Roger Clemens is set to add one of the country’s most prestigious honors to an already remarkable résumé.
The former Yankees star and two-time World Series champion learned Wednesday that he will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. President Donald Trump made the announcement while introducing Clemens at a rally in San Antonio, Texas.
“We’re giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump told the crowd.
The surprise announcement appeared to catch Clemens off guard. The 11-time All-Star and seven-time Cy Young Award winner was visibly stunned as he addressed the audience.
“Well, I’m stunned, number one,” Clemens said. “And again, 24 years, y’all. This supersedes anything that, obviously, I’ve done in my playing career. And to get it from this man, this president, there wouldn’t be another president I’d want to get [it] from.”
Known as “The Rocket,” the Texas native spent 24 seasons in Major League Baseball. He opened his career with 13 seasons for the Red Sox, then pitched two years with the Blue Jays before joining the Yankees for five seasons. Clemens later played two seasons in Houston and returned to New York for a final campaign in 2007 at age 44.
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His decorated career included the 1986 American League MVP Award and two pitching Triple Crowns, which he captured in 1997 and 1998.
Trump praised Clemens, who ranks ninth in MLB history with 354 career victories, calling him “maybe the greatest pitcher of all time.”
Despite his extraordinary numbers, Clemens has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His candidacy was overshadowed by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use after his name appeared 82 times in the 2007 Mitchell Report. Clemens has never tested positive for the banned substance.
He received no more than 61.6 percent of the vote from Baseball Hall of Fame writers, falling short of the 75 percent required for induction into Cooperstown. Clemens remains eligible for consideration through the Today’s Game Committee.
Should Clemens eventually earn a place in Cooperstown, he would join a distinctive group of Baseball Hall of Famers who have also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That list includes Babe Ruth, Vin Scully, Yogi Berra, Ernie Banks, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Mariano Rivera and Joe DiMaggio.
Trump has presented the nation’s highest civilian honor to several other sports figures during his presidential terms, including Ruth and Rivera, along with Tiger Woods, Roger Staubach, Jerry West and Connor Hellebuyck, who was recognized after helping Canada win Olympic hockey gold in February.
