The Rocket Man Fizzles Out

"Brian McNamee? Um, who?"

To almost no one's surprise, the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame induction class was announced and Roger Clemens wasn't on the list. Along with Barry Bonds, Clemens has served as the poster-boy for the Steroid Era in baseball. Neither superstar had been able to crack the 75% barrier over the past 10 years, and with this last ballot, both fall short.

Much has been written over the years about Clemens, Bonds, steroids and the Hall. But this year, their last year of eligibility, has seen a slew of articles lamenting other writers' collective stance on accused steroid users. One even wrote that it would be a failure of the Hall of Fame if Bonds wasn't inducted.

But I'm not here to talk about Bonds. This is a Clemens story. Specifically, a story about how the voters got it right. That while Roger Clemens was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball in the late '80s, by 1996 his skills had diminished.

In order to put everything into perspective, one first needs to understand just how dominant Clemens was in his prime. Here are some of the mind-blowing stats Clemens put up between 1986 and 1992:

• Three Cy Young awards
• 2.66 ERA
• 1.09 WHIP
• 136-63 record (.683 win %)
• Averaged 257 IP and 239 K's
• Led the AL in ERA four times
• Led the AL in K's twice

But starting in 1993, the Rocket began to fade. To be clear: this wasn't a blip or an aberration. This was a steady and consistent decline from the level of excellence he'd established. From' 93 to '96, Clemens was no longer the best pitcher in baseball:

• ERA jumped more than a full run to 3.77
• WHIP rose to 1.29
• Two losing seasons, and a record of 40-39
• Averaged only 186 IP, over a 70-inning drop

By the end of the '96 season, fans were wondering if Clemens had pitched his last game in Boston. He had. But then a funny thing happened. Roger Clemens, age 31 and trending downward, got better. And not just a little better.

In his two seasons in Toronto, Clemens was even more dominant than he was in Boston. Back-to-back Cy Young awards. Leading the league in Wins, ERA and strikeouts. Almost 500 innings pitched in just two seasons. It was a remarkable turnaround. But eventually, we all understood how it had happened. 

Roger Clemens had pitched 13 seasons in the major leagues by 1996, and had won 192 games and three Cy Young awards. Assuming his continued decline, Clemens would have been lucky to hang around for 4 or 5 more seasons and rack up perhaps another 50 wins. It's entirely possible that his resume -- 240 wins, the Cy Youngs, that truly dominant 7-year stretch -- might have been enough to earn a ticket to Cooperstown. But we'll never know. 

Instead, Clemens employed a steroid and PED regimen that turned him into the Barry Bonds of pitching: an other-worldly presence who defied not only age, but explanation. Until the truth came out, and the Baseball Writers decided that cheaters don't belong in the Hall. In the end, Clemens only has himself to blame.