Background and career
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.
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.
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 1985, 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.
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.
In his first major league at-bat on April 8, 1986, on his first swing, Clark hit a home run off Nolan Ryan. A few days later, Clark also homered in his first home game at Candlestick Park. An elbow injury cost Clark 47 games in his rookie season. Clark finished the year with a .287 batting average and placed fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
In his first full season in 1987, Clark had a .308 batting average. 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 from 1975-1976. In 1989, Clark batted .333 (losing the batting title to Tony Gwynn on the final day of the season) with 111 runs batted in (RBIs). Clark finished second in the NL Most Valuable Player voting to Giants teammate Kevin Mitchell. In 1989, Clark and the Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). In Game 1, Clark had already hit a solo home run. Prior to a subsequent at-bat, Cubs' catcher Rick Wrona went to the mound to discuss with Greg Maddux how to pitch to Clark. From the on-deck circle, Clark watched the conversation and read Greg Maddux's lips saying "fastball high, inside." The first pitch was a fastball high and inside which Clark sent into the street beyond right field for a grand slam. Afterwards, pitchers began to cover their mouths with their gloves when having conversations on the pitcher's mound. (The Chicago Tribune's 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. In January 1990, he signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Giants, which at the time made him the highest-paid player in the majors. However, a string of injuries reduced his playing time in the early 1990s and diminished his production. Clark drove in just 73 runs in 1992, the lowest total since his rookie year.
