05/03/25 06:17:00
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05/03 18:15 CDT Twins' Kody Clemens homers in 1st career Fenway game in front
of father, ex-Red Sox pitcher Roger
Twins' Kody Clemens homers in 1st career Fenway game in front of father, ex-Red
Sox pitcher Roger
By KEN POWTAK
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) --- Kody Clemens, the son of former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens,
homered into the right-field seats in the sixth inning during his first game at
Fenway Park on Saturday.
With his seven-time Cy Young Award-winning father watching from a luxury box
along the first-base line, Clemens hit an 0-1 slider from Hunter Dobbins over
the short wall in the right-field corner.
"It was amazing," Roger said, standing in the box during a rain delay with his
wife --- Kody's mother Debbie --- and Kody's wife Jessica.
"Just think about --- I put myself in his shoes --- even though he's my kid,
he's here at Fenway, and he obviously wants to perform well, hitting a home run
would be the ultimate thing to do and he goes up there up in a clutch situation
and does it," Roger said. "Just a great moment and I'm glad we're here."
A fan threw the ball back onto the field and the ball attendant retrieved it in
shallow right, before tossing it into the stands behind first base.
"We got the ball," Roger said.
Roger Clemens said a friend of his saw where they threw it, then that friend
went down and got the fan and his family to bring it up to the box to Roger.
They took a photo with Roger, who said that he was sending the fan some things.
"It was so crazy," Debbie said of what the three of them did, celebrating in
the box. "It was just great being here and for his first time being able to
play."
Jessica made her first trip to Boston. She's going home with an extra gift.
Debbie said the ball was going to "Kody and Jessica."
The 28-year-old Clemens, who has 15 career homers, was acquired from
Philadelphia on April 26 after being designated for assignment by the Phillies.
It was just his third at-bat in Fenway and gave Minnesota a 3-1 edge.
In his first at-bat Saturday, Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story made a diving
catch of his inning-ending liner in the second.
Roger Clemens, who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014, went
192-111 over 13 seasons with Boston, and won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in
1986.
In April 1986, he became the first pitcher to strike out 20 in a game.
Roger Clemens had a career record of 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA over 24 seasons.
He is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame after falling short of the required 75%
vote and running out of eligibility to be on the ballot. He maintains he never
used performance-enhancing drugs despite being accused of doing so.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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