
Jon Hamm was on Letterman last night, and he was his typical handsome, affable self, telling Dave anecdotes about injuring himself on the set of “Mad Men,” and the time he tried to walk-on to the baseball team at the University of Texas, but quickly gave up after trying to catch a fastball from teammate Roger Clemens. That second story was certainly cool, but if it caused your “Wait A Second, Isn’t Roger Clemens Like Ten Years Older Than Jon Hamm?” senses to tingle, you may have been onto something. You see, Deadspin did a little research into Hamm’s story, and it turns out that he attended Texas in 1989, six years after Clemens graduated. This means one of two things: 1) Jon Hamm may have been lying, or 2) Roger Clemens can throw a baseball so fast that it can travel six years into the future. If the latter is true, Brian McNamee might want to think about wearing a helmet for most of 2013.
Perhaps this is because I love Jon Hamm and think he’s great on “Mad Men” and feel like we’d be friends if he would JUST ANSWER MY LETTERS, but I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt. When Hamm starts telling the story, Letterman interrupts to clarify by saying “When you were a freshman, he was a senior?”, and he stammers a little before replying “Sure.” So MAYBE what happened was that Roger Clemens came back to practice with his alma mater one day, and Jon Hamm ended up catching for him while he was getting in a little work off the mound, and when Letterman asked him about it, Hamm either didn’t remember the specifics or didn’t feel like getting into them in the middle of his story. That could have happened, right? RIGHT? SAY IT AIN’T SO, JON.
[clears throat]
If he is lying, I think it’s important that we direct the blame at the real guilty party here: Betty Draper. F-ck her.



BETTY RUINS EVERYTHING
SHE’S THE AT&T OF PEOPLE!
I don’t care, because OMG SO HANDSOME.
Me too.
…er, um… No Me.
Well, if Hamm was trying out, it’s likely some Texas alumni getting ready for spring training could have stopped by the campus to workout. And since NCAA rules would have prevented the current members of the Texas team to participate in extra practice, it’s entirely conceivable Hamm was having a catch with Clemens who would have been early into his Red Sox tenure.
I’m pretty sure during his playing days he was a regular around UT working out with the team and such. There was a story out a week or so about him playing in their alumni game. Not completely unfeasible to think he could have caught a throwing session from Clemens in college.
faaaaaaaaaart
Fart, indeed.
Britta’d it.
Well, Clemens isn’t exactly a pillar of truth, so if he comes out and refutes the story, we all know who’s side we’re taking.
I caught this and called BS immediately, but then I figured he was putting it like “Hey Roger Clemens went there, that’s what kind of guy I was dealing with.”
Or maybe he was talking about Rodger Clemmons, former closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates AAA team, who died of massive blood loss in 1997 when, in the 8th inning, he threw a fastball so hard that its wake tore his arm right off and exsanguinated him through the wound. The blood-soaked umpire called it a reverse grand slam, equaling six strikeouts, which won the game for the Pirates.
You guys know that celebs lie on talks shows all the time, right? #itsstillrealtomedamnit!
[m.deadspin.com]
Hamm:
“I knew Clemens wasn’t attending UT while I was but he was the caliber of player that they attracted at that time. I certainly never “caught” Roger Clemens (and was not intending to convey that in the story I told) but have caught quite a few hard throwers. My point was simply I was way, WAY outclassed by the players at the elite level (Clemens, Swindell et. al.). Believe me, Roger Clemens presence was still very much a part of UT baseball when I attended. I in no way meant to aggrandize my ability (in fact, I think I reference my “B-” ability in the interview). If anyone’s free Sunday mornings and hanging out in Valley Rec Centers, well first let me say I’m sorry for you, but secondly if you look behind the plate at the group of forty-somethings playing an approximation of baseball you’ll see exactly what I mean.”