Clark excelled for the Giants after they drafted him No. 2 overall out of Mississippi State in 1985. His career path initially appeared destined to end at the steps of Cooperstown. Unfurling his impossibly graceful left-handed swing, Clark homered off formidable fastballer Nolan Ryan in his first Major League at-bat in 1986, then sustained a stretch from 1987-91 in which he ranked as one of the game's premier offensive forces.
"When I played with him, I thought I was playing with a Hall of Famer," said Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, a former member of San Francisco's starting rotation and a teammate of Clark's from 1986-89.