I-70 Baseball Exclusives Cooperstown Choices 2013

Cooperstown Choices: Roger Clemens

Bill Ivie

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2013, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty four men on the ballot for the first time this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2013 menu at the top of the page.

In this article, we take a look at Roger Clemens


Roger Clemens
One of the most discussed names on this year’s ballot will be that of the Texas fireballer, Roger Clemens.

His 24-year career would yield 11 All Star nominations, seven Cy Young Awards, a Most Valuable Player Award and countless moments that many fans will never forget.

Year Tm W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO ERA+ SO/9
1984 BOS 9 4 4.32 21 20 5 1 133.1 146 67 64 29 126 97 8.5
1985 BOS 7 5 3.29 15 15 3 1 98.1 83 38 36 37 74 130 6.8
1986 BOS 24 4 2.48 33 33 10 1 254.0 179 77 70 67 238 169 8.4
1987 BOS 20 9 2.97 36 36 18 7 281.2 248 100 93 83 256 154 8.2
1988 BOS 18 12 2.93 35 35 14 8 264.0 217 93 86 62 291 141 9.9
1989 BOS 17 11 3.13 35 35 8 3 253.1 215 101 88 93 230 132 8.2
1990 BOS 21 6 1.93 31 31 7 4 228.1 193 59 49 54 209 211 8.2
1991 BOS 18 10 2.62 35 35 13 4 271.1 219 93 79 65 241 165 8.0
1992 BOS 18 11 2.41 32 32 11 5 246.2 203 80 66 62 208 174 7.6
1993 BOS 11 14 4.46 29 29 2 1 191.2 175 99 95 67 160 104 7.5
1994 BOS 9 7 2.85 24 24 3 1 170.2 124 62 54 71 168 176 8.9
1995 BOS 10 5 4.18 23 23 0 0 140.0 141 70 65 60 132 117 8.5
1996 BOS 10 13 3.63 34 34 6 2 242.2 216 106 98 106 257 139 9.5
1997 TOR 21 7 2.05 34 34 9 3 264.0 204 65 60 68 292 222 10.0
1998 TOR 20 6 2.65 33 33 5 3 234.2 169 78 69 88 271 174 10.4
1999 NYY 14 10 4.60 30 30 1 1 187.2 185 101 96 90 163 102 7.8
2000 NYY 13 8 3.70 32 32 1 0 204.1 184 96 84 84 188 131 8.3
2001 NYY 20 3 3.51 33 33 0 0 220.1 205 94 86 72 213 128 8.7
2002 NYY 13 6 4.35 29 29 0 0 180.0 172 94 87 63 192 102 9.6
2003 NYY 17 9 3.91 33 33 1 1 211.2 199 99 92 58 190 113 8.1
2004 HOU 18 4 2.98 33 33 0 0 214.1 169 76 71 79 218 145 9.2
2005 HOU 13 8 1.87 32 32 1 0 211.1 151 51 44 62 185 226 7.9
2006 HOU 7 6 2.30 19 19 0 0 113.1 89 34 29 29 102 194 8.1
2007 NYY 6 6 4.18 18 17 0 0 99.0 99 52 46 31 68 108 6.2
24 Yrs 354 184 3.12 709 707 118 46 4916.2 4185 1885 1707 1580 4672 143 8.6
162 Game Avg. 17 9 3.12 34 34 6 2 236 201 91 82 76 224 143 8.6
W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO ERA+ SO/9
BOS (13 yrs) 192 111 3.06 383 382 100 38 2776.0 2359 1045 943 856 2590 144 8.4
NYY (6 yrs) 83 42 4.01 175 174 3 2 1103.0 1044 536 491 398 1014 114 8.3
HOU (3 yrs) 38 18 2.40 84 84 1 0 539.0 409 161 144 170 505 180 8.4
TOR (2 yrs) 41 13 2.33 67 67 14 6 498.2 373 143 129 156 563 196 10.2
AL (21 yrs) 316 166 3.21 625 623 117 46 4377.2 3776 1724 1563 1410 4167 139 8.6
NL (3 yrs) 38 18 2.40 84 84 1 0 539.0 409 161 144 170 505 180 8.4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/12/2012.

Why He Should Get In
The list here is long and showcases a pure Hall Of Famer.  354 wins, 7 Cy Young Awards, 4,672 strikeouts, four seasons with more than 20 wins, two seasons with an ERA below 2.00, and a career ERA of 3.12.  His average wins in a 162 game season would be 17 and he would average 224 strikeouts.  The numbers show a unamious, first ballot hall of fame candidate.

Why He Should Not Get In
Short and sweet, steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.  There is a large amount of suspicion around Clemens and it will keep many voters from putting him into Cooperstown.  His career and his numbers speak for themselves.  His recent actions and suspicions taint all that he has accomplished, however.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
Follow him on Twitter here.

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