No dialog concerning the 2000 World Collection is full with out point out of the Yankees’ Roger Clemens throwing a damaged bat within the course of the Mets’ Mike Piazza.
So when the Yankees celebrated their 2000 championship workforce throughout Saturday afternoon’s Previous-Timers’ Day within the Bronx, the subject inevitably got here up.
“I think if Mike knew that the ball was foul, he wouldn’t have been starting to run to first base,” stated Joe Torre, the Yankees’ supervisor from 1996-2008.
“That ball went over the first-base dugout, was foul right away. He didn’t know where it was, so he started running. To me, at my vantage point, Rocket caught the bat and threw it off the field. It just so happened, there was Piazza.”
The second occurred in Recreation 2 of that World Collection when Piazza fouled off a pitch from Clemens and splintered his bat within the course of.
The bat’s barrel veered towards Clemens, who scooped it on a few hops and rapidly tossed it off of the sector, proper in entrance of Piazza, who had taken a number of steps down the first-base line. Benches cleared, however the incident didn’t escalate, and Clemens finally threw eight shutout innings in a Yankees win.
“I didn’t know he was running, and Mike said that same thing, too,” Clemens, 63, stated Saturday. “He didn’t know where the baseball was. But my first instinct when I shattered that bat in about four pieces, I thought I was getting a line drive right at me. I thought it was a baseball coming at me.”
Saturday marked Clemens’ first time attending Previous-Timers’ Day. Clemens pitched for the Yankees from 1999-2003, then once more in 2007, and went 83-42 with a 4.01 ERA, two championships and a Cy Younger Award with the group.
He stated Saturday that he “loved” his time with the Yankees, which started with a blockbuster commerce from the Toronto Blue Jays proper after pitchers and catchers reported for 1999 spring coaching.
“They wanted to do the trade quick before some people got to spring training, and when I agreed to become a Yankee, obviously I was super excited,” Clemens stated.
“My mom brought one of those satin, silk jackets that I had when I was a teenager. She said, ‘You know this has been hanging in the closet all these years.’ I had totally forgotten about my Yankee jacket.”
Clemens pitched Saturday within the first Previous-Timers’ Day alumni sport since 2019.
“Today’s great,” Clemens stated afterward. “I’ve been trying to get back. I’ve been busy, doing stuff with the Astros, doing stuff for my foundation. We just celebrated 34 years of my foundation, helping at-risk children.”
Initially Revealed: August 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM EDT
