NEW YORK — The venerable Bob Sheppard had just implored the 52,553 fans to take time out from the seventh-inning stretch to direct their attention to the owner’s box on the loge level — where, standing with a microphone was none other than Roger Clemens.

In terms of George Steinbrenner bombshells and Yankee Stadium extravaganzas, you’d have to say this one, if only because of the urgency of it, probably tops them all — even the “Billy will return” announcement on Old-Timers’ Day 1978, which likewise caught everyone by surprise, most notably Bob Lemon, the man who had just replaced Billy Martin as Yankee manager.

Like much of the first half of ’78, it has been a tough, often hard-to-watch first five weeks for the Yankees and their fans. As one starting pitcher after another either spit the bit or was felled by injury, general manager Brian Cashman steadfastly kept the dialogue going with Clemens’ agent, Alan Hendricks, in the hopes of convincing the 44-year-old future Hall of Famer to end his latest retirement and come to the rescue of all his pals in the Bronx.

Obviously, Clemens heard the clarion call. As he explained yesterday — after first sending the Stadium into a frenzy with the stunning announcement, “Well, they came and got me out of Texas and I can tell you it’s a privilege to be back” — it was the calls from Joe Torre and Derek Jeter and, most importantly, a conversation he had with Steinbrenner himself in spring training, that convinced him he needed to do this.

“Guys had been calling me and e-mailing, and it was pulling at my heartstrings,” Clemens said. “But what was especially influential was when I met with my owner, Mr. Steinbrenner, in spring training and the words he said to me, which I’ll keep close to my heart for now.”

What Steinbrenner said to Clemens that day was: “I need you, pal. I want you back with me,” before giving the pitcher a warm hug. At the time, however, Steinbrenner, didn’t know how much he was going to need Clemens. As that became more and more evident, Cashman knew this was one free-agent pitcher he absolutely had to sign. Steinbrenner had told him back in the spring that the money would be there when and if the time came and Clemens was ready to make a decision.

What Cashman didn’t know was that his two rivals for Clemens’ services, the Red Sox and the Astros, had incredibly (if unknowingly) taken themselves out of the running by delaying until July their timetable for wanting to bring him aboard.

Hendricks revealed that yesterday in explaining how Clemens already had begun ramping up his workouts with the idea of being ready to pitch no later than June 1. Of course, there were also the financial considerations for making an earlier start worth while for Clemens.

Originally, the Yankees had hoped to sign him to a one-year deal for a pro-rated $25 million, but Hendricks was able to get that to $28 million, meaning that, assuming Clemens can be ready by June 1, he will take home about $18 million. Or as one baseball person put it yesterday: “From the Yankees’ standpoint, this has to be considered a ‘distress’ signing.”

So much so that they’re also granting Clemens the same special privileges he was afforded by his hometown Astros the last three years in that he can fly home between starts to be with his family and doesn’t have to make road trips on which he isn’t scheduled to pitch.

Clemens certainly sounds both confident and determined to give the Yankees their money’s worth.

“I don’t have anything left to prove,” Clemens said. “I still have people here I don’t want to let down — Brian Cashman, Mr. Steinbrenner. The only time I’ll be disappointed is if my body breaks down and that’s why I’m working as hard as I am so that doesn’t happen.

“I expect to perform like I’m 25. I care about how I perform out there. When I sign that contract, I know they don’t care that I’m 45 (on Aug. 4). They expect me to produce.”

As for producing, well, June 1 would indeed seem like a most ideal and fitting time for Clemens to get started on his mission: Yanks-Red Sox at Fenway Park. Can you wait?