| Koby Clemens | |
|---|---|
Koby Clemens, (8), batting for the Lexington Legends in a June 15, 2006 South Atlantic League game against the Lake County Captains in Eastlake, Ohio. |
|
| Free agent | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: December 4, 1986 Houston, Texas |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
Koby Aaron Clemens (born December 4, 1986) is the eldest son of major league pitcher Roger Clemens, and a right-handed first baseman in professional baseball.
Contents |
Born on December 4, 1986 in Houston, Texas, he was a two-sport star at Memorial High School, splitting time between football and baseball, before he suffered a back injury ending his brief football career.
He hit .413 as a junior, with 4 home runs and 23 RBIs in 2004.[1] In his senior year he earned all-state honors with .519 batting average, 5th-best in the Houston area, and was 2nd in the Houston area in both home runs and RBIs. Though not his forte, he also had success on the pitcher's mound, with a 7-1 record and a 1.75 ERA[2]
He signed with The University of Texas (where his father played) to play first base on November 17, 2004, but never attended, choosing to go straight to professional baseball after he was drafted by the Houston Astros.
The Houston Astros picked Clemens in the 8th round of the amateur draft, 254th overall; the Astros intended to use him as either a first or third baseman. He signed for a $380,000 bonus.[3]
In 2005, he played his first minor league baseball season, hitting .297 with 4 homers and 17 RBIs in 33 games for the Rookie League Greeneville Astros, and .281 with 6 RBIs in 9 games with the Class A Tri-City Valley Cats, for whom he was the youngest player. Overall, he committed 15 errors in 32 games at third.
In 2006, playing Class A ball as the youngest player on the Lexington Legends in the South Atlantic League, he dipped to .229 with 5 home runs and 39 RBIs in 91 games. Clemens appeared once as a pitcher in professional baseball, as the starting pitcher for the Lexington Legends during a 2006 game.[4]
On June 25, 2006, Clemens was in the news in a game against the Asheville Tourists. He was declared safe in a controversial play on second, leading Tourists manager Joe Mikulik to go on a rampage.[5] Through 2006, in the minors he has batted .249 with 9 home runs, 63 RBIs, 7 stolen bases (while being caught once), and a .385 slugging percentage in 449 at bats.
In the 2006 Hawaiian Winter League, playing for North Shore Honu, Clemens batted .196 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs in 32 games.[6]
Koby Clemens hit a home run off of his father, Roger Clemens, in a 2006 minor league exhibition game. In Koby's next at bat, Roger threw a brushback pitch at Koby in retaliation.[7]
He has been converted to catcher and had played for the Corpus Christi Hooks in the Double-A Texas League. As of June 12, 2009, he returned to play for the Lancaster JetHawks in Advanced A in the California League in the roles of catcher and designated hitter.
In 2011 he was with the Oklahoma City RedHawks as their first baseman.
Koby Clemens started playing at the Puerto Rican winter league with the Mayaguez Indians as a first baseman but abandoned the team abruptly on November 10, 2011. There were rumors that his father, pitcher Roger Clemens, persuaded him to leave the island because of the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher, Wilson Ramos in Venezuela the day before. This has led to Koby being banned from the Caribbean Baseball Conederation for abandoning the team with no reason given.
Clemens was arrested alongside two Salem Avalanche teammates outside a Salem, Virginia restaurant on September 1, 2008. Clemens was charged with disorderly conduct.[8]
Koby Clemens barred from winter ball after going AWOL
Friend-of-HBT Nick Collias just tipped us off to a report from Puerto Rico about how Koby Clemens — son of Roger and property of the Houston Astros — has been barred from international play after abandoning his winter ball team, the Mayagüez Indians, last Wednesday.
According to the report by Karla Pacheco Alvarez at the Puerto Rican paper Primera Hora, Clemens left the team without providing any reason. This led his team to file paperwork which bans him from playing for any other winter league team, be it in Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. Here’s team owner Daniel Aquino, translated by our friend Mr. Collias: