William Nuschler Clark Jr. (born March 13, 1964) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 through 2000. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals. Clark was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill." The nickname has often been truncated to simply, "the Thrill."
Clark played college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, where he won the Golden Spikes Award, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics before playing in the major leagues. Clark was a six-time MLB All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a Gold Glove Award winner, and the winner of the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award in 1989.
Clark has been inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. His uniform 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.
Early life
Born and raised primarily in New Orleans, Louisiana, Clark graduated from Jesuit High School. He grew up a fan of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. He was selected by the Royals in the fourth round of the 1982 MLB draft, but chose not to sign.
College career
Clark attended Mississippi State University to play college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 1983, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). A league all-star, Clark batted .367 and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2004. Clark played for the U.S. team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. During the five-game Olympic tournament at Dodger 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).
In , The Sporting News named Clark an All-American and he later won the Golden Spikes Award from USA Baseball as the best amateur baseball player in the country. A teammate of Rafael Palmeiro, the two were known as "Thunder and Lightning." Clark and Palmeiro were known to dislike each other, dating back to their time at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished fourth at the College World Series in 1985, and Clark was named to the all-tournament team.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
After his junior season at Mississippi State, Clark was the second overall pick of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft, selected by the San Francisco Giants. He played that summer with Fresno of the Class A California League.
San Francisco Giants (1986–1993)
In his first major league at-bat on April 8, 1986, on his first swing, Clark hit a home run off Nolan Ryan. (The Chicago Tribunes 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.)
In Game 5 of the series, Clark faced Cubs closer Mitch Williams with the score 1–1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. 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 NLCS MVP. The Giants went on to face the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 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.
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. However, a string of injuries reduced his playing time in the early 1990s and diminished his production. Clark drove in just 73 runs in , the lowest total since his rookie year. Clark spent nearly two years with Baltimore but was plagued by injuries. On June 15, Clark got his 2000th hit versus the Kansas City Royals.
At the MLB trade deadline in 2000, the Orioles traded Clark to the St. Louis Cardinals for José León. He was acquired in part to play in place of the injured Mark McGwire. Clark batted .345 while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 42 runs in 51 games. Clark helped the Cardinals defeat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS with four runs batted in during the series. In the NLCS, the Cardinals faced the New York Mets. Clark batted .412 in the series but the Mets won the series and the National 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. the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on August 1, 2008. Clark's final statistics were 284 home runs, 1,205 RBI, a .303 batting average, and a .881 OPS. 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.
Clark holds the record for most home runs against Hall of Fame Pitcher Nolan Ryan with 6.
It was announced on August 11, 2019, that the Giants would retire Clark's #22 during the 2020 season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the retirement ceremony was postponed to 2022. Clark's number was ceremoniously retired on July 30, 2022.
Accomplishments and honors
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Championships
|-
! style="background:#ccf;"|Title
! style="background:#ccf;"|
! style="background:#ccf;"|Dates
|-
| National League champion
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| 1989
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Awards received
|-
! style="background:#ccf;"|Name of award
! style="background:#ccf;"|
! style="background:#ccf;"|Dates
|-
|Baseball Digest Player of the Year
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|1989
|-
|Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"| N/A
|2007
|-
| Golden Spikes Award
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|1985
|-
| Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"| N/A
| 2012
|-
| Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"| N/A
| 2004
|-
| MLB All-Star
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994
|-
| MLB Player of the Month
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
|June 1988, May 1989, Sep. 18, 1987
|-
| Mississippi State University Athletics Hall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"| N/A
| 2003
|-
| National College Baseball Hall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"| N/A
|2006
|-
| National League Championship Series MVP
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|1989
|-
| Number 22 retired by San Francisco Giants
| style="text-align:center;"|N/A
|2022
|-
| Rawlings Gold Glove Award at first base
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|1991
|-
|San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame
| style="text-align:center;"|N/A
|2008
|-
| Silver Slugger Award at first base
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| 1989, 1991 Their son Trey was born in 1996. In 1998, at age two, Trey was diagnosed with autism. Will and Lisa also have a daughter, Ella. In 1999, Clark's wife Lisa had open heart surgery to address a hole that had been undiagnosed since birth.