RoadtotheShow Matt Clement's MLB journey was a winding one
He was 18 years old, a 6-foot-3 point guard on the Butler High School basketball team.
He received college basketball interest from Lafayette, Duquesne, Pitt and Bucknell. He was getting college baseball looks from James Madison, William & Mary, Hofstra, Seton Hall and others.
He was considered a pitching prospect who would go early in Major League Baseball's amateur draft.
Matt Clement only had one problem.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he said.
Because everything happened so fast.
Clement was a 5-9 point guard as a 1990-91 high school sophomore “and was a sixth-man and sometimes starter as a junior,” he said.
“I blossomed physically and talent-wise my senior year, and the colleges were on me.”
The summer leading into his senior year, Clement attended a Joe Wladyka Scouting Service workout as a third baseman. He was asked to pitch a little, and his fastball hit 84 miles per hour.
“Matt only pitched 18 innings his senior year,” said Paul Clement, Matt's father. “He wasn't the best pitcher on the team. And with the basketball playoffs and Roundball Classic, he wasn't around much for the start of baseball season.”
Still, he had a live arm. And when the scouting service sent his video out to schools, he received some interest.
Day of change
Clement's “breakthrough” moment on the mound occurred in a non-section game at Franklin Regional High School.
James Madison University, where Butler teammate Tim Bouch was headed as a pitcher, wanted to see Clement throw a few innings.
“I asked Ron (Butler baseball coach Zawrotuk) if I could pitch that day since James Madison was coming,” Clement said.
Other baseball scouts were coming as well, but not for him. Franklin Regional had a young prospect named Kirk Taylor on its roster.“There were maybe 16 scouts behind the backstop ... I didn't even know,” Clement said. “I reached first base during that game, and their first baseman looked at me and said, 'Dude, you're throwing 93.' ”And life was never the same.“Paul left the field that night with a pocket full of questionnaires. It was nuts after that,” recalled Lois Clement, Matt's mother.Clement agreed.“Pure mayhem,” he said. “For four weeks, the phone rang off the hook from 5 to 11 p.m. every night.” As the amount of college baseball interest in him grew — along with talk of him getting drafted within the first five rounds — Clement still wasn't convinced baseball was his calling.“I just didn't think I was that good,” he said.And he loved basketball as well.“People think basketball was always No. 1 with him, but Matt was always into baseball as well,” his mother said. “I can still remember when he was 5 or 6, before he was ever on a team, having breakfast early in the morning and going out to an open field behind our house.“There was an old wooden board serving as a backstop. Matt would play a simulated baseball game all by himself, using ghost batters and ghost runners ... He'd come back in at 9 a.m. all sweaty before most of the kids in the neighborhood even got outside. He loved the game.”'Fairy tale' dinner
A week before baseball's amateur draft, Clement pitched an American Legion game at Highfield after graduating from high school. He and his girlfriend (now wife) Heather, his parents and a Houston Astros scout went to dinner after the game.“We were sitting in Eat'n Park and the scout said the Astros would pick me in the first round and give me $500,000 if I agreed to report to Kissimmee, Fla., the next day,” Clement said. “I told him I couldn't promise anything.“I just wasn't ready to leave home yet.”His parents didn't say a word.“It was his decision, not ours,” his father said. “That whole thing was like a fairy tale to us. I don't know if that (Astros pick) would ever have happened.”When the San Diego Padres drafted Clement in the third round during the 1993 June draft, he still wasn't certain he was going.“By then, I had decided on baseball,” Clement said. “The day I was drafted, Georgia, Texas and Miami (Fla.) offered me full rides. My head was spinning.”Decision timeHe finally came to a decision, courtesy of advice received from another major league scout following the East-West Legion All-Star Game.“I got pounded in that game,” Clement recalled. “I'm walking back to the car and a scout approached and asked what I was going to do.“When I told him I didn't know, he asked what I would do if I wanted to be a doctor. Go to medical school. A dentist? Go to dental school. If I wanted to be a professional pitcher? Sign with the pros. They would develop me.“I figured it out. I still wasn't convinced I was good. If I went to a major college, I could get lost in the shuffle. Those coaches needed to win.”Decision made.“Matt walked over to me and said, 'Dad, I'm signing tomorrow.' I'll never forget that,” Paul Clement said.Minor league years
Clement pitched for nine minor league teams in his baseball career. He spent five seasons in the minors before making his major league debut with the Padres in September 1998.“I enjoyed minor league life,” he said. “I started out clearing $293 for two weeks in extended spring training. I didn't care.“I was getting paid to play baseball. I thought it was cool. Playing cards with teammates on the bus ... I relished the whole experience.”His favorite minor league stop was Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.), pitching for the Quakes in high Class A.“I had three different stops there, either getting called up to that level or being sent back down to it,” Clement said. “But that's where I figured it out. I had a fantastic year there, which paved my way to the big leagues.”Clement was 6-3 with a 1.60 earned run average, 109 strikeouts in 101 innings for Rancho Cucamonga in 1997.His mother recalled watching him pitch in a minor league all-star game when he was playing for Clinton, Iowa.“He was pretty wild then, walking a lot of people,” she said. “A lot of players in that game were better than him at the time. But Matt wound up going farther than any of them.