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Acquired to fill in for injured McGwire, veteran proves exceptional with bat and leadership.
By BRUCE LOWITT
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2000
ST. LOUIS -- He never would wish anyone ill, certainly not for his benefit. But Will Clark's good fortune has come from Mark McGwire's misfortune.
"If it wasn't for that," Clark said of McGwire's knee injuries, "Oct. 1 would have come and gone and I'd be on my ranch in Mississippi hunting deer with a bow. ... Winding up here is definitely one of the most fortunate moves of my career, for sure.
"It gave me a shot in the arm, being able to run out there every day and make plays in the field or take swings at bat and know that it meant something. ... I'm taking advantage of a situation."
He last was in a league championship series in 1989, the year he and the San Francisco Giants went to the "earthquake" World Series and were swept by Oakland. In 1996 and '98 with the Rangers, he never got past the division series, twice losing to the Yankees.
This season, his second in Baltimore, he was going nowhere. The Orioles' biggest challenge was staying ahead of the Devil Rays and out of last place in the AL East. He was batting .301 with nine home runs and 28 RBI in 79 games when he was dealt to the Cardinals on the July 31 trading deadline.
"Nobody knew, when Will showed up, whether Mark was going to get well," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
Upon his arrival, Clark met for more than half an hour with La Russa in the manager's office. "I told him, "You brought me over here to keep the seat warm. I don't know what Mac's future is. I don't know when he's going to come back. But I know I'm going to run out there until you tell me not to. After that, I'll do whatever you tell me to do.'
"Tony told me early on, "I might want you to take a few fly balls in the outfield,' so I started doing that -- against my will," Clark said, smiling.
He responded with a .345 average, 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 51 games, a performance not unexpected, La Russa said. "He's every bit the winner, the clutch guy, that we thought he was," La Russa said. "What you see is what you get. And I think that's important."
As for Clark playing the outfield against his will, La Russa showed a Cheshire smile of his own.
"He'll do anything to get in the lineup; you can bet every dime you've got on that," the manager said. "There are some guys who are kind of public about being leaders and winners, but they're kind of phony about it. They disappear on you. Will is dedicated to having his team end up with more runs than the other club. Spring training, middle of the season, post-season, he's got a beautiful attitude."
When asked to name the team's clubhouse leaders, most of the Cardinals mentioned three or four. All included Clark.
"There are guys out here who lead by example," outfielder Jim Edmonds said, "and some lead by being boisterous, outspoken. Will does it with a little bit of both. What's important is that he's been there (to the playoffs and World Series) before. That's important. And he knows there's an intensity out there that has to be displayed, but also a quiet confidence."
Pitcher Pat Hentgen called Clark the best player he has been with in the dugout in terms of motivation and leadership. "He was instant team leader, and he had all the numbers, the playoff time and experience, to back it up," Hentgen said.
Hentgen said Clark is willing to confront hitters when necessary, to advise them when needed, "to say things our other guys wouldn't dare to say. ... He's a leader on the field, in the clubhouse, in the dugout."
La Russa, another smile spreading across his face, said Clark had not changed much since he was managing Oakland (1987-95) and Clark was playing across the bay in San Francisco (1987-93).
"He's a little thicker, you know, around the middle. That's probably the only difference I can see," La Russa said. "Maybe he's more of a threat to steal a base, more than when he was younger. But everything else about him is the same.
"He's got a 21-year-old heart in that 36-year-old body. And he's got all that experience. I mean very similar physically and probably the best he's ever been mentally because he's got that experience and he's still as excited as ever."