Mark Clark didn't see the late spring 1993 trade coming, but he welcomed it, he told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Clark had already seen parts of two seasons in the majors with the Cardinals. His new team, the Indians, he believed, gave him an improved shot at staying, he told The Post-Dispatch.
"It's a shock," Clark told The Post-Dispatch. "But it benefits me. I'm going to go over there and get an opportunity to be in the big leagues. I wouldn't have that opportunity here."
Clark went over there and he ended up seeing three seasons in Cleveland and eight more seasons in the bigs overall. He didn't throw his last big league pitch until 2000, with the Rangers.
Clark's career began in 1988, taken by the Cardinals in the ninth round of the draft out of Lincoln Land Community College.
Clark started with the Cardinals at short-season Hamilton. He went 6-7 over 15 starts, with a 3.05 ERA. He made single-A Savannah for 1989, then first made AA Arkansas in 1990 and AAA Louisville in 1991.
He debuted in St. Louis in September 1991. He saw seven outings, two starts. He went 1-1, with a 4.03 ERA. In one late-season game, he went 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for his first major league win.
"At least it was on TV back home," Clark told The Post-Dispatch afterward. "All my family was watching."
Clark returned to the Cardinals for 20 starts in 1992. He went 3-10, with a 4.45 ERA. After his move to Cleveland in 1993, he went 7-5, with a 4.28 ERA. Then, in 1994, he went 11-3, with a 3.82 mark in 20 starts.
Clark arrived with the Mets for 1996 and went 14-11. He then won another 14 games in 1997 between the Mets and the Cubs. In 1998, he went 9-14, with a 4.84 ERA with the Cubs over 33 starts.
Clark then signed with the Rangers as a free agent. He believed the Rangers would give him more run support.
"It actually went a hell of a lot better than my wins and losses show," Clark told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram of his 1998 numbers. "I pitched into some tough luck. I pitched a lot of ballgames into the seventh or eighth inning and came out with nothing to show for it."
Clark went 3-7, with an 8.60 ERA in 15 starts for the Rangers in 1999, then 3-5, with a 7.98 ERA in 12 outings, eight starts in 2000 to end his career.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 2, 1991: Clark Got A Late Start, Put A Stop To Expos
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 1, 1993: Joining Cleveland Gives Clark A Shot At Starting Rotation
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dec. 9, 1998: Rangers
Made the Majors:1,325-33.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,652-66.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:542-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:329
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