Game 71: Twins at Astros

First Pitch: 1:10 PM CT

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN

Know Thine Enemy: The Crawfish Boxes

Well, Twinkie Town—I’m on the road again! If all has gone well I’ll have been to Friday & Saturday’s Minnesota Twins vs Houston Astros tilts and flying back to MN later tonight. So, some Kody Clemens appreciation (on Father’s Day, no less!) for this series in his home state.

Kody Clemens—named for the K’s racked up by his famous (infamous?) father—went to Memorial High School in Houston, Texas. He stayed home and played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns—working around Tommy John surgery during his sophomore season.

A solid undergrad career got Clemens drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. His minor league journey was interrupted by the COVID year of 2020—so he once again returned to the Lone Star State to play for Team Texas of the Constellation Energy independent league.

In 2022, Kody got the Show call to Comerica—ironically when Robbie Grossman (squee!) went on the Injured List. In 127 PA with the Tigers, Clemens—didn’t do much: 43 OPS+.

Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Son-of-Roger was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in early 2023 and fared a little better: 82 OPS+ in 268 PA between the ‘23 & ‘24 seasons.

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

On April 26 of this year, the Twins acquired Kody from Philly when injuries to Carlos Correa, Willi Castro, Brooks Lee, & Matt Wallner left them in desperate need of warm bodies.

Clemens has proven to be quite a bit more than that in his Twins tenure: 141 OPS+ in 84 PA (through 6/10/25). Not only that, but he homered in front of daddy-o in Fenway and walked-off those pesky Cleveland Guardians!

Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

I’ll be honest and say that I originally struggled with the notion that Roger Clemens’ son was on the Twins. Without rehashing all the details, I don’t have a ton of love for the way The Rocket handled himself—throwing others under the bus—in the wake of PED allegations.

But to Kody, Roger is just “Dad”—and family trumps all.

Photo by Brett Coomer/Getty Images

Have fun watching the series finale as I enjoy my last day in Space City!