Roger Clemens donned a banana-colored jersey to make his umpteenth return to baseball.
Clemens, 61, surprisingly pitched Saturday night for the Savannah Bananas — a popular exhibition baseball team — before a crowd of about 41,000 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
He allowed three hits, including a home run, and struck out a batter against rival Party Animals.
Roger Clemens in the Astros dugout Saturday waiting to pitch for the Savannah Bananas. Savanna bananas
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner — who retired indecisively and did not retire several times at the end of his 24-year career — last pitched in MLB in 2007, for the Yankees .
He pitched two games for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent professional Atlantic League – based in the suburbs of his hometown of Houston – in 2012, so he could pitch for his son Koby behind the plate.
Five runs, including the two runners he inherited, scored while Clemens was on the mound for the Bananas.
So what? Clemens, who wore the number 22 on the back of the yellow jerseys with blue letters, still received numerous high-fives after returning to the dugout and big applause from the crowd.
The surprises for most Astros fans in the building didn’t stop with Clemens.
Roger Clemens, 61, received a big ovation from fans in his hometown of Houston. Savannah Bananas A crowd of approximately 41,000 watched Roger Clemens pitch for the Savannah Bananas. Savannah Bananas Roger Clemens pitches for the Savannah Bananas. Savanna bananas
Roy Oswalt, 46, a former three-time All-Star and League Championship Series MVP, also pitched a third of an inning and recorded a strikeout after giving up three hits.
Clemens and Oswalt were Astros teammates from 2004 to 2006.
The Bananas are like a dancing, baseball-playing version of the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Party Animals are their often defeated enemy, like the generals of Washington.
Saturday marked their first appearance at an MLB ballpark — instead of traditional minor league ballparks — but there are five more stops on the schedule in 2024, including one at Boston’s historic Fenway Park.
Roger Clemens pitches for the Yankees in 2007. Anthony J. Causey
Due to allegations that he was linked to performance-enhancing drugs, Clemens was not selected to the Hall of Fame during his 10 rounds of voting, never receiving more than 65.2 percent of the votes. votes he obtained during his last year of eligibility (2022).
But his 354 victories place him behind contemporary Greg Maddux (355) among pitchers who played after 1965.
2024-03-10 14:55:06
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