Roger Clemens Comments on Missing out on Baseball Hall of Fame
Not surprisingly, one of the greatest pitchers to ever throw a baseball, Roger Clemens, did not make the Hall of Fame in the first year he was eligible way to do so.
Also not surprisingly, Roger had something to say about it. This comes to us from the Rocket's Twitter account:
"This -----------> twitter.com/rogerclemens/s…
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) January 9, 2013"
In case you've been living under a rock, what Clemens is undoubtedly referring to when he talks about a lot being said or written is allegations of PED use, and there have been plenty of allegations. In fact, he even faced a congressional hearing on the matter.
Clemens was acquitted of all charges at the trial, and it has never been proven he has used PEDs. So, he has every right to come out with a letter like this, and to his credit, he doesn't spend a lot of time bemoaning the fact he didn't get in.
Still, despite all of this, skepticism remains high on Clemens, and that is why he did not get elected. He has the accomplishments that dictate he should be a dead-solid lock. The guy won an unprecedented seven Cy Young awards, and among many other amazing stats, he is ninth all time in wins at 354.
Clemens did not get in because of the PED cloud.
His seemingly positive message may also have been born from the fact that the vote didn't work out too terribly for him.
He received 37.6 percent of the vote (via MLB.com) in his first time on the ballot. He was eligible to be on the ballot because he has now been retired for five years, and that only means from the majors. So his stint with the minor league Skeeters does not count.
Any player needs 75 percent of the vote to get into the Hall. And while Clemens was only halfway to that mark, it was still a promising result. That is a strong showing for a first-time ballot player, and he received more votes than any other player who is heavily connected to steroid allegations—including Barry Bonds.
When it is all said and done, I have to believe Clemens will find his way into the Hall of Fame.
