With only 71 minor league games under his belt, Clark set the Giants on a course for success by homering off the legendary Nolan Ryan in his first major league at-bat in the season opener at Houston. Read more about the next Giants immortal ⤵️
Good ballplayers sustain teams. Important ballplayers sustain franchises.The difference between good and important explains why the Giants are retiring Will Clark’s jersey number 22 in ceremonies to be held Saturday at Oracle Park. With this distinction, the 58-year-old Clark joins the franchise’s all-time greats, including Willie Mays , Barry Bonds , Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal . Clark couldn’t be more thrilled. “I’m going to be on the board next to Willie Mays.
Game after game, Clark made Giants fans feel exalted and hopeful. He would be the Mays for their generation, their McCovey. He would lead the Giants to the promised land, whether the objective was as lofty as the World Series or as feverish as a victory at Dodger Stadium.
Ex-big league infielder Kevin Frandsen, now a Washington Nationals broadcaster, was a Clark acolyte while growing up in San Jose. “He’s the example we would always use as a batting stance,” said Frandsen, who spent parts of 2006-09 and 2015 with the Giants. “It didn’t matter whether you were right- or left-handed. You were going to emulate him.”
Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, who played alongside Clark at Mississippi State and from 1988-93 with San Francisco, confirmed his former teammate’s hunger for victory. “That was the essence of Will Clark,” Brantley said. “He was that way in college. He was that way in pro ball. He’s that way, period. I don’t want to brand him as a leader, but he’s a guy who keeps you on your toes.
“The whole spring, I’m bracing myself for questions about the disaster of 1985,” said broadcaster Mike Krukow, then one of San Francisco’s top starting pitchers. “Well, here’s Will Clark. He’s sashaying around and he’s got the cock-of-the-walk walk, and he’s got the high voice and he’s holding court and it was great! Because that spring, it was all about him. None of us had to talk about ‘85. The negative vibe that we all anticipated was not there. I’ll never forget what he did for us.
Clark made San Francisco’s Opening Day roster in 1986 with 71 minor league games of professional experience. He immediately set the Giants on a course for success by homering off the legendary Nolan Ryan in his first major league at bat in the season opener at Houston. He established himself as one of baseball’s top offensive performers by batting .304 with an .899 OPS and an average of 27 homers and 104 RBIs per year from 1987-91.
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