Will Clark

This article is about the baseball player. For other uses, see Will Clark (disambiguation). Will Clark First basemanBorn: March 13, 1964(1964-03-13) (age 44)
New Orleans, LouisianaBatted: Left Threw: Left MLB debut April 8, 1986
for the San Francisco GiantsFinal game October 1, 2000
for the St. Louis CardinalsCareer statistics Batting average .303 Home runs 284 Run batted in 1,205 Teams

Career highlights and awards

6x All-Star selection (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994)
Gold Glove Award winner (1991)
2x Silver Slugger Award winner (1989, 1991)
1989 NLCS MVP
1985 Golden Spikes Award

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. (born March 13, 1964 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his play with the San Francisco Giants from 1986 to 1993. He was recognized by his peers as being one of the best clutch players of his time, and possessed a fiery intensity. He earned the nicknames of "Will the Thrill" (a name given to him by his classmates at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, where he played both varsity baseball and varsity basketball) as well as simply "The Thrill"[1] and "The Natural" because of his natural gifts as a player. Clark was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. He is a direct descendant of William Clark from Lewis and Clark.[2] He currently works in the Arizona Diamondbacks front office.

1 Olympics
2 College
3 Major leagues
4 Legacy
5 Honors
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Olympics

Clark played a starring role for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team that yielded such future major leaguers as Barry Larkin and Mark McGwire. During the five-game Olympic tournament, Clark batted .429 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

College

Playing for Mississippi State University Clark was noted for his oft-imitated "sweet swing," said to be among the best in baseball. In 1985, The Sporting News named Clark an All-American and he later won the Golden Spikes Award from USA Baseball.

Major leagues

San Francisco Giants (1986–93)

Clark was drafted with the second overall pick in the 1985 draft by the San Francisco Giants.[3] Clark displayed his trademark flair for the dramatic during his first professional plate appearances. In his minor league debut, Clark homered on his first swing against Fernando Valenzuela. Called up by the Giants a year later, in his first major league at bat on April 8, 1986, Clark debuted with another home run—this time off Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan.[4] However, an elbow injury cost Clark 47 games in his rookie season.[5] Clark finished his rookie year with a respectable .287 batting average.

Clark prepares to bat during 1992 game at Candlestick Park.

Over the next six seasons Clark would establish himself as the premier first baseman in the National League. In his first full season in 1987, Clark had a .308 batting average and a career high 35 home runs as the Giants captured the National League West crown. Although overlooked for All-Star status in 1987, Clark was voted the starting first baseman for the NL All-Star team every season from 1988 through 1992. In 1988, Clark was the first Giants' player to drive in 90 or more runs in consecutve seasons since Bobby Murcer in 1975-76.

His finest season was in 1989, when he batted .333 (losing the batting title to Tony Gwynn on the final day of the season) [6] with 111 RBIs. Clark finishing second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Giants teammate Kevin Mitchell.

In 1989, Clark and the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. In Game 1, Clark hit a solo home run in the third inning and followed with a grand slam off Greg Maddux [7] in the fourth inning. Prior to Clark's at bat, Cubs' catcher Joe Girardi went to the mound to discuss with Maddux how to pitch to Clark. From the on-deck circle, Clark watched the conversation and read Maddux's lips saying "fastball high, inside." The first pitch was a fastball high and inside which Clark sent into the right field bleachers. Following this, pitchers began to cover their mouths with their gloves when having conversations on the pitchers mound. (The Chicago Tribune's front page the next day paid tribute to his performance with a headline of "Clark's night on Addison.")[8]

In Game 5 of the series, Clark faced Cubs closer Mitch Williams with the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. After an epic at-bat, with several two strike foul balls keeping the duel alive for several minutes, Clark singled to center field to drive in two runs, breaking the tie, eventually sending the Giants to the World Series. Clark's efforts, which included a .650 batting average and two home runs, resulted in him being named MVP for the series. The Giants went on to face the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series, but were swept in 4 games. In the only World Series appearance of his career, Clark failed to contribute significantly at the plate, with no runs batted in and a .250 batting average.

Clark had become a very durable player since his rookie year injury, setting a San Francisco record with 320 consecutive games played from September 1987 through August 1989. [9] However, a string of injuries cut into his playing time in the early 1990s and diminished his production. Clark drove in just 73 runs in 1992 and 1993, the lowest total since his rookie year. [10]

Clark's contract with the Giants expired after the 1993 season. Although Clark was a popular star and a fixture in San Francisco baseball, the Giants were unwilling to offer a long-term contract to a player with recent injury problems coming off two mediocre seasons.

Texas Rangers (1994–98)

After the 1993 season, Clark signed with the Texas Rangers, near his home in Louisiana. Clark helped the Rangers reach the playoffs in 1996 and 1998, but in both years the team was defeated in the American League Divisional Series by the New York Yankees.

Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals (1999–2000)

Clark joined the Baltimore Orioles for the 1999 season, and spent nearly two years with the club, but was plagued by injuries. The lone bright spot of those seasons was collecting his 2000th hit on June 15 versus the Kansas City Royals.

Clark was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals near the end of the 2000 season, acquired in part to play in place of the injured Mark McGwire. A rejuvenated Clark (.964 OPS) helped the Cardinals reach the playoffs, (which included hitting a home run in each of his first four games with his new club), and the team swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. In the NLCS, the Cardinals faced the New York Mets, who would go on to win the pennant, and lost in five games. Clark performed better in these playoffs (.345 BA) than in recent years. After announcing that his retirement would come when the Cardinals' playoff run ended, Clark went 1 for 3 in his final game on October 16, 2000.

Statistics

Clark's regular season stats:

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH HBP1976 7173 1186 2176 440 47 284 1205 67 48 1205 1190 .303 .384 .497 3562 13 59

Legacy

On the basis of his performance between 1987 and 1991, Clark appeared to be headed for a Hall of Fame career. Clark did rebound from his mediocre 1993 season to turn in productive years in the American League, but he never was the "impact player" that he had been in his earlier years with the Giants.

Clark's final statistics of 284 home runs, 1205 RBIs, and a .303 batting average (.881 OPS) underscore an excellent baseball career. However, the ten baseball players that Baseball-Reference ranks him as "most similar" are Edgar Martínez, Cecil Cooper, John Olerud, Paul O'Neill, Bob Johnson, Ellis Burks, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Reggie Smith, and Jim Bottomley. [11] Of those ten, only Bottomley is in the Hall of Fame (Bottomly played from 1922 until 1937),[12] and the other nine would be regarded as marginal candidates, which is how Clark must be regarded. In 2006 Hall of Fame balloting, Clark received only 23 votes, 4.4% of the total. [13]

Honors

National League All-Star 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 [14]
American League All-Star 1994 [15]
MVP of the 1989 National League Championship Series
Two-time National League Silver Slugger Award at First base (1989 and 1991).
1991 National League Gold Glove Award at First Base.
On July 4, 2006, Clark was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in its inaugural class.
Inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Member of the inaugural class of College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.