46 ERA in 1993, and after a fair year in 1994, he slipped badly again in ’95. Clemens had another 20-strikeout single-game performance in 1996 on his way to a 10-13 record with a league-leading 257 strikeouts. “The Rocket” signed a three-year free agent contract worth $24.75 million with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and won the AL Cy Young Award that year with a fifth-place team that went 76-86 and again in 1998, when he was 20-6 and topped the circuit in ERA (2.65) and strikeouts (271). The Blue Jays rose to third at 88-74 and Clemens requested a trade to a contending team and was dealt to the New York Yankees just prior to the ’99 season. Clemens spent five years with the Yanks, who won three AL pennants and two World Series titles during that time. “The Rocket” won another Cy Young Award in 2001 and compiled 77 wins in all during that period. Hinting at retirement in 2003, he followed LHP Andy Pettitte, a teammate and friend with the Yankees, to the Houston Astros as a free agent in 2004.

2004 Season Summary

Appeared in 33 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [13, tied with seven others]

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 18 [2, tied with Jason Schmidt & Carl Pavano]

Losses – 4

PCT - .818 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 214.1 [8]

Hits – 169

Runs – 76

Earned Runs – 71

Home Runs – 15

Bases on Balls – 79 [11, tied with Doug Davis]

Strikeouts – 218 [5]

ERA – 2.98 [5, tied with Oliver Perez]

Hit Batters – 6

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading win percentage was +.068 ahead of runner-up Chris Carpenter

Most strikeouts, game – 12 (in 7.1 IP) at Milwaukee 9/24

10+ strikeout games – 4

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 7 IP) vs. San Francisco 4/7

Batting

PA – 78, AB – 72, R – 1, H – 12, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 7, BB – 3, SO – 24, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .167, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 36

Put Outs – 12

Assists – 24

Errors – 0

DP – 2

Pct. - 1.000

Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (NLDS vs. Atlanta - 2 G, NLCS vs. St. Louis - 2 G)

GS – 4, CG – 0, Record – 2-1, PCT – .667 SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 25, H – 22, R – 11, ER – 10, HR – 4, BB – 10, SO – 21, ERA – 3.60, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 4

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

All-Star (Starting P for NL)

8^th in NL MVP voting (61 points, 14% share)

NL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Roger Clemens, Hou.: 140 pts. – 23 of 32 first place votes, 88% share

Randy Johnson, Ariz.: 97 pts. – 8 first place votes, 61% share

Roy Oswalt, Hou.: 19 pts. – 1 first place vote, 12% share

Jason Schmidt, SF.: 13 pts. – 8% share

Carlos Zambrano, ChiC.: 8 pts. – 5% share

Astros went 92-70 to finish second in the NL Central Division, 13 games behind the division-winning St. Louis Cardinals and qualifying for a Wild Card playoff spot. Despite high expectations, the team was at 44-44 and in fifth place at the All-Star break when manager Jimy Williams was replaced by Phil Garner. The arrival of CF Carlos Beltran from the Royals in June helped the offensive production and the Astros finished strong to clinch a playoff spot on the season’s last day. Won NLDS over the Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 2. Lost NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3.

Aftermath of 2004:

At age 43 in 2005, Clemens led the NL with a 1.87 ERA as the Astros won the league pennant for the first time in franchise history. Clemens re-signed with Houston in ’06 and ended up with a 7-6 record and 2.30 ERA while the club failed to reach the postseason. Clemens returned to the Yankees for one final year in 2007. Clemens returned to organized baseball in 2012 at the age of 50, appearing with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. He started two games and had no decisions.  Overall in the major leagues, he had a 354-184 record and 3.12 ERA with 4672 strikeouts over the course of 4916.2 innings. In the postseason he was 12-8 with a 3.75 ERA and 173 strikeouts. His numbers with Houston alone were 38-18 with a 2.40 ERA and 505 strikeouts. Controversy erupted over his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs during the later stages of his career, thus far keeping him from achieving election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.