February 18, 1999: The New York Yankees make a blockbuster trade, sending pitchers David Wells and Graeme Lloyd, who had helped them win the 1996 and 1998 Word Series, and infielder Homer Bush to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Roger Clemens.
In 2 seasons in Pinstripes, Wells had gone 39-14, including the postseason, including a perfect game in the 1998 regular season. And he was popular among Yankee Fans. But he and manager Joe Torre didn't get along, due to Wells' personal habits.
And, while team owner George Steinbrenner had mellowed considerably, every now and then, he still went into "I want it now!" mode. And when it looked like Clemens was available, he told "my baseball people" to go for it. And, given that Clemens was then considered the best pitcher in baseball, rather than lament the loss of Wells, most Yankee Fans approved of the trade, considering it an upgrade. (Bush was a throw-in, never more than a reserve player.)
For the Yankees, Clemens went 83-41, had a 4.01 ERA, struck out 1,014 batters, and helped them win the 1999 and 2000 World Series, and win the 2001 and 2003 American League Pennants before losing the World Series in those seasons. In 2003, in the same game, Clemens notched his 300th career win and his 4,000th strikeout. By that point, the Yankees had re-acquired Wells.
How much performance-enhancing drugs had to do with that has been debated, but he's never been proven to have used them. Indeed, he's the one guy, so far, to ever beat the rap. Nevertheless, his professions of faith have not matched up with the realities of his character – and that hasn't helped his bid for the Baseball Hall of Fame. But now that proven steroid users have gotten in, keeping Clemens out, even if he ends up being proven to have uses, seems ridiculous.
Clemens also has not had his uniform number officially retired by any team. The Boston Red Sox have never reissued his Number 21 since he left, but have not retired it. The Blue Jays have issues Number 21, and the Yankees and the Houston Astros have issued Number 22. Nor has Clemens been honored with a plaque in Monument Park at the new Yankee Stadium. Nor has he been invited back for Old-Timers Day. Wells has, and has accepted and appeared.
For fans of some teams, Clemens is a man they love to hate. For Yankee Fans, Clemens is a man we hate to love. We wouldn't have won those Pennants without him, but we'd rather not admit we ever had him.
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February 18, 1999 was a Thursday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 5 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 98-74 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Houston Rockets, 93-92 in overtime at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors, 95-88 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 99-95 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* And the Utah Jazz beat their arch-rivals, the Denver Nuggets, 97-86 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
And there were 5 games in the NHL:
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. Now known as the Xfiniti Mobile Arena, Philly fans got a kick out of calling it "The F.U. Center."
* The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 2-2 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
* The Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins, 2-0 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.
* The Florida Panthers and the St. Louis Blues played to a tie, 0-0 at the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.
* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
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