ROGER Clemens earned his 300th victory and registered his 4,000th strikeout just the right way. As The Rocket.
His first six outs were by strikeouts, and the two key outs of his 62/3-inning stint were by strikeout. At age 40, Clemens is still fast and furious.
Four decades into life, nearly two decades into his career, Clemens achieved two of the holy numbers of his sport in a manner that could be described as same old, same old.
After two frustrating weeks and three exasperating starts to try to produce No. 300, Clemens did it his way. Working in short sleeves despite the cold rain and the remnants of bronchitis, Clemens used fastball, split and tenacity to become the 21st pitcher to reach 300 wins and the third to pass 4,000 strikeouts.
The Yankees beat the Cardinals 5-2 last night in a game made memorable by Clemens’ accomplishments, but also because of who was cheered and booed at the Stadium.
Clemens struck out Edgar Renteria in the fourth for his 4,000th whiff, and the 50,000 or so in the house stood to cheer that feat. But that melded quickly into an even louder ovation for the next hitter, Tino Martinez, making his first Stadium appearance since departing the Yankees after the 2001 season. It was a “thanks for the memories” salute at a time in Yankee history when it feels like the great days have potentially faded away.
That became even starker in the seventh. With two out and none on and lefty slugger J.D. Drew due and the Yanks ahead 3-2, Joe Torre popped out of the dugout and was booed heartily as it became obvious he was going to remove Clemens. The Rocket was cheered off the field and then Torre followed to the type of boos usually saved for particularly vile Red Sox.
On June 13 – Friday the 13th – Joe Torre was unbelievably the villain at Yankee Stadium. Fortunately for him, Chris Hammond preserved the one-run lead and Raul Mondesi’s two-run homer in the bottom of the inning provided the Yankees cushion.
Clemens began this game still fighting his chest cold, but mainly he just seemed sick and tired of the wait to get 300. He struck out the side in the first. He permitted a tying homer to Jim Edmonds in the second and Scott Rolen followed with a double before Clemens struck out another three. But strikeouts equal high pitch count, and it felt like that was working against Clemens as surely as the Cardinals.
Ruben Sierra homered to put the Yanks up 3-2 in the fourth. With a one-run lead, Clemens put two on with one out in the fifth. He was already at 90 pitches and Edmonds and Drew were due. He fell behind Edmonds 2-0, but came back with three straight strikes, the last two devastating splitters. Rolen got ahead 3-0. Clemens was now at 98 pitches. Called strike, then two foul balls.
Clemens reached back, not only for a pitch, but in time, as well. He unleashed another split, hard, nasty, biting down and away. It was a pitch that honored all the grueling workouts over the years that have kept his natural gifts so attuned. Rolen swung futilely and Clemens let out a long breath followed by a swear.
This was his moment after all the great moments in his career. At age 40, he is not driving slowly in the right-hand lane. He had taken over the AL strikeout lead from teammate Mike Mussina. He had struck out 10 for the 104th time in his career. He had registered 4,000 career Ks, 300 career wins the only way he has ever known.
As The Rocket.
