 "Photo: Jacqueline Walker")
ROUND ROCK - Someone ought to give Roger Clemens a call - namely his former Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox teammates.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner isn't sure if or where he will pitch this season, but the decision may come down to who's on the other end of the line.
"If somebody makes a phone call, and I think I can do it again physically, I probably could," the former Texas Longhorn said Saturday after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the school's alumni game at the Dell Diamond.
"The only reason why I'd continued to play was because of my teammates calling me," he said. "Guys made the phone call to get me back out of the house to play."
Clemens, 44, is one of baseball's hottest free agents and is expected to either return to Houston or head East to the Yankees or Red Sox if he continues his 23-year pitching career.
He's played for all three teams before. Boston drafted Clemens in 1983, and he played there until 1996. He became a Yankee in 1999 and stayed in New York for five seasons before going to Houston in 2004, where he's been ever since.
But if the Rocket plays for any of those teams this year, it likely won't be until mid-summer.
The last time Clemens was on the mound at the Dell Diamond he was in an Express uniform, completing the final leg of his three-stop tune-up before his June 22 Astros debut last season. Clemens ended with a 7-6 record.
Any potential action this season will likely begin on a delayed schedule too.
"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I'll make that decision when it comes," Clemens said. "I'm in good shape, but I'm nowhere near baseball shape. Mentally, it's going to be another challenge for me."
But while the baseball world waits to hear anything concrete from the Rocket, he is living his life outside of the Major Leagues. Baseball is still a big part of his life though.
"Right now, I'm enjoying working with the younger kids," Clemens said. "We've got in Houston our elite camp on Monday and Tuesday, so that'll be fun."
One thing that may cast a shadow over the event is the recent hospitalization of Hall of Famer and former Astro Nolan Ryan for symptoms of a pre-existing condition, though he was released over the weekend.
"Nolan's usually a part of this event, but we've got to find out how Nolan's doing," Clemens said. "We've just got little bits and pieces like everybody else on what happened."
Ryan was admitted to a local hospital on Friday, just a few miles away from where Clemens gave the fans at Dell Diamond a treat and the 2007 Longhorns some encouragement.
"I just wished them good luck and health. Obviously, they know that what they do, we're all watching. So it's real important that they get off to a good start," Clemens said. "To finally have an opportunity to get back here to the [alumni] game is a lot of fun for me."
Having fun and helping younger ball players, that's what the Rocket's doing these days.
At least until his phone starts ringing.
Be the first to comment on this article!