PawSox to Induct Clemens Into Hall of Fame Despite Short Stint, Steroid Allegations

GoLocalProv Sports Team

PawSox to Induct Clemens Into Hall of Fame Despite Short Stint, Steroid Allegations

Roger Clemens PHOTO: Steve Lipofsky/Wikipedia
The Pawtucket Red Sox announced that they will induct Roger Clemens into the club's Hall of Fame.

This comes despite Clemens' inability to get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame due to his association with performance-enhancing drugs.

"That wasn’t discussed. This was based on Roger's playing career, again this was a 14 person panel who made the decision and that was not something that was discussed," said Joe Bradlee, Director of Baseball Operations and Community Relations in an interview with GoLocalProv. 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Clemens' eligibility for the National Hall expires in 2022, along with Barry Bonds. 

Clemens Short Time in Pawtucket

Clemens was a 1st round selection of the Boston Red Sox (#19 overall) in the 1983 draft. 

After brief stints in Single-A and Double-A, he played with the PawSox for less than two months to begin the 1984 season before starting his 24-year Major League career.

He began the year in Pawtucket's starting rotation and went 2-3 in seven games with a 1.93 ERA. 

"This is our fourth Hall of Fame class and our committee consists of 14 people from club execs to broadcasters and writers, it's not just us making this decision. If you look at others that were inducted, it's based on their careers that they went on to have, not just their Pawtucket careers. Roger had a great career and we consider him part of the Pawtucket family," said Bradlee.

By early-May he was promoted to Boston and would remain with the Red Sox for the next 13 years.

“Roger began his career here in 1984 and like a lot of the good ones he was not here for long. He was with us for the beginning of the season and then went on to have an incredible career and is a Red Sox Hall of Fame," said Bradlee. 

Clemens in the Majors

In his career, Clemens won a record seven Cy Young Awards, one American League MVP Award, was an 11-time All-Star, and a two-time World Series champion. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox (1984-1996), Toronto Blue Jays (1997-98), New York Yankees (1999-2003 and again in 2007), and the Houston Astros (2004-06).

He recorded 354 wins with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts (the third-most all-time) in 709 big league games and is the only pitcher in major league history to record over 350 wins and strikeout over 4,500 batters.

Clemens announced his retirement early in the 2003 season, however, he came out of "retirement" in January of 2004 when he signed with the Houston Astros.

He then returned from his second "retirement" (following the 2006 season with Houston) when he rejoined the Yankees in June of 2007.

On July 2, 2007, he notched his 350th win to become one of only three pitchers to pitch his entire career in the live-ball era and reach 350 wins.

Pawtucket Hall of Fame Ceremony 

The induction will take place prior to the PawSox game on Friday, June 21at 7 p.m.


19 to Watch in 2019 - FULL LIST

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.