Sox have a new, minor Clemens connection

Roger Clemens worked with son Koby (right) in spring training; he'll be at many of the Astro farmhand's games in 2008. (File/Scott Audette/Reuters)

The Red Sox organization is affiliated with a Clemens again.

Not Roger, but Koby.

On April 4, Roger Clemens's son drove in the first run of the season for the Salem (Va.) Avalanche, for whom he's the starting catcher. The Avalanche, an advanced Single A affiliate in the Carolina League, are owned by Fenway Sports Group, a business subsidiary of the Red Sox. It's the group's first venture into minor league baseball.

The Avalanche will continue as a Houston Astros affiliate for the remainder of the season, but they will be a Boston affiliate in 2009. The other local tie is that Boston businessman Joe O'Donnell, who once was a bidder to buy the Red Sox, is the stadium's concessionaire.

Roger Clemens and the entire clan were on hand to watch the Avalanche home opener, the first official game of Fenway Sports Group ownership, against the Potomac Nationals. According to FSG president Mike Dee, Clemens has purchased a suite for the season at the 6,300-seat stadium and will be at most home games.

"Right there on the lineup card - Koby Clemens, starting catcher," said Dee. "So Roger and the family were at the game. He couldn't have been better. He was so gracious, low-key. He was walking all around the place, bought a bunch of jerseys in the store. Unannounced, he signed autographs for the fans. He was just a regular guy, just wanted to fit in.

"He hasn't asked for any special things. He asked for a suite and was more than happy to take care of it [at $250 per night]. He's nothing more than a proud dad who is trying to watch his kid become a major leaguer.

"And then Koby drives in the first run of our ownership."

Dee said Clemens has an apartment in Salem where Koby stays, "and he's told our guys he plans to be there quite a bit. This is the last year of the Astros affiliation, so next year we're going to move our Lancaster, Calif., A ball team over there and this will be a Red Sox team."

Dee said he's been told the Astros plan to keep Koby Clemens at Salem all season. He also said Roger Clemens rented out a local sports bar so the Avalanche front office, players, and families could watch the Kansas-Memphis NCAA championship basketball game.

"Koby gets a lot of attention down there. He seems like a great kid, a pretty normal kid," said Dee. "We have a manager down there with Red Sox roots, Jim Pankovits. He's been the manager there for three seasons, great guy. While he's been a part of the Astros organization, it feels as though we have a vested interest there."

Dee said most of the staff has remained in the final year of Astros affiliation, but he's starting to incorporate more FSG staff into the mix.

"We're in the last year of a lease there," said Dee. "Over the next year, we have a lot of work to do. It's a nice facility.

"It's big for a Single A facility, about 50 percent bigger than what's ideal for a Single A facility. It's harder to sell season tickets because everybody just thinks there's always tickets available, so you depend on walk-up."

Dee hasn't ruled out FSG building a new facility, something a little cozier than Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium.

"That's to be determined," he said. "We're going to sit down at the end of the year and map out our options.

"Salem is a sports-rich city. The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl is held there, the Division 3 championship. The high school football is right out of 'Friday Night Lights.' I spoke to [Boston College football coach] Jeff Jagodzinski the other night and he said he's recruited a lot of high school athletes out of there. It's a great sports town and we hope to stay there."

Dee said the "Avalanche" will become the "Red Sox" next season.

"We'll have a new look, a new brand, so this is kind of our transition year," he said. "It was fun for me to go down there and spend some time. Just watching the kids and the work ethic in the kids, the coaches during BP and infield. It gives you a better sense of context with the major league level, I think.

"There's a lot of talent on that field, and only about four or five guys will make it to the big leagues. You realize how hard it is to make it to that level."

Dee said the genesis of buying the team was when the Red Sox were "unceremoniously dumped" by Wilmington, Del.

"We had to scramble for a California League affiliation, and that's not ideal given the geography," he said. "We got into this by accident, but it might end up being a good business move. We'll see how this one goes and keep our eyes open."

Roger Clemens watching their team for the rest of the season is what's called "fall-in-your-lap" marketing. And FSG will take that every day.