“You never know.”Major league debutCoors Field in Denver, Colo., Sept. 6, 1998.“The Padres went to the World Series that year,” Clement said. “They had a lot of great veterans on that team. I had all of their baseball cards when I was a kid.“I walked into the clubhouse and my locker was next to (relief ace) Randy Myers. He was one of the Nasty Boys on the 1990 Reds. He was one of my favorite pitchers when I was growing up. I was pretty awe-struck walking in there.”Known as the Blake Street Bombers, the Rockies had sluggers Todd Helton, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks and Larry Walker in their lineup.“Pretty intimidating,” Clement said. “I was in the bullpen and got called into the game. I got roughed up pretty good.”Clement allowed four hits and three runs in one inning of a 12-2 loss.“I wound up starting the next game after the Padres clinched the division. I won two games that month without a loss.”The Padres cleaned house after losing the 1998 World Series, and Clement joined their starting rotation the following year. He was a starting pitcher for the remainder of his career.Getting tradedOn March 28, 2001, Clement was traded to the Florida Marlins as part of a five-player deal.His last year with the Padres, “I almost had the Triple Crown ... leading the league in walks and wild pitches, second in hit batsmen.“But I was devastated,” he said of the trade. “I didn't adjust well and had a bad season (9-10, 5.05 ERA with Marlins).”Brad Arnsberg was brought in as pitching coach for the Marlins for the 2002 season. Jeff Torborg was the manager.“I loved both of those guys,” Clement said. “Brad adjusted the lead foot in my delivery during spring training and for my first time in the big leagues, everything clicked.”Then, on March 27, 2002, he was traded to the Cubs with Antonio Alfonseca for Jose Cueto, Ryan Jorgensen, Julian Tavarez and Dontrelle Willis.“That all worked out. I loved Chicago, loved Wrigley Field.”Most satisfying win“I pitched the division clincher against the Pirates at Wrigley (in 2003),” Clement said. “Celebrating on the field with my family after the game is something I'll never forget.”Clement also won Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Marlins that year, pulling the Cubs within one win of the World Series.“I remember the anticipation in our clubhouse,” he said. “We were up three games to one, ready to get to the World Series for the first time since 1945.“We were making history ... Then it didn't happen.”The Marlins won the next three — including the infamous Steve Bartman foul ball incident at Wrigley — to win the pennant.“The city blamed Bartman. The players never did,” Clement said. “We had chances to win it after that. I felt bad for the situation.”Personal favoritesBallpark — Wrigley Field and PNC Park. “Gotta pick two,” Clement said. “Wrigley Field is just so historic. I love the ivy on the walls. And PNC Park — Pittsburgh did it right. Just a beautiful place.”Manager — Dusty Baker (Cubs). “He always had your back, always made excuses for you. And I played for two other managers who will make the Hall of Fame in Bruce Bochy and Terry Francona.Pitching coach — Brad Arnsberg (Marlins) and Larry Rothschild (Cubs). “I had them around the same time and they changed my career.”Catcher — Joe Girardi (Cubs). “He only caught me one year, but an incredible baseball mind. He is a born leader. I knew he'd become a manager.”Pitching for PiratesClement tried realizing the dream of playing for the Pirates twice.“Before I signed (as a free agent) with the Red Sox, I wanted to join the Pirates and come back home,” he said. “Then at the end of my career, I told my agent to try working a deal with them.“The Pirates were rebuilding then and I thought I could be a veteran presence in their clubhouse while working my way back from surgery. They weren't interested either time.”All-Star Game“Getting a chance to play in the Major League All-Star Game was a memorable moment,” Clement said. “Just seeing all of those great players in the locker room and on the field.“I enjoyed it so much. I never thought I'd get there. I enjoyed it so much.”Clement pitched a scoreless inning in the 2005 All-Star Game as a member of the Red Sox. He and his American League team won, 7-5.Surgery spelled the endClement's 2006 season in Boston was cut short as he underwent surgery for a torn labrum, rotator cuff and capsule in his pitching arm.He tried coming back with St. Louis and Toronto, but retired on April 5, 2009, when he failed to make the Blue Jays' starting rotation coming out of spring training.“I had no regrets,” Clement said. “My arm just wore out. I never missed a start in the major leagues for eight years. That's what I was known for, durability.“Two or three years after, I was playing catch with (eldest son) Mattix and my ball was moving. I felt good, no pain. I asked my agent if he could get me into somebody's spring training camp.“He said he could. Just give him the word. I never did. Basketball season would come around and I focused on that. Then I got to be 40 and it was unrealistic.”Still signing autographs“I was a big card collector as a kid,” Clement said. “I get it. A couple of times a week, I still get stuff in the mail to sign and I do it. Everybody who wants my autograph in Butler probably has it, but it's cool that baseball fans still remember me.“When I was in Chicago, I used to sign stuff 20 to 30 times a day. It fades away with time. I loved every minute of it. I have no regrets.”Except one.“I wish I could have played a little longer so my sons could have some vivid memories of those days,” Clement admitted. “Every now and then, they look at stuff (memorabilia).“I never thought I could do what I did. All-Star Game. I have a World Series ring. I have so many memories.”As does his family.“I think he made the right choice,” his father said.
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