Wake Up With Roger Clemens Coming Out Of Retirement To Throw 7 Shutout Innings For The Astros (2004)
I guess we should’ve kinda known when he came out of retirement at the age of 41 and carved up a Giants lineup that was in the World Series two years prior that also featured a roided out Barry Bonds who had a laugh out loud OPS of 1.422 that year at the age of 39. If you’ve read me before, then you know that I’m a pro-steroid guy. I’d put both Roger Clemens and Bonds in the Hall of Fame in a heartbeat. One of the biggest reasons why is because of games like this.
Sure, Clemens was probably (definitely) on some shit at this stage of his career, but he was also facing guys who were on some shit as well, and proceeded to throw seven shutout innings with one hit and nine strikeouts. Clemens threw 214.1 innings in 2004, went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA and struck out 218 batters to win his seventh and final Cy Young award. You could make a case that he was even better the following year in his age-42 season when he won the ERA title with a 1.87 ERA, while leading the league in ERA+ (226), FIP (2.87), and hits per nine innings (6.4).