Douglas Horace Clemens (born June 9, 1939) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from – for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. During Clemens’ playing days, he stood tall, weighing . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Early life

Born in Leesport,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

, in 1939, Clemens attended Muhlenberg High School, lettering in both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and baseball, while under the tutelage of his own father, Head Coach Lloyd “Scoop” Clemens (himself, a Phillies scout). A highly-recruited halfback, he (young Clemens) played collegiately in

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional American football, football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a Fullback (gridiron football), fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the ...

’s footsteps, at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. While on a full athletic (gridiron) scholarship, Clemens suffered a severe knee injury, early on in Fall, 1957; however, the Orangemen transferred his scholarship to the diamond, where he played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, lettering in baseball in both and . Following his Junior year, Clemens turned pro, signing with the Cardinals.

Baseball career

A pinch-hitting specialist for most of his MLB career, Clemens’ main claim to fame stems from the June 15, 1964, trade that brought future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis ...

to the Cardinals. That spring, Clemens broke camp with the Cards. In early-season action, he tallied 33 games played, while hitting .205, with six walks, and 16 strikeouts. On June 15, the Cardinals traded Clemens,

Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a member of ...

, and

Ernie Broglio Ernest Gilbert Broglio (; August 27, 1935 – July 16, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs from 1959 to 1966. After attending high school and ...

to the

, in exchange for Jack Spring,

Paul Toth Paul Louis Toth (June 30, 1935 – March 20, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1964 for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. He was born in McRober ...

, and (although not-yet-evident) Cooperstown-bound outfielder Brock. Clemens continued in platoon and pinch-hitting roles until retiring as a Phillie, following a 1968 season, most of which was spent with their Triple-A

San Diego Padres (PCL) The San Diego Padres were a Minor League Baseball team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1936 through 1968. The team name was later given to the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Fr ...

club. During his nine-year MLB career, including the full seasons of through , Clemens collected 211

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, with 34 doubles seven

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and 12

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

. He batted .229 and was credited with 88

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI).

References

External links

Doug Clemens
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Doug Clemens
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens, Doug 1939 births Living people Atlanta Crackers players Billings Mustangs players Charleston Marlins players Chicago Cubs players Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Berks County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Juan Marlins players Syracuse Orange football players Syracuse Orangemen baseball players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen