Duquette Off the Hook?
In 1996, Dan Duquette let Roger Clemens leave Boston and even suggested that he had entered the “twilight of his career”. In his final four seasons with Boston, Roger’s record was a mediocre 40-39 and he’d lost some zip. After his departure, that twilight was looking more like dawning of another day. He posted two back-to-back 20-win seasons with Toronto, four more Cy Young Awards, and two World Series rings with the New York Yankees. He became the poster-child for longevity and Duquette the poster-child for bad talent-evaluation. With Roger’s name all over the Mitchell Report linking him to performance-enhancing drugs as early as 1998, you have to ask the question, “Did Duquette get it right?”
There is still some question as to the veracity of the allegations and testimony included in the Mitchell Report on Clemens, but it certainly does feel right. Of course, I still think Duquette was a terrible general manager, but I think he just might have made the right call.
Tags: dan duquette, mitchell report, roger clemens