On Monday Roger Clemens was acquitted on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying that he used performance-enhancing drugs to extend his career. He was charged with one count of obstructing Congress, two counts of perjury, and three counts of making false statements. If convicted of all six, he faced more than 30 years in federal prison.
On October 14, 2000 Roger Clemens pitched the game of his life against the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 in the ALCS. He struck out 15 and carried a no-hitter in to the bottom of the seventh inning. The only hit was an Al Martin double off first baseman Tino Martinez’s glove. Clemens pitched one of the best post-season games in history at age 38.
Game 4 was a must win for the Mariners. They were down 2-1 in a seven game series and needed to take care of business at home before returning to New York for game 6 and 7. The Mariners still had A-Rod, Buhner, Cameron, & Olerud and were poised to make a run for the World Series. They lost the series in six games.
The 2000 Mariners won 91 games and finished a half game behind the Oakland A’s to win the franchise’s first wild card berth. This was the Mariners’ third time in franchise history to make the playoffs.
The Mariners swept the Chicago White in the 2000 ALDS, while the Yankees and A’s were involved in an epic series that went the distance. The Mariners were going into the ALCS rested with the rotation set.
I was at game 4 at Safeco and witnessed Clemens spin his gem against the M’s. Mariners’ starter Paul Abbott gave up a fifth inning three run homerun to Derek Jeter and it seemed like the game was over then. David Justice followed with a two-run bomb off Jose Mesa in the eight and that was the ball game.
Looking back at that series and if Clemens wasn’t “allegedly” using PEDs, the Mariners could have played in their first World Series against the New York Mets. The Yankees won the “Subway Series” in five games, while Clemons pitched eight shutout innings and surrendered 2 hits in game 2.
The following year, the Mariners would lose A-Rod to the Rangers, via free agency, but they would import Ichiro from Japan and go on to win a record 116 games, but lose to the Yankees once again in the playoffs. The Mariners have not returned since then.
Clemens was acquitted of lying to Congress about his drug use, but the jury is still out on him actually using PEDs. He was named in Jose Canseco’s book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. He was also linked to his trainer Brian McNamee, who admitted that he injected Clemens multiple times. Ex-teammates Andy Pettite and Jason Grimsley also linked Clemens to steroid use.
Now the Hall of Fame vote is the last chance of justice. In December the Baseball Writers of America will vote on Clemens to enter the Hall. Clemons is grouped with other cheaters in the game – Mark McGwire (who received 12% of the 75% of the votes required in January during his first year of eligibility), Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, & Rafael Palmeiro who received just 11 % of the vote required. All these legends would be first ballot Hall of Famers if they weren’t linked to steroids.
Looking back on the 2000 season and how it ended, hopefully Clemons does not get into the Hall of Fame because of his alleged steroid use. It will be a small amount of justice thirteen years too late.
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