HOUSTON (AP) -Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane said he still plans to offer Roger Clemens a personal services contract when the pitcher retires, barring hard evidence that the Rocket took steroids.
Clemens was mentioned more than 80 times in the Mitchell Report, the result of an investigation into steroid use in baseball led by former Sen. George Mitchell. Through his attorney, Clemens vehemently denied the allegations against him, all based on testimony by former Yankees strength coach Brian McNamee.
“This is only accusations that somebody made,” McLane said Friday night. “That doesn’t mean he’s guilty. We’re just going to work with Roger and his agents, Randy and Alan Hendricks, and see where that takes us.”
The 45-year-old Clemens played for the Astros from 2004-06, along with Andy Pettitte, who also was named in the report. Clemens won the last of seven Cy Young awards in 2004, after going 18-4. He and Pettitte won 30 games together in 2005, helping the Astros reach the World Series for the first time.
Clemens still lives near Houston and last month, Randy Hendricks sent McLane an e-mail that said Clemens was ready to begin his personal services contract with the team.
Former Astros Nolan Ryan and Jeff Bagwell have similar contracts, which keep them with the team in various capacities, including as instructors for young players.
McLane said the report hadn’t changed his opinion of Clemens.
“Let’s see what develops out of this process,” McLane said. “We’re very supportive of all the players until there is real evidence that’s there.”
McLane also said the Astros were unaware of any warning signs that Miguel Tejada took steroids before the team acquired him in a trade Wednesday. Tejada also is mentioned in the report, released Thursday.
“When we made the trade several days ago, we had no knowledge of what was going to be on the list, or who was going to be on the list,” McLane said. “We made the trade because we thought it really improved the Houston Astros. We were excited about Tejada and we still are.”
While voicing his support for commissioner Bud Selig, McLane questioned the validity of the parts of the report based solely on witness testimony. McLane said he and other Astros officials were still examining the report in full.
“These are no proven facts,” McLane said. “These are just comments that certain people made. That’s what they did. We have to work through the process.”
Add A Comment