Will Clark, 1999 Stadium Club #226

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that Will Clark spent parts of two seasons in an Orioles uniform. It just seems like a weird fit to me. Of course, the O's went 152-172 in 1999-2000, and "the Thrill" missed more than 100 games due to injury in that span, so I guess I'm not going out on a limb here. It's not like the Frank Wren/Syd Thrift teams were stocked with savvy pickups. Take a look at the 1999 roster, and the pitching staff in particular. It's chock full of journeyman and forgotten rookies. Doug Johns, Al Reyes, Jim Corsi, Mike Fetters, Brian Falkenborg, Heathcliff Slocumb, Gabe Molina (?), Doug Linton, a 19-year-old Matt Riley, Ricky Bones...I feel a headache coming on.

Will Clark, 1999 Donruss #37

It's Will Clark's 48th birthday...for five more minutes, at least here in the Eastern United States. Since I'm pressed for time, I'll leave you with this fact: On July 20, 2000, Will the Thrill hit home runs in both ends of a doubleheader against Boston. In the first game, his first-inning grand slam off of Ramon Martinez briefly gave the O's a 4-2 lead. (They lost 11-7, because Sidney Ponson was, is, and will forever be the worst.) In the nightcap, Clark gave Baltimore some insurance with a solo shot leading off the fourth inning. That made the score 7-3, and the Birds salvaged a split with a 9-4 final.

Will Clark, 2000 Pacific Paramount Red #30

It's funny. I don't think of Will Clark as having been a productive player for the Orioles, mostly because he replaced the eye-popping numbers of Rafael Palmeiro and missed chunks of time due to injury. But according to Raphy (no relation) at the Baseball-Reference Blog, "The Thrill" had the seventh-best season among all hitters in the final year of their careers. That was the 2000 season, which he split between Baltimore and St. Louis. The 36-year-old played in 130 games (his second-highest total in seven seasons), hitting .319 with an excellent .418 on-base percentage, 30 doubles, 21 homers, and 70 RBI. His .964 OPS was the highest of his 15-year career, fueled largely by the 28 extra-base hits he stroked in 51 games after being traded to the Cardinals. His efforts totaled up to a 4.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a very solid number.

Among the six players whose swan songs outrank Will's, three come with an asterisk. The 1-2 combo of Shoeless Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch both played their final season at their physical peaks, as they were banned from baseball after the 1920 campaign due to their roles in the Black Sox scandal. Carlos Beltran currently ranks fourth because injuries have kept him out of action thus far in 2010, but he will likely drop back off the list before long. Long story short, an aging Will Clark was still a damn sight better than Garrett Atkins.

Will Clark, 1999 Fleer Brilliants #115B

This Day in Orioles History: August 11, 1999

Orioles 4, Devil Rays 2 at Tropicana Field

Mike Mussina scattered nine hits over seven and two-thirds innings and struck out seven Devil Rays to win his fourteenth game of the season, as the troubled Orioles staved off their neighbors at the bottom of the A.L. East standings.

The Birds took an early lead on a third-inning single by the ageless Harold Baines; B. J. Surhoff scored the first run of the game. With Mussina having relatively little trouble on the mound, the offense gave him a bigger cushion in the top of the fifth. Surhoff and Albert Belle started off the inning with back-to-back home runs off of Tampa Bay starter and former Cuban defector Rolando Arrojo. Surhoff's roundtripper was his 22nd, tying a career high; he would finish with 28 home runs and 107 RBI (another career best).

After the Devil Rays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs grounded into a fielder's choice to plate their first run. The O's would get that run back in the eighth on Brady Anderson's run-scoring double. The fourth Baltimore run proved helpful, as Mussina surrendered the Rays' second score on an RBI single by John Flaherty in the bottom of the inning. Fortunately, ancient lefty Jesse Orosco came out of the bullpen to strand Flaherty; the home team left a total of eight runners on base in the game. Closer Mike Timlin notched his fifteenth save, allowing a single and striking out one batter.

Will Clark was another misguided veteran signing in the late Nineties. He hit well when healthy, but those occasions were too few during his year-and-a-half in Charm City. In this game, they O's got a good effort from "The Thrill": three hits, including a double, in five trips to the plate. But he would play just one more game in 1999 before being shut down with another injury. On the bright side, he played well enough the following year to allow the Birds to trade him for Jose Leon! Oh...never mind, then.