Derek Jeter returned to the New York Yankees on Monday to continue his quest for 3,000 hits, which would make him the first in pinstripes to reach that goal.
Roger Clemens returns to the District this week to defend himself against criminal charges that he lied to Congress when he testified more than three years ago that he never used performance-enhancing substances.
The pride of the Yankees.
The shame of the Yankees.
It is fitting the two events are coming together at the same time because they illustrate the glory and the ignominy of the steroid era — a celebration and a crime.
We reveled in the Summer of ’98, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivated the nation with their battle to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record, only to learn years later it was all a fraud.
So this week, while Jeter will be accumulating hits, lawyers at the federal courthouse in the District will be interviewing jurors to determine whether one of the winningest pitchers in baseball history — who was an integral part of two World Series championships for the Yankees — will go to prison.
The pride of the Yankees.
The shame of the Yankees.
The trial, scheduled to start Wednesday, could last as long as six weeks. It will determine whether Clemens lied during a congressional committee hearing on the Mitchell report when he denied former trainer Brian McNamee’s claims that he used performance-enhancing substances.
Under oath, Clemens told members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform he had “never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other type of illegal performance-enhancing substances.”
Clemens may always be thought of first as a member of the Boston Red Sox, the team with which he spent the first 13 seasons of his career. But he was with the Yankees for six seasons — one more than Reggie Jackson.
So as much as Yankees fans may want to ignore what will be taking place here in the District while they focus on Jeter’s pursuit, the Yankees’ legacy will be on trial as well.
If you don’t think Clemens represents part of that legacy, then perhaps you might consider who likely will be one of the key government witnesses against his former teammate — and who again will admit to his own cheating: Andy Pettitte.
Pettitte is on the list of prosecution witnesses and will be asked to do pretty much what he did in meetings with congressional investigators in 2008: recall conversations with Clemens about using performance-enhancing substances, conversations Clemens told the committee that Pettitte “misremembered.”
In Yankees lore, Pettitte is right up there with Whitey Ford and Ron Guidry. He won 203 games in the 13 seasons he was with the Yankees and won 18 postseason games and five World Series championships.
He is the pride of the Yankees.
He will be called to testify about the shame of the Yankees.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
