Former Baseball Player Roger Clemens Takes Stage to Intro Trump, Is 'Stunned' by What Happens Next

As I begin this article, I have a couple of confessions to make that will add to the story.

First, I played Little League baseball from the time I was eligible until Senior League came along — and ended. I also played throughout high school, and as a left-handed pitcher, I was good enough to confound many right-handed batters. 

Second, growing up in Greater Chicagoland, I was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan — and annually frustrated, of course, as the "Cubbies" broke my heart, along with the hearts of millions of other fans of the North Side team. That ended — temporarily, of course, when my team won the World Series for the first time of my life in 2016. At the time, I jubilantly celebrated the fact that I had lived long enough to see the Cubs finally win it all. (The only two previous WS championships came in 1907 and 1908.)

Third, pitcher Roger Clemens was a player I admired, immensely. A class guy, the whole bit. His 24-year Major League career began with the Boston Red Sox, had a short stint on the Toronto Blue Jays, and of course ended as a New York Yankee.

Clemens described what follows as "superseding anything I've done." I mean, we're talking about a player who won two World Series rings and seven Cy Young Awards — and more. 

Here's what went down:

Clemens thought he was simply taking the stage to introduce President Donald Trump at Wednesday night’s RNC rally in San Antonio. Instead, he got the surprise of a lifetime when Trump announced that he would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump called it the nation’s “single highest award” alongside the Medal of Honor. 

Explaining that the honor was more special to him than his Cy Young Awards and World Series rings, Clemens was near speechless and bit a emotional as he walked back up to the stage at the Freeman Coliseum, and he shared just how "stunned" he was:

"What a privilege it is for me to intro our great president. A man that loves our country, that puts all of us first, and puts America first. This is what I love. He’s made us better, he’s made us stronger, and more important, because of the border and everything here, he’s made us safer.

"And don’t forget, this is really important, this man put his life on the line for us. Don’t ever forget that.

"Well, I’m stunned, No. 1. Again, 24 years y’all – this supersedes obviously anything I’ve done in my playing career. To get it from this man, this president. There wouldn’t be another president I’d want to get it from. Announcing it here in my home state, and again, from this man. You talk about a winner – that’s a winner right there."

Smiling, he joked: "I guess I could come out of retirement again with all those stats he read off." 

During his speech, Trump once again made the case for Clemens’ induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Clemens is among several baseball greats who remain outside the Hall amid allegations of performance-enhancing drug use during baseball’s Steroids Era. His name appeared in the infamous Mitchell Report, released on December 13, 2007, which named 89 Major League Baseball players who were alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs, including Clemens and slugger Barry Bonds.

Clemens released a statement in 2022 after he failed to reach the Hall, receiving 65.2 percent of the vote, falling short of the required 75 percent threshold:

My family and I put the HOF in the rearview mirror ten years ago. I didn't play baseball to get into the HOF. I played to make a generational difference in the lives of my family. Then [to] focus on winning championships while giving back to my community and the fans as well. It was my passion. I gave it all I had, the right way, for my family and for the fans who supported me.

"I am grateful for that support," he continued, while thanking those who supported him and "took the time to look at the facts."

Statement from Roger Clemens who did not get elected today to the Baseball Hall of Fame: https://t.co/jfdhfwqUFa

— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) January 25, 2022

Finally, the man nicknamed "Rocket" threw 4,672 strikeouts, which ranks third all time, won two Triple Crowns, and was the 1986 American League MVP during his career, is not only at peace; on Wednesday, he received, in his words, the most coveted honor of his life. A life, I believe, that he has lived well.

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