Jack Clark thread

[McCovey]

Ok, everyone share you Jack Clark stories. I started watching the Giants about 1976-77. At that time the Giants were not a very good team. From the mid 70's to the mid 80's the Giants fielded mostly lousy teams. But Jack Clark was the one star on the team, the one player we Giant fans could be proud of. Jack Clark's 1977 rookie card.

[McCovey]

Clark's 1978 Topps.

[Bear]

Clark's 1978 Topps.

Jack signed as a third baseman, but when his throws ended up 10 rows up in the stands in back of first base he was moved to the outfield. Clark never lacked confidence. He knew he was great and would tell anyone who would listen how good he was.;)

[McCovey]

Jack signed as a third baseman, but when his throws ended up 10 rows up in the stands in back of first base he was moved to the outfield. Clark never lacked confidence. He knew he was great and would tell anyone who would listen how good he was.;)
Funny! I didn't know that! So I checked out Clark's minor league career. He did indeed play lots of 3B. But he also pitched in his first minor league season!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=clark-001jac

I also seem to remember that Clark mentioned that even though he grew up in Southern California he grew up a Giants fan.

[SF Kid]

I have no JC stories. Sorry.

[McCovey]

I have no JC stories. Sorry.
Ok, how about any thoughts, impressions, of memories of Clark?

[Bear]

I have no JC stories. Sorry.

The Kid has Nothing!:pound:

[SF Kid]

I have nothing. I actually liked Jack Clark better than Will Clark. :shrug:

Sorry Will The Thrill. I don't mean to say Jack was a better player, I just liked him better for some reason.

[Bear]

I have nothing. I actually liked Jack Clark better than Will Clark. :shrug:

Sorry Will The Thrill. I don't mean to say Jack was a better player, I just liked him better for some reason.

Because you Know Nothing! Will was a much better player.:smack:

[SF Kid]

Dumbass. You can't read, right?

Sorry Will The Thrill. I don't mean to say Jack was a better player, I just liked him better for some reason.

[Bear]

I have nothing. I actually liked Jack Clark better than Will Clark. :shrug:

Sorry Will The Thrill. I don't mean to say Jack was a better player, I just liked him better for some reason.

You Know Nothing! There is no reason. It's not like Jack was Mr Personality.
:nono:

[SF Kid]

Speaking of Jack Calrk, he's not a fan of players who used any PEDs...

Hahaha...I'd day he's a little pissed off. I agree with him too.

Ex-Cards slugger says ban McGwire

ESPN.com news services

Jack Clark's time in the spotlight fell mostly in the years before the so-called steroids era.

That didn't stop the former Cardinals and Giants All-Star slugger from revealing an extreme distaste for players who might have availed themselves of a performance-enhancing drug during their time in the big leagues.


• "If his hand-eye coordination was so good, why did he feel the need to apologize to the Maris family?"

• "It's a shame that he thinks we're all stupid, that he only did [steroids] because of injuries. That's such a cop-out, such a lie. These guys did [steroids] to take the money to pump up their egos and then take their consequences down the road."

• Steroid abusers and suspected users "are all lucky they didn't end up in jail. It's all comical to a certain point. It's a three-ring circus. It really is. From [commissioner] Bud Selig to Tony [La Russa] to A-Rod to Manny Ramirez to Palmeiro ... What a joke."

• "[McGwire's] own manager never knew that [Jose] Canseco and McGwire and anybody else ever had taken steroids? Trust me, from [a former player], I have a lot of insight into who did what and when but I'm not even going to talk about it. It really doesn't matter."

• "This thing stretches a long way back and it's really ugly and just really shocking."

• "These guys are playing the game for their own benefits and it's really disgusting. ... They go up there and shed a tear and they think all is forgotten. Well, it's not forgotten and it never will be."

• "[McGwire is] a sad excuse for a player in the industry of baseball. Just seeing him in uniform makes me throw up."

• "He should not be in baseball. He should be banned from baseball more than ever."

"A lot of them should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire," Clark told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Clark served as the Dodgers' hitting coach several years ago. He said McGwire, who will return to baseball this season as the Cardinals' hitting coach, was in a group of players that clearly didn't warrant consideration for Cooperstown.

"All those guys are cheaters -- A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez]. Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro. Fake, a phony," Clark told the newspaper. "[Roger] Clemens, [Barry] Bonds. [Sammy] Sosa. Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

"They should all be in the Hall of Shame," Clark said. "They can afford to build it. They've all got so much money. And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin. The whole thing is creepy.

"They're all creeps. All these guys have been liars."

