Clemens dismisses HOF snub: 'I didn't play baseball to make the Hall of Fame'

Roger Clemens is arguably one of the best pitchers to ever grace a big-league mound, but he can't seem to find his way into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of ties to performance-enhancing drugs.

When asked about being denied entry into Cooperstown during a recent appearance at a University of Texas alumni game, Clemens said he wasn't bothered by the snub.

"I didn't play baseball to make the (Baseball) Hall of Fame. I played baseball, the first couple of years, to make a fantastic living ... and after that it was about winning championships," Clemens told KXAN Sports.

In his seventh year of eligibility, the 56-year-old appeared on 59.5 percent of submitted ballots, falling short of the 75-percent requirement for induction.

"Really, the Hall of Fame, it's a self kind of deal, a beat your own chest type of deal. You don't get to have a career like I did, 24 years, without fantastic teammates, fantastic catchers back there paying attention to detail. I tell them thank you all the time ... that's what means the most to me," Clemens explained.

Jose Canseco suggested Clemens used steroids in his 2005 book "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big."

In 2007, Clemens was mentioned multiple times in the Mitchell Report on steroid and human growth hormone use in baseball.

Clemens appeared before a Congressional committee in 2008 and swore under oath that he didn't take steroids.

After Clemens went to trial on two separate occasions following his indictment by the grand jury, he was found not guilty in 2012 after being charged with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements, and two counts of perjury in connection with his 2008 testimony.

During a 24-year career in the majors, Clemens pitched in 709 games, winning 354 of them. He also appeared in 11 All-Star Games and is the owner of seven Cy Youngs and an American League MVP.