Clemens and Yankee$, A Marriage Made in Heaven
Roger Clemens might be the Anti-Christ. I'm sure it's not new to anyone that Roger Clemens recently signed a deal returning him to the New York Yankees worth the deficit of Bangladesh. And I can't stand Roger Clemens.
Now, I, even as one of the biggest Rocket-haters out there will concede his HoF resume. He's certainly won enough games, rang up enough K's (even has kids named Koby, Kory, Kacy, Kodachrome, Kornonthekob, etc.), owns enough Cy Young trophies, World Series rings, and records (including the hallowed Only Guy to Strike Out 20 Batters Twice mark). He has made enough money to fund a Micheal Bay movie (and that's not even counting endorsements and other goodies). He has everything. Or so it seems. He just doesn't have one thing.
Fans. He doesn't have any.
And that's why he's so unique. He sails along in his early 40's, pitching as well as anybody has ever pitched, only nobody cares about him. Can you recall another superstar squandering his emotional connection to every possible city? Boston fans loathe him, Toronto fans despise him, and Yankee fans will never fully embrace him because of his Boston roots. So who's left? Name any superstar over the past 50 years; within a nano-second, you instinctively link that athlete to one city. Rose? Cincinnati. Jordan? Chicago. Montana? San Francisco. The list goes on. In every case, the superstar enjoyed his prime in a particular city and reaps the benefits of that relationship to this day. Not Clemens. He drifts along like the Wolf in "Pulp Fiction"--no attachments to anyone or anything, a hired hitman, the superstar who sold out his fans for a few extra bucks. Instead of a team's logo, the cap on his HoF bust should just have a dollar sign on it.
Casual fans still associate Clemens with Boston, regardless of his current team (the Yankees), or with enough bad blood between them to rival the Overlook Hotel's main elevator at the end of "The Shining". I believe that Clemens could have possibly healed this rift and give himself a true fanbase willing to forgive him of his previous transgressions, and welcome him back in their embraces. But he chose not to.
So the defining moment of his career isn't any one of his performances on the mound but instead came during the opening ceremonies for the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway. Here Clemens took part in the Greatest Players of the 20th Century introductions, as every living legend wore the cap of the team with whom they're most prominently associated with, Clemens wore a Yankees hat, which made perfect sense because he had been playing in New York for around 3 months at the time. He blew his chance at redemption. It was just like in the movie "Midnight Run", when the Duke finds out that Jack was forced out of Chicago by the same mobster (Serrano) who was trying to kill him. Duke knew that Serrano will have him killed in prison and pleads with Jack to let him go, but Jack needs the bounty ($100,000) so he can retire and open a coffee shop. So the incredulous Duke says: "Serrano was the heroin dealer you told me about, the guy who owned your buddies and destroyed your life, that's Serrano? That's the guy that you're taking me in to? That's the guy who's gonna kill me. (Disgusted pause) I hope it's a wonderful coffee shop, Jack." Which is how the whole city of Boston probably felt when he put on that Yankees cap.
Hey Roger, I hope it's a wonderful coffee shop.