Clark, a four-time All-Star who hit .267 and belted 340 home runs in 18 seasons, mocked the apologetic and sorrowful tone of McGwire's Monday admission that he used steroids during much of his major league career.

"They're not really a man's man," Clark said. "They're just whimpering boys who are just sad to watch. They try to put it off on somebody else. I don't know how they sleep at night, looking at all their fame, let alone the money they took by faking everybody out and lying to everybody."

Clark's former Cardinals teammate, Andy Van Slyke, took a more subtle tack when speaking with the Post-Dispatch.

"I never condoned a player who used steroids while they played, but I've never been mad at a player," Van Slyke said. "But I think if you have an opportunity to tell the truth and you continue to be disingenuous and lie, then there's every right for people to be upset by the continued lying or finger-pointing.

"There's a lot of finger-pointing by Mark McGwire," Van Slyke continued. "He blames it on not being tested and he blames it on the era. Why would you blame baseball for taking steroids?

"That's like me saying the reason I was drunk-driving was because I knew that on this particular highway, they didn't have anything for me to blow into."

Van Slyke was also a teammate of Bonds. Van Slyke said he hoped the home run king would be truthful if he ever did reveal whether steroids played a role in his conditioning and performance.

"One thing about Barry -- he's not afraid to speak the truth," Van Slyke said. "For the last four years [since his appearance before a congressional committee], McGwire could have said something."

WOW.

[Bear]

By GREG FRAZIER
Daily News Sports Editor
Palo Alto Daily News
Posted: 01/16/2010

Former San Francisco Giants slugger Jack Clark, on Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, etc. : "They should all be in the Hall of Shame. They can afford to build it. They've all got so much money. And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin. The whole thing is creepy. They're all creeps."

A sample of JC humor. It seems he is just a little bit bitter about the money they made.

[McCovey]

I remember when Will Clark was at his height of Giants glory and popularity back in the late 1980's. Some were even calling him the greatest SF Giants first baseman. Jack Clark went off on that. I'm paraphrasing here. "Will Clark, the greatest first baseman in Giants history? Hell no! Hello? Anyone remember someone named Willie McCovey?" :pound:

[McCovey]

A sample of JC humor. It seems he is just a little bit bitter about the money they made.
JC made some money in the game as well. Unfortunately he went bankrupt buying too many sports cars (18 cars) on credit!

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19970511&slug=2538502

[Bear]

I remember when Will Clark was at his height of Giants glory and popularity back in the late 1980's. Some were even calling him the greatest SF Giants first baseman. Jack Clark went off on that. I'm paraphrasing here. "Will Clark, the greatest first baseman in Giants history? Hell no! Hello? Anyone remember someone named Willie McCovey?" :pound:

Clark was no McCovey or Cepeda. However He brought things to the team that these two did not. I would never complain about having Will as my first baseman because he was a winner.:beerbang:

[McCovey]

Clark was no McCovey or Cepeda. However He brought things to the team that these two did not. I would never complain about having Will as my first baseman because he was a winner.:beerbang:
Will Clark was just such an exciting player. He was fun to watch, that's for sure. Sadly, I was too young to to have seen Willie McCovey in his prime. I only have faint memories of his later years with the Giants. When he retired in June 1980 I was only 11 years old (though I did get to see his final AB on TV!). From what I've read and talking to long time baseball fans Willie Mac was a monster power hitter who put the fear of God into opposing pitchers. His 1969 season is one of the greatest ever by a first baseman. Though Will Clark's 1989 season was a monster season as well.

[Bear]

Will Clark was just such an exciting player. He was fun to watch, that's for sure. Sadly, I was too young to to have seen Willie McCovey in his prime. I only have faint memories of his later years with the Giants. When he retired in June 1980 I was only 11 years old (though I did get to see his final AB on TV!). From what I've read and talking to long time baseball fans Willie Mac was a monster power hitter who put the fear of God into opposing pitchers. His 1969 season is one of the greatest ever by a first baseman. Though Will Clark's 1989 season was a monster season as well.

Clark never had the fear factor that McCovey had. Clark was a wonderful hitter, and one of my favorite players, but McCovey was in a class by himself as a power hitter.

[McCovey]

Clark never had the fear factor that McCovey had. Clark was a wonderful hitter, and one of my favorite players, but McCovey was in a class by himself as a power hitter.
Any memories of Will Mac tape measure shots? Didn't he knock a HR completely out of Dodger Stadium?

[Bear]

Any memories of Will Mac tape measure shots? Didn't he knock a HR completely out of Dodger Stadium?

