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President Donald Trump went to bat for legendary pitcher Roger Clemens one last time as the Era Committee will reveal who else will make the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Clemens is on the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot. Officials on the committee focus on players who have made primary contributions to the game since 1980. Clemens failed to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame through the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot.
The former New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox star is on the ballot with Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. Each voter on the 16-person committee can select up to three candidates, who will need 75% of the vote to get into Cooperstown.
Trump backed Clemens in posts on Truth Social.
“Roger Clemens, who won 354 games, went through his own Witch Hunt. HE WAS ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES!!! If he doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame, he should sue the hell out of Major League Baseball!” Trump wrote.
“It was the Obama DOJ (of course!) that viciously went after the great Roger Clemens. ROGER WAS FULLY ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES!!!”
Clemens fell short in 2022, receiving only 65.2% of the vote. He last pitched in an MLB game in 2007 during his second stint with the Yankees.
In 2008, Clemens found himself embroiled in a federal investigation into the suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by several prominent major league players. Clemens testified before Congress that he did not take PEDs and was acquitted of the federal charge of lying to Congress.
Trump also spoke in favor of Clemens getting into the Hall of Fame on Saturday.
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“The Baseball Hall of Fame Committee is voting on admitting new Members TOMORROW, and these highly respected owners, executives, writers, and, most importantly, Hall of Famers, should do the right thing by finally putting Roger Clemens, known as ‘The Rocket,’ in the Hall! Roger is clearly one of the Greatest Pitchers of All Time, with amazing achievements that include winning 354 Games, seven Cy Young Awards (A Record, by a lot!), and playing in six World Series, winning two,” Trump wrote.
“’The Rocket’ is second only to another All Time GREAT, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, in most strike-outs. Roger Clemens is the only pitcher who has won 300 games to not have the honor of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is a total travesty! The only reason he is not is because of rumors and innuendo, which were not proven. He never tested positive and, when the Obama DOJ went after him in a criminal case claiming that he did take steroids, Roger, who has always denied taking any drugs, was FULLY ACQUITTED OF ALL CHARGES. ‘The Rocket,’ a nickname he earned very early in his career because of his blazing fastball, was just as dominant before those erroneous allegations were leveled against him. I sincerely hope that the Committee uses its great judgment (Roger’s opponents never proved a thing against him, and he may have the best pitching record, all told, in the History of Baseball!), and the Baseball Commissioner has the Strength, Wisdom, and Power to do the right thing, and put Roger Clemens in The Baseball Hall of Fame, IMMEDIATELY! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Clemens finished his career with 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts and two World Series championships.
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He won the Cy Young Award seven times. He was an MVP once and received an All-Star nod 11 times.
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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