Morning sports update: Roger Clemens on his Hall of Fame candidacy: ‘I did it the right way’
Carlos Correa’s two-run homer lifted the Astros over the Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night. Drew Pomeranz allowed six hits and four runs in five innings for Boston.
Roger Clemens on his Hall of Fame candidacy: ‘I did it the right way’
Roger Clemens was in the broadcast booth on Thursday as the Red Sox took on the Astros, but his most notable comment of the day came during an afternoon appearance on WEEI’s Dale & Keefe Show.
The former Red Sox hurler, who won seven Cy Young awards in 24 major-league seasons, addressed his candidacy for Cooperstown.
“I appreciate the guys who vote for me, who look at the facts and do all that stuff. That’s great,” Clemens said. “That’s not going to change me as a person and who I am. I did it right. I did it the right way. The Hall of Fame is not going to change me as a person. I love the game of baseball. I love dealing with the guys who are trying to make their way to the big leagues. That’s all I have.”
Clemens received 57.3 percent in the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame voting, shy of the 75 percent necessary for induction. The total was a marked improvement from his first year on the ballot, when he picked up 37.6 percent in 2013. He has four more chances to get in before his 10 years of eligibility run out.
Clemens’s numbers (two World Series rings, 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts) are clearly Hall of Fame caliber. Links to the Mitchell Report and the Steroid Era are keeping him out, which he appears to counter with his “I did it the right way” quote.
When asked which current Red Sox he was most excited to watch against the Astros, Clemens chose a fellow fire-baller.
“I’ll tell you what, still one of my favorites of all is Joe Kelly out of the bullpen,” he said. “I’d love to see him as a starter. Joe Kelly, his stuff is electric, man. I love this guy. I love the way — he actually closes up a little bit when he delivers the baseball to home plate, so it makes it very difficult on right-handers. His stuff is superior out of the bullpen. I just love it when he comes in the game to watch him go to work.”
What LeBron James had to say after a wild Game 1 of the NBA Finals: James had 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists for the Cavaliers in the series opener, but his performance was not enough to carry Cleveland past the Golden State Warriors. Asked about a critical blunder by J.R. Smith in the final seconds of regulation, James refused to speculate on his teammate’s thought process.
“I don’t know what J.R. was thinking,” he said. (Boston.com)
Patriots among teams who employed noncheering cheerleaders tasked with charming fans: The Patriots were among several NFL teams who hired an alternate cheerleading team, who did not do any cheering but mingled with fans in the stands or in luxury suites. Women who worked for the noncheering squads described minimum-wage jobs in which harassment and groping were common. (Boston.com)
How the Patriots responded to being called ‘no fun’: The Patriots disputed the notion that they are not enjoying themselves in Foxborough. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower acknowledged “it’s not for everybody,” but said that “we have fun, whether it’s out here struggling together – blood, sweat, and tears – or we’re back in the locker room or we’re hanging out outside of football.” (Boston.com)
Daily highlight:
Steph Curry showed off his range to beat the halftime buzzer in the #KiaTopPlay of the night! #DubNation pic.twitter.com/wN5WOqqY1p
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2018
