My Sportsman Choice: Roger Clemens

By Gene Menez

Roger Clemens carried the Astros to within one game of the World Series. Bob Rosato/SI  Chris Stone: Red Sox Nation, you've earned this one  Paul Zimmerman: Boy Wonder brought Boston a title  B.J. Schecter: Red Sox captured Boston's heart  Richard Deitsch: The Babe had a big presence in '04  Rick Reilly: Big Papi did it all for the world champs  Jeffri Chadiha: A reward for reversing The Curse  Lisa Altobelli: Ramirez never took anything seriously  • Sportsman of the Year archive

My dad never really liked baseball. "There's no action," he used to tell me. "It's too slow." I tried explaining to him, son to father, that the greatness of the game was its lack of action -- that the time between pitches actually increased the excitement, whether it was a Game 7 in October or a meaningless third inning in June. He would nod to appease me, as dads do, but I always had the sense that baseball would be one of the things that we'd never share.

Then Roger Clemens joined our team.

And with that, 2 million Houstonians, including one disbelieving dad, wrapped their arms around the Astros and never let go. Disregard what the 42-year-old Clemens did for Houston on the field this season, which was significant (an 18-4 record and a 2.98 ERA, a seventh Cy Young award and leading the Astros to one win from their first World Series). What he did for Houstonians topped that. The Astros drew a franchise-best 3 million fans to Minute Maid Park this year, and every start that Clemens made was a virtual sellout. He kept the fans' interest alive even when the team was scuffling in the wild-card standings over the summer. And he galvanized a city that has been described as "six suburbs in search of a center."

I will always remember the call I received from dad on Opening Day. He had been walking through a souvenir store at Minute Maid Park when he spotted Clemens inside. "I couldn't believe how big he was," Dad said. He quickly grabbed a $135 authentic Clemens jersey from the rack and asked the Rocket to sign it, which he did. It was the first time I remember dad buying a piece of memorabilia or asking anyone for an autograph. Dad has since added Carlos Beltran's autograph to his collection after waiting for the center fielder following Game 5 of the NLCS. My mother thinks he can make a living as a paparazzi.

There's no doubt that other Sportsman candidates had similar, even better, seasons than Clemens. Lance Armstrong won his sixth Tour de France and could receive the award any year. Michael Phelps amazed with his versatility in the Olympic pool, and there was no better story this year than the curse-breaking Red Sox. But Clemens got my dad to do something that I have never been able to get him to do. So the Rocket has my vote. As well as my dad's.

Sports Illustrated will announce the 2004 Sportsman of the Year winner on FOX on November 28. Check back every weekday until then to read more Sportsman picks from SI writers.