Douglas Horace Clemens (born June 9, 1939), is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from – for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. During Clemens’ playing days, he stood tall, weighing . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Early life

Born in Leesport,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

, in 1939, Clemens attended Muhlenberg High School, lettering in both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and baseball, while under the tutelage of his own father, Head Coach Lloyd “Scoop” Clemens (himself, a Phillies scout). A highly-recruited halfback, he (young Clemens) played collegiately in

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

’s footsteps, at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. While on a full athletic (gridiron) scholarship, Clemens suffered a severe knee injury, early on in Fall, 1957; however, the

Orangemen Orangemen or Orangewomen can refer to: *Historically, supporters of William of Orange *Members of the modern Orange Order (also known as Orange Institution), a Protestant fraternal organisation *Members or supporters of the Armagh GAA Gaelic foot ...

transferred his scholarship to the diamond, where he played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, lettering in baseball in both and . Following his Junior year, Clemens turned pro, signing with the Cardinals.

Baseball career

A pinch-hitting specialist for most of his MLB career, Clemens’ main claim to fame stems from the June 15, 1964, trade that brought future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...

to the Cardinals. That spring, Clemens broke camp with the Cards. In early-season action, he tallied 33 games played, while hitting .205, with six walks, and 16 strikeouts. On June 15, the Cardinals traded Clemens,

Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...

, and

Ernie Broglio Ernest Gilbert Broglio (; August 27, 1935 – July 16, 2019) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1966. After attending high school and junior college in ...

to the

, in exchange for

Jack Spring Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

Paul Toth Paul Louis Toth (June 30, 1935 – March 20, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1964 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. He was born in McRoberts ...

, and (although not-yet-evident) Cooperstown-bound outfielder Brock. Clemens continued in platoon and pinch-hitting roles until retiring as a Phillie, following a 1968 season, most of which was spent with their Triple-A

San Diego Padres (PCL) The San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968. The team that would eventually become the Padres was well traveled prior to moving to San Diego. Franchise history It began it ...

club. During his nine-year MLB career, including the full seasons of through , Clemens collected 211

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, with 34 doubles seven

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, and 12

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. He batted .229 and was credited with 88

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI).

Early life

Baseball career

References

External links