My memory is not that good, but I know you have the skills to find out that answer. However if he did it would not surprise me.:eek:

[WillTheThrill]

I have nothing. I actually liked Jack Clark better than Will Clark. :shrug:

Sorry Will The Thrill. I don't mean to say Jack was a better player, I just liked him better for some reason.

No need to apologize! Everyone is entitled to their opinion... even when they're wrong. :D

.

[Bear]

No need to apologize! Everyone is entitled to their opinion... even when they're wrong. :D

.

The Kid is always wrong!:pound:

[WillTheThrill]

I do find this thread's discussion comparing Will Clark to Willie McCovey to be interesting. Like "our" McCovey said, I never saw Willie McCovey play in his prime. But I did see Will Clark's entire Giants career.

McCovey clearly was the better first baseman. He's in the Hall of Fame. He played over twenty years and parts of FOUR decades -- from 1959 to 1980. His offensive power was awesome and he and Mays were feared by many. I wish I'd seen them BOTH in their prime! :beerbang:

But Will Clark was exciting to watch, too, in his (brief) prime. Tatooing a homer off of Nolan Ryan on his first major league at bat sure announced his presence to the baseball world. And he would have won Rookie of the Year hands down if he hadn't been injured and missed about a quarter of the '86 season. He picked up and carried the entire Giants team and nearly single-handedly destroyed the Cubs in the '89 playoffs. And who can forget that home run he famously hit off of Greg Maddux after he read his lips??? Awesome, awesome stuff.

My personal favorite Will Clark memory (and sorry for hijacking this JACK Clark thread!): I'll never forget an upper deck home run he hit off of the Astros to win a game. I was in the stands (lower deck, first base side). The Giants went into the bottom of the ninth losing by a run after an emotional, teeter totter game where the lead had already changed hands several times. Kevin Mitchell (I think!) hit a solo homer that tied up the game. My best friend and I, and everyone around us, must have screamed for a minute straight.

Then Will Clark walked up to the plate.

Don't ask me how I knew. I think everyone in the stadium knew. But I just FELT that he was going to hit another homer and win the game for us. Everyone remained standing, clapping and cheering. And on the FIRST FRICKING PITCH he hit that ball into the UPPER DECK!!! I think it was only like the third or fourth time (at that point, pre-Bonds) that anyone had ever hit a home run into the upper deck at Candlestick Park.

I must have screamed for ten straight minutes. I had a sore throat for a week, but it was worth it. I don't think I've ever been as excited by a Giants win in my life. It wasn't the playoffs... but it sure as hell felt like it.

And it's moments like that home run that explain why I'm such a huge Will Clark fan. :D

.

[McCovey]

I remember that game Will! I listened to it on the radio at home! And Ron Fairly called that Will Clark shot on the radio as well. It was Candy Maldanado that homered right before Will Clark.

Here is the a detailed boxscore of that game.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN198708100.shtml

[McCovey]

My memory is not that good, but I know you have the skills to find out that answer. However if he did it would not surprise me.:eek:
Ok, Willie never hit a HR out of Dodger Stadium. Willie Stargell (twice), Mike Piazza, and Mark McGwire have done it.

[WillTheThrill]

I remember that game Will! I listened to it on the radio at home! And Ron Fairly called that Will Clark shot on the radio as well. It was Candy Maldanado that homered right before Will Clark.

Here is the a detailed boxscore of that game.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN198708100.shtml

That's funny, I always told that story that it was Mitchell who hit the first homer. But according to the box score, he pinch hit in the 8th and struck out. SOMETHING told me it wasn't quite right as I was "retelling" my memory of it a couple of posts up. Glad to know it was Maldonado.

Thanks for the box score, now I have (most of) the details of the game! What a great lineup, Milner, Speier, Aldrete, Maldonado, Clark, Brenly, Thompson, Uribe, Dravecky. Great memories of those guys!!! :beerbang:

McCovey... how do you remember Clark's homer? Can you confirm that it was the first pitch to Will Clark that he hit into the upper deck? :shrug: That was my memory -- back to back homers on back to back pitches -- but unfortunately the boxscore didn't have the count on batters when they got their hits, or whatever.

.

[McCovey]

I do remember Clark took a strike that he didn't agree with. He gave the umpire a piece of his mind. And he homered on the very next pitch.

[Bear]

I do remember Clark took a strike that he didn't agree with. He gave the umpire a piece of his mind. And he homered on the very next pitch.

I saw that game on TV. That was a great at bat.:beerbang: