Will Roger Clemens Pitch Again?

Roger Clemens has retired from baseball about as many times as Michael Jordan retired from basketball. This time it's different. Roger finished the 2005 season with the best ERA he's had in his 22 year career, but he also finished the season with tears in his back and sore hamstrings, the same injuries that knocked him out of Game 1 on the 2005 World Series against the White Sox.

Back on December 7th, the Houston Astros declined to offer Clemens salary arbitration, which basically means he is done in an Astros uniform (atleast as a player.. wink wink). Under the MLB rules, Clemens will not be able to resign with the Astros until May 1, one month into the regular season. Roger can however pursue offers from other teams during the offseason. Where would he go if he decides to play? The Rangers (similar to what Nolan did)? Would he go back to Boston or New York where he had some of the best years of his career? If Roger does come back, we have to believe it will be for an American League team so he doesn't have to bat.

Someone needs to tell Roger that it is OK to retire. It's ok for him to enjoy his life and spend time with his family. There is life after baseball. I want Roger to retire, not because I'm a bitter Astros fan, but because I want him to end his career before he really hurts himself.

The best case scenerio in my opinion is for Roger to retire. He should sign on with the Houston Astros in some personnel position like Nolan Ryan. Roger's son Koby is in the Astros minor league system. This will give Roger an opportunity to work with his son, who happens to be a catcher. We all wanted to see Roger pitch to his son one day, but realisticaly it was never going to happen. Koby is still too young to make it to the Majors.

Thank you for the memories Roger, without you the Astros would have never made it to the World Series. You're arguably the best pitcher to ever live. Keep it that way and preserving your legend status by retiring. Will Roger ever pitch again? Only he knows, and by the looks of it he is in no rush of letting anyone else know.