But it's too late. Long memories prevail, and both benches empty. Nothing comes of it. He wasn't throwing the bat at him. There was no intent.
Piazza grounds out on the next pitch.
But the bullpen could only threaten to spoil this night for Clemens, and the Yankees would hang on to win, 6-5. The Rocket may not have been as dominant as he was in Seattle in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, but it was damn close. Two hits and nine strikeouts over eight innings . While there are those who will surely try to liken his first-inning behavior to some of the more psychotic episodes we have seen in sports in recent years, there is reason to believe Clemens when he says he was simply so fired up he had to work at calming himself down at that point. He is a Texas guy who was raised on football, after all.