Paul Arthur Clemens (born February 14, 1988) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He previously 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) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Early years

Clemens attended James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

where he lettered three years under head baseball coach Bill Evers. While at Robinson, Clemens broke Javier López's single-game strikeout record by recording 16 strikeouts against Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Clemens played summer baseball for the Virginia Barnstormers. During his senior year at James W. Robinson, Clemens accepted a baseball scholarship to

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...

, but later decided that junior college was a better option. Clemens attended

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held its fir ...

in North Carolina, where he pitched for two seasons. Clemens' tall frame and naturally live arm attracted the attention of MLB scouts early on in his college career.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Clemens was drafted in the 36th-round (1089 overall) by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in 2007, but he chose to return to school for another year. He was drafted by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

Houston Astros

On July 31, 2011 Clemens,

Jordan Schafer Jordan James Schafer (born September 4, 1986) is a former American professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins as a center fielder. Baseball career Atl ...

Brett Oberholtzer Brett Raymond Oberholtzer (born July 1, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Angels. He also played in the Chinese Profe ...

and Juan Abreu were traded to the

for

Michael Bourn Michael Ray Bourn (born December 27, 1982) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Baltimore Orioles ...

. Clemens was added to the Astros 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. In 2013, Clemens earned a 4-6 record. He pitched the last game of the 2013 Houston Astros season when they played the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He lost to former Astro

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

in Pettite's last game. Clemens was designated for assignment by the Astros on September 2, 2014.

Philadelphia Phillies

Clemens signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

on November 20, 2014.

Kansas City Royals

He was then released after making 7 appearances and signed on with the Kansas City Royals.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, Clemens signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres

On June 28, 2016, Clemens was claimed off waivers by the

. On August 6, 2016, Clemens was pulled from the 5th inning of a game against the

for failing to run out a bunt. Earlier in the game, he had gotten pine tar on his original jersey and switched to a new one, number 91, which read "Player" on the back. He was released on March 20th, 2017.

Minnesota Twins

Clemens signed with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for the rest of the 2017 season. On July 21, 2017, Clemens was released by the

Leones de Yucatán

On March 11, 2018, Clemens signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He was released on April 23, 2018.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On May 11, 2018, Clemens signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseb ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

High Point Rockers

On April 11, 2019, Clemens signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Profession ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on September 16, 2019.

Personal life

Clemens is married to Marlee Clemens. They have three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens, Paul 1988 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Columbia, South Carolina Clearwater Threshers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Danville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players High Point Rockers players Houston Astros players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New Orleans Zephyrs players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Omaha Storm Chasers players Rome Braves players San Diego Padres players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players