- Published in Top 50 San Francisco Giants
18. Will Clark
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.