Mark Clark had an up-and-down career with the Cardinals, Indians, and Mets before being traded to the Cubs in 1997. It was part of a fairly massive deal that saw Clark joined by Manny Alexander and Lance Johnson in heading to the Cubs in exchange for Mel Rojas, Brian McRae, and fan favorite, Turk Wendell. He was great for the rest of the season with the Cubs, compiling a 6-1 record with a 2.86 ERA.
Unfortunately, 1998 was more of a down year. He went 9-14 with a 4.84 ERA which isn't going to wow anyone, but this is a case where the numbers do not tell the whole story. He was a victim of bad luck as he had a FIP of 3.76 which just shows that things really did not go his way that year.
His greatest ability was his availability as this guy took the mound every fifth day and gave the Cubs a chance. Throughout the season, he pitched 213.2 innings, and considering how bad the bullpen was, that was incredibly valuable. He gave the Cubs a chance in his starts as he allowed four runs or less 22 times that season. I know that four runs isn't exactly a high bar to clear, but considering how good the Cubs offense was that season, he easily could have had a much better win-loss record as there was a pitcher on the Cubs staff who had a worse ERA than Clark but also had ten more wins in 1998.
In the second to last game of the season, when every game mattered so much to the Cubs, they gave the ball to Mark Clark and asked for him to give them a chance. He did more than that as he pitched one of his best games of the season, going eight innings and allowing just a single run. Rod Beck made things interesting in the ninth, but the Cubs held on for a 3-2 victory to keep them tied with the Giants for the Wildcard spot while staying one game of the Mets with just day left in the season.
I would also like to mention that Mark Clark hit two doubles in this pivotal game. This was incredible as his line entering the game was .034/.081/.034. In fact, after getting a hit in April, it took him over four months to get his next hit of the season. But after his performance in this game, his numbers rose to a Babe Ruthian .065/.108/.097.
The Cubs would go on to make the playoffs and again turn to Clark in game one against the Atlanta Braves. Clark did continue his hot hitting, getting one of the Cubs few hits in the game and finishing his career with a .500 batting average in the playoffs. But his pitching was not quite enough as he gave up two earned runs in six innings. John Smoltz pitched a gem, and the Braves pulled away late in the game for a 7-1 victory for the racist bad guys.
He went to the Texas Rangers in free agency after the season and completely imploded with ERAs of 8.60 and 7.98 before retiring after the 2000 season. But don't worry about Clark as he seems to be living the good life. Although this article is old, "LUCKY STIFF RETIRED BIG LEAGUE PITCHER MARK CLARK WAS NO STAR, BUT HE GOT PAID LIKE ONE. AND NOW HE'S LIVING THE GOOD LIFE--WITH ALL THE TOYS TO PROVE IT." This is the worst title of anything ever, but at least Clark is living his dream, even in a place like Bath, Illinois, which is ironic since none of the residents have ever taken one.
Congratulations, me on knocking those hoity toity, highfalutin, Bath residents off their high horse.
They're from the Midwest, so I'm sure they are very nice people.
In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
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