TOP 10
Legends who lost it
Sports greats whose brain cramps and blown fuses made headlines
by Tony Care, Chris Harris & Dan Tavares
July 14, 2006
 Roger Clemens, pictured here in a game against Oakland in 1990, had a high-visibility meltdown on the mound later that year. His profanity-laden argument over balls and strikes with umpire Terry Cooney was captured up-close and in slo-mo for the pleasure of TV viewers everywhere. (Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr.) |
Clemens melts down on the mound
Roger Clemens is a fierce competitor. The future Hall of Fame pitcher
has been described as mild-mannered away from the baseball diamond,
but when he takes to the mound for his turn in the rotation, the stocky
hurler has a reputation for dialing up the intensity.
Clemens has sometimes harnessed this passion to accomplish great feats,
like the night he struck out a record 20 batters in a nine-inning game
against the Seattle Mariners in 1986. But on other occasions, that intensity
has boiled over and come back to bite him.
Case in point: the 1990 post-season. During the second inning of his
Game 4 start in the American League Championship Series against the
Oakland A’s, Clemens – looking all the more intimidating by sporting
eyeblack - allegedly unleashed a handful of F-bombs on home-plate umpire
Terry Cooney.
While his precise words were never revealed, it didn't take a lip-reading
expert to decipher that Clemens's remarks weren't suitable for a general
audience.
The tirade earned Clemens an ejection from the crucial playoff contest
and the Red Sox went on to lose the game 3-1. They were also swept in
the series. Clemens was also slapped with a five-game suspension to
start the 1991 regular season and was forced to fork out $10,000 for
the profanity-laced outburst.