Master · 1984-2007 · right-handed

Roger Clemens

The only pitcher with two twenty-strikeout games, built late on a splitter he called Mr. Splitty.

Signature pitchSplit-finger fastball

Clemens started on a heavy power fastball and a ferocious, confrontational presence, then in the 1990s added the split-finger he jokingly nicknamed "Mr. Splitty" and made it his out pitch. He is the only pitcher in history with two twenty-strikeout games in nine innings.

The signature pitch

From the 1990s on, the strikeouts ran through a split-finger fastball he nicknamed "Mr. Splitty." It left his hand looking like the fastball and dropped off the table late, the wide grip killing the backspin that keeps a four-seamer riding.

Reputable analysisWikipedia, Roger Clemens

The nickname and the splitter’s role are documented on Wikipedia; the "Mr. Splittee" spelling sometimes seen is a typo. No Clemens-specific splitter tracking data exists for most of his career.

Study the splitter

Splitter05

Reference schematic

A descendant of the forkball, the splitter is held farther forward in the hand with a wider split between the fingers, which is why it can be thrown harder than the deep-jammed forkball.

Source: Reputable analysis

Open specimen

The mental edge

Clemens drew a hard line between game day and every other day, cultivating an unfriendly, intimidating presence on the mound that he called motivation, not anger. Strikeouts, he said, were a situational tool to apply pressure, not the point of every at-bat.

Reputable analysisESPN Classic, Clemens thrives on confrontation

“If someone met me on a game day, he wouldn’t like me. The days in between, I’m the goodest guy you can find.”

Pitcher's own wordsESPN Classic, Clemens thrives on confrontation

Said in 1990 with the Red Sox, on his game-day persona.

The record

Seven Cy Young Awards, still the record — the first in 1986, the last in 2004, a span long enough to be two careers. The win and strikeout totals underneath them rank with the deepest the game has recorded.

Official dataWikipedia, Roger Clemens

The first twenty-strikeout game ever pitched in nine innings was his: April 29, 1986, against Seattle, without walking a man.

Official dataSABR Games Project, April 29, 1986: Clemens strikes out 20/ 1986

A decade later he did it again — September 18, 1996, in Detroit, his last win in a Red Sox uniform. He is still the only pitcher with two.

Official dataMLB.com Cut4, Clemens strikes out 20 Tigers/ 1996

The numbers live with the record-keepers.

Baseball-Reference, Roger Clemens — the full record

The record is told here the way the rest of the atlas is told: in prose, each claim confidence-labeled and one click from its source. Where reputation and record disagree, the gap is shown, not smoothed over.