Will Clark was the main star for the San Francisco Giants in the late 80s, but despite that, we can argue that his run in the Bay Area is slightly underrated.

After a phenomenal amateur career where he won the Golden Spikes Award for Mississippi Star and competed for the United States in the 1984 Olympics, Clark was the second overall pick in the 1985 Draft.  A year later, Clark was called up by the Giants and was their regular First Baseman for the next six years; a period where he was one of the best in the game.

Clark was a special player.  A two-time Silver Slugger and one-time Gold Glove recipient, Clark was the runner-up for the MVP in 1989, the same year he led the Giants to the Pennant while winning the NLCS MVP.  When he broke out in his sophomore year (1987), he finished fifth in MVP voting and did so again the following year, where he began a five-year streak of All-Star Games.  From 1987 to 1992, Clark batted over .300 with 151 Home Runs while also playing strong defense.

After the 1993 Season, Clark left San Francisco for Texas as a Free Agent, and while he is not a Hall of Fame player, he is one of the finest First Baseman in franchise history.

The Giants chose Clark for their Wall of Fame inaugural Class in 2008, and in 2022, his #22 was retired by the team.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the San Francisco Giants have announced that next season they will be retiring the number 22 of Will Clark.

Clark was the second overall draft pick of the 1985 Amateur Draft and he was already on the main Giants roster in 1986 finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.  He would continue to improve, finishing fifth in MVP voting in the next two seasons, with 1988 seeing him begin a five-year streak of All-Star Game appearances.  Clark peaked with a second-place finish in MVP voting in 1989 and won the first of two Silver Sluggers.  More importantly, he would help the Giants make the playoffs and won the NLCS before his team was defeated by the Oakland A’s in the World Series.  He would continue to play for San Francisco until he signed with the Texas Rangers before the 1994 Season.

As a Giant, he would accumulate 1,278 Hits, 176 Home Runs with a Slash Line of .299/.373/.499.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Will Clark for earning this honor.

It is a pretty big day in the Baseball Hall of Fame as the Today’s Game Era Committee has announced their 10 nominees for the Hall. This is one of four committees, which includes the Modern Baseball, Golden Days and Early Baseball. Specifically, the Today’s Game Era Committee comprises candidates whose contributions occurred from 1988 on. Along with the Modern Baseball Committee the Today’s Era Committee meets twice in a five year period. The last time they met was in 2016 where Commissioner Bud Selig and longtime Atlanta Braves Executive, John Scherholz.

The nominees include six former players, three managers and an owner.

Let’s take a look at the nominees!

Harold Baines: A six time All Star, Baines was an elite Designated Hitter who had 384 Home Runs and had 2,866 Hits over his career. Baines played 14 of 22 his seasons with the Chicago White Sox and he also spent time with Baltimore, Oakland, Texas and Cleveland. He is ranked #39 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Albert Belle: Belle was one of the most feared power hitters for a time and he would blast 381 Home Runs and he would lead the American League in that category in 1995. The five time All Star was a three time RBI leader and he was in the top three in AL voting three years in a row (1994-96). Belle played for Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore. He is ranked #56 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Joe Carter: Carter smacked 396 Home Runs but it was one that he hit in Game 6 to win the World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays that he will always be remembered most for. He was a six time all star who also played for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants. He is not ranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Will Clark: Clark was best known for his hitting prowess as a member of the San Francisco Giants where he would have four top five finishes in American League MVP voting. Clark retired with a .303 Batting Average with 284 Home Runs. He also played for Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis. He is ranked #58 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Orel Hershiser: The long time Los Angeles Dodger won the Cy Young in 1988 and was in the top four in voting three times. He was a three time All Star who won 204 Games and he also played for Cleveland, San Francisco and the New York Mets. He would be the MVP in the Dodgers 1988 World Series win and would later be the ALCS MVP for Cleveland in 1995. He is ranked #75 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Davey Johnson: Johnson helmed the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series and he was a two time Manager of the Year. He compiled a 1,372 and 1,071 record over stints with New York, Cincinnati, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington.

Charlie Manuel: Manuel would take the Philadelphia Phillies to back-to-back World Series appearances winning the first one in 2008. Manuel won an even 1,000 Games against 826 losses and he also managed the Cleveland Indians over his career.

Lou Piniella: Piniella was a pretty good player in his own right who played 20 years as a player but he is nominated here for his work as a Manager. He was a three time Manager of the Year who took the Cincinnati Reds to a surprise World Series win 1990. He also managed the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Chicago Cubs and he had a 1,835 and 1,713 record.

Lee Smith: Smith at one time was the all-time leader in Saves (with 478) and he was a seven time All Star who played for Chicago Cubs, Boston, St. Louis, the New York Yankees, Baltimore, California, Cincinnati and Montreal. He is ranked #35 on Notinhalloffame.com.

George Steinbrenner: The iconic and late owner of the New York Yankees was certainly hands on and wanted to win and as an owner the Yankees would win seven times.

Voting will take place on December 9 at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.

Will Clark is a justifiable member of the Mississippi Sports and College Baseball Hall of Fame but it looks like the big one in Cooperstown will elude him as he failed to get past his first year of eligibility.  A look at his career makes you wonder why he couldn’t get past that elusive first ballot.