Setting aside the question of whether the The Rocket is worth the paycheck he is going to receive or whether his signing will really help the Yankees out in the standings, let’s look at the biggest gripe about his contract: his special schedule.
I have heard numerous commentators on ESPN Radio (and elsewhere) talk about how awful it is that Roger Clemens is getting special treatment by not having to be with the Yankees full time.
Hmm, let’s see: an especially gifted athlete is treated differently by society than “normal” people because of his immense talent. Where have I heard this before? The irony here is that probably every major-leaguer has received special treatment in their lives (in school or elsewhere) because of their gifts. Certainly pro athletes get all kinds of benefits that non-athletes do not get. Now Clemens who is more gifted than even your top-tier major leaguers gets special privileges within than subset of society. How is this a surprise to anyone? Is this really a deviation from the norms of professional sports?
And Clemen’s special treatment will only be a problem is Clemens’ pitches poorly and the Yankees lose. If he does well, his schedule will be a non-issue for the his teammates. Again: this is how sports always works: if you win (especially if you win for us) accommodations are made. If you lose (or you have insufficient talent), well that’s a another story.
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