Paul Arthur Clemens (born February 14, 1988) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He 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) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

, and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Early years

Clemens attended James W. Robinson, Jr. Secondary School in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, where he lettered three years under head baseball coach Bill Evers. While at Robinson, Clemens broke Javier López's single-game strikeout record by recording 16 strikeouts against Socastee High School in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. Clemens played summer baseball for the Virginia Barnstormers. During his senior year at James W. Robinson, Clemens accepted a baseball scholarship to

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...

, but later decided that junior college was a better option. Clemens attended

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held it ...

in North Carolina, where he pitched for two seasons. Clemens' tall frame and naturally live arm attracted the attention of MLB scouts early on in his college career.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Clemens was drafted in the 36th-round (1089 overall) by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in 2007, but he chose to return to school for another year. He was drafted by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

Houston Astros

On July 31, 2011, Clemens, Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer and Juan Abreu were traded to the

for Michael Bourn. Clemens was added to the Astros 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. In 2013, Clemens earned a 4–6 record. He pitched the last game of the

2013 Houston Astros season The 2013 Houston Astros season was the 52nd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 49th as the Astros, and 14th at Minute Maid Park. Further, it was the Astros' inaugural season as members of both ...

when they played the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He lost to former Astro

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

in Pettite's last game. Clemens was designated for assignment by the Astros on September 2, 2014.

Philadelphia Phillies

Clemens signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

on November 20, 2014.

Kansas City Royals

He was then released after making 7 appearances and signed on with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Miami Marlins

On November 30, Clemens signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres

On June 28, 2016, Clemens was claimed off waivers by the

. On August 6, 2016, Clemens was pulled from the 5th inning of a game against the

for failing to run out a bunt. Earlier in the game, he had gotten pine tar on his original jersey and switched to a new one, number 91, which read "Player" on the back. He was released on March 20, 2017.

Minnesota Twins

Clemens signed with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

for the rest of the 2017 season. On July 21, 2017, Clemens was released by the

Leones de Yucatán

On March 11, 2018, Clemens signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released on April 23, 2018.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On May 11, 2018, Clemens signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Base ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

High Point Rockers

On April 11, 2019, Clemens signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

. He was released on September 16, 2019.

Personal life

Clemens is married to Marlee Clemens. They have four children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens, Paul 1988 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Columbia, South Carolina Clearwater Threshers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Danville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players High Point Rockers players Houston Astros players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New Orleans Zephyrs players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Omaha Storm Chasers players Rome Braves players San Diego Padres players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players