Date of birth: 4 August 1962
Primary position: Pitcher
Elected to Red Sox Hall of Fame: 2014
Roger Clemens first came onto the scene when he helped his University of Texas teammates win the 1983 NCAA World Series championship; three years later, at just 23 years of age, Clemens won both the Cy Young and the MVP of the American League, posting a 24-4 record with a 2.48 ERA and 238 strikeouts as Boston came within one out of a World Series title. His most memorable moment that season came in late April, when he set a major league record by striking out 20 batters in one game. He provided another highlight at mid-season, winning the All-Star MVP award as the American League’s starting pitcher by shutting out the National League squad over three innings of work.
One year later, Clemens won his second Cy Young and then a third four years later in 1991. As Boston’s number one starter, he averaged nearly 20 wins and 239 strikeouts between 1986 and 1992 and brought the Red Sox to the playoffs twice more in 1988 and 1990. Clemens continued to provide steady leadership in the pitching rotation through the mid-1990s, winning 40 games between 1993 and 1996 while playing for poor teams with shaky bullpens. Boston returned to the playoffs as winners of the American League East in 1995, with Clemens going 10-5 in a strike-shortened season, but Cleveland swept the Red Sox in the opening round.
In the final year with the Red Sox, Clemens would finish just 10-13 but match his earlier feat ten years earlier by striking out 20 batters in Detroit in September of 1996.
Career Pitching Statistics through 2018 Season
| Season | W | L | SV | IP | H | ER | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 133.3 | 146 | 64 | 126 | 4.32 |
| 1985 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 98.3 | 83 | 36 | 74 | 3.30 |
| 1986 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 254.0 | 179 | 70 | 238 | 2.48 |
| 1987 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 281.7 | 248 | 93 | 256 | 2.97 |
| 1988 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 264.0 | 217 | 86 | 291 | 2.93 |
| 1989 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 253.3 | 215 | 88 | 230 | 3.13 |
| 1990 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 228.3 | 193 | 49 | 209 | 1.93 |
| 1991 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 271.3 | 219 | 79 | 241 | 2.62 |
| 1992 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 246.7 | 203 | 66 | 208 | 2.41 |
| 1993 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 191.7 | 175 | 95 | 160 | 4.46 |
| 1994 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 170.7 | 124 | 54 | 168 | 2.85 |
| 1995 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 140.0 | 141 | 65 | 132 | 4.18 |
| 1996 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 242.7 | 216 | 98 | 257 | 3.63 |
| TOTAL | 192 | 111 | 0 | 2776.0 | 2359 | 943 | 2590 | 3.06 |
Awards and Recognition with Boston
AL The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, 1986
AL The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, 1991
All-Star Game MVP Award, 1986
Cy Young Award, 1986
Cy Young Award, 1987
Cy Young Award, 1991
ERA Leader (2.48), 1986
ERA Leader (1.93), 1990
ERA Leader (2.62), 1991
ERA Leader (2.41), 1992
Most Valuable Player Award, 1986
Strikeouts Leader (291), 1988
Strikeouts Leader (241), 1991
Strikeouts Leader (257), 1996
The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year, 1986
Winning Games Leader (24), 1986
Winning Games Leader (20), 1987
Memorable Moments for Roger Clemens
- 6 June 1983 - Boston selects pitcher Roger Clemens in the first round of the amateur draft.
- 15 May 1984 - Roger Clemens makes his major league due for Boston and allows five runs, four earned, and 11 hits in 5-2/3 innings of work in a 7-5 Red Sox loss to the Indians in Cleveland.
- 29 April 1986 - Roger Clemens sets a major league record by recording 20 strikeouts in a 3-1 win over Seattle at Fenway Park; he allows just three hits and walks none in the complete game effort.
- 30 April 1986 - Three Boston pitchers combine to strike out 16 Seattle batters in a 9-4 win for the Red Sox over the Mariners, one day after Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle batters.
- 27 June 1986 - Roger Clemens raises his record to a perfect 14-0 with a 5-3 win over the Orioles in Baltimore.
- 15 July 1986 - Getting the starting nod for the American League squad, Roger Clemens pitches three perfect innings to earn All-Star Game MVP honors.
- 10 September 1986 - With a 9-4 win in Baltimore over the Orioles, Boston extends its winning streak to 11 games as Roger Clemens wins his 22nd decision.
- 12 November 1986 - Only the second player to earn the honor unanimously, Roger Clemens becomes the first Red Sox pitcher since Jim Lonborg in 1967 to win the Cy Young Award. It is the first of three with Boston and seven total in his career.
- 18 November 1986 - 24-game-winner Roger Clemens becomes the first Red Sox pitcher to be named American League Most Valuable Player and the first pitcher to win the honor since Vida Blue in 1971.
- 4 October 1987 - Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens wins his 20th game on the final day of the season as Boston beats Milwaukee 4-0 at Fenway Park; Clemens allows just two hits and strikes out 12 in a complete-game effort.
- 10 October 1990 - Oakland sweeps Boston out of the ALCS for the second time in three seasons, capping the series with a 3-1 win highlighted by Roger Clemens's ejection from the game for arguing balls and strikes.
- 12 April 1992 - Matt Young goes eight innings without allowing a hit but loses 2-1 to the Indians in Cleveland; Roger Clemens then shuts out the Tribe on two hits in the second half of a doubleheader as Boston wins 3-0. The two hits are the fewest allowed by a team in a doubleheader in major league history.
- 7 September 1992 - Future Hall of Fame pitchers Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan go head-to-head in Arlington as Boston gets the better of Texas, 3-0. Both pitchers threw seven scoreless innings before the Sox scored two in the eighth.
- 23 May 1996 - Roger Clemens singles in his first-ever regular season at-bat, forced to the plate after designated hitter Jose Canseco is moved to left field in the eighth, as the Red Sox defeat the Mariners 11-5 at Fenway Park.
- 18 September 1996 - In his second-to-last appearance with Boston, Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens matches his own record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning contest as he collects win number 192 with Boston, a 4-0 shutout over Detroit.
- 13 December 1996 - Roger Clemens signs with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent after 13 seasons with the Red Sox.
- 12 July 1997 - Roger Clemens returns to Fenway Park and strikes out 16 Red Sox batters over eight innings as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays defeat Boston 3-1 at Fenway Park.
- 16 October 1999 - A much-anticipated match up between former Boston pitcher Roger Clemens and current Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez turns into a laugher as Boston shells Clemens for five runs and six hits in an eventual 13-1 Red Sox win over the Yankees; Martinez, for his part, strikes out 12 and allows just two hits over seven innings of work.
- 28 May 2000 - In a duel between two great pitchers, Pedro Martinez out-duels Roger Clemens 2-0 as both pitchers go the distance at Yankee Stadium. Trot Nixon accounts for the only runs with a ninth inning, two-out, two-run home run with Jeff Fyre at first.
- 8 June 2010 - Tim Wakefield sets a new franchise record with 2,777 innings pitched for the Red Sox in a 3-2 win over the Indians in Cleveland, surpassing Roger Clemens.
- 11 May 2018 - Chris Sale becomes the third pitcher in club history to have a start that features 15 strikeouts and no walks, but the Blue Jays best the Red Sox 5-3 on a walk-off two run home run in the 12th inning from Luke Maile. Sale joins Roger Clemens (three times) and Pedro Martinez (four times) as the only Boston pitchers to accomplish the feat.