Clemens Connection Continues Father-Son Legacy In Dunedin
If you were listening closely, you could hear high fives in the background of the Blue Jays radio broadcast as Kacy Clemens rounded the bases following his first Florida State League home run. Sitting next to Dunedin broadcaster Jim Tarabocchia, Kacy's father, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, sat
If you were listening closely, you could hear high fives in the background of the Blue Jays radio broadcast as
"That was fantastic!" Roger exclaimed after giving a high five to everyone in the booth. After returning to his seat, he tried to regain his composure to break down the action on the field but could not hide the glee in his voice. "They were throwing him change-ups behind and he finally got a fastball and stayed through the middle of the field…. I'm talking like a hitting coach here!"
The accolades Roger Clemens accumulated on the playing field during his 24-year career are too numerous to list in full. A record seven Cy Young Awards, 11 All-Star selections, seven ERA titles, 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts, a pair of World Series rings, an MVP in both the regular season and the All-Star Game…and that's just scratching the surface of the fifty-plus awards he took home during his career.
Despite all of his success on the field, in retirement, Clemens is much more proud of what his sons are accomplishing on the baseball diamond than anything he did as a player. Once he hung up his spikes for good, he became a full-time dad.
"He's having fun being dad now," Kacy Clemens, Dunedin's first baseman, said after a recent game with his dad in the crowd at Dunedin Stadium. "Most people see him as the competitor he was between the lines, but for me, he's dad. It's totally different now that he's not playing. He's totally focused on us."
Focusing fully on his kids means a lot of traveling and the occasional cross-country road trip. Kody, the youngest Clemens son, plays at the University of Texas. Kacy started the year in Lansing, Michigan with the Lugnuts before an unexpected promotion to Dunedin.
"My dad came up [to Lansing] and got to see my last three home runs in Lansing. I was just getting my apartment set up behind the field. We put together a towel rack and all this stuff we bought from Walmart and got my apartment all tricked out and ready to go. He left the next day to go watch Kody. Our manager Cesar Martin brought me into his office and told me I was called up," Kacy recalled recently from the Dunedin clubhouse.
"I call my dad and am like, 'I love you and I appreciate you helping me set up my apartment…but, we're going to have to move it all to Florida.' He flew back to Lansing, got my car, packed it with my whole apartment, and drove it 18 hours down to Florida."
Of the gesture, Kacy can only shake his head.
"I was like, you gotta be kidding me! When he got here, he just gave me a hug. He's fired up to be here and watch my first few games in Florida."
Dunedin, FL is familiar territory for the Clemens family. Roger spent two seasons with the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, winning the Cy Young Award while leading the league in wins and ERA both years, reporting to Spring Training at Dunedin Stadium each season.
"I have very faint memories of that," Kacy says of his trips to Dunedin to watch his dad play as a young child. "I do remember the cool Reebok shoes I got to wear and getting to put a uniform on was awesome."
While Kacy doesn't remember much of his first trips to Dunedin (he was five at the time), Roger hasn't forgotten the time he spent at Spring Training with his son. On the air during the Blue Jays broadcast, he showed off a photo of him and Kacy twenty years prior in the bullpen at Dunedin Stadium.
"I have good memories of this little stomping ground right here. We're gonna go over and try to recreate a photo that I have with Kacy when he was about five years old on the half field to the left."
In the photo, a tiny Kacy Clemens lugs his father's equipment bag, needing both arms to hold it up, while his father watches.
The following morning, a grown-up Kacy Clemens and his father returned to the same place, Roger in full Blue Jays uniform for the first time in years. It took multiple shots to get the photo right, as the two kept breaking out in laughter every time Kacy tried to recreate the scowl he'd given his dad as a child, unhappy to be carrying an equipment bag that was nearly the same size as he was.
It was one of many Hallmark family moments that have played out at Dunedin Stadium in recent years, as the Blue Jays have fielded the sons of a host of other All-Stars (Cavan Biggio,
"Growing up with him on our side was amazing," Kacy said about his dad's influence on his career. "Who better to go to for advice when you're struggling or when you're playing well or need to know how to play the game the right way?"
While Roger, a career .173 hitter who credits learning to bunt for extending his career, has been hands off with his sons' development as hitters, he can see the impact growing up around Major League clubhouses has had on Kacy.
"Kacy is way beyond his years as far as baseball IQ goes. He's pretty methodical and has a pretty good idea what he's doing. Really, my boys are no different than the other guys out here, chasing their dreams, trying to be a pro, and be tenacious on the field."
Just like Kacy is no different than any of his teammates chasing their baseball dreams, Roger is no different than any of the other parents sitting in the crowd at Dunedin Stadium. He's just a father, rooting on his kid in a game that has been passed down from fathers to sons for generations.
"I love being Kacy's dad and Kody's dad. My boys are what makes the world go around."