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Roger Clemens Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at the life of retired Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens.

Personal

Birth date: August 4, 1962

Birth place: Dayton, Ohio

Birth name: William Roger Clemens

Father: Bill Clemens, truck driver

Mother: Bess (Wright) Clemens

Marriage: Debbie (Godfrey) Clemens (November 24, 1984-present)

Children: Kody, May 1996; Kacy, July 1994; Kory, May 1988; Koby, December 1986

Education: Attended San Jacinto Junior College, 1980-1981; Attended the University of Texas at Austin, 1981-1983

Other Facts

Won the Cy Young Award for best pitcher seven times.

Nicknamed “Rocket.”

Career statistics include 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts and two World Series titles.

His son, Kody also plays major league baseball.

Timeline

1983 – Drafted by the Boston Red Sox.

May 15, 1984 – Major League Baseball debut.

February 8, 1991 – Signs a four-year extension deal with the Boston Red Sox worth $21.5 million.

1992 – Establishes the Roger Clemens Foundation with his wife Debbie.

December 13, 1996 – Signs a three year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

February 18, 1999 – Is traded to the New York Yankees.

June 2003 – Reaches two milestones, his 300th win and 4,000th strikeout. He is the third pitcher ever to strike out 4,000 batters.

2004-2006 – Plays for the Houston Astros.

February 14, 2005 – Retired baseball star Jose Canseco publishes his autobiography, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big.” In the book, Canseco recounts his own steroid use and implicates other players, including Clemens.

2007 – Plays his last season in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees.

December 13, 2007 – The Mitchell Report is released, linking several current and former Major League Baseball players, including Clemens, to alleged use of performance enhancing substances.

January 2008 – Clemens files a defamation lawsuit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who said that he personally injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone between 1998 and 2001.

January 15, 2008 – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee holds a hearing in response to the Mitchell Report on doping in Major League Baseball.

February 13, 2008 – In a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Clemens denies ever taking performance enhancing drugs.

February 27, 2008 – Representatives Henry A. Waxman and Tom Davis ask the Justice Department to investigate possible perjury in the testimony of Clemens.

December 2008 – Clemens’ ex-trainer McNamee files a defamation lawsuit against Clemens.

2009 – US District Judge Keith Ellison dismisses Clemens’ defamation lawsuit against McNamee.

August 19, 2010 – Is indicted on charges of lying to Congress in 2008.

August 30, 2010 – Pleads not guilty.

July 13, 2011 – Trial begins.

July 14, 2011 – A federal judge declares a mistrial after jurors hear statements in a prosecution video that the judge had ruled inadmissible until later in the case.

September 2, 2011 – US District Court Judge Reggie Walton grants prosecutors a new trial for Clemens.

April 16, 2012 – Jury selection begins for Clemens’ retrial on one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury.

June 18, 2012 Is found not guilty on all counts.

March 18, 2015 – Attorneys announce that a settlement has been reached in McNamee’s defamation suit against Clemens. Clemens’ insurance company AIG will pay an undisclosed amount to McNamee.

June 21, 2019 – Is inducted into the Pawtucket Red Sox Hall of Fame. Clemens briefly played for the Triple-A team before making his Red Sox debut in 1984.

January 25, 2022 – Clemens falls short of the 75% of votes (65.2%) needed to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his tenth and final year of eligibility.

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