| | NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens did his best not to gloat, which was the classy, high-road thing to do in October.
All year, The Rocket had listened to the side-of-the-mouth whispers about his ability to handle pressure. Clemens had talent, sure, but could he deliver the Yankees to the promised land?
|  | | Roger Clemens celebrates after pitching the Yankees to the World Series championship. |
His answer was broadcast on America's biggest sports stage, the final
game of the World Series. Clemens took the mound at Yankee Stadium on
Wednesday, took a deep breath, and proceeded to suffocate the Braves in a way
that took us back the mid-'90s, back when Clemens still had the American
League's best, blow-away fastball
The Rocket struck out Gerald Williams in the first inning, pure power from the very first pitch, and at that very moment he made it clear this
would be his game, his night -- indeed, this would be the defining moment in a career that, until
now, was missing a World Series championship.
How good was Clemens in Game 4? He allowed just one run in 7 2/3 innings, lasting
long enough to get the Yankees to their bulletproof bullpen. He was good enough to
ensure the Yankees would win their third World Series in four years, and good
enough to smile at those who doubted him.
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MISSING THE RING
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Now that Roger Clemens has won a World Series, here are some other all-time greats who never won or haven't won a ring (World Series played in parenthesis):
Former players
Ty Cobb (3)
Ted Williams (1)
Carl Yastrzemski (2)
Robin Yount (1)
Willie McCovey (1)
Ryne Sandberg (0)
Ernie Banks (0)
Rod Carew (0)
Harmon Killebrew (1)
Gaylord Perry (0)
Juan Marichal (1)
Fergie Jenkins (0)
Robin Roberts (1)
Phil Niekro (0)
Active players
Barry Bonds (0)
Ken Griffey Jr. (0)
Tony Gwynn (2)
Jeff Bagwell (0)
Mike Piazza (0)
Albert Belle (1)
Frank Thomas (0)
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You don't have to ask the Rocket how much those seven-plus innings meant to
him -- finishing off the Braves, winning the Series in front of a delirious Stadium crowd, and thundering the high-fives with teammates on the mound after Keith Lockhart's fly ball dropped into Chad Curtis' glove in the ninth
inning.
"You could almost see the foam coming out of his mouth," said the Braves' John Smoltz. "Everyone wants to be in that situation. There are times when you can say the better team didn't win. We lost all four ... four straight. We can't say that."
Actually, the Yankees made it easy for Clemens, taking apart the Braves
in the first three games, leaving them so psychologically frail that Game 4
was over as soon as the Yankees scored three runs in the third inning.
That's all Clemens really needed, seeing Tino Martinez's ground ball roll up Ryan Klesko's arm, a misplay that allowed Chuck Knoblauch and Derek Jeter to score. At that point, Clemens stepped into his personal time tunnel, limiting the Braves to only one hit through the next four innings.
Even Braves manager Bobby Cox was forced to admit, "Roger threw great. I thought he was terrific."
The fastball had all the last-second life that made Clemens a
five-time Cy Young Award winner, and -- perhaps more important -- he threw his
splitter with a late, impossible-to-detect break that was missing for most of the summer.
So how will the Yankees look back on Clemens' 1999 season? With absolute
amnesia. Because, as Joe Torre put it, "all that matters is the way that
Roger finished. Whatever he did during the year, the fact that he pitched so
well tonight means a lot. It tells me he's a true champion."
Clemens talked about his assimilation to the Yankees this year, fully
aware that he arrived in New York as Brand X, an out-of-towner, a one-time
member of the hated Red Sox. The Rocket was so conscious of saying and doing
the wrong thing, he literally evaporated.
Teammates noticed that Clemens was never around the clubhouse much;
always working out or laying low in the trainers' room. Reporters who covered
the Yankees noticed the same caution from Clemens.
Finally, Torre approached Clemens one quiet afternoon at the stadium,
asking him to step into the manager's office. Torre closed the door and told
his pitcher, "you really need to start being yourself."
Clemens digested that advice, and realized Torre was right. He realized
he hadn't really absorbed the Yankee experience. Which is why, with the roar
of the Yankee Stadium crowd still thundering in the background -- the streets of the
Bronx still choked with delirious fans -- Clemens knew he'd finally arrived.
"I appreciate the opportunity Mr. Steinbrenner gave me in coming here,"
Clemens said. "He took every chance to get me, did whatever it took. I just
knew we could do it with this team. I knew we had the talent."
All that was missing, it seemed, was the answer to a burning question:
Could Clemens handle October? Could he cope with pressure?
"What's pressure?" the Rocket asked with a laugh. "I got a phone call
from my kids today, and they said I better be home for trick-or-treating on
Sunday.
"Now that's pressure."
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
Yankees get sweep; Rocket gets ring
Frozen moment: Clemens fans Williams
McAdam: Again Braves come so close -- and yet so far
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Dave Campbell and Harold Reynolds break down the Series.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 Roger Clemens says the Yankees played wonderful defense.
wav: 155 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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