Zachary Higgins Clark (born April 10, 1983) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player. He played in

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), ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in 2013.

Career

Clark graduated from Newark High School in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

, in 2001. He then attended the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

(UMBC), where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

UMBC Retrievers The UMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, located in Catonsville, Maryland, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

Baltimore Orioles

He went undrafted after graduating in 2006, and signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, receiving a $1,000 signing bonus. By 2010, Clark was promoted to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League, the highest level of minor league baseball. Clark posted a strong breakout season in 2012 for the Bowie Baysox of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League and Norfolk, posting a 15-7

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 2.79

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

between the two teams. The Orioles added Clark to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2012 season. Clark began the 2013 season with Norfolk. On May 1, 2013, Clark was called up to the Orioles, where he was expected to be a part of the bullpen. Clark made his major league debut that same night against the Mariners in Seattle, coming on in relief of

Wei-Yin Chen Wei-Yin Chen (; born July 21, 1985) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins, and in the NPB for the Chunichi ...

in the bottom of the 5th inning. He went innings in his debut, allowing three hits and three earned runs. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 4, 2013. On May 6, he was outrighted to Bowie, where he began developing a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

. He experienced a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...

injury, and struggled for the remainder of the season. Clark became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed a new minor league contract with the Orioles. The Orioles did not assign Clark to a minor league affiliate at the start of the 2014 season, as he worked on his knuckleball in extended spring training. In June, the Orioles opted not to assign Clark to the

Aberdeen Ironbirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, and instead released him.

Camden Riversharks

Clark signed with the Camden Riversharks of the unaffiliated Atlantic League of Professional Baseball a few days later, and scrapped the knuckleball.

Scouting career

After retiring from professional baseball, Clark was hired as a scout for the Houston Astros. He was let go in 2017 as part of restructuring by the organization. He was soon after hired by the Tampa Bay Rays' scouting department, and currently serves as an Area Supervisor scout.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Zach Living people Baseball players from Wilmington, Delaware Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Orioles players UMBC Retrievers baseball players Bluefield Orioles players Aberdeen IronBirds players Frederick Keys players Delmarva Shorebirds players Norfolk Tides players Bowie Baysox players Gulf Coast Orioles players 1983 births Camden Riversharks players Newark High School (Delaware) alumni