President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to pitcher Roger Clemens, calling the seven-time Cy Young winner "maybe the greatest pitcher of all time." The announcement came at a rally in San Antonio, where Trump also renewed his calls for Clemens to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Clemens has yet to receive that honor, largely because of suspicions that he used steroids during his 24-year career with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros. Trump said the medal, which he described as one of the highest awards bestowed on anyone alongside the Congressional Medal of Honor, "is a big step up from the Hall of Fame."
Trump has given the medal to a range of athletes during his two terms, including Tiger Woods, Roger Staubach, Mariano Rivera and Lou Holtz. He has also awarded it to Elvis Presley posthumously and to Rush Limbaugh the year before the conservative radio host died.
Clemens, who was called to the stage, said he was "stunned" and that the honor "supersedes anything that obviously I've done in my playing career." The raised-in-Houston pitcher said he was pleased the announcement came in Texas. Like Barry Bonds and other players widely suspected of performance-enhancing drug use, Clemens has repeatedly been rejected by baseball writers. The president has also pushed for Pete Rose's induction, after issuing a posthumous federal pardon last year that led Major League Baseball to lift its ban on the all-time hits leader. Neither effort has yet succeeded.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing