ST. LOUIS (TICKER) — “The Thrill” is gone.
Veteran first baseman Will Clark, who replaced injured slugger Mark McGwire and helped the St. Louis Cardinals reach the National League championship series this past season, announced his retirement today.
The 36-year-old Clark, a six-time All-Star, played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Cardinals in his 15-year major league career.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Clark said. “It was a series of things. First off, 15 years is a long time. I’ve had three elbow surgeries, and by no means am I getting any younger. But having the experience I had in St. Louis, I thought this was the right time.”
A smooth-swinging lefthanded hitter, Clark had a lifetime batting average of .303 with 284 home runs and 1,205 RBI in 1,976 games.
Nicknamed “The Thrill” during his early years with the Giants, Clark batted .345 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 51 games with the Cardinals during the final two months of the 2000 season after being acquired from Baltimore at the July 31 trade deadline.
He also batted .345 in the postseason as the Cardinals rolled to a stunning three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NL division series before falling to the New York Mets in the NLCS.
Clark admitted St. Louis’ success made the decision to retire more difficult.
“The temptation was definitely there (to return),” Clark said. “I had a lot of fun the last two months and the fans here are unbelievable. I definitely weighed the decision to come back for a long time.”
McGwire recently underwent knee surgery and said he expects to be at about “85 percent” for the start of spring training. However, McGwire’s status in no way affected Clark’s decision.
“No, I would not reconsider it,” Clark said of returning if McGwire was not ready to play first base.
Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty was stunned by Clark’s announcement, and left the door open for Clark to remain with the organization.
“This is kind of a sad day for the Cardinals,” Jocketty said. “We were looking forward to having Will come back. What he added in the second half helped put us over the top. We hope he will be a part of our organization in the future.”
The second player selected overall in the June 1985 draft out of Mississippi State by the Giants, Clark homered in his first major league at-bat, belting a fastball from Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan over the center field wall at the Astrodome on April 8, 1986.
“My greatest memory is the first at bat home run off Nolan Ryan,” Clark said. “Second would be the base hit off Mitch Williams in the 1989 NLCS to put us (the Giants) in the World Series. The third would be the last two months in St. Louis. That was an absolute joy ride.”
Clark carried the Giants to the World Series in 1989, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the NLCS. He hit .650 (13-for-20) with two homers and eight RBI as the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs in five games. However, San Francisco was swept by Oakland in the “Earthquake Series.”
Clark played the first eight years of his career with the Giants, setting career bests with 35 home runs in 1987 and 116 RBI in 1991.
The Texas Rangers signed Clark as a free agent in 1994. He helped them win division titles in 1996 and 1998, but averaged just 15 homers and 79 RBI in his five years with the Rangers.
Clark signed with Baltimore in 1999, but was hampered with elbow problems that season and played in just 77 games, batting .303 with 10 homers and 29 RBI.
Before he was acquired by St. Louis, Clark hit .301 with nine homers and 28 RBI in 79 games with the Orioles last season.