When the Toronto Blue Jays selected Kacy Clemens in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft, a photo from the late 1990s surfaced of him helping his dad, Roger Clemens, carry a bag of equipment during spring training in Dunedin, Fla.
Twenty years later, Kacy is now playing high Class-A ball for the Dunedin Blue Jays, and on Saturday he and his father recreated that now-iconic photo at Dunedin Stadium.
Clemens posted a side-by-side view of the two images on social media.
“I was about three or four years old, and I remember my dad saying that I was upset that he made me carry the equipment bag that’s about the same size as me in that picture,” Clemens told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi last June when discussing the original pic. “It’s crazy. I remember taking groundballs on those backfields [in Dunedin] with my dad when he was playing there.”
Clemens, usually a first baseman, batted DH against the Fort Myers Miracle Saturday. The 23-year-old hit .222/.333/.556 with four hits and three RBI in his five games with Dunedin prior to Saturday. He had spent the previous month with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League.
The elder Clemens spent two seasons with the Blue Jays, winning the American League Cy Young Award in both 1997 and 1998.
“He was pretty fired up to say the least when he heard his name,” the proud papa told Prime Time Sports one day after his son was selected by his former team. “It looks like this next chapter in his life he’s just really excited to have the opportunity to try this. Like I’ve told him since he was little, it’s very difficult as you work your way up that tier and guys are really good but I think he’s up for the challenge.”
Kacy was his team’s offensive MVP during his senior year at the University of Texas, hitting .305/.414/.532 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI, while also lauded for his defensive skill set.
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