| Will Clark | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clark with the San Francisco Giants in 1986 | |||||||||||||||
| First baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1964-03-13)March 13, 1964 (age 61) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| April 8, 1986, for the San Francisco Giants | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| October 1, 2000, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .303 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 2,176 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 284 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 1,205 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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William Nuschler Clark Jr. (born March 13, 1964) is an American professionalbaseballfirst baseman who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 through 2000. He played for theSan Francisco Giants,Texas Rangers,Baltimore Orioles, andSt. Louis Cardinals. Clark was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill." The nickname has often been truncated to simply, "the Thrill."[1][2]
Clark playedcollege baseball for theMississippi State Bulldogs, where he won theGolden Spikes Award, and at the1984 Summer Olympics before playing in the major leagues. Clark was a six-timeMLB All-Star, a two-timeSilver Slugger Award winner, aGold Glove Award winner, and the winner of theNational League Championship SeriesMost Valuable Player Award in 1989.
Clark has been inducted into theNational College Baseball Hall of Fame,Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame,Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, andBay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Hisuniform number, 22, was retired by the Giants during the 2022 season. Clark continues to be active in baseball, serving as a Special Assistant in the Giants' front office.[3]
Born and raised primarily inNew Orleans,Louisiana,[1] Clark graduated fromJesuit High School.[4] He grew up aKansas City Royals fan and was selected by the Royals in the fourth round of the1982 draft, but chose not to sign.[5][6]
Clark attendedMississippi State University to playcollege baseball for theMississippi State Bulldogs. In 1983, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theCotuit Kettleers of theCape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). A league all-star, Clark batted .367 and was inducted into theCCBL Hall of Fame in 2004.[7] Clark played for theU.S. team at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles. During the five-game Olympic tournament atDodger Stadium, he led the team in batting average (.429), hits (9), runs batted in (8), and tied for the team lead in home runs (3).[8]
In1985,The Sporting News named Clark an All-American and he later won theGolden Spikes Award fromUSA Baseball as the best amateur baseball player in the country. A teammate ofRafael Palmeiro, the two were known as "Thunder and Lightning."[9] Clark and Palmeiro were known to dislike each other, dating back to their time at Mississippi State.[10] The Bulldogs finished fourth at theCollege World Series in1985, and Clark was named to theall-tournament team.
After his junior season at Mississippi State, Clark was the second overall pick of the1985 Major League Baseball draft, selected by theSan Francisco Giants.[11] He played that summer withFresno of the Class ACalifornia League.
In his first major leagueat-bat on April 8,1986, on his first swing, Clark hit a home run offNolan Ryan.[11] A few days later, Clark also homered in his first home game atCandlestick Park. An elbow injury cost Clark 47 games in his rookie season.[11] Clark finished the year with a .287 batting average and placed fifth in National LeagueRookie of the Year voting.
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In his first full season in1987, Clark had a .308 batting average. Clark was voted the starting first baseman for the NL All-Star team every season from1988 through1992. In1988, Clark was the first Giants' player to drive in 90 or more runs in consecutive seasons sinceBobby Murcer from1975-1976.
In1989, Clark batted .333 (losing the batting title toTony Gwynn on the final day of the season) with 111runs batted in (RBIs). Clark finished second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Giants teammateKevin Mitchell. In1989, Clark and theGiants defeated theChicago Cubs in theNational League Championship Series (NLCS). In Game 1, Clark had already hit a solo home run. Prior to a subsequent at-bat, Cubs'catcherRick Wrona went to the mound to discuss withGreg Maddux how to pitch to Clark. From the on-deck circle, Clark watched the conversation and read Greg Maddux's lips saying "fastball high, inside." The first pitch was a fastball high and inside which Clark sent into the street beyond right field for a grand slam. Afterwards, pitchers began to cover their mouths with their gloves when having conversations on the pitcher's mound.[12] (TheChicago Tribune's front page the next day paid tribute to his performance with a headline of "Clark's night on Addison", referring to the street outside Wrigley Field where the home runs landed.[13])
In Game 5 of the series, Clark faced CubscloserMitch Williams with the score 1–1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Clarksingled tocenter field to drive in two runs, breaking the tie, eventually sending the Giants to theWorld Series. Clark's efforts, which included a .650 batting average and two home runs, resulted in him being namedNLCS MVP. The Giants went on to face theOakland Athletics in the1989 World Series, but were swept. In the only World Series appearance of his career, Clark failed to contribute significantly at the plate, finishing with no runs batted in and a .250 batting average while battling tonsillitis.[14]
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.[11] In January 1990, he signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Giants, which at the time made him the highest-paid player in the majors.[15] However, a string of injuries reduced his playing time in the early 1990s and diminished his production. Clark drove in just 73 runs in1992, the lowest total since his rookie year.[6]
TheTexas Rangers signed Clark to replace his former Mississippi State teammate,Rafael Palmeiro, at first base. Clark made theAmerican League All-Star team in 1994[6] and finished the season with a .329 batting average, the second-highest of his career. He maintained a high level of offensive production throughout his tenure with Texas, finishing below .300 only in 1996. Injuries limited his playing time to 123, 117 and 110 games from 1995 through 1997, but Clark led the Rangers toAmerican League West Division titles in1996 and1998. Clark struggled offensively in both the 1996 and 1998postseasons, though he put together his most productive regular season in seven years in 1998 (.305, 23 HRs, 41 2Bs, 102 RBIs). Following the 1998 season, the Rangers re-signed Rafael Palmeiro, effectively ending Clark's days with the team.
