Red Sox: What if Roger Clemens never left in free agency?
Roger Clemens in Toronto
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After signing a 4-year, $40 million contract before the 1997 season, one couldn’t blame a mid 30’s pitcher from chasing a chance at the title and that’s just what he did. The Blue Jays won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.
Clemens did amazing work in Toronto, posting back-to-back Cy Young seasons, winning 20 games each year. 20 wins in a season is no easy task. He looked like a fresh kid in the league after posting average numbers in 1996 with the Sox.
In 1997, Clemens went 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA and had 292 strike outs in 264 innings pitched with nine complete games and three shut outs. He won the Triple Crown in pitchers categories for the first time in his career. How did he follow that season up, since it’d be difficult to replicate those numbers right? No one could win the Triple Crown twice in a row. Wrong.
Clemens did it again when he posted a 20-6 record with a 2.65 ERA and recorded 271 strikeouts in 234 2/3 innings pitched. He led the league in all three major pitching categories again winning his second straight Cy Young Award in Toronto giving him five now in his career.
Clemens’ Numbers in Toronto
Seasons – 2
ERA – 2.33
Wins – 41
Losses – 13
Innings Pitched – 498 2/3
Strike Outs – 563
Complete Games – 14
Shut Outs – 6
After his second year, another American League team came knocking and for the third time in less than four years, Clemens found himself playing for his third team in the American League East. Everyone remembers who he went to play for after 1998.