1987 HEADLINE: Darryl Strawberry & Howard Johonson – First Ever 30/30 Teammates!!

1987 HEADLINE: Darryl Strawberry & Howard Johonson – First Ever 30/30 Teammates!!

On this date in 1987, Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson of the New York Mets became the first ever teammates to both join the ’30/30′ club in the same season.

The ’30/30′ club is pretty exclusive.  And the members have to be a very specific kind of player.  Powerful enough to hit bomb after bomb into the outfield seats, yet graceful and quick enough to swipe base after base in a frenzied rush to outrun a catcher’s throw.

It’s an amazing accomplishment to become a member of the ’30/30′ club.  But when 2 players on the same team reach that goal, it is baseball history!!!

By the end of the ’87 season, Darryl Strawberry finished the season with 39 home runs and 36 stolen bases.  With him was teammate Howard Johnson who crushed 36 homers and swiped 32 bases.

Congrats to Straw & HOJO!!!

Happy Birthday Roger Clemens!!

Happy Birthday Roger Clemens!!

Roger Clemens turns 52 years old today.

And I have to imagine that if he wanted to, he could come back and still perform for any one of the playoff contenders out there right now!  Luckily there appears to be no interest in that happening…

I used to love watching ‘Rocket’ pitch.  To  this day I have never seen a more dominant pitcher in the game that was able to maintain that kind of success throughout the majority of their career.  As great as Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, and Randy Johnson were, each of them saw a significant drop-off in their ability to out perform all opponents at some point in their careers.  But not Clemens, he was truly in a league of his own when it came to posting successful year after year.   12 years of 200+ strikeouts and 17+ wins certainly backs up that claim.

With all of the recent news that surrounds Clemens’ name and his issues with both illegal PED usage and court issues in the same vein, I find it heart-breaking that a player with his kind of resume is first thought of for the ‘bad’ that he did.  It is so sad that his name has been added to the long list of fallen superstars – and he did it all to himself…

Still one of my favorites, but it is hard to let it slide as well.

Happy Birthday Mr. Clemens!!!

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

On this day in 2003, Roger Clemens recorded the 300th win of his major league baseball career.

At home and hosting the St. Louis Cardinals as part of baseball’s inter-league play, Clemens took the hill for the New York Yankees in hopes of picking up win #300 in front of his home crowd. And 55,000+ fans witnessed baseball history!!

In the contest, Clemens went 6 2/3 inning and picked up the win. While on the mound, he allowed 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 10 and walking just 2 batters. Vintage Clemens was on display and this win put him in another class of ‘elite pitching greats’.

Congratulations ‘Rocket’!!!

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

On this day back in 1984, Roger Clemens won his first major league baseball game.

With his team on the road in Minnesota, the Boston Red Sox were battling the Minnesota Twins. Clemens needed just 131 minutes to earn victory number 1 of his career.

Against a solid Twins team, Clemens pitched 7 strong innings in the 5-4 win. He allowed 7 hits and 4 runs during the contest. He also showed off his ability to dominate hitters with his powerful pitching and sharp control as he struck out 7 batters while walking just 1.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Clemens. Win #1 of your 354 career victories came on this day 30 years ago!!!

Happy Birthday Darryl Strawberry!!!

Happy Birthday Darryl Strawberry!!!

Darryl Strawberry turns 52 years old today.

Darryl Strawberry made an immediate impact on the sport during his debut in 1983.  The league’s Rookie of the Year played like a seasoned veteran and quickly became the centerpiece of the New York Mets and their championship roster.

Equipped with the perfect blend of speed and power, Straw’s talents landed him on 8 consecutive All-star teams while he and the Mets took baseball by storm.  His career home run total of 335 and stolen base count of 221 along with his 1,000 career RBI show just how versatile and steady he was.

Strawberry had his share of setbacks during his career that didn’t allow him to become the MVP that he had the talent to be.  Yet he still found himself as a member of 3 World Series Championship teams!!!

Happy Birthday ‘Straw’!!!

Happy Birthday David Cone!!!

Happy Birthday David Cone!!!

David Cone turns 51 years old today.

