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Roger Clemens gave up six runs in the first inning of the All-Star game Tuesday.

Roger Clemens pitched the worst inning of his professional career Tuesday night as the American League clobbered him for five hits and six runs in the first inning of the 2004 All-Star game. Not only was the game played in front of the Rocket’s hometown fans in Houston, but the implosion cost the National League home-field advantage in this year’s upcoming World Series.

Clemens now owns the most embarrassing moment in the modern history of the All-Star game, and that inning will stay with him for the rest of the career. A pitcher as good as Clemens shouldn’t give up a single, double, triple and two homers in an entire game, let alone the first inning of an All-Star game.

Millions of fans still respect Clemens as one of the best and toughest pitchers in the history of baseball. He owns six Cy Young Awards and won two World Series with the New York Yankees. He should be proud of his other pitching accomplishments, including 320 wins and 4,220 strikeouts, but nothing stands out more than his choke job during his All-Star appearance Tuesday.

Lots of baseball fans root against Clemens. He is disliked the most by New York Mets fans for the way he threw at Mike Piazza's head in the past. Several worked-up baseball fans laughed as Clemens looked on in shock as his pitches got hit out of the park or bounced off the wall in the first inning. The All-Star game was over by the time Clemens struck out A's pitcher Mark Mulder to end the inning.

Could Piazza, Clemens' battery mate for the game, have been giving the American League batters tips about what Clemens was about to throw? Absolutely not, but you would be amazed by what conspiracy theorists think of a game in which home-field advantage to the World Series is riding on the outcome. Was the Rocket very uncomfortable on the mound, because he felt uneasy pitching to Piazza, his longtime rival? Possibly, but the Rocket should have been able to control his intensity and emotions in a game of this magnitude.

Meanwhile, Yankees fans were thrilled to see Clemens blow up on his own launching pad after the way he “retired,” then changed his mind to be closer to his home, family and Andy Pettite with the Astros. This still rubs many Yankees fans the wrong way, and Clemens understands this. He had the opportunity to continue to pitch in the Bronx and help lead the Bombers to another championship, but chose the Astros, where he finds himself 10 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central.

Red Sox fans loved watching Manny Ramirez turn on a Clemens soft toss and deposit the ball in the seats above the left-field wall, putting the American League up 3-0 in the first inning. That home run by Ramirez was the beginning of the end for Clemens, and Red Sox fans felt it was good payback for the one-time Boston legend. Red Sox fans still feel that they have a chance at hosting the World Series in October, with or without Clemens jumping ship in Houston and returning to Boston.

Tuesday night was all about bad karma for Clemens. The baseball gods made sure he understood that he isn't any bigger than the game. Clemens ran around Houston in the days leading up to the game as if he was some type of conquering warrior returning to his home to be pampered and praised. Instead, as his team was losing in the fifth inning largely because of his poor outing, he had to come out of the dugout to receive an award from Commissioner Bud Selig for his great accomplishments. Clemens tried to use the moment to fire up the crowd and his teammates, but he should have kept his mouth shut because this was obviously not his night.

It was poetic that Rangers shortstop Alfonso Soriano won the All-Star MVP award after his three-run homer in the first inning turned out to be the game-winning hit. Soriano loved playing for the Yankees, but was traded in the blockbuster deal for Alex Rodriguez before the season began. He moved his life to Arlington, Texas, and every Yankees fan appreciated the way he handled the news and moved on with his career. Maybe Clemens can win back his old friends in New York by agreeing to a trade back to the Yankees in the next few weeks. He should call on the baseball gods before he makes his decision and run it by his family. Good karma has surrounded Clemens at times in his career, and maybe he can get it back again.

The only way most baseball fans will forget what happened at the All-Star game in Houston would be to see Clemens pitching for the Yankees in the World Series back in the Bronx. He could rub his fingers across the cap of Babe Ruth's plaque at Monument Park before he heads out to the mound to represent his old team again. He had just better hope that Mike Piazza isn't waiting in the batter's box for him with the game on the line.