Intro

A first round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 1990, Tony Clark spurned an offer to play professional basketball to pursue a baseball career. The six-foot-seven inch, switch-hitting first baseman put together four good seasons for the Tigers, peaking at 34 homers in 1998 and 117 RBI in 1997. A quiet man, Clark became a fan favorite, but fell out of favor in Motown due to his streakiness which was often accompanied by slow starts. He ended up bouncing around as a platoon player/pinch-hitter late in his career.

Quotes From

"No matter how well I swing, I don't think I'll ever be as good as I think I should be. So my commitment is to the journey, not the end result." — Clark in 2005

Best Season

Though he suffered a typical slow start, Clark posted big power numbers: batting a career-high .291 with 37 doubles, 34 homers, and 103 RBI in 157 games.

Factoid 1

Despite a career .194 average in 64 career games against the Yankees, the team signed free agent Tony Clark in 2004.

Strengths

Commitment and preparation, as well as from the right-side.

Weaknesses

His long swing leaves Clark prone to strikeouts and the slumps that come with them.

Feats

On August 28, 2004, Clark belted three homers in the Yankees 18-6 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto. The home runs came against three different pitchers.

Notes

Through 2004, Clark had a .245 batting average and .436 slugging percentage in March/April/May, but had hit .273 with a .500 SLG mark.