Clark signed a two-year deal with the Orioles before the1999 season, again replacing Palmeiro, who had left Baltimore to return to Texas. Part of the reason Clark chose Baltimore was to be nearJohns Hopkins Hospital inBaltimore, since Clark's son, Trey, has autism.[16] Clark spent nearly two years with Baltimore but was plagued by injuries. On June 15, Clark got his 2000thhit versus theKansas City Royals.
At theMLB trade deadline in 2000, the Orioles traded Clark to theSt. Louis Cardinals forJosé León. He was acquired in part to play in place of the injuredMark McGwire.[17] Clark batted .345 while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 42 runs in 51 games. Clark helped the Cardinals defeat theAtlanta Braves in theNLDS with fourruns batted in during the series. In theNLCS, the Cardinals faced theNew York Mets. Clark batted .412 in the series but the Mets won the series and theNational League pennant. Despite being revitalized during his time with the Cardinals, he decided to retire at the end of the season, largely due to familial obligations.[16] Clark batted .319 during his final season and went 1 for 3 in his final game on October 16, 2000.
Clark was inducted into theCollege Baseball Hall of Fame in2006. He was inducted into theLouisiana Sports Hall of Fame in June 2004,[18] theBay Area Sports Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007,[19][20] and theMississippi Sports Hall of Fame on August 1, 2008.[21] Clark's final statistics were 284 home runs, 1,205 RBI, a .303 batting average, and a .881 OPS.[22] In 2006 Hall of Fame balloting, Clark received 23 votes, 4.4% of the total, which withdrew him from consideration from future ballots, as he did not receive the required 5% threshold to stay on.[23]
Clark holds the record for most home runs against Hall of Fame Pitcher Nolan Ryan with 6.[24]
It was announced on August 11, 2019, that the Giants would retire Clark's #22 during the 2020 season.[25] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic the retirement ceremony was postponed to 2022.[26] Clark's number was ceremoniously retired on July 30, 2022.
| Title | Times | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| National League champion | 1 | 1989 |
| Name of award | Times | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball Digest Player of the Year | 1 | 1989[27] |
| Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame | N/A | 2007[28] |
| Golden Spikes Award | 1 | 1985[29] |
| Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame | N/A | 2012[30] |
| Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame | N/A | 2004[31] |
| MLB All-Star | 6 | 1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1994 |
| MLB Player of the Month | 4 | June 1988,[32] May 1989,[32] September 1989,[32] August 1991[32] |
| MLB Player of the Week | 8 | Aug. 6, 1987,[33] Sep. 18, 1987[33] Jun. 24, 1988,[33] Aug. 5, 1988[33] Apr. 22, 1989,[33] Jul. 13, 1991[33] May. 7, 1994,[33] Aug. 5, 2000[33] |
| Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame | N/A | 2008[34] |
| Mississippi State UniversityAthletics Hall of Fame | N/A | 2003[35] |
| National College Baseball Hall of Fame | N/A | 2006[36] |
| National LeagueChampionship Series MVP | 1 | 1989[37] |
| Number 22 retired bySan Francisco Giants | N/A | 2022[38] |
| Rawlings Gold Glove Award atfirst base | 1 | 1991[39] |
| San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame | N/A | 2008 |
| Silver Slugger Award atfirst base | 2 | 1989,[40]1991[40] |
| Category | Times | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| National LeagueRBI leader | 1 | 1988[6] |
| Plate appearance | 1 | 1988[6] |
| Base on Balls (Walks) | 1 | 1988[6] |
| Intentional base on balls (Intentional Walks) | 1 | 1988[6] |
| Runs | 1 | 1989[6] |
| Slugging Percentage | 1 | 1991[6] |
| Total bases | 1 | 1991[6] |
Clark is married to Lisa White Clark, whom he wed in 1994.[41][42] Their son Trey was born in 1996.[43] In 1998, at age two, Trey was diagnosed with autism. Will and Lisa also have a daughter, Ella.[16] Clark is a spokesman forAutism Speaks andAnova.[44] In 1999, Clark's wife Lisa had open heart surgery to address a hole that had been undiagnosed since birth.[43]
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