Roger Clemens Will Be on ESPN’s MLB Opening Night Broadcast, per Report

The former Cy Young winner will be featured on ESPN’s Opening Night baseball coverage.
Roger Clemens Will Be on ESPN’s MLB Opening Night Broadcast, per Report
Roger Clemens Will Be on ESPN’s MLB Opening Night Broadcast, per Report /

Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens will be a part of ESPN’s Opening Night baseball coverage for a game between the World Series champion Astros and White Sox, according to a report from Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Clemens will join Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and Buster Olney to call the game on Thursday March 30 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post notes that it will be a one time appearance for Clemens, as ESPN’s David Cone will be working on Yes Network for the Yankees season opener.

This is not the first time that Clemens has appeared as an analyst for ESPN, but it is the first time he has been featured on the lead broadcast for the network. The 60-year-old Clemens did a spring training game recently for ESPN and has also been a part of the “KayRod” alternate broadcast for Sunday Night Baseball featuring Alex Rodriguez and Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay.

Clemens is known for his outstanding career as a pitcher for multiple teams, including the Astros, whose game he will be calling on Opening Night. He has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame due in large part to his frequent association with baseball’s “Steroid Era,” including his frequent appearances in 2007’s Mitchell Report, but has been close several times to making it to Cooperstown despite the controversy.

Clemens missed out on the Hall of Fame last year in his final year on the ballot, as he received 65.2% of the vote. He needed 75% of the ballot to make it to the Hall of Fame. The path for Clemens to make it to Cooperstown now resides with the era committee ballot, which will make or break his candidacy for enshrinement.

Over 24 seasons as a pitcher for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros, Clemens won 354 games, recorded 4,672 strikeouts and posted a career 3.12 earned run average. He also won two World Series titles in addition to his seven Cy Young awards and was named to 11 All-Star teams.


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.