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Roger Clemens, Open Championship Preview With Shane Bacon, Spain To The WC Final, MLB All Star Week + Mt Rushmore Of Stores/Restaurants You Could Live In
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Roger Clemens Interview
At 2:07:03 · chapter starts 1:14:27
Roger Clemens walks into the room, introduces himself as 'The Rocket,' and immediately establishes the tone for what becomes one of the richest baseball interviews in Pardon My Take history. He opens by joking about naming all four sons with the letter K despite them all being hitters, then provides detailed insight into how he called his own pitches — approximately 95% from the mound using subtle physical tells, including hitching his pants to signal his splitter, a secret nobody ever cracked across his 24-year career [1] — Roger Clemens "Clemens called 95% of his pitches himself — and his tell for the splitter was simply hitching his pants. Nobody ever cracked it. He also ca…" 2:12:30 . He dives into pitch-tipping detection, explaining how he caught one pitcher showing his teeth when throwing a changeup, and how two inches of exposed skin on a different sleeve betrayed his own splitter early in his career. The Piazza bat incident is given full treatment [2] — Roger Clemens "Clemens says the bat broke in four pieces, bounced directly into his hands on the mound, and he instinctively threw it — not at Piazza, but…" 2:14:00 : the bat shattered into four pieces, bounced directly into his hands with perfect fielding form, and he threw it instinctively toward the on-deck circle — not at Piazza. He shares a hilarious Steinbrenner story about the owner spontaneously lying down on a loaded hamstring machine in Clemens' home gym during a recruiting visit, nearly shaking a light fixture loose and frightening everyone downstairs [3] — Roger Clemens "Clemens says he quit caring after year one of being eligible, because you have no control over it. He played to change his family's financi…" 2:21:25 . His 2007 Yankees comeback at 45 is recounted with full drama — the surprise Yankee Stadium announcement he never wanted, the car still running in the parking lot as he left for Tampa. He closes with genuine emotion: his mother working three jobs in Houston so he could have good cleats, passing away during the 2005 World Series while he chose to drive two hours and pitch, and a measured perspective on Hall of Fame exclusion — he played to change his family's life and win championships, not for Cooperstown.
Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards over his 24-year MLB career, more than any pitcher in history.
Clemens struck out 20 batters in a single game twice in his career, with his second 20-K game occurring in his second-to-last start with the Red Sox.
BetterHelp's 2026 State of Stigma report found 85% of Americans think getting mental health support is wise, yet 74% say society discourages people from seeking it.
