By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-08 16:07:13 | Updated at 2026-10-09 19:12:33
1 day ago
President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with former MLB player Roger Clemens after he was introduced during a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 7, 2026. Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he would award former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom and reiterated a call to induct him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“He'll be in the Hall of Fame someday, but he deserves it,” the president said at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday.
Clemens, known as “The Rocket” during his 24-year career, was attending the event, and the president called him to the stage.
Trump questioned why Clemens was denied the baseball honor and said he would compensate by offering him the medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Clemens told the crowd he was stunned and honored.
“This supersedes anything that obviously I’ve done in my playing career. And to get it from this man, this president, there wouldn’t be another president I’d want to get it from,” he said. “You’re talking about a winner. That’s a winner right there.”
Clemens played for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros. He is one of the most successful pitchers in Major League Baseball history, winning the Cy Young Award seven times as the league’s best pitcher, more than any other player.
Clemens went 354–184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third behind Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).
He has failed to gain election to the Hall of Fame amid allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens has denied using them and was acquitted in 2012 of charges that he lied to Congress about the matter.
New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens makes his first game pitch as a Yankee during a training game with the Kansas City Royals at Baseball City Stadium on March 6, 1999. Tony Ranze/AFP via Getty Images
The inaugural class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame was in 1936 and included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and others. The ceremony for the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame Class, the 90th anniversary of that historic moment, was held in July.
This year’s class is three deep with Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent. All three began their Major League Baseball careers in the 1990s.
Trump has given the medal to other athletes during his two terms in the White House, including golfing legend Tiger Woods, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, famed Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, and former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz.
Last year, Trump pledged to posthumously pardon baseball legend Pete Rose, who died in September 2024 at 83. Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to felony charges of filing false tax returns.
The December 2027 ballot is the first chance for Rose to appear on a Hall ballot after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred decided in May that Rose’s permanent suspension ended with his death. The Hall prohibits anyone on the permanent ineligible list from appearing on a ballot.
Trump posthumously awarded Elvis Presley the medal at the White House in 2018. The president also awarded the honor to conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. He died in 2021 at age 70.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
