Roger Clemens Pitched in the Negro Leagues in the 40's and 50's! (700 hits)
Category: SportsRating: -2 on 2 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <RCChristi.at.msn.com> (View user info) at 2004-11-09 22:22:06 EST
One of my few new-found haters here at Ubersite has posted a disclaimer
to a story he wrote about the Red Sox. 'This is not a baseball post,' he
declares, as if a baseball post would be a bad thing. The piece was
actually a baseball post, 'not that there's anything wrong with that.'
Today Roger Clemens won his 7th Cy Young Award. He's been pitching
forever. Tangled in the mix with the humorous disclaimer 'This is not a
baseball post,' a story emerges today in celebration of all these
components. I call it 'Roger Clemens Pitched In The Negro Leagues In The
40's and 50's!'
May I just say before I begin, 'This is not a baseball post.'
Roger Clemens Pitched In The Negro Leagues In The 40's and 50's!
Baseball legend Roger Clemens is much older than his stated age of 42,
according to his own accounts of life in a different time and place. A
thoughtful inquiry and surprisingly open response reveal that Clemens was
a pitcher in the Negro Baseball Leagues during the 1940's and '50's.
"It's true," Clemens admitted when confronted by a sportswriter who had
posed the question very carefully to avoid making it seem like an accusation.
"I was known as 'Al Jolson' Clemens or 'Bo jangles' among other names in the
Black circuit."
Clemens had the audacity to intentionally bean Ted Williams in a 1941 spring
training game. Thus, Clemens was banned for life from Major League Baseball
before his career had even begun. The despondent pitcher met as quick as his
high heat with Negro Leagues executive Gus Greenlee and Kansas City Monarchs
manager Buck O'Neill. Initially considered a hardship case because technically
he's Caucasian, Clemens turned heads at his tryout with a fastball that appeared
to the naked eye to top 100 MPH. He was warmly welcomed into the Negro Leagues
and spent his first two seasons with O'Neill's Monarchs.
An amusing effect to Clemens' appearance on the mound in blackface was the
deceptive comic relief - - no pun intended, especially since he was exclusively
a starting pitcher - - he provided during a masterful performance, of which he
had many. Clemens earned numerous honors, including 1941 Rookie of the Year and
seven years' worth of Best Pitcher.
Clemens had his share of embarrassing moments, too. For example, Lester
Lockett hit a 500-foot home run off 'Blackjack' Clemens. James 'Cool Papa' Bell
once hit a towering popup in a dense fog off Clemens and circled the bases before
the ball was found - - in fair territory on the infield grass. That was a
forty-foot home run.
When asked to identify his fondest memories of the Negro Leagues, Clemens
said that earning 1942 World Series MVP honors as a Monarch topped the list,
even though he won similar accolades the following season as a Homestead Gray.
"I also remember the first time I received a warning for throwing at someone,"
Clemens explained.
"The ump pointed and screamed at me," Clemens continued, "yet the piece of
broken bat I threw had barely made the runner flinch."
Clemens announced his retirement after the 1948 season because the heyday
of the Negro Leagues had passed. However, he resurfaced with the Chicago
American Giants in 1949 and continued pitching until the total demise of the
Negro Leagues in 1960.
"I had a great time as a Negro ballplayer in segregated America," Clemens
recollected. "Getting on the team bus was a hoot because the white folks never
knew which players to force to sit in the back." And he grinned his bread-and-
butter-faced Texas grin.
Roger Clemens was inducted into the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame in 1966.
Visitors signing the guest book at Clemens' HOF shrine in Kansas City receive
a free bottle of Clemens Classic Barbecue Sauce, its label resplendent with his
smiling and youthful image in blackface that he wore so well such a long time ago.
The sauce is not available in stores.
Major League Baseball lifted its lifetime ban against Clemens in the early
1980's at which time he revived his career. He recently won his seventh Cy Young
award.
"The way I feel, I feel I can pitch forever - - again," Clemens said
enthusiastically.
User Reviews
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2004-11-10 08:22:37 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
What the ghey?
baseball is like cricket for retards.
Submitted by Lechuga (user info) at 2004-11-10 01:10:46 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by rcchristi (user info) at 2004-11-09 21:05:27 (#)
Ranking: 0
Does anyone pay you to write? You spend a lot of time doing it. I can't
critique your stuff except to note that you're prolific.
If I'm so prolific, why did you give me a 0?
And what the hell are you talking about, that post was about getting arrested, and getting blindly led home. The reason I don't like you is because you've posted nothing worth reading. This post wasn't even creative, it was just dumb. Again, the post was truncated incorrectly, making it very annoying to read, again. And learn how to rate.