Immensely talented, Cone was a dominant force over the course of his 17-season career.  With a lifetime record of 194-126, along with 2,668 strikeouts, Cone was often the leader of the rotation and set the pace for some of baseball’s greatest teams in the 1990’s.  In his best season as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1994, David Cone won the Cy Young award.  With a 16-5 record alongside a 2.94 ERA and 2.44 K:walk ratio, Cone dominated the American League.  During his 17-year career, Cone finished in the top 6 for the Cy Young award a total of 5 times.

The individual highlight of Cone’s career is the perfect game he pitched in 1999 against the Expos.  As incredible as the no-hitter is, the perfect game is outstanding.  Cone dominated the Expos for 9 innings as he struck out 10 batters while not allowing any player for the Expos to reach first base.

David Cone may be the best example of a player being ‘in the right place at the right time’.  Cone has 5 World Series Championship rings. Simply Amazing.  Cone won 1 title with the Toronto Blue Jays and 4 more as a member of the New York Yankees.  In 15 post-season match-ups, Cone has a record of 8-3 with over 100 innings pitched.

Happy Birthday Mr. Cone!!

1987 HEADLINE: Darryl Strawberry & Howard Johonson – First Ever 30/30 Teammates!!

1987 HEADLINE: Darryl Strawberry & Howard Johonson – First Ever 30/30 Teammates!!

On this date in 1987, Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson of the New York Mets became the first ever teammates to both join the ’30/30′ club in the same season.

The ’30/30′ club is pretty exclusive.  And the members have to be a very specific kind of player.  Powerful enough to hit bomb after bomb into the outfield seats, yet graceful and quick enough to swipe base after base in a frenzied rush to outrun a catcher’s throw.

It’s an amazing accomplishment to become a member of the ’30/30′ club.  But when 2 players on the same team reach that goal, it is baseball history!!!

By the end of the ’87 season, Darryl Strawberry finished the season with 39 home runs and 36 stolen bases.  With him was teammate Howard Johnson who crushed 36 homers and swiped 32 bases.

Congrats to Straw & HOJO!!!

Happy Birthday Roger Clemens!!

Happy Birthday Roger Clemens!!

Roger Clemens turns 51 years old today.

And I have to imagine that if he wanted to, he could come back and still perform for any one of the playoff contenders out there right now!  Luckily there appears to be no interest in that happening…

I used to love watching ‘Rocket’ pitch.  To  this day I have never seen a more dominant pitcher in the game that was able to maintain that kind of success throughout the majority of their career.  As great as Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, and Randy Johnson were, each of them saw a significant drop-off in their ability to out perform all opponents at some point in their careers.  But not Clemens, he was truly in a league of his own when it came to posting successful year after year.   12 years of 200+ strikeouts and 17+ wins certainly backs up that claim.

With all of the recent news that surrounds Clemens’ name and his issues with both illegal PED usage and court issues in the same vein, I find it heart-breaking that a player with his kind of resume is first thought of for the ‘bad’ that he did.  It is so sad that his name has been added to the long list of fallen superstars – and he did it all to himself…

Still one of my favorites, but it is hard to let it slide as well.

Happy Birthday Mr. Clemens!!!

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

On this day in 2003, Roger Clemens recorded the 300th win of his major league baseball career.

At home and hosting the St. Louis Cardinals as part of baseball’s inter-league play, Clemens took the hill for the New York Yankees in hopes of picking up win #300 in front of his home crowd. And 55,000+ fans witnessed baseball history!!

In the contest, Clemens went 6 2/3 inning and picked up the win. While on the mound, he allowed 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 10 and walking just 2 batters. Vintage Clemens was on display and this win put him in another class of ‘elite pitching greats’.

Congratulations ‘Rocket’!!!

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

On this day back in 1984, Roger Clemens won his first major league baseball game.

With his team on the road in Minnesota, the Boston Red Sox were battling the Minnesota Twins. Clemens needed just 131 minutes to earn victory number 1 of his career.

Against a solid Twins team, Clemens pitched 7 strong innings in the 5-4 win. He allowed 7 hits and 4 runs during the contest. He also showed off his ability to dominate hitters with his powerful pitching and sharp control as he struck out 7 batters while walking just 1.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Clemens. Win #1 of your 354 career victories came on this day 26 years ago!!!