Baseball great Roger Clemens has ruled out a run for Congress because of the current “climate in politics.”
Clemens recently said he has “no interest” in running for Congress in Texas after Republican Pete Olson announced that he was retiring from the seat, according to USA Today.
“The climate in politics at this time is much more than I would want to undertake, along with my family considerations,” Clemens said in a message to the retiring Olson.
Clemens added that he still supports whoever the president is, regardless of party affiliation.
“I am a Republican and I support our President and will continue to do so,” Clemens continued. “No matter who our President may be, I will continue my support of them and root for them to be successful, just as I did when President (Barack) Obama was in office.
“I will … do all I can to continue to promote the quality of life issues that we respect and try to maintain as citizens of the State of Texas and the United States,” the one-time Boston Red Sox MVP pitcher concluded.
“Clemens is the second former Red Sox pitcher in recent days to be mentioned in congressional news,” Sporting News reported. “Curt Schilling told the Arizona Republic last week he is ‘absolutely considering’ a bid for Congress in Arizona. President Donald Trump responded with a tweet, ‘Curt Schilling, a great pitcher and patriot, is considering a run for Congress in Arizona. Terrific!'”
Before retiring from Major League Baseball in 2007, Clemens won 354 games during his 12 seasons with the Red Sox, throwing 4,672 strikeouts. He was an 11-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champ.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.