Mark Alan Clear (born May 27, 1956) is an American former two-time All Star
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), ...
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
who played for the
California Angels (1979–80, 1990),
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 eigh ...
(1981–85), and
Milwaukee Brewers (1986–88). He batted and threw right-handed.
[Mark Clear Stats , Baseball-Reference.com]
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Early life
Clear was born in Los Angeles, and is Jewish. He attended Northview High School in Covina, California
Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 201 ...
.Mount San Antonio College
Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 stud ...
in Walnut, California
Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 29,172, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 29,685.
The greater Walnut Valley is located betw ...
.
Clear's uncle is Bob Clear
Elwood Robert Clear (December 14, 1927 – April 6, 2010) was an American minor league baseball infielder, pitcher and manager, and a Major League coach with the California Angels. He was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved to Los Angeles with h ...
, who was a minor league pitcher in the 1940s and 1950s, and a coach with the California Angels from 1976 to 1986.
Professional career
Clear was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 8th round of the 1974 MLB June Amateur Draft.[
A hard curveballer with shaky control, Clear was a flexible set-up man, and an occasional closer as well. Twice he struck out 100-plus batters without starting a game (becoming the first pitcher to do so), and pitched 100 or more innings in three different seasons.
In 1979, Clear was an All Star and came in 19th in voting for the American League MVP.][ That year he won the June AL Pitcher of the Month Award.][ He was 11-5 with a 3.63 ERA. His 14 saves were 7th-most in the American League.][
On July 6, 1980, Clear won the AL Pitcher of the Week Award.][ He was traded along with ]Carney Lansford
Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that wo ...
and Rick Miller from the Angels
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...
to the 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 ...
for Rick Burleson
Richard Paul "Rooster" Burleson (born April 29, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop. Burleson, who played for three American League teams over 13 seasons, was a very intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox teammate Bil ...
and Butch Hobson
Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. He is the current manager for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Hobson played in ...
five months later on December 10, 1980."Sox Trade Burleson, Hobson For Lansford, Clear, Miller," ''The Harvard Crimson'' (Harvard University), Thursday, December 11, 1980.
Retrieved November 25, 2022.
In 1982 Clear was again voted an All Star, and finished the season with a career-high 14 wins and 109 strikeouts. He had a 3.00 ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in 105 innings, and his 14 saves were 9th-most in the American League.[
His 2.20 ERA and 16 saves in 1986 were career bests, and his 16 saves were 8th-most in the American League.][ In May of that season, Clear won the AL Pitcher of the Month Award.][
In his 11-year career, Clear compiled a 71-49 record with a 3.85 ERA, 83 saves, and 804 strikeouts in 804.1 innings.][
]
See also
* List of Major League Baseball leaders in games finished
* List of select Jewish Major League Baseball players
References
External links
Baseball-almanac.comSABR biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clear, Mark
1956 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from California
Boston Red Sox players
California Angels players
El Paso Diablos players
Edmonton Trappers players
Idaho Falls Angels players
Iowa Cubs players
Jewish American baseball players
Jewish Major League Baseball players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Milwaukee Brewers players
Pulaski Phillies players
Quad Cities Angels players
Salinas Angels players
21st-century American Jews