By BRIAN MCTAGGART
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Roger Clemens' trophy case got a little more crowded today.
Clemens, who put off retirement to pitch for the Astros this year, became the first player in baseball history to win seven Cy Young Awards when he was named the winner of the award for 2004.
Clemens, 42, is only the fourth player in history to win a Cy Young in both leagues and is the oldest winner of the award given annually to the league's best pitcher. He won the American League Cy Young with the Boston Red Sox in 1986, 1987 and 1991, with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998 and with the New York Yankees in 2001.
Clemens received 23 out of a possible 32 first-place votes, with eight second-place votes and one third-place vote. Astros righthander Roy Oswalt finished third in the balloting behind Clemens and Arizona’s Randy Johnson and received one vote for first place, three for second and five for third.
Oswalt led the NL with 20 wins, finishing 20-10 with a 3.49 ERA. Teammate Brad Lidge received one third-place vote. The award is voted upon by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Clemens and Oswalt are the first Astros pitchers to finish in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting since Mike Hampton finished second in 1999. Teammates have finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting on numerous occasions, most recently in both 2001 and 2002, when Johnson and Curt Schilling earned the top two slots, respectively, in both years.
Clemens joins Mike Scott (1986) as the only Astros to win the award. Clemens, who's in Japan on a tour with major league All-Stars, went 18-4 this season to lead the NL in winning percentage and ranked sixth in the NL with a 2.98 ERA. He won his first nine decisions of the season and his final six to help the Astros reach the playoffs.
“Roger’s performance and presence had a tremendous impact on the success of the Astros in 2004,” Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. “He is one of the true legends in sports history, and his performance this season was certainly worthy of his seventh Cy Young Award.”
Clemens was named to the All-Star team for the 10th time in his career and started the Midsummer Classic in July at Minute Maid Park. Clemens is the active leader in career wins with 328 and ranks 10th on the MLB career list, one shy of Steve Carlton.
According to the BBWAA, Clemens is the first player in history to capture eight BBWAA awards. He won the AL Most Valuable Player in 1986 to go along with his seven Cy Youngs.
Clemens joins Pedro Martinez (1997 Montreal, 1999 and 2000 Boston), Johnson (1999-2002 Arizona, 1995 Seattle), and Gaylord Perry (1972 Cleveland, 1978 San Diego) as the only four pitchers to win the Cy Young in both leagues. Clemens is the only pitcher to win the Cy Young with as many as four different teams.
Clemens struck out 218 hitters in 2004, marking his 12th career 200-strikeout season and tying him with Johnson for second on the MLB career list (trailing only Nolan Ryan). He threw 214 1/3 innings, the 14th time he has passed the 200-inning barrier in one season. He moved past Carlton and into second on the career strikeout list on May 5, and his 4,317 strikeouts trails only Ryan.
brian.mctaggart@chron.com
Richard Justice: Houston Chronicle Online
CY YOUNG WIN UNLIKELY TO INFLUENCE CLEMENS' DECISION ON '05
QUESTION: Congrats to Roger Clemens and, by extension, the Astros ... Clemens had a fantastic year, perhaps as good a year as any 40-plus pitcher has ever had. Not to mention that he probably should've been at least 22-or-23 and 4, rather than just 18-4. It's not a World Series win, but it does set him up to "go out on top" personally. Will his seventh Cy Young bring Roger closer to retirement or will it simply spur him on to the bigger prize for Houston?
- Jonathan in Baton Rouge
ANSWER: I don't believe it'll have an impact. My colleague, John Lopez, wrote a wonderful column on the topic in today's Chronicle.
I also think it'll be a matter of how the Rocket feels around Christmas. He was spent at the end of the season. His conditioning work takes up so much of his time that I think he'd like some time to do something else.
Still, this game gets a hold of people and won't let go. He may be the best ever, and he still enjoys those days when he goes to the mound. If I were betting, I'd bet that he returns for a 22nd season.
Posted: Nov 9 2004 4:40PM
CLEMENS MAY BE YOUNG, BUT HE'S READY TO WALK AWAY
By Gordon Edes, Boston Globe November 9, 2004
So how does a pitcher who wins an unprecedented seventh Cy Young Award, as Roger Clemens did this afternoon, walk away from the game?
"Easy," Clemens said without hesitation, just hours before receiving a call here informing him he'd won. "Like I said, I was happy last season, but it wasn't fun. I worked real hard."
Hard enough, at age 42, to become the oldest pitcher ever to be honored as the best pitcher in his league.
Clemens, who is here with a team of touring major-league all-stars playing their Japanese counterparts, was called just after 2 a.m. Japan time, according to one of his agents, Jim Murray, by Jack O'Connell, secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, informing him that he has another trophy waiting for him upon his return to his hometown of Houston.
