From Ford to Clemens - Greatness, Knowledge Help Pitchers
During my first full season with the Yankees (1974) our pitching coach was the greatest pitcher in Yankee history, Whitey Ford.
I will never forget how the young pitchers like Doc Medich, Dave Pagan and Tippy Martinez would always make it a point to walk by Whitey just to say hello, but very respectfully.
You could almost see the idol worship that a lot of the players were engaging in.
Tippy Martinez would become one of the game’s better pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles.
Yet, he would always claim that being around Whitey Ford truly helped his confidence as a pitcher. He said that people would never understand how important that was because Whitey had been through the baseball wars!
The entire season was unforgettable.
Ford used to talk to me about throwing technique from shortstop and that really helped me develop an extremely strong arm. ( I was actually drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season. (You can look it up) Whiteys son Eddie was actually a number one pick for the Boston Red Sox . His strongest attribute was naturally his throwing arm.
Fifty one years later I m talking to the Roger "Rocket" Clemens.
I've always loved Roger Clemens because he is truly one of the most respectful and respected people I have ever known in the game.
He is as great to the common man as he is to the so called important men and women.
To Roger everyone is really the same.
On those occasions, when we were standing on the outside end of the dugout you would see and hear different players both young and old go out of their way to say "Hi!" to the "Rocket."
As always, he is gracious to all. One can tell how excited some of the young pitchers are just to have him there let alone to be able to learn from him.
The night before one of the best pitchers in the game today, Max Fried, threw a couple of innings against the Pirates and after his outing spent another two innings in the dugout getting more wisdom from Roger.
Thurman Munson once told me that the eyes don’t lie.
Fried’s eyes never left the "Rocket."
Yes Clemens was a great pitcher, probably one of the top 10 ever.
However in speaking with him very recently, he said that he spent one season with Tom Seaver and the things he learned from Tom Terrific really helped him with his own game.
The great thing about Roger Clemens is that he is always willing to share his knowledge —with anyone.
Last but not least: a personal Roger Clemens story.
We were at a function for Wall Street businessmen. He was telling wonderful stories and in the middle of his speech he noticed me in the audience and he said if you guys really want to hear a great baseball story let me introduce to this guy and how George Steinbrenner picked him up from the streets.
The Yankees organization is to be commended for understanding the importance of having guys like the Rocket and Willie Randolph, Bucky Dent, C. C. Sabathia, and Bernie Williams.
Why?
They survived the baseball wars, and know how to share their experiences and knowledge.
Ray Negron is a sports executive with over 40 years of experience in baseball. His first job came from a chance encounter with George Steinbrenner as a youth. Mr. Negron is also an American film producer, a best-selling author, and philanthropist. His memoir is, "Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers." Read Ray Negron's Reports — More Here.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.