While sorting out some old issues of Baseball Digest today, I came across a 20-year-old issue declaring Will Clark would be among the superstars of the 1990s. At the time (July 1989), it seemed like an easy prediction to make. Will the Thrill was one of the best players in the National League from 1987 through 1991 and was destined to have a Hall of Fame career. So what happened?

Will Clark lost some of his power in 1992, and then he lost everything in 1993. His slugging was down to .432 and he hit only 14 home runs. He never fully recovered from that season, although he did put up decent numbers as he finished his career with the Rangers, Orioles, and finally the Cardinals. He ended up with a .303 career batting average and 1200 RBI. Still, these weren’t the numbers expected from someone who was supposed to be the superstar leading the Giants in the 90s. He received 4.4% of votes from writers on his first Hall of Fame ballot, falling below the 5% level required to stay on the ballot the following year.

I think Giants fans will always look fondly on that golden age of baseball when we had Clark and Kevin Mitchell and came just 4 games away from a championship.

Tags: giants, kevin mitchell, san francisco giants, will clark

Jonathan Sanchez once looked like the perfect mid-season trade bait for the Giants. Now MLB Rumors is reporting Sanchez’s poor pitching over his last 9 starts has dropped his stock so low that he’s no longer considered a valuable trade asset. The Indians, one of the few teams interested in Sanchez a couple months ago, are now longer very interested and would only consider using Sanchez as a middle reliever.

Tags: jonathan sanchez, san francisco giants

The Giants have signed Shingo Takatsu to a minor league deal. He will play for AAA Fresno as soon as his paperwork is filled out. Takatsu last pitched for the Mets in 2005 after finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting while playing for the White Sox in 2004.

Tags: baseball, fresno, san francisco giants, Shingo Takatsu

The Giants are looking towards the future with their selection of high school pitcher Zach Wheeler with the 6th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft. Wheeler is a lanky right-handed pitcher out of Brownwood High School in Texas. He’s listed at 6′4″ and 180 lbs, so I’m sure Giants trainers are going to try to get him on a diet that will bring him up to around 200-210 lbs. Wheeler throws a variety of pitches, which will make his development a lot easier. One thing I really like about this kid is that he tends to throw his stuff down in the zone. When he misses, he misses low, which should help to keep him out of trouble against the power hitters he’s going to be facing very soon. One problem I see is in his delivery. As you’ll notice in the video I’ll post below, Wheeler has a very pronounced “inverted W” in his delivery. That’s the form his arms make right before his throwing arm whips around to deliver the ball. Pitchers who have this inverted W tend to develop elbow and shoulder problems that can nag them their entire career. If you don’t believe me, go ask Mark Prior. Assuming the Giants pitching coaches are aware of this tendency, it’s nothing they can work out.

Tags: brownsville, mlb amateur draft, pitcher, san francisco giants, texas, zach wheeler