6-Time All Star from the San Francisco Giants, Will Clark was born March 13, 1964 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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" and "The Natural" because of his natural gifts as a player. Clark was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 in its inaugural class. Clark is also a direct descendant of William Clark from Lewis and Clark. Drafted with the second overall pick in the 1985 draft by the San Francisco Giants, Clark displayed his trademark flair for the dramatic as soon as his first professional plate appearances. In his minor league debut at bat, Clark homered on his first swing against Fernando Valenzuela. 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. However, an elbow injury cost Clark 47 games in his rookie season. Clark finished his rookie year with a respectable .287 batting average. 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 .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. In 1988, Clark was the first Giants' player to drive in 90 or more runs in consecutive seasons since Bobby Murcer in 1975-76. His finest season was in 1989, when he batted .333 (losing the batting title to Tony Gwynn on the final day of the season) with 111 RBIs. Clark finishing second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Giants teammate, Kevin Mitchell. On the basis of his performance between 1987 and 1991, Clark appeared to be headed for a Hall of Fame career. 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 MartÃnez, Cecil Cooper, John Olerud, Paul O'Neill, Bob Johnson, Ellis Burks, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, Reggie Smith, and Jim Bottomley. In 2006 Hall of Fame balloting, Clark received only 23 votes, 4.4% of the total."
