'New' Clemens is a classic

Sporting News, The, May 31, 2004 by Ken Rosenthal

If Roger Clemens starts the All-Star Game at home in Houston, one major league executive predicts that it will be as big an event for baseball as Cal Ripken breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games record in 1995 and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa dueling for the home run crown in '98.

Though those comparisons are a stretch, it's mind-blowing that Clemens is even part of such a feel-good discussion. Just yesterday, it seems, he was reviled by many, still dealing with the fallout of beaning the Mets' Mike Piazza in 2000 and flinging a broken bat at him during the World Series. Now, suddenly, he's a warm, cuddly figure, the subject of "at home with family" profiles.

Hardly anyone cares that his retirement lasted about six seconds. His travel schedule, a star perk if there ever were one, is not an issue. And in a sport in which steroid use is a hot-button topic, Clemens, 41, has risen above fan and media skepticism of older stars who deliver elite performance at an advanced age.

Clemens never would have received such adulation if he simply had finished his career with the Yankees, who evoke their own mixed emotions outside of New York. It will be uncomfortable if Piazza is his batterymate in the All-Star Game; Piazza might never forgive Clemens for jeopardizing his career. But that issue has lost its relevance. Now that Clemens is home, minding to both his children and his teammates, the transformation of his image--and the appreciation of his excellence--is complete.

Clemens began the week 7-0 with a 2.51 ERA and, perhaps because of his newfound hitting obligations, had plunked only two batters in 57 1/3 innings. It's tempting to label the theme of the season "Grumpy Old Men," considering the post-40 successes of Clemens, Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds. Except Clemens is practically beatific these days. For perhaps the first time in his 21-year career, he's beyond criticism. His story is too good.

Clemens made $10.1 million last season with the Yankees, but he signed with the Astros for $5 million, $3.5 million of which is deferred until 2006. His travel schedule--Clemens is required to be with the Astros only when it's his turn to pitch--offends some old-school types, who insist that no player should be above his team or the game. But Clemens would not have come out of retirement without such a provision, and the Astros' players gave it their full endorsement, recognizing that Clemens wanted to spend more time with his wife, Debbie, and four sons, ages 8 to 17.

Obviously, Clemens is a special case, just as Ripken was when he began staying at separate hotels from the Orioles for security reasons in the '90s. If the Astros' other free-agent pitcher, lefthander Andy Pettitte, had asked for Clemens' arrangement, first baseman Jeff Bagwell says he would have responded, "That's not cool." But all the Astros want from Clemens is 35 starts, nothing more.

Some wonder if the Astros are setting a precedent that will allow other star pitchers to demand similar deals in the future. The answer probably is no, though a 40-something pitcher with comparable stature--Johnson, for example--would be no less deserving of the privilege. When the issue is addressed properly--for the right reasons, by the right pitcher, in the right clubhouse--it actually makes a decent amount of sense.

Players today have the means to finance such arrangements, and it can help them extend their careers. Clemens maintains state-of-the-art training facilities at home and pays his own way to fly to wherever the Astros are playing. His reduced travel schedule likely benefits him physically. Clemens not only travels less, but at more desirable times, preserving energy by avoiding late-night flights on team charters.

Bonds complained recently that he never would be allowed to skip trips like Clemens. "I ain't white," Bonds told reporters. "They'll never let a black man get away with that." Actually, Bonds' problem is that he isn't a starting pitcher. His presence is required at every game, not every fifth day.

If Bonds wanted to issue a more pointed complaint, he would have asked why Clemens and other older stars don't face the same scrutiny that he does about his possible use of performance-enhancing drugs. Granted, Bonds is linked to the federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) while others are not. But fairly or not, pitchers are subjected to less speculation about steroid use; while many in the industry believe that steroids help pitchers gain life on their fastballs, the effect on sluggers appears more pronounced.

Whatever, it's irrefutable that the work ethics of the 40-somethings set them apart. If Clemens' fanatical regimen doesn't inspire slovenly types such as the Orioles' Sidney Ponson and the Angels' Bartolo Colon to get their acts together, nothing will. Clemens' right arm is a gift, no question, but he has transformed his body into a machine.

He's home, he's happy, and he's red-hot. For all his past controversy, this is the way Roger Clemens should be remembered. He's more than an emotion-filled warrior who occasionally crossed the line from intimidator to headhunter. Everyone understands now: Clemens is the best pitcher of his generation and one of the best who ever lived.