Jack Clark

Jack Anthony Clark (born November 10, 1955), nicknamed "Jack the Ripper", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and first baseman.

Clark began his minor league baseball career in 1973 with the Great Falls Giants where he played the outfield and third base and had a 0-2 record in 5 games as a pitcher.

In 1974, he led the league with 117 RBIs with Fresno.

The following year, he led the league with 23 home runs with Lafayette.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox from 1975 to 1992.

During his prime, Clark was one of the most feared right-handed hitters in the National League, winning the Silver Slugger Award in and.

A four-time All-Star In an 18-season career, Clark was a .267 hitter with 340 home runs and 1,180 runs batted in in 1,994 games.

He also recorded 1,118 runs, 332 doubles, 77 stolen bases, 1,262 bases on balls and 1,826 hits in 6,847 at-bats.

He batted and threw right-handed.

Clark started his major league career with the San Francisco Giants in as a right fielder and the youngest player in 1975 (19).

His 26-game hitting streak in 1978 is the longest by a Giants player after 1900.

He won the first Willie Mac Award in 1980 for his spirit and leadership.

On the other hand, Clark frequently complained about the cold and windy conditions at Candlestick Park, the Giants' home park.

He had a rift with manager Frank Robinson, and some members of the Giants front office thought Clark took too long to recover from injuries.

On February 1,, Clark was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for shortstop José Uribe, pitcher Dave LaPoint, and first basemen-outfielders David Green and Gary Rajsich.

He switched to first base to reduce risk of injury.

His three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 6 of the 1985 NLCS was the pennant-clinching hit for the Cardinals.

Clark's fielding, never his specialty, played a pivotal role in the 1985 World Series.

Umpire Don Denkinger's notorious controversial call in Game 6 came from Clark's throw to Todd Worrell at first.

Clark would later misplay a foul popup that, while not ruled an error, should have been caught.

Darrell Porter later admitted that he called off Clark but hesitated at the last minute when he thought Clark had called for the catch, which Clark had not.

This opened the door for the Kansas City Royals to score two runs in the bottom of the 9th to win Game 6, and go on to capture the World Series in Game 7 the following night.

In 1987, despite a rift with St. Louis All-Star shortstop Ozzie Smith, Clark had his best season.

He hit .286 with 35 home runs, 106 RBI, and led the league in on-base percentage (.459) and slugging percentage (.597).

He accomplished all this despite missing 31 games due to nagging injuries and finished third in the MVP vote.

Clark again led the Cardinals to the World Series that year, although an ankle injury limited him to one at-bat in the postseason.

Clark signed a two-year contract with the New York Yankees prior to the 1988 season.

He was primarily a designated hitter (DH), because of the presence of Don Mattingly at first base.

Clark enjoyed playing for manager Billy Martin, but he didn't get along with Martin's successor, Lou Piniella.

At the end of the season, he requested a trade.

After the 1988 season, the Yankees traded Clark to the San Diego Padres with Pat Clements for Lance McCullers, Jimmy Jones, and Stan Jefferson.

Regarding his time in the American League, he said, "I hate that damn league. Every game lasts 3 1⁄2–4 hours. No wonder the fans are bored over there."

He played for the Padres for two seasons.

In 1990, he feuded with All-Star teammate Tony Gwynn, who was widely respected by his peers and known as one of the most dedicated players in baseball.

Clark called him selfish and stated that Gwynn should be swinging with runners in scoring position instead of bunting and protecting his batting average.

"No one bothers Tony Gwynn because he wins batting titles, but the Padres finish fourth or fifth every year", he said (in the two seasons he played with the team, they finished 2nd and 5th, respectively).

Joe Carter, who played for the Padres in 1990, said, "It just involved one great guy, and that's Tony Gwynn, and anything they want to say about Tony Gwynn is going to be news. It got all blown out of proportion."

Gwynn countered, "I've been doing the same things my whole career, playing the same way. Now, why is it an issue? Because Jack Clark says it is."

In early 1991, after leaving the Padres, Clark called Padres manager Greg Riddoch "a bad, bad man, and he's sneaky. He's a snake. Well, not just a snake, but a s-s-s-n-n-n-a-ke."

Clark said of the San Diego fans: "Everything that they should cheer for they'd boo for, and everything they should boo for they'd cheer for ... Tony, he's perfect for them. He just plays the whole thing up, and the town is so stupid that they can't see."