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Jeff Clark photo by Rob Fisher
Another in an occasional series about former San Jose Giants players.
The story of former San Jose Giants pitcher Jeff Clark is a case study of how fragile a professional sports career can be.
The 21-year-old Clark arrived in San Jose in 2002 after posting strong numbers (14-9, 3.69 ERA) the previous year at Low-A Hagerstown, Md. The big right hander with the super slow curveball baffled California League hitters all season, putting up a 12-3, 2.06 record before being promoted to Double-A Norwich, Conn. in August.
“I remember we seemed to have a lot of tough luck the days I didn’t pitch,” says Clark. “But every time I pitched, it seemed our offense scored for me and played well behind me.” Clark was the ace of a San Jose team that went just 68-72 for Manager Bill Hayes.
But his career started to slide in 2003 when a broken foot limited him to just 16 games between Norwich and San Jose. Then in 2004, he suffered a shoulder injury that would eventually cost him his career.
“I threw in four games and after the fourth game I couldn’t pick up my arm the next day,” recalls Clark. It was a torn labrum, and he had surgery to fix it. But he still couldn’t throw without pain and had a second surgery the next year.
Because of surgeries and rehab, Clark missed most of the 2004 season, all of 2005 and most of 2006. He finally came back at Low-A Augusta but was released after pitching in two games.
“I was devastated. I worked so hard that (getting released) was the last thing on my mind. There were two weeks left in the season and I was hoping to just get through and sign with someone else as a free agent.”
Clark went home to Ledyard, Conn. and worked in construction and as nightclub security at a local casino. Today he co-owns a cell phone store and is thinking of going into police work like his father did. He’s also in his fourth year coaching pitchers at his alma mater, University of Connecticut-Avery Point.
“I love working with the kids, teaching them what I know and showing them the way.”
His way was taking command of the strike zone with all of his pitches. With the Giants in 2002, he had unbelievable control, giving up just 18 walks in 140 innings. His 2.33 career ERA remains tied for third best in team history.
Despite all the injuries, Clark says he’d sign again to play pro baseball “in a heartbeat. I was following my dream and got farther than most people ever do so I can’t complain.”
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