Roger Clemens is one of the most decorated and the most respected pitchers of all-time. Unfortunately, his name was connected to the steroid scandal of his era. It is an unfortunate occurrence because, in my mind, he is without a doubt the best pitcher of the '90s and early '00s.
In my esteem, he holds the same place as Barry Bonds. With the revelation of steroids, I no longer feel I can compare him outside of his time. By being connected to this issue, he is now only comparable within a certain time frame, and that time frame is the steroids era. Had he not been connected to this issue, he would hold a place with all the greats of the game, and his numbers in such an offense-centered time, would without a doubt have placed him in contention for the greatest of all-time. At this point, however, I must take a step back and in realizing that he is a byproduct of the science of this time, he doesn't deserve comparison to the greats of the 20's and the like. His connection to the discussion of HGH and the like has already tainted his name in a comparison with the greats, however, he still holds a place as the greatest of his time, just as Bonds does. He dominated the mound and the batter's box well into his 40s. In a time when the homerun is king, he did his best on the mound to be truly great. This era will be remembered for the new homerun king and the prolific power years, but he stands out as one of the greatest pitchers of all the players to come from this time.
The question of whether or not he took steroids is a completely separate issue. I fail to trust Brian Mcnamee so at this point, I do not believe he took steroids. Mcnamee's past includes troubles with the law and perjury in criminal cases. I find that this tarnishes his reputation and the amount of trust I place in his word. In addition, Clemens' phone conversation revealed to me that he did not really have a strong conviction in what he believed happened in those locker rooms. However, reporters like CBS's Mike Wallace are right when questioning what Mcnamee actually has to gain from leaking his name, and saying that it is possible he is only doing this to clear his conscience, in which case, Clemens is the liar. From what I know of the case, I don't think Clemens has taken steroids, but there is always room and time for shocking revelations.
