Didn't You Used To Be Roger Clemens?

If you want to know what scandal has cost Roger Clemens, all you have to do is look at Greg Maddux’s retirement.

Maddux hung it up at exactly the right time last month, before a run of mediocrity started tarnishing his spectacular resume.

It would belabor the point to recap Maddux’s career here beyond marveling at the run of seasons from 1992-98 when he surrendered just slightly more than half as many runs as the average NL hurler. Seventeen straight seasons of 15 or more wins and 18 Gold Gloves may or may not be what they’re cracked up to be, but they’re the most ever.

More to the point, Maddux is being lionized as the greatest and winningest pitcher of his generation. Before we discovered that Roger Clemens was dabbling in Mindy McCready, that was supposed to be his career epitaph. Batters were frustrated by Maddux, but intimidated and awed by Clemens, who retained the heat into his 40s. With more career traction and better stuff, it looked as if Clemens had pulled away from Maddux for good.

What’s the conventional narrative now? It’s the morality play of the tortoise and the hare, with Clemens in the role of rabbit. Suddenly not possessing raw power is a virtue for Maddux. Winning with without high heat makes Maddux more commendable. It’s as if chicks now dig the changeup.

Of course, that narrative was always hooey. Maddux may weigh 175 pounds and wear glasses, but he threw plenty hard and notched nearly 3400 strikeouts. Moreover, he was a great natural athlete who demonstrated his raw ability at the plate and with the glove.

It’s not as if Clemens just rolled God’s gifts out onto the field and chalked up the victories. His heat was the by-product of an intense physical fitness regimen and equally intense mental preparation and focus. He was the greatest pitcher of his generation…until his derriere became back page fodder and the rest of him became MLB’s persona non grata.

I guess that’s comeuppance for the personal and professional skullduggery that Clemens seemed to have engaged in. We’re chalking one up for the good guy. So let that be a lesson to us all. Roger Clemens will still be remembered as a great pitcher, but he gave away a significant mantle to Greg Maddux – best of his era.