Mark Willard Clark (born May 12, 1968) is a former right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He pitched all or parts of ten seasons in the majors. Clark was born in Bath, Illinois, and made his debut on September 6, for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Over the next nine seasons, Clark would develop into a journeyman starting pitcher, being traded from team to team. He pitched in one postseason game in the

1998 National League Division Series The 1998 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1998 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 29, and ended on Sunday, October 4, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team� ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, a game which he lost to

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. He was released by the Texas Rangers during the season, then retired. He and his wife Amy have two children: a son, Brandon and a daughter, Allyson. They now live in

Kilbourne, Illinois Kilbourne is a village in Mason County, Illinois, United States. The population was 265 at the 2020 census, down from 302 in 2010. Geography Kilbourne is located in southern Mason County at . Illinois Route 97 runs through the east side of the v ...

. He is now a baseball coach for children in the Kilbourne area.

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1968 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte Rangers players Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Hamilton Redbirds players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Chicago MacMurray Highlanders baseball players New York Mets players People from Mason County, Illinois Savannah Cardinals players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Lincoln Land Loggers baseball players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub