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Clemens 'heartbroken' by snub
As Yankee hero after Yankee hero jogged out onto the field Sunday night prior to the final game at Yankee Stadium to cheers of a capacity crowd, Roger Clemens sat at home in hurricane-ravaged Texas, in front of a battery-operated television on his living room couch, "heartbroken" according to a family member.
According to the New York Daily News, the Yankees did not invite Clemens to the festivities for fears that boos would spoil the enthusiasm of a memorable night. Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, but he is also the target of a federal perjury investigation, and the Yankee brass made no mention of him during Sunday's celebration because they did not know how fans would respond.
"They didn't want boos to be the last memory of Roger at the Stadium," a source familiar with preparations for the last game told the Daily News.
According to the New York Post, Clemens watched the ceremonies clutching wife Debbie's hand on one side and mother-in-law Jan Wild's on the other. Clemens tuned in to his final team's last home game hoping for some recognition for helping win two World Series titles, Wild said.
When the team played the video celebrating its greatest players at every position, the steroid-scandal-scarred Clemens was nowhere to be seen.
"Debbie and I held his hand while we watched the game, and he was heartbroken," said Wild, 70. "Not mad. He still loves baseball and the Yankees, but it was sad what they did to him."
Even Chuck Knoblauch — who was also named in the scathing Mitchell Report on steroids — was acknowledged on the big screen, hailed as the second baseman of the 1990s. Fellow steroid targets Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi were at the Stadium in uniform for the Yankees. Those players, however, have admitted and apologized for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens has maintained his innocence since he was identified as a steroid user in the Mitchell Report last December. In January, he filed a defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee, the trainer who said he injected the Rocket with steroids and human growth hormone. But the past nine months have been a public relations disaster for the pitcher. The Daily News reported earlier this year that Clemens, a married man with four sons, had a long-term affair with country singer Mindy McCready and romantic relationships with other women. The News also reported that McNamee had injected Clemens' wife Debbie with HGH.
Source: Yahoo Sports
According to the New York Daily News, the Yankees did not invite Clemens to the festivities for fears that boos would spoil the enthusiasm of a memorable night. Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, but he is also the target of a federal perjury investigation, and the Yankee brass made no mention of him during Sunday's celebration because they did not know how fans would respond.
"They didn't want boos to be the last memory of Roger at the Stadium," a source familiar with preparations for the last game told the Daily News.
According to the New York Post, Clemens watched the ceremonies clutching wife Debbie's hand on one side and mother-in-law Jan Wild's on the other. Clemens tuned in to his final team's last home game hoping for some recognition for helping win two World Series titles, Wild said.
When the team played the video celebrating its greatest players at every position, the steroid-scandal-scarred Clemens was nowhere to be seen.
"Debbie and I held his hand while we watched the game, and he was heartbroken," said Wild, 70. "Not mad. He still loves baseball and the Yankees, but it was sad what they did to him."
Even Chuck Knoblauch — who was also named in the scathing Mitchell Report on steroids — was acknowledged on the big screen, hailed as the second baseman of the 1990s. Fellow steroid targets Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi were at the Stadium in uniform for the Yankees. Those players, however, have admitted and apologized for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens has maintained his innocence since he was identified as a steroid user in the Mitchell Report last December. In January, he filed a defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee, the trainer who said he injected the Rocket with steroids and human growth hormone. But the past nine months have been a public relations disaster for the pitcher. The Daily News reported earlier this year that Clemens, a married man with four sons, had a long-term affair with country singer Mindy McCready and romantic relationships with other women. The News also reported that McNamee had injected Clemens' wife Debbie with HGH.
Source: Yahoo Sports