Boston Red Sox
Gorman’s levity when Roger Clemens walked out of camp proved the right approach.
Lou Gorman as he announced his retirement from the Red Sox in 1996 at Fenway Park. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
March 17, 2026 | 8:05 AM
2 minutes to read
(Alongside Boston.com’s March Madness-themed bracket of the best soundbites in Boston sports history, we’re taking a deeper look at the background behind some of this year’s entries in the field of 16).
In his memoir, “One Pitch From Glory: A Decade Running the Red Sox,’’ former general manager Lou Gorman recalled the origins of this quote. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the affable Gorman’s recollection was a bit wordier than the streamlined version that has become part of Boston sports lore.
The circumstance was this: Red Sox ace Roger Clemens, coming off a legendary 1986 season in which he won the American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards, arrived at the Red Sox’ spring training complex in Winter Haven, Fla. in March 1987 in search of a new contract. When he didn’t immediately get it – Gorman recalled that the Red Sox offered Clemens $500,000 a year, plus incentives, which is somewhat less than what a pitcher of his magnitude would make now – Clemens took the advice of his bombastic agents, the Hendricks brothers, and walked out of camp.
This, of course, led to a media maelstrom, which Gorman tried to diffuse in a press conference when he told reporters, per his recollection in his memoir, “Gentlemen, I’m certain the sun will set tonight, and I’m certain it will rise tomorrow morning, and I will have lunch tomorrow afternoon, and I’m certain we will get Roger Clemens signed.”
Gorman’s words of supposed reassurance did not have their intended effect, in part because a condensed version of the quote – “The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I’ll have lunch” — made it sound like getting soup and a sandwich at his favorite Winter Haven lunch spot was the priority over getting the best pitcher in baseball back into camp. (Gorman notes matter-of-factly in his memoir that the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy had a “field day” with the quote.)
Now, Gorman was a general manager from and of another time. In the days before sabermetrics, he relied on trusted scouts and the eye test. He probably made a trade or two at some point in his career while at lunch. Craig Breslow probably doesn’t even eat lunch.
In his 10 seasons (1984-93) as Red Sox general manager, Gorman assembled some excellent teams – the Red Sox went to the World Series in ‘1986 and won the American League East in ’88 and ’90. And he made his share of mistakes, most hauntingly by trading prospect Jeff Bagwell to the Astros last in that ’90 season for reliever Larry Andersen.
But it should be noted: his levity when Clemens walked out of camp proved the right approach. Clemens returned roughly a month later, and the sun rose again: He went on to win a second straight Cy Young Award.
Chad Finn
Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.
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