Roger Clemens
The Rocket's 2005 comeback at age 42 stands as one of the most dominant pitching seasons ever recorded. That 1.87 ERA and 229 ERA+ for Houston represented the peak of a career that somehow got better with age, defying every conventional wisdom about pitcher longevity.
Clemens collected an unprecedented seven Cy Young Awards across four different decades, a feat that captures both his excellence and endurance. His 4,672 strikeouts and 354 wins tell the story of a power pitcher who evolved into a craftsman, maintaining elite velocity deep into his forties when most contemporaries had long since retired.
What separated Clemens wasn't just raw stuff but an almost scientific approach to aging. While his peak 229 ERA+ came in the steroid era's offensive explosion, he consistently posted ERA+ marks above 180 well into his final seasons, proving that pure pitching skill could transcend any era's offensive environment.
Career · Hitting
24 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | BOS | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | BOS | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | BOS | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | BOS | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | BOS | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | BOS | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | BOS | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | BOS | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | BOS | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1996 | BOS | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 261 |
| 1997 | TOR | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.667 | 220 |
| 1998 | TOR | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .200 | 26 |
| 1999 | NYY | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2000 | NYY | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2001 | NYY | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2002 | NYY | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 1.500 | 201 |
| 2003 | NYY | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| 2004 | HOU | 33 | 72 | 0 | 7 | .167 | .381 | 50 |
| 2005 | HOU | 32 | 58 | 0 | 4 | .207 | .523 | 70 |
| 2006 | HOU | 19 | 27 | 0 | 0 | .074 | .305 | 40 |
| 2007 | NYY | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | 132 |
| Career | 709 | 179 | 0 | 12 | .173 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
24 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | BOS | 21 | 133.3 | 9 | 4 | 4.32 | 88 | 126 | 1.313 |
| 1985 | BOS | 15 | 98.3 | 7 | 5 | 3.29 | 118 | 74 | 1.220 |
| 1986 | BOS | 33 | 254.0 | 24 | 4 | 2.48 | 160 | 238 | 0.969 |
| 1987 | BOS | 36 | 281.7 | 20 | 9 | 2.97 | 144 | 256 | 1.175 |
| 1988 | BOS | 35 | 264.0 | 18 | 12 | 2.93 | 127 | 291 | 1.057 |
| 1989 | BOS | 35 | 253.3 | 17 | 11 | 3.13 | 118 | 230 | 1.216 |
| 1990 | BOS | 31 | 228.3 | 21 | 6 | 1.93 | 199 | 209 | 1.082 |
| 1991 | BOS | 35 | 271.3 | 18 | 10 | 2.62 | 149 | 241 | 1.047 |
| 1992 | BOS | 32 | 246.7 | 18 | 11 | 2.41 | 155 | 208 | 1.074 |
| 1993 | BOS | 29 | 191.7 | 11 | 14 | 4.46 | 94 | 160 | 1.263 |
| 1994 | BOS | 24 | 170.7 | 9 | 7 | 2.85 | 158 | 168 | 1.143 |
| 1995 | BOS | 23 | 140.0 | 10 | 5 | 4.18 | 106 | 132 | 1.436 |
| 1996 | BOS | 34 | 242.7 | 10 | 13 | 3.63 | 127 | 257 | 1.327 |
| 1997 | TOR | 34 | 264.0 | 21 | 7 | 2.05 | 214 | 292 | 1.030 |
| 1998 | TOR | 33 | 234.7 | 20 | 6 | 2.65 | 167 | 271 | 1.095 |
| 1999 | NYY | 30 | 187.7 | 14 | 10 | 4.60 | 102 | 163 | 1.465 |
| 2000 | NYY | 32 | 204.3 | 13 | 8 | 3.70 | 129 | 188 | 1.312 |
| 2001 | NYY | 33 | 220.3 | 20 | 3 | 3.51 | 126 | 213 | 1.257 |
| 2002 | NYY | 29 | 180.0 | 13 | 6 | 4.35 | 98 | 192 | 1.306 |
| 2003 | NYY | 33 | 211.7 | 17 | 9 | 3.91 | 112 | 190 | 1.214 |
| 2004 | HOU | 33 | 214.3 | 18 | 4 | 2.98 | 150 | 218 | 1.157 |
| 2005 | HOU | 32 | 211.3 | 13 | 8 | 1.87 | 229 | 185 | 1.008 |
| 2006 | HOU | 19 | 113.3 | 7 | 6 | 2.30 | 197 | 102 | 1.041 |
| 2007 | NYY | 18 | 99.0 | 6 | 6 | 4.18 | 107 | 68 | 1.313 |
| Career | 709 | 4916.6 | 354 | 184 | — | — | 4672 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.