September 18, 1996: Ten years after he first set the record against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium. At this point, he was still the only pitcher to do it in a regulation 9-inning major league game. The Red Sox beat the Tigers 4-0.
The starting and losing pitcher for the Tigers was Justin Thompson. The Sox got 3 runs in the 4th inning, on a double by Rudy Pemberton and a single by Bill Haselman. Haselmen singled another run home in the 8th.
Clemens struck Travis Fryman out 4 times; Tony Clark, 3; Bobby Higginson, Rubén Sierra, Melvin Nieves, Phil Nevin and Kimera Bartee, twice each; and Alan Trammell, Brad Ausmus and Phil Hiatt, once each.
But the 33-year-old Clemens ends the season with a record of just 10-13, and his contract runs out. Sox general manager Dan Duquette does not try to sign him to a new contract, saying, "He is in the twilight of his career."
At that point, his career had the following statistics, among others: A record of 192-111, a winning percentage of .658, an ERA of 3.12, a WHIP of 1.158, and 2,590 strikeouts. Clemens had just turned 34, and he was already a legitimate candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
True, he had a nasty personality, and often hit batters on purpose. He was not a good guy. But he was already one of the greatest pitchers of his generation.
And when his contract ran out on November 5, 1996, Duquette decided to let him go. He didn't lift a finger to sign him to a new deal.
On December 13, Clemens signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. As it turned out, he had another 162 wins and 2,382 strikeouts left in him.
We’ll never know how much, if any, of his 1997-2007 achievements were to due to performance-enhancing drugs. He was accused, and, through the 2022 season, he is the one and only player who ever faced the charge in court, and beat the rap.
However he did it, Clemens sure made Duquette look like a fool. By the time the Red Sox won another Pennant, Clemens had won 4 of them, and the general manager who got the Sox that Pennant was not Duquette. It was Theo Epstein.
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September 18, 1996 was a Wednesday. This was also the day that Bob Dole had a bad day in California. I have a separate entry for this event.
These other Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Rubén Rivera, once the Rivera the Yankees thought was going to be the star, not his cousin Mariano, singled home Derek Jeter, soon to be the American League Rookie of the Year, home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. This made Mariano the winning pitcher, in relief of Andy Pettitte.
* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 4-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Dave Mlicki loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th, and hit F.P. Santangelo with a pitch, forcing Moisés Alou home with the winning run.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, 8-6 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Greg Maddux went the distance, outpitching Mike Hampton. Fred McGriff went 2-for-3 with 2 home runs, a walk, and 4 RBIs.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4 with a walk.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-4 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The California Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-5 at 3Com Park (as Candlestick Park was then known) in San Francisco. For the Padres, Ken Caminiti went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Tony Gwynn pinch-hit, stayed in the game in right field, and went 2-for-2. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. For the Giants, Barry Bonds went 0-for-1, but drew 3 walks, and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 5-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Jay Buhner went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 4 RBIs. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-3 with a walk. Rookie Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a walk.
