Shakedownsports.com

Roger Clemens has always seemed like the kind of guy you would want to stay from—the kind of guy for whom it was never hard to imagine an untimely autograph request ending with a 90 mph fastball between the eyes. Still, one member of the Japanese media wanted his autograph so badly he just went ahead and asked Clemens for one while they were in the clubhouse. It turns out the writer would have been better just trying to snag one on Ebay.

When a Japanese reporter recently asked Roger Clemens for an autograph, he got a signed photo and a swift penalty: His membership in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America was revoked.

Hiroki Homma of the Fuji Evening News said he didn’t realize he was breaking the rules, though he took full responsibility and apologized to the New York Yankees.

“I didn’t know,” Homma said. “It was my fault.”

Yep, it turns out that in America, unlike in Japan, baseball writers aren’t allowed to ask players for autographs. It seems like a stupid mistake for Homma to make, but in his defense, he may have thought Clemens was no longer an active player—you know, because he has announced his retirement 17 times over the last few years.

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