The New York Yankees took on the Philadelphia Phillies in a spring training exhibition game on Tuesday. Before the game got underway, Phillies infielder Kody Clemens shared a heartwarming moment with his father Roger Clemens.
Ahead of the afternoon’s first pitch, Roger and Kody met at home plate to exchange the game’s lineup cards. It was a cool moment between the father and son, who took part in the pregame tradition usually reserved for the managers.
Roger, who was appointed as a guest instructor for Yankees pitchers in spring training, took to social media to express his joy over the moment in its aftermath, while also thanking Phillies manager Rob Thomson and Yankees skipper Aaron Boone for enabling him to share the sweet moment with his son.
Don’t know if it was a first time event that a Father / Son exchanged line up cards or not. But I can tell you that it sure was a treat for “The Rocket” doing that with the Kid! Thanks again to “Boonie” (Aaron Boone) and “Topper” (Rob Thomson) for making it happen! @Phillies… pic.twitter.com/46aiSNnege
Don’t know if it was a first time event that a Father / Son exchanged line up cards or not. But I can tell you that it sure was a treat for “The Rocket” doing that with the Kid! Thanks again to “Boonie” (Aaron Boone) and “Topper” (Rob Thomson) for making it happen! @Phillies… pic.twitter.com/46aiSNnege
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) March 4, 2025
“Don’t know if it was a first time event that a Father / Son exchanged line up cards or not. But I can tell you that it sure was a treat for “The Rocket” doing that with the Kid! Thanks again to “Boonie” (Aaron Boone) and “Topper” (Rob Thomson) for making it happen!” wrote Clemens on X.
To answer his question, it was not the first time a father and son exchanged lineup cards, as Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker and his son Darren did so during a Grapefruit League game in 2022.
Although Roger and the Yankees came away from Tuesday’s game with a 12–3 win, Kody collected a hit and scored a run across two at-bats in the contest.
All in all, a pretty awesome day for the Clemens clan.
