WASHINGTON -- Andy Pettitte began his testimony in the government’s case against Roger Clemens this morning.
The Yankees’ returning left-hander, wearing a dark, pinstriped suit and looking extremely uncomfortable, testified for about 30 minutes before District Judge Reggie Walton called for a recess. He has yet to get into the critical issue of his alleged conversations with Clemens -- on trial for obstruction of Congress, perjury and making a false statement -- about illegal performance-enhancing drug usage.
Pettitte looked nervous as U.S. Assistant Attorney Steven Durham tried to create the narrative of a teenaged Pettitte looking up to the superstar Clemens, a young Pettitte becoming Clemens’ teammate with the Yankees and an older Pettitte getting betrayed by Clemens as baseball’s steroids scandal grew. So far, Durham is at the “teammates” portion.
The former teammates didn’t come close to making eye contact. While Clemens, appearing detached, watched Pettitte testify, Pettitte looked only straight ahead and to his right -- nowhere to his left, where Clemens and his attorneys sat.
The whole courtroom’s energy rose with the arrival of Pettitte, who pitched Monday in a minor-league game for the Yankees. The jury sat up straighter, and even Walton seemed a little star-struck, asking Pettitte at one point if he knew what his won-loss record was with the Yankees during his first stay (1995-2003).
Pettitte, never smiling, kept his answers extremely brief, and Durham had to ask him at the beginning to please speak into the microphone. When Durham introduced a photo of Clemens and Pettitte smiling together in Astros uniforms, the attorney asked the pitcher if he thought the photo would help Pettitte explain his relationship with Clemens.
Pettitte looked confused and shrugged before eventually answering, “Yeah.”
The pitcher displayed the most emotion when recalling the first time he met Clemens -- on September 28, 1996 at Fenway Park. The two men were facing each other that day, and they exchanged words as they crossed paths in the outfield, prior to the game.
Clemens offered him words of encouragement, Pettitte said, which meant a great deal to him. Said Pettitte: “It fired me up. This was someone to look up to. It was awesome.”
When Clemens joined the Yankees in 1999, Pettitte said, “We hit it off immediately.” They had the same agents, brothers Alan and Randy Hendricks, and they both enjoyed working out and playing golf.
“It was a good situation,” Pettitte said.
The downfall of that friendship will be discussed, for sure, this afternoon. The trial will start up again at 1:45 p.m.
Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, District Judge Reggie Walton, Assistant Attorney Steven Durham, Yankees, the Yankees, Durham
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