Phillip Benjamin Clark (born May 6, 1968) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He most recently served as the assistant hitting coach for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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), ...

(MLB). He played for the Detroit Tigers,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. He also played four seasons in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

Playing career

Clark signed with the

after being selected with their first-round pick in the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school, and made his major league debut with the Tigers in 1992. He was sent off to the

the following year, and hit .313 with 9 home runs in 102 games. He continued to play part-time before being released by the

in 1996. He joined the

in the Japanese

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

in 1997, and hit 23 home runs with a .331 batting average (second in the league after

Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his ...

) in his first year to win the

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first present ...

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He hit 48 doubles in 1998, which was the Japanese single-season record until

Yoshitomo Tani Yoshitomo Tani (谷佳知, born February 9, 1973) is a former Japanese professional baseball player from Higashiōsaka, Osaka, Japan. He played as an outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes and Yomiuri Giants. He holds the Pacific League record for hi ...

broke it in 2001, and ended with a .320 batting average, with 31 home runs and 114 RBIs to win his second consecutive Best Nine Award. His production decreased in 1999, but he still won a third Best Nine Award at

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. In 2000, he missed over half of the season after being hit by a pitch, and was released at the end of the year.

Coaching career

On December 9, 2014, Clark was named the hitting coach for the Class-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

. On December 2, 2015, Clark was named the hitting coach for the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

. On November 2, 2017, Clark was named the assistant hitting coach for the

for the 2018 season. On December 20, 2020, Clark was hired by the

Wei Chuan Dragons The Wei Chuan Dragons () are a professional baseball team in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) that originally existed between 1990 and 1999. In 2019, negotiations regarding the franchise's revival and return to the CPBL took ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

to be the team's hitting coach for the ensuing season.

Personal life

His brother,

Jerald Clark Jerald Dwayne Clark (born August 10, 1963) is an American former professional outfielder. He is an alumnus of Lamar University and played for the Lamar Cardinals baseball team. Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round of the 1985 Major L ...

, also played in the major leagues and

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

References

External links

Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Phil 1968 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball coaches from Texas Baseball players from Texas Boston Red Sox players Bristol Tigers players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers players Fayetteville Generals players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Lakeland Tigers players London Tigers players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball coaches Nashua Pride players Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Crockett, Texas San Diego Padres players Toledo Mud Hens players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople