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Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards and pitched for New York Yankees teams that won back-to-back World Series titles. But Clemens’ career was ultimately defined by baseball’s steroid era.
Clemens last played in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game in 2007 during his second stint with the Yankees. In 2008, he found himself embroiled in a federal investigation into the suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by several prominent major league players.
Clemens testified before Congress that he did not take PEDs and was acquitted of the federal charge of lying to Congress. Clemens is now one of eight Baseball Hall of Fame nominees selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he believes Clemens should be in Cooperstown.
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President Donald Trump arrives at Yankee Stadium for a game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers on September 11. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
On the eve of the release of the latest list of inmates, Trump took to Truth Social to effectively dismiss allegations of Clemens’ past steroid use. “The only reason he is not (in the Hall of Fame) is because of rumors and innuendos that were not proven,” Trump wrote.
Trump also pointed to Clemens’ nickname, “The Rocket,” saying that “he deserved the ‘label’ very early in his career because of his blazing fastball, as dominant as it was before the erroneous allegations were made against him. I sincerely hope that the committee uses its great judgment (Rogers’ detractors have never proven any of the story, and he may never have proven any of the story, Baseball!) and the commissioner of baseball has the strength, wisdom and power to to do the right thing and put Roger Clemens in the Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY!”
ROGER CLEMENS THANKS TRUMP FOR SUPPORTING BASEBALL HALL OF FAME, HITS BACK AT CRITICS
Neither the MLB commissioner’s office nor the White House immediately responded to Pakinomist Digital’s requests for comment.
The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee considers retired players whose eligibility to enter Cooperstown via a majority vote of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) has expired. The Writers’ Association is responsible for the selection of recently retired players.
Roger Clemens throws a pitch during Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, October 22, 2000. (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Clemens’ last chance to be listed on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot was in 2022; that year he got a good 65% of the vote. Players must receive at least 75% of the vote to be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Power-hitting outfielder Barry Bonds, whose storied career was also marred by allegations of PED use, is being dealt with by the committee this year. Bonds also avoided criminal charges in a steroid probe. He has previously stated that he never knowingly used banned substances.
Former Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens throws a ball before the game between the Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays at Minute Maid Park on August 2, 2024 in Houston. (Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports)
Clemens and Bonds were two of the high-profile names listed in the 2007 Mitchell Report.
The report was authored by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, R-Maine, who conducted a months-long investigation into the suspected use of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Trump has previously expressed support for Clemens’ Hall of Fame hopes. After Trump wrote in a social media post that there was “no evidence” the retired pitcher was a steroid user, Clemens thanked the president for his support.
“I appreciate the love! DT knows more than anyone about the fake news out there,” Clemens wrote on X in August. “Everyone has their agendas… I played the game to change the direction of my family generationally and to WIN!”
