Is it weird that I imagine Roger Clemens walking into the clubhouse of his new team screaming “Don’t call it a comeback”? Well that’s exactly what I do because I believe it’s only right and just to make fun of such an absurd, ridiculous situation.
Just when we thought we were done dealing with retirement drama from athletes—with Brett Favre officially retiring for the 45th and final time in 2011—Roger Clemens, at the age of 50, has decided that it is a great idea to get out of retirement and sign with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League, as Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press reports.
Even better, he signed with Sugar Land two months and a day after being acquitted on a perjury charge for lying in front of Congress about his steroid use.
I know Roger Clemens isn’t the first baseball player to play professional baseball WAY past his prime, and with a fastball at 87 mph he is throwing about twice as fast as Jamie Moyer was before he was cut, but one has to expect that there are some ulterior motives behind this move.
What, exactly, is he trying to accomplish by signing with the Skeeters?
Is he just going out there in order to compete and enjoy himself, or does he have greater goals in mind? Is he honestly trying to get back to playing at a major league level at the age of 50?
Whatever his reasoning may be, there is obviously something fishy going on here.
There is a suspicion that Roger Clemens is trying to reach the majors where he would probably pitch for the lowly Houston Astros. He would use this appearance as a way to push back his eligibility for the Hall of Fame five years and eventually hope the baseball writers change their minds about him, which doesn’t seem likely as of right now.
The Astros, who are in dire need of good news after this horrendous season, might be making a terrible mistake if they are even remotely considering this option.
I understand Houston might want more fans in the stands, but they really don’t need any more bad publicity like what would come from a stunt like this.
This latest move by Clemens has put him in a class by himself.
While Brett Favre is a selfish, narcissistic athlete, Clemens is not only that, but he’s also probably a cheater as well.
Clemens brings a lot of baggage with regard to his past connections with steroid use. He carries this baggage wherever he goes, and especially when he is connected to a professional ball club. To make matters worse, this baggage has gotten even heavier with his much publicized court hearing despite the acquittal.
In the minds of the fans and the writers who vote for the Hall of Fame, Clemens is guilty of knowingly using steroids, despite what he says or does. This still might not discourage a desperate major league team enough from possibly giving him a shot.
For everyone’s sake I hope he never makes it back to the majors because the media coverage surrounding that would be so extensive that even Brett Favre would think it’s over the top.
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