At Home Plate - Clemens v. McNamee

At Home Plate

Written by Mike Chiari (Contact & Archive) on January 18, 2008

Since the release of the Mitchell Report on December 13th, there’s been no more over analyzed story line than the relationship between legendary pitcher Roger Clemens and his ex-trainer Brian McNamee. A substantial portion of the 409 page report highlighted, in detail, the connection between McNamee, Clemens, and Clemens’ Yankee teammate and friend Andy Pettitte. It was alleged that McNamee provided Clemens with steroids, amphetamines, and human growth hormone, as well as injected him, between 1998 and 2001. As if Clemens’ back wasn’t already against the wall following the release of the Mitchell Report, Andy Pettitte admitted to the use of human growth hormone while rehabilitating an elbow injury during the 2002 season. Any defense Clemens had prepared for himself by this point, was unlikely to be taken seriously.

Amidst an ever growing cloud of doubt, Clemens maintained that he had never used any type of performance enhancing drug. In a room full of Hall of Fame voters, Clemens denounced the Hall and said, “You keep your vote.” This was the first sign that maybe, just maybe Clemens could be telling the truth. For him to dismiss baseball immortality so nonchalantly, there had to be a shred of doubt about McNamee’s allegations. Furthermore, Clemens participated in a 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace. When asked if McNamee had ever injected him with anything Clemens responded by saying, “Yes, Lidocaine and B12,“ Lidocaine being a legal painkiller and B12 being a legal vitamin shot. It seemed as though Clemens did nothing but help his cause during the course of the interview. The one thing, however, that Clemens did that all of the other accused failed to do, was file a defamation lawsuit. It’s been said over the last few years that the likes of Bonds, or Sosa, or McGwire had to be guilty of the use of some sort of performance enhancer for the simple fact that they never sued their accusers. It would seem to be a natural reaction to sue somebody for spreading potentially harmful rumors about them. Clemens lawsuit against McNamee was certainly a big step in the right direction. Much of this momentum, however, was destroyed following a taped phone conversation between Clemens and McNamee.

While in a room with his lawyers, Clemens placed a phone call to Brian McNamee on January 4th. Unbeknownst to McNamee the conversation was being taped, as under New York and Texas state law, there must be consent from only one party to tape a phone conversation. McNamee seemed to handle himself quite well during the conversation, saying all the right things. Clemens repeatedly asked McNamee to tell the truth and asked him why he had lied. Had McNamee in fact been lying, he easily could have admitted it to Clemens, but he didn’t. McNamee also left the door wide open for Clemens as 21 times during the conversation he asked Clemens, ‘What do you want me to do?” I’m sure at this point Clemens wanted to tell McNamee to clear his name at any cost, but Clemens refrained because he could have been found guilty of coercing the defendant. McNamee further proved his intentions when he explained that he’d been, “Offered seven figures to go on TV,” but didn’t do it.By the end of the 17 minutes conversation Clemens certainly hadn’t helped his cause.

At this point it would seem that it’s most likely that McNamee is telling the truth. He’s really gained nothing for himself by making the controversy public, and honestly how many pitchers are just entering their prime at age 35 when most are breaking down by then. We all know that Clemens is a superior talent, one of the greatest of all time. The question remains, did he need some extra help in order to achieve his incredible longevity? By the time this is all said and done, it’s very likely that we still won’t know the truth. Regardless of this controversy, Clemens still deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame, but as with Bonds and McGwire, there will always be a stigma of steroids no matter how little proof there is.

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