* RK Review: The Rocket That Fell to Earth

March 27, 2009

Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality, by Jeff Pearlman. Harper, 2009.

Over the last several years, almost every baseball fan — and a lot of non-fans as well — have felt a sense of betrayal. Their heroes have feet of clay; the emperor has no clothes. What makes the situation all the more sad is how  these athletes stick to their guns and deny, deny, deny in the face of what many would consider overwhelming evidence.

Roger Clemens is one of these people. Named by Brian McNamee, listed in the Mitchell Report, he has maintained his innocence, going on programs such as 60 Minutes to bring his case to America. Was it just an extention of his iron-clad will to succeed and to be in the spotlight?

Pearlman’s new bio depicts Clemens as man desperate to hold on to glory as long as possible, willing to sacrifice health, family, friendship, even the adoration of the crowd, to be, to use a phrase, “the best there ever was.” Reading inconsistencies in Clemens’ statements about his background, the author turned detective to prove some of these homespun notions false.

It is a sad tale; the reader knows how it turns out. As the pages wind through his childhood, college and minor league  career, and his rise to stardom, the pages flow faster and faster to the inevitable present (we have yet to see what his ultimate fate will be; Pearlman believes jail time is just a matter of time).

There is no doubt Clemens was a marvel when it came to preparation, throwing himself into extreme workouts even before the drug allegations were made public. Was he too single-minded in his pursuit of excellence? The answer depends on the individual’s point of view. Was Clemens’ decision to take his start on the day his wife, Debbie, was giving birth the height of selfishness or professionalism?  The same could be said when he took the mound after his beloved mother, Bess, died; but wasn’t Brett Favre hailed for playing in a Monday night game after his father passed away?

Pearlman — a columnist for SI.com and former Sports Illustrated senior writer whose previous books include The Bad Guys Won, a study of the 1986 New York Mets, and Love Me, Hate Me, a Barry Bonds biograpohy  — points to many instances where Clemens went off the deep end, perhaps none more infamous than the “splintered bat-throwing” incident against Mike Piazza in the 2000 Subway Series against the Mets. In light of the steroid and other drug accusations, many such events have been retroactively attributed to “the rage.” but it seems Clemens’ intensity predates the use of pharmaceuticals.

The whole story is a melodrama: poor, unathletic boy overcomes humble beginings, becomes a superstar, takes everything for granted, and falls mightily. It would be interesting to get a psychologist’s take on the book. In the meantime, Pearlman has afforded us the opportunity to take a peek inside Clemens’ head for ourselves. Like a car wreck, it’s hard to turn away.

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