Clemens received 24 first-place votes in easily outdistancing Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks. After calling his wife, Debbie, with the news, he begged off an interview, claiming he needed to get some rest before his scheduled start Wednesday night (4:30 a.m. Boston time) here in the Osaka Dome.
Before taking the bullet train here from Fukuoka ahead of his teammates, who were beating the Japan stars, 7-2, Clemens spoke of the award's significance to him.
"It would mean something to me, to have won (a Cy Young award) for every team that I've ever pitched for," said Clemens, who won three Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox, two for the Toronto Blue Jays, one for the New York Yankees, and is in line to win one for the Astros, the team that coaxed him out of retirement last winter.
Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA, his first sub-3 ERA in six seasons. "I could have had one of my biggest winning seasons ever," he said last night, noting that with a little more run support he could have had 24 or 25 wins. "There were a few times I probably should have told them to take me out of a game and I didn't," he said.
Clemens allowed one or no runs over seven innings five times last season without getting a decision. He won his first nine decisions for the Astros and pitched Houston into the postseason by winning his last six decisions. Balloting for the Cy Young award ended before the postseason, but Clemens won twice more for the Astros before taking the loss in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals.
Johnson, 41, led the league in strikeouts with 290, 72 more than the Rocket, and his 2.60 ERA was second-best in the league. In games in which the Diamondbacks scored more than two runs, the Big Unit was 13-2. But pitching for a team that lost 111 games, Johnson's won-loss record was 16-14; no pitcher ever has won the Cy Young with as few as 16 wins over a full season.
Clemens, who will turn 43 next August 4, said here last week that spending more time with his family will enter heavily into his decision whether he retires.
"My mother (Bess) has emphysema," he said. "My father died when I was 9. When I go into the Hall of Fame, I don't want to speak to two empty chairs. I'll already be speaking to one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll still be healthy enough to see that day."
If Clemens returns next season, that would mean another year he'd have to wait before the five-year waiting period for his Hall eligibility expired.
It's possible that he will pitch in a game for the last time tonight here in Osaka, where he is scheduled to take the mound for the major-league all-stars against a team of Japanese stars. Clemens, who pitched last Friday in Tokyo, plans to return to the US after pitching in a game scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Boston time.
"You know what I want to do that I've never done before?" Clemens said. "I want to sit in the stands and watch a game in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. That's on my list of things to do, like playing at Augusta."
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Roger Clemens' trophy case got a little more crowded today.
Clemens, who put off retirement to pitch for the Astros this year, became the first player in baseball history to win seven Cy Young Awards when he was named the winner of the award for 2004.
Clemens, 42, is only the fourth player in history to win a Cy Young in both leagues and is the oldest winner of the award given annually to the league's best pitcher. He won the American League Cy Young with the Boston Red Sox in 1986, 1987 and 1991, with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998 and with the New York Yankees in 2001.
Clemens received 23 out of a possible 32 first-place votes, with eight second-place votes and one third-place vote. Astros righthander Roy Oswalt finished third in the balloting behind Clemens and Arizona’s Randy Johnson and received one vote for first place, three for second and five for third.
Oswalt led the NL with 20 wins, finishing 20-10 with a 3.49 ERA. Teammate Brad Lidge received one third-place vote. The award is voted upon by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Clemens and Oswalt are the first Astros pitchers to finish in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting since Mike Hampton finished second in 1999. Teammates have finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting on numerous occasions, most recently in both 2001 and 2002, when Johnson and Curt Schilling earned the top two slots, respectively, in both years.
Clemens joins Mike Scott (1986) as the only Astros to win the award. Clemens, who's in Japan on a tour with major league All-Stars, went 18-4 this season to lead the NL in winning percentage and ranked sixth in the NL with a 2.98 ERA. He won his first nine decisions of the season and his final six to help the Astros reach the playoffs.
“Roger’s performance and presence had a tremendous impact on the success of the Astros in 2004,” Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. “He is one of the true legends in sports history, and his performance this season was certainly worthy of his seventh Cy Young Award.”
Clemens was named to the All-Star team for the 10th time in his career and started the Midsummer Classic in July at Minute Maid Park. Clemens is the active leader in career wins with 328 and ranks 10th on the MLB career list, one shy of Steve Carlton.
According to the BBWAA, Clemens is the first player in history to capture eight BBWAA awards. He won the AL Most Valuable Player in 1986 to go along with his seven Cy Youngs.
Clemens joins Pedro Martinez (1997 Montreal, 1999 and 2000 Boston), Johnson (1999-2002 Arizona, 1995 Seattle), and Gaylord Perry (1972 Cleveland, 1978 San Diego) as the only four pitchers to win the Cy Young in both leagues. Clemens is the only pitcher to win the Cy Young with as many as four different teams.
