Roger Clemens

From Stat Geek Baseball's, the Best Ever Book.

As Clemens pitched throughout his career, it was pretty much acknowledged that you were witnessing one of the games best pitchers, right up there with Young and Walter Johnson. Most thought of him as a notch above Maddux, particularly because he could dominate a game with the strikeout in a way Maddux could not, plus he was considered a better big game pitcher. And he certainly was up there in class. Now, we once again don't know if or how the PED allegations of recent years affect those thoughts; they certainly don't add to the luster. For some reason, we don't think Clemens will suffer the demotions as much as Bonds might when the full blush of the era is in better view, but that's only a perception way on the outside of the actual facts. But with the career that we know about and the seasons and stats that are in clear view, Clemens ranks at the #3 Pitcher of All-Time for his career.

Let's answer the question right up front. Why is Clemens Category Rank ranked below his contemporary on the mound, Greg Maddux? It's really pretty easy; he was less durable. They pitched during the same years with Clemens beginning his career only two years earlier and stopping one year before, but Maddux pitched more innings despite a career that was solely within the National League where the manager had IP 4916.7 16 to pinch hit for the pitcher in close games. Now, Maddux did not get pinch hit for as much as some; he was a fine hitter, but if you look down the list of seasons, you'll see why Clemens fell short in that regard, logging five seasons below 200 innings from the age of 24-40. Maddux had only one. Clemens had four seasons, 1993, 1995, 1999, and 2002, when his PEVA Pitching rating fell below 10.000; Maddux had none. So while Clemens may have been the pitcher you'd select for that one game; Maddux took the ball more often and won the game he took it in. There's not a whole lot to choose between the two in rate stats; the 10.55 vs. 10.34 for Clemens in WHIP9 probably better considering the league differentials with the same acknowledgment for the ERA (in Roger's favor anyway), and Roger's prowess did not wane in his final years quite as much, although there might be a reason why.