Roger Clemens returning to independent league … as a manager
During his baseball career, Roger Clemens has accomplished a number of things. The 24-year major-league veteran won seven Cy Young awards, made the All-Star team 11 times and won two World Series championships. Now, he’s ready to take on a new challenge.
Clemens will serve as the guest manager for the Bridgeport Bluefish during the team’s August 5 game against the Long Island Ducks. It will be the first time Clemens has ever served as a manager of a professional baseball team. In doing so, he’ll join Pete Rose, Paul O’Neill and Jenny Finch as former ballplayers who have served as guest managers for the club.
The position of guest manager is just a one-time thing, so you’ll have to attend the Bluefish’s August 5 game if you want to see Clemens in the dugout.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
Clemens is set to throw out the first pitch, and take part in a meet and greet with fans prior to the contest. The Bluefish will also distribute a Clemens bobblehead to season ticket holders or fans who bought a bobblehead mini-ticket plan.
This is not Clemens’ first foray with the Atlantic League. In 2012, a 50-year-old Clemens came out of retirement to pitch for the Sugar Land Skeeters. His son, Kody, was catching for the Skeeters at the time.
Despite his age, Clemens pitched pretty well for the Skeeters. He wound up tossing eight scoreless innings over two starts with the team.
While Clemens isn’t expected to get on the mound with the Bluefish, the now 53-year-old is returning to baseball later this summer. Clemens and a number of other former big league stars, including Chipper Jones and Adam LaRoche, will participate in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
While that team is full of former stars, they don’t currently seem to have a manager. Clemens’ stint with the Bluefish might change all of that. If his managerial debut goes well, Clemens might actually have an excuse to bark orders at players from the mound.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
