Will Clark

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."

He grew up a Kansas City Royals fan and was drafted by the Royals in the 4th round of the 1982 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).

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 played for the United States national baseball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

During the five-game Olympic tournament, Clark 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.

Clark was drafted with the second overall pick in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the San Francisco Giants.

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, 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, Clark was the first Giants' player to drive in 90 or more runs in consecutive seasons since Bobby Murcer from -.

In, 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, 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.

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 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.

Clark graduated Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Giants went on to face the Oakland Athletics in the 1989 World Series, but were swept.

A league all-star, Clark batted .367 and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2004.