Clemens struck out 218 hitters in 2004, marking his 12th career 200-strikeout season and tying him with Johnson for second on the MLB career list (trailing only Nolan Ryan). He threw 214 1/3 innings, the 14th time he has passed the 200-inning barrier in one season. He moved past Carlton and into second on the career strikeout list on May 5, and his 4,317 strikeouts trails only Ryan.
brian.mctaggart@chron.com
Richard Justice: Houston Chronicle Online
CY YOUNG WIN UNLIKELY TO INFLUENCE CLEMENS' DECISION ON '05
QUESTION: Congrats to Roger Clemens and, by extension, the Astros ... Clemens had a fantastic year, perhaps as good a year as any 40-plus pitcher has ever had. Not to mention that he probably should've been at least 22-or-23 and 4, rather than just 18-4. It's not a World Series win, but it does set him up to "go out on top" personally. Will his seventh Cy Young bring Roger closer to retirement or will it simply spur him on to the bigger prize for Houston?
- Jonathan in Baton Rouge
ANSWER: I don't believe it'll have an impact. My colleague, John Lopez, wrote a wonderful column on the topic in today's Chronicle.
I also think it'll be a matter of how the Rocket feels around Christmas. He was spent at the end of the season. His conditioning work takes up so much of his time that I think he'd like some time to do something else.
Still, this game gets a hold of people and won't let go. He may be the best ever, and he still enjoys those days when he goes to the mound. If I were betting, I'd bet that he returns for a 22nd season.
Posted: Nov 9 2004 4:40PM
CLEMENS MAY BE YOUNG, BUT HE'S READY TO WALK AWAY
By Gordon Edes, Boston Globe November 9, 2004
So how does a pitcher who wins an unprecedented seventh Cy Young Award, as Roger Clemens did this afternoon, walk away from the game?
"Easy," Clemens said without hesitation, just hours before receiving a call here informing him he'd won. "Like I said, I was happy last season, but it wasn't fun. I worked real hard."
Hard enough, at age 42, to become the oldest pitcher ever to be honored as the best pitcher in his league.
Clemens, who is here with a team of touring major-league all-stars playing their Japanese counterparts, was called just after 2 a.m. Japan time, according to one of his agents, Jim Murray, by Jack O'Connell, secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, informing him that he has another trophy waiting for him upon his return to his hometown of Houston.
Clemens received 24 first-place votes in easily outdistancing Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks. After calling his wife, Debbie, with the news, he begged off an interview, claiming he needed to get some rest before his scheduled start Wednesday night (4:30 a.m. Boston time) here in the Osaka Dome.
Before taking the bullet train here from Fukuoka ahead of his teammates, who were beating the Japan stars, 7-2, Clemens spoke of the award's significance to him.
"It would mean something to me, to have won (a Cy Young award) for every team that I've ever pitched for," said Clemens, who won three Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox, two for the Toronto Blue Jays, one for the New York Yankees, and is in line to win one for the Astros, the team that coaxed him out of retirement last winter.
Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA, his first sub-3 ERA in six seasons. "I could have had one of my biggest winning seasons ever," he said last night, noting that with a little more run support he could have had 24 or 25 wins. "There were a few times I probably should have told them to take me out of a game and I didn't," he said.
Clemens allowed one or no runs over seven innings five times last season without getting a decision. He won his first nine decisions for the Astros and pitched Houston into the postseason by winning his last six decisions. Balloting for the Cy Young award ended before the postseason, but Clemens won twice more for the Astros before taking the loss in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals.
Johnson, 41, led the league in strikeouts with 290, 72 more than the Rocket, and his 2.60 ERA was second-best in the league. In games in which the Diamondbacks scored more than two runs, the Big Unit was 13-2. But pitching for a team that lost 111 games, Johnson's won-loss record was 16-14; no pitcher ever has won the Cy Young with as few as 16 wins over a full season.
Clemens, who will turn 43 next August 4, said here last week that spending more time with his family will enter heavily into his decision whether he retires.
"My mother (Bess) has emphysema," he said. "My father died when I was 9. When I go into the Hall of Fame, I don't want to speak to two empty chairs. I'll already be speaking to one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll still be healthy enough to see that day."
If Clemens returns next season, that would mean another year he'd have to wait before the five-year waiting period for his Hall eligibility expired.
It's possible that he will pitch in a game for the last time tonight here in Osaka, where he is scheduled to take the mound for the major-league all-stars against a team of Japanese stars. Clemens, who pitched last Friday in Tokyo, plans to return to the US after pitching in a game scheduled to begin at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Boston time.
"You know what I want to do that I've never done before?" Clemens said. "I want to sit in the stands and watch a game in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. That's on my list of things to do, like playing at Augusta."
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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