Roger Clemens vs. Mike Piazza: How Shawn Estes Was Forced Into Baseball's Biggest Feud

In the early 2000s, there were three indisputable truths: boy bands were dominating the world, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was must-see TV, and the biggest feud in all of sports belonged to Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza. They hated each other. Roger hated that Mike absolutely owned him at the plate. Mike hated that Roger responded by beaning him in the head. Then, in the 2000 World Series, the Subway Series, it all came to a head. Mike Piazza's bat shattered on a pitch from Roger Clemens. Clemens famously picked up a shard of the bat and hurled it toward Piazza. The result was a staredown for the ages, and the unspoken promise of eventual revenge. The next time Clemens would face the Mets, and have to hit (pitchers used to have to hit in NL games!), was in 2002. Opposing him was Shawn Estes, a man who had certainly witnessed the incident that defined the 2000 World Series but had no dog in the fight. Well, he didn't, until he was forced to. On paper, the Estes-Clemens showdown at Shea looked like a success for Shawn. He won. He hit a home run. But...he missed Roger Clemens with the pitch that was supposed to pacify a rabid Mets fan base that, through bites of Premio sausage and peppers, was screaming unspeakable atrocities at The Rocket. Don't forget, Shea once had to build a roof over the bullpen because fans were throwing batteries at John Rocker. This fanbase didn't mess around. In the end, it was a feud that ended with a muted thud instead of the bang everyone expected. Years later, Shawn Estes tells his side of the story, what it was like to inherit someone else's beef, and the pressure that came with it. Welcome to Episode 006 of REAL DEAL! I'm Tony Reali, and I'm so happy you're here. Subscribe for new episodes of REAL DEAL every Tuesday. You can also listen on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.