SAL1 Lake County Captains

Captains ready to board Rocket

Published on June 5, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Lexington, KY)-The Lake County Captains arrived quietly in Lexington, Kentucky, just after midnight Monday morning, 36 hours before taking the field against one of the greatest major league pitchers of all time-Roger Clemens.

Clemens, who signed a one-year, $22 Million contract with the Houston Astros last week, will make the first of three scheduled minor league tune-up starts Tuesday evening when he suits up for the Lexington Legends in a game against the Captains at 7:05 p.m. at Applebee's Park. After pitching in Lexington, he is expected to make starts t the Double-A and Triple-A level before joining the Astros on June 22nd.

His pro-rated contract is expected to net Clemens over $12 Million for the remainder of the 2006 season. Clemens was a member of the Astros team that won the National League pennant last season before falling to the White Sox in the World Series.

The game Tuesday is a sell-out, with an overflow crowd of 9,000 expected. Nearly 100 media credentials have been issued to outlets nationwide. Parts of the game will be televised on ESPN. The game will be carried live on the Captains Radio Network (WELW AM 1330 and WKNR AM 850).

The Captains will be facing a current major league pitcher for the first time in team history. A 22-year major league veteran, Clemens was already pitching in the major leagues before 12 of the current Captains players were even born

Clemens, 43, is expected to throw 65 pitches in the game against the Captains. His oldest son, Koby, is a member of the Legends, and is scheduled to come off the disabled list in time to play in the game with his father.

Earlier this spring Clemens did appear in uniform for the USA in the World Baseball Classic, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA. He struck out 10 batters in 8 2/3 innings. The Astros failed to offer salary arbitration to Clemens, making him ineligible to sign with the club until May 1st. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers also made serious offers for Clemens' services.

Clemens will be pitching against the Captains exactly 23 years to the day that he was drafted in the first round by the Boston Red Sox. He was the 19th player selected overall on June 6, 1983. Tim Belcher, now a special assistant in the Indians front office, was the top player selected that year, going to the Twins.

While Clemens will begin his 2006 season against an Indians minor league affiliate on Tuesday, it is not his first career debut against the Tribe organization. Clemens made his major league debut for the Red Sox against the Cleveland Indians on May 15, 1984, at Municipal Stadium. A crowd of 4,004 fans saw the Indians beat the Sox 7-5. Clemens did not figure in the decision, going 5 2/3 innings, giving up 11 hits and five runs, four earned. He walked three and struck out four. His first major league strikeout came against Mike Hargrove, who batted fifth in Cleveland's line-up that night.

In 22 major league seasons, Clemens has crafted an overall record of 341-172, with a 3.12 ERA. He has appeared in 672 games. He has 4,502 strikeouts, which ranks second to Nolan Ryan on the all-time list. He has also appeared in post-season play 11 times, winning two World Series titles with the Yankees in 1999 and 2000. His overall post-season record is 14-9.

Clemens has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons twice in his career-in 1986-87 with the Red Sox and 1996-97 with the Blue Jays. He has won the Cy Young Award seven times, more than any other pitcher in major league history. His seventh Cy Young award came after "un-retiring" and joining the Astros for the 2004 season. He went 18-4 and became the oldest player to win the award. He also became only the fourth pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues, joining Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry.

Clemens was the 1986 American League MVP Award, winning 24 games and leading the Red Sox to the World Series. He was named to the baseball's All-Century team in 1999.

Clemens has accomplished the rare feat of striking out 20 batters in a nine-inning game twice in his career. He struck out 20 Seattle Mariners on April 29, 1986, and repeated the feat on September 18, 1996 against Detroit. The second performance came in his second-to-last start with the Red Sox.

Clemens pitched for Boston for 13 years before a rancorous split with the team and then-general manager Dan Duquette. He signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays and pitched there for two season. He went 41-13 for the Blue Jays and won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 1997 and 1998.

The Blue Jays traded Clemens to the New York Yankees in 1999, and pitched in the Bronx for five seasons before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2003 season. During the 2003 season, Clemens recorded his 300th career win and his 4,000th strikeout in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Astros lured Clemens out of his short-lived retirement in 2004.

Over the years, Clemens hot temper has emerged on the field. He is one of the most feared pitchers in baseball history, in large part because of his propensity to pitch inside. He has hit 150 batters in his career. He was ejected from an ALCS game in 1990 after arguing with an umpire. His conflict with Mets catcher Mike Piazza made national news in 2000 when Clemens hit Piazza in the helmet during an inter-league game, causing a concussion. Later, when the two met in the World Series, Piazza broke his bat on a pitch thrown by Clemens. When the barrel of the bat rolled toward the mound, Clemens picked it up and hurled it across the baseline in front of Piazza. Clemens later said he thought he was fielding the ball. Major League Baseball fined Clemens $50,000 for the incident.

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, where he was born on August 4, 1962, Clemens grew up in Houston. He pitched at Spring Woods High School and at San Jacinto Junior College before finishing his college career at the University of Texas, where he led the Longhorns to the 1983 College World Series championship.

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