William Nuschler Clark, Jr. The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft Headline events of the year As a result of a players' strike the MLB season ends prematurely on August 11, 1994. Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to The The Golden Spikes Award is awarded annually to the best amateur Baseball player (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. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, 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. Jesuit High School is an all-male Catholic High school in New Orleans, Louisiana. Clark was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. The College Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Lubbock Texas, is a Museum operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the He is a direct descendant of William Clark from Lewis and Clark. ^[2] He currently works in the Arizona Diamondbacks front office. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix Arizona.

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. Mississippi State University is a Land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi, United States, in the town of Starkville and In 1985, The Sporting News named Clark an All-American and he later won the Golden Spikes Award from USA Baseball. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Kansas City Royals over St Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports The Golden Spikes Award is awarded annually to the best amateur Baseball player United States national baseball team USA Baseball was founded in 1978 and is the governing body for amateur Baseball in the United States of America.

Major leagues

San Francisco Giants (1986–93)

Clark was drafted with the second overall pick in the 1985 draft by the San Francisco Giants. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Kansas City Royals over St The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. ^[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. Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (born November 1, 1960, Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico) is a former Left-handed Pitcher 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. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Ray Knight, MVP Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr (born January 31, 1947 in Refugio, Texas) is a retired American Right-handed Pitcher in ^[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. Candlestick Park (also commonly referred to as Candlestick or The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco California

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 . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St 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. The 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 58th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL and National League The 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 59th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL and National League The 1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 63rd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL and National League In 1988, Clark was the first Giants' player to drive in 90 or more runs in consecutve seasons since Bobby Murcer in 1975-76. See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers Bobby Ray Murcer ( May 20 1946 – July 12 2008) was an American Major League Baseball Outfielder who played Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox (4-3 Pete Rose, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP

His finest season was in 1989, when he batted . Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, 333 (losing the batting title to Tony Gwynn on the final day of the season) ^[6] with 111 RBIs. Anthony Keith Gwynn (born May 9 1960 in Los Angeles California) is a former Right fielder in Major League Baseball, statistically one of the best and Clark finishing second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Giants teammate Kevin Mitchell. Kevin Darnell Mitchell (born January 13, 1962 in San Diego California) is a former American Major League Baseball Left fielder

In 1989, Clark and the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The National League Championship Series was played between the National League West champion San Francisco Giants and the National League East 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. In the Sport of Baseball, a grand slam (or just slam for short is a Home run hit with all the bases occupied by baserunners, thereby Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966 in San Angelo Texas) is a Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to Clark's at bat, Cubs' catcher Joe Girardi went to the mound to discuss with Maddux how to pitch to Clark. Joseph Elliot Girardi (born October 14, 1964 in Peoria Illinois) is the manager of the New York Yankees, and a former Major 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. The Chicago Tribune is a major daily Newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and owned by the Tribune Company ")^[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. Mitch Williams redirects here For the fictional character please see Mitch Williams (General Hospital. 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. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively The Giants went on to face the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series, but were swept in 4 games. The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The 1989 World Series was played between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants. 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. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, ^[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. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves (4-2 Pat Borders, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, ^[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. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies (4-2 Paul Molitor, The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington Texas, United States, representing the Dallas-Ft The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America 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. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-2 John Wetteland, MVP Headline events of the year Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series ( ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York.

See also: 1996 American League Division Series and 1998 American League Division Series

Baltimore Orioles and St. The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1996 American League playoffs began on Tuesday October 1, and ended on The American League Division Series ( ALDS) the opening round of the 1998 American League playoffs began on Tuesday September 29, and ended 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 Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP The lone bright spot of those seasons was collecting his 2000th hit on June 15 versus the Kansas City Royals. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri.

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. The St Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards " or "the Redbirds " are a professional Baseball team based in St Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series: Mark David McGwire (born October 1 1963 in Pomona California) is a former professional baseball player who played the majority of his Major League career with the 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. On-base plus slugging (OPS is a baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's On-base percentage and Slugging percentage. The National League Division Series ( NLDS) the opening round of the 2000 National League playoffs began on Tuesday October 3, and ended on In the NLCS, the Cardinals faced the New York Mets, who would go on to win the pennant, and lost in five games. The National League Championship Series, to determine the champion of Major League Baseball 's National League, was played between the Central Division "Mets" redirects here For the medical term see Metastasis. 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. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Champions Major League Baseball Regular Season Champions Other champions Caribbean World Series:

Statistics

Clark's regular season stats:

Legacy

On the basis of his performance between 1987 and 1991, Clark appeared to be headed for a Hall of Fame career. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over St Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves (4-3 Jack Morris, MVP 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. Baseball-Referencecom is a website providing statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history For the other professional baseball player named Edgar Martínez see Edgar Martínez (pitcher Edgar Martínez, born January 2, Cecil Celester Cooper (born December 20 1949 in Brenham Texas) nicknamed "Coop" is a former First baseman in Major League Baseball John Garrett Olerud (ˈoʊlɚˌud born August 5, 1968; nicknamed Big Rude, and Johnny O') is a former American First baseman in Paul O'Neill may refer to Paul O'Neill (baseball, a former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster Paul O'Neill (cabinet member Robert Lee Johnson ( November 26 1905 - July 6 1982) nicknamed "Indian Bob" was an American Left fielder in Ellis Rena Burks (born September 11, 1964 in Vicksburg Mississippi) is a former Outfielder and Designated hitter who played in Donald Arthur Mattingly (nicknamed " Donnie Baseball " and " The Hit Man " (born April 20, 1961) is the Los Angeles Dodgers Bernabé Figueroa Williams (born September 13 1968 is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball Outfielder and a Guitar -playing Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945 in Shreveport Louisiana) is a former Major League Baseball Outfielder, coach and front James Leroy Bottomley ( April 23, 1900 &ndash December 11, 1959) was born in Oglesby Illinois and grew up in Nokomis Illinois ^[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). The National League Championship Series was played between the National League West champion San Francisco Giants and the National League East
• 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. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The College Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Lubbock Texas, is a Museum operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the
• Inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
• Member of the inaugural class of College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball library entry
• Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame - Player Profile
• Thrill22.com - The Will Clark Gallery