NEW YORK — Roger Clemens is walking back into the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, and the arguing started days before anyone threw a pitch.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner is reportedly joining NBC’s broadcast booth as an analyst for the June 28 Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the longtime rivals. Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp first reported the move, which casts Clemens as the Yankees-focused voice while Will Middlebrooks handles the Red Sox side and Jason Benetti calls play-by-play.
The assignment turned into a social media storm almost immediately. For NBC, adding a famous and credentialed arm to a marquee game is an easy sell. For a large segment of fans, it reopened one of baseball’s oldest and most unresolved fights.
Clemens is not the only former Yankee NBC built into the telecast. Bob Costas will anchor the network’s studio coverage, joined by Anthony Rizzo as a studio analyst, giving the broadcast a heavy pinstripe presence around the rivalry game.
That fight centers on Clemens’ link to the sport’s performance-enhancing drug era and his continued absence from the Hall of Fame. Dropping him into the rivalry’s biggest television window guaranteed the reaction would be loud.
Fans rip the network’s choice
Their reaction was blunt. Some fans questioned why former stars such as Roger Clemens and John Franco were getting broadcast opportunities instead of local voices. They blasted NBC for handing Clemens such a visible platform, framing the decision as a slight to a sport still wrestling with its steroid-era reckoning.
Joe Saponara, known as Joey from Yonkers, wrote, “Instead of giving us John Franco and Roger Clemens we should get real local broadcasters.”
Others reacted with sarcasm or outright disapproval. One user, Ryan, The Pizza Eater, called it “Color commentary that strikes a chord,” while another simply posted, “No thanks.” Several users responded with vomiting emojis or called the move “another reason not to watch.”
Some comments referenced Clemens’ controversial past and the broader polarizing reaction he still generates among baseball fans. One fan wrote, “Aroid. Clemens. Cheaters galore.” Another joked, “Mike Piazza is unavailable for comment.”
There were also political reactions and personal criticisms directed at the move, illustrating how strongly opinions remain divided whenever Clemens returns to the public baseball spotlight. In the end, the announcement produced exactly what one might expect from a figure as accomplished and controversial as Clemens: plenty of attention and no shortage of debate.
That response was predictable. Clemens remains one of baseball’s most decorated and most divisive figures, a pitcher whose on-field resume would otherwise be untouchable but whose name still triggers the era many fans view as tainted.
NBC placed that debate inside Yankees-Red Sox, a rivalry that rarely needs extra fuel. The network gets instant attention. It also gets instant controversy.
Supporters defend the hire
Not all of the reaction was negative. Some fans argued that few people alive understand elite pitching and rivalry pressure better than Clemens, and that a broadcast adding one of the most accomplished arms in history to break down a pitching matchup is doing exactly its job.
That camp drew a line between the booth role and an endorsement of Clemens’ past. They saw an analyst hire, not a referendum. Clemens has also done guest analyst work before, including ESPN appearances in recent years, per The Sun.
Still, the stage makes this assignment feel different. Yankees-Red Sox rivalry remains one of MLB’s biggest TV products, and NBC is trying to make Sunday Night Baseball feel like an event. Clemens delivers eyeballs, for better and worse.
A name tied to both sides
Clemens’ history deepens the reaction. He won two World Series titles with the Yankees and pitched key October innings during the late-dynasty years. He also spent his early, dominant seasons with Boston before the move that still stings parts of the Red Sox fan base.
That dual identity gives NBC a clear reason to use him on this specific game. It also hands fans on both sides something to argue about. Yankees fans recall the dominance, Red Sox fans recall the departure, and neutral viewers circle back to Cooperstown.
Few analysts could provoke all three groups at once. Clemens manages it without trying. His career numbers explain the pull. Across 24 seasons with the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros, he won 354 games, and his 4,672 strikeouts rank third all-time behind only Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson.
The Hall of Fame shadow lingers
The larger issue is Cooperstown, and it follows Clemens everywhere. His case has never hinged on production. It has hinged on trust and perception in the wake of the Mitchell Report era, which is why a single broadcast booking became bigger than one broadcast.
Clemens also arrived at the assignment with fresh attention. He made news last week by backing San Francisco Giants pitchers who were reportedly warned by MLB after writing Bible verses on their caps during the team’s Pride Night, framing it through his own faith.
“I love it that these guys show the blessings that the Lord has given them to be out there on that field,” Clemens said in a clip shared on X. “That’s the way it was for me.”
From a media standpoint, the move has already worked. People are debating the broadcast days out, and a game that would draw interest anyway now carries an extra hook.
The risk is just as clear. A strong performance lets NBC claim insight and star power, while an awkward one invites the charge that the network courted backlash for nothing. Either way, the reaction proved a familiar point. Baseball still cannot talk about Roger Clemens quietly, and the June 28 broadcast will test whether the noise around him helps or hurts the night.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
