http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3266416 By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Memorial High star Koby Clemens, the eldest son of future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, has reached an agreement to sign with his father's Astros, according to a person inside the Astros scouting department. Clemens will receive around a $380,000 signing bonus. The deal will likely be announced within the next few hours. Clemens had signed a letter of intent to play at his father's alma mater, the University of Texas. But he now appears headed to Class A Greenville, Tenn. As of 1 p.m., Astros general manager Tim Purpura withheld comment on the signing other than to say, "this is a kid with good ability, a good arm. And the pedigree doesn't hurt." Clemens, the eighth-round pick, was the 254th selection overall in the first-year player draft early last month. Koby, a stellar pitcher who will give up the mound and focus on third base or catching, hit .523 this year as a senior. He also had 10 home runs and 14 doubles with 55 RBIs. On the mound he was 8-3 with a 3.17 ERA. His three no-hitters at Memorial High are three more than his legendary father has compiled throughout his entire baseball career — from little league through junior college, Texas, the minors and 22 major-league seasons. Considering how well the eldest Clemens has pitched this year, Koby Clemens has a chance to join his father some day in the majors if he rushes through the minors. "I don't want to throw anything like that in his mind," Koby said Tuesday in the National League All-Star team's clubhouse before the game at Comerica Park. "He's just having another unbelievable year. He's not acting his age. It's just stupid. I hope I get a chance to play as long as he (has)." With that said, Koby readily admitted that he hasn't had much chance hitting his father's pitches in the few at-bats he's had when his father's throwing at full-speed. "I'm not ready to give up the kingdom yet," Clemens bellowed as he dressed for the All-Star game. Roger Clemens may not be ready to give up the kingdom, but there is definitely a Clemens prince in the organization ready to follow in his footsteps.
Excellent. This is good news, hopefully this will entice Roger to stick around a little longer. Uncle Drayton is a genius.
It's nice that they were able to sign him, but the real significance is the possible effect this may have on dad playing for another year or more.
That's the real significance in the next year or 2. There is also significance in signing a solid player.. and I'm glad the Rox will never get Dickau (had to comment with it being your name and all) =P
He is a solid player. He hit .523 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles, a triple and 55 RBIs this year. He had a .953 slugging percentage and .617 on-base percentage, and he scored 39 runs and stole five bases. On the mound, he finished 8-3 with a 3.17 ERA and 86 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a .203 average. He tossed three no-hitters and four complete games, and Clemens was named the Most Valuable Player for District 18-5A. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...ent_id=1130734&vkey=pr_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
That is just good PR...Still, I would imagine he had some ability unless the $380K was charity...If he has any once of talent, move him to catcher...
district 18-5A is a joke. outside of Stratford, there isn't another competitive baseball team around. some of the schools, particularly the aldine ones, barely field a team. i have no problem with the pick. but my bet is the kid never sees the bigs.
Koby can flat out hit. He's done well in summer leagues, so that's puts the "he only does it against ****ty competition" notion to bed. I'm sure part of the selection was a kind gesture to Roger, but Koby is talented hitter.
As a pre-emtptive post...please, please, please nobody mention the "he can catch his dad in the majors" b.s. that's been making the rounds.
How old was Ryan when he retired? Like 46 or something? What's to say that Clemens can't pitch another 3 years. That's the easy part though. Koby would have to get to the major's in 3 years after high school which is pretty damn hard. You have to be an elite prospect to pull that off. I'd say there's a 5% chance. The only reason it would be that high is I'm invisioning a token call up to Koby in AA ball during Roger's last year in the majors. He'll catch in Roger's last professional game before he retires as a favor to Roger.
There's no way they replace someone on the 40-man roster just to do a favor to Roger. That potentially exposes someone to the Rule V draft or waivers, and also has ramifications for Koby's status as well. I also seriously doubt that Roger or Koby would disrespect the game and all the players in the minors busting their asses for a shot at the bigs, just to be a part of a publicity stunt. And does Koby really want to be viewed by his fellow minor leaguers as cashing in and "jumping line" based on his father, and not his own accomplishments? There is minimal, minimal chance of Koby being MLB-ready in 3 years. Especially if he has to learn the nuances of playing catcher. The Astros *did* offer to consider inviting Koby to the big league camp *next spring* to give them the opportunity to pair up in an exhibition game or 2. Koby's a very good HS player, no doubt. If his name was Koby Smith, he wouldn't have been drafted where he was, and would not have been recruited as heavily by UT. His father had a ton to do with both, and that's in no way a knock on the Astros, UT, or the Clemens family.
