You don't have to have watched the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets to know about the infamous bat-throwing incident. You know, the one where Roger Clemens threw a very sharp piece of a broken bat at Mike Piazza and then claimed he thought he was throwing the ball.
21 years ago today, Roger Clemens fired a part of Mike Piazza's split bat back at the Mets' catcher
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) October 22, 2021
pic.twitter.com/CuyJU59OSk
What you probably didn't see was Clemens's reaction after the incident. And, according to former Yankees manager Joe Torre, The Rocket was in tears.
"Mel Stottlemyre, who was not coaching with us because he was in the hospital with multiple myeloma, was able to come out of the hospital and watch from my office," Torre recalled in SNY's "Like We Never Left." "George Steinbrenner was in there with him. After that half inning, Roger went into the office to see Mel, and Mel told me that he was crying [about] what had just transpired. Pitchers who have that passion, it leaks out all over the place. He went in there and he was devastated with the result of what had happened and was crying."
After the incident with Mike Piazza in the '00 Subway Series, Joe Torre says Roger Clemens cried in the clubhouse.@JoeTorre, @BobbyValentine, @bw51official, @NYnellie43, & John Franco join @YankeesWFAN on a Subway Series edition of Like We Never Left: https://t.co/VKOfdx3WXC pic.twitter.com/nij314pa6t
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 25, 2022
It's certainly hard to imagine Clemens crying, given the tough-guy exterior he put on display throughout his career. But this side of the story definitely makes the well-known rivalry between Clemens and Piazza that much more interesting.
The Yankees went on to win that World Series, their third straight. The Mets didn't make the postseason again until 2006 when they lost in the league championship round to the St. Louis Cardinals.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!