The "Heart" of a Champion

Sept. 15, 2005, 1:39AM

Clemens comes through on same day of his mother's death
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

On her deathbed late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Roger Clemens' mother adamantly urged him back to work. She wanted him back on a pitcher's mound, which long has been her son's sanctuary and the site of many of their most cherished memories.

To the end, her mind was on baseball, and she would have been proud of him on Wednesday night.

Less than 15 hours after Bess Clemens-Booher died in Georgetown, her son took the Minute Maid Park mound and beat the Florida Marlins 10-2, pushing the Astros within a half-game of the National League wild-card lead.

Clemens smiled as he recalled his mother spending some of her last moments asking about Andy Pettitte's surgically repaired left elbow, wondering if the Astros were already in the playoffs and even dropping mentions of Shoeless Joe Jackson.

"I feel very blessed she's at peace now," he said of the woman who essentially raised him as a single mother. "The last 10 years were hard on her. The last two or three days were grueling. She was very tough to the end. She didn't want to give up."

In mourning and sleep deprived after spending the previous three days making three-hour drives between Georgetown and Houston, Clemens followed his mother's order and flew back home for the third game of a crucial four-game series.

After overcoming a first inning in which he was admittedly adrift mentally, Clemens settled down and held the Marlins to five hits and one run with two walks and four strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

"You hear about Roger Clemens being a warrior," Marlins righthander A.J. Burnett said after dropping to 12-11. "That's what he is."

After the final out was recorded to drop Florida into a tie with the Phillies atop the NL wild-card standings, the Astros played a video tribute to Clemens' mother.

"Son, I'm really proud of you and all your accomplishments," Bess said on one of the clips. "I love you. You already know that. I love you."

The gesture touched Clemens, his family and many in the crowd of 30,911.

"I didn't hear the video, but I've seen it and I've heard it before," he said. "It was just great to see her look so pretty like I remember."

Bess Clemens-Booher was 75 when she died Wednesday morning at 4:30 due to complications from emphysema. She had fought emphysema for several years, making Clemens hesitant about playing a 22nd season this year.

With his blessing from his wife, Debbie, and mother, Roger Clemens put off retirement last season to join his hometown Astros and won his seventh Cy Young Award.