Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark Jr. (born March 13, 1964) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 through 2000. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals. Clark was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill." The nickname has often been truncated to simply, "the Thrill."

Clark played college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, where he won the Golden Spikes Award, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics before playing in the major leagues. Clark was a six-time MLB All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a Gold Glove Award winner, and the winner of the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award in 1989.

Clark has been inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. His uniform number, 22, was retired by the Giants during the 2022 season. Clark continues to be active in baseball, serving as a Special Assistant in the Giants' front office.

Born and raised primarily in New Orleans, Louisiana, Clark graduated from Jesuit High School. He grew up a Kansas City Royals fan and was selected by the Royals in the fourth round of the 1982 draft, but chose not to sign.

Clark attended Mississippi State University to play college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. In 1983, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). A league all-star, Clark batted .367 and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2004. Clark played for the U.S. team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. During the five-game Olympic tournament at Dodger Stadium, he led the team in batting average (.429), hits (9), runs batted in (8), and tied for the team lead in home runs (3).

In 1985, The Sporting News named Clark an All-American and he later won the Golden Spikes Award from USA Baseball as the best amateur baseball player in the country. A teammate of Rafael Palmeiro, the two were known as "Thunder and Lightning." Clark and Palmeiro were known to dislike each other, dating back to their time at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished fourth at the College World Series in 1985, and Clark was named to the all-tournament team.

After his junior season at Mississippi State, Clark was the second overall pick of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft, selected by the San Francisco Giants. He played that summer with Fresno of the Class A California League.

In his first major league at-bat on April 8, 1986, on his first swing, Clark hit a home run off Nolan Ryan. A few days later, Clark also homered in his first home game at Candlestick Park. An elbow injury cost Clark 47 games in his rookie season. Clark finished the year with a .287 batting average and placed fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.