Koby Clemens: The Son of Roger Clemens Also Rises in Minor League Baseball

A right-handed third baseman, Koby Clemens has become one of the more scrutinized players in the minor leagues thus far not so much for what he’s done on the diamond but for the bloodline from which he hails. The eldest son of legendary pitcher Roger Clemens, Koby, 21, finds himself playing in both the larger-than-life shadow and spillover spotlight of his father.

Roger Clemens- A Tough Act to Follow

Koby Clemens sure has a tough act to follow. In 2005, Koby signed with the Houston Astros for a bonus of $380,000. He was picked in the eighth round of the amateur draft, 245th overall, as a third baseman. The same year Roger signed a one-year, $18,000,022 contract with the Astros, the highest yearly salary for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history. Roger Clemens subsequently led the Astros to National League Championship and the franchise’s first World Series, which it lost against the Chicago White Sox.

Minor League Baseball Stats

Standing 5’ 11” and tipping the scales at just shy of 200 pounds, Koby Clemens hit .297 with four homeruns and 17 RBIs in 33 games in his first minor league baseball season for the Rookie League Greenville Astros. He was also the youngest player for the Class A Tri-City Valley Cats that year, hitting .281 with six RBIs in nine games. He committed 15 errors overall in 32 games at third.

As the youngest player for the Lexington Legends in 2006, Koby Clemens hit .229 with five homers and 39 RBIs in 91 games. In the minors, he batted .249 with nine homeruns, 63 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .385 slugging percentage in 449 at bats through 2006. Koby also played in the 2006 Hawaiian Winter League for the North Shore Honu, batting .196 with one homerun and nine RBIs in 32 games.

Koby batted .252 with 15 homeruns and 56 RBIs in his 2007 season with the Lexington Legends, his third season in the minors.

Prior to his minor league baseball career, Koby Clemens played for Memorial High School in Houston, where as a junior, he hit .413 with four homeruns and 23 RBIs. He earned all-state honors in his senior year with a .519 batting average, the fifth best in the Houston area, where he also came in second in both homeruns and RBIs. As a pitcher, Koby had a 7-1 record and a 1.75 ERA. He signed to play third base for the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 before being picked up by the Astros.

Although he has no intention of emulating Roger Clemens’ success as a pitcher, Koby Clemens has spent time on the mound. He had a 7-1 record and a 1.75 ERA in his senior year of high school and was the starting pitcher for the Lexington Legends for one game in 2006.