Trump to Award Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Donald Trump says he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Roger Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young winner whose Hall of Fame hopes have been blocked for years by suspicions that he used steroids.
Trump made the surprise announcement Wednesday night near the end of his San Antonio rally, calling Clemens "maybe the greatest pitcher of all time."
A Surprise on Stage
Trump announced the honor during a speech of more than 100 minutes at a rally for Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Clemens had introduced the president earlier in the evening.
Trump called the Medal of Freedom one of the highest honors the country gives, alongside the Congressional Medal of Honor. He also renewed his push for Clemens to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, predicting he will get in "someday." In the meantime, Trump said, the medal is "a big step up from the Hall of Fame."
Trump then called Clemens to the stage. The former pitcher said he was "stunned" and that the honor meant more to him than his playing career. He added that he would not want to receive it from any other president, and that he was glad the news came in Texas, where he grew up, WBUR reported.
"The Rocket" and His Record
Nicknamed "The Rocket," Clemens pitched 24 seasons in the majors for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros. He spent more than a decade in Boston.
His numbers rank among the best ever. Clemens finished with a 354-184 record, a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, third on the all-time list behind only Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, according to Fox Sports. His seven Cy Young Awards are the most by any pitcher.
Why He's Not in the Hall of Fame
Despite those numbers, Clemens has never been voted into Cooperstown. His career has been shadowed by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use, which he has always denied.
Clemens was named in Major League Baseball's 2007 Mitchell Report on steroid use. He later denied the allegations before Congress and was charged with lying to lawmakers, but a jury acquitted him in 2012.
Baseball writers repeatedly passed him over in Hall of Fame voting. He peaked at 65.2% in 2022, his 10th and final year on the ballot, short of the 75% needed for election.
His next shot came in December 2025, when a Hall of Fame committee reviewing more recent players considered him alongside Barry Bonds, another star suspected of steroid use. The panel elected second baseman Jeff Kent instead, while Clemens and Bonds each received fewer than five votes. Under Hall rules, that keeps Clemens off the committee's next ballot in 2028.
A Familiar Pattern
Trump has a history of handing the Medal of Freedom to sports figures. Past recipients include golfer Tiger Woods, NFL quarterback Roger Staubach, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and football coach Lou Holtz. He also awarded it posthumously to Elvis Presley.
The president has also championed baseball's all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, who was banned from the sport for betting on games. Trump has called for Rose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but that has not happened.
For Clemens, who has long maintained his innocence, the medal offers a different kind of recognition than the one Cooperstown has so far denied him. The White House has not said when he will formally receive it.
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