IWS • Brady Clark FINAL

Becky Mansfield

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The Brewers do not need a fortuneteller to visualize a winning season with Clark at the top of the order. AUGUST 2005 INSIDE WISCONSIN SPORTS 37 ...

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• Sport

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• Publié par: Sportif
• Nombre de lectures: 126
• Langue: Français

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The

New Ignitor? The Brewers think they have finally found a new leadoff guy in Brady Clark

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT PAULUS

B Y C R A I G C O S H U N

he Milwaukee Brewers’struggles to field a winning team are well docu- was T the last time the Brewers made the play- mented. Let’s state the obvious: 1982 offs (also the franchise’s only World Series appearance). And 1992 was the last time the Brewers posted a winning record, which means there have been 12 consecutive years of losing baseball causing the suds to go flat in Brewtown. A UGUST 2005INSIDE WISCONSIN SPORTS35

Let’s state the not so obvious: The futility can be directly related to the last season Hall of Famer Paul Molitor was with the ball club. You remember the Ignitor, the Brewers’ lead-off hitter, the man who led the team to 11 winning seasons in his 15-year career in Milwaukee. If you believe the drought is related to the absence of a genuine lead-off hitter, then perhaps this season the Miller Park roof will stay open long enough to rain in a new hero. Meet Brady Clark. Oh, you’ve heard of him? But do you really know him? Probably not. He’s in his first full season as a starter in Major League

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Baseball after toying between the minors and the big leagues the previous eight years. So far, all signs indicate he could be the one that finally ignites the Brewers to a winning record. “It’s been a long haul,” Clark admits. From Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon to the University of San Diego. From minor league stops in Burlington, Chattanooga and Louisville to Major League stops in Cincinnati, New York and now Milwaukee. Clark is Milwaukee’s lead-off hitter, but it may be the only time he’s ever been first in anything in his baseball career. “I never got a college scholarship,” says Clark.

“I was told I’d be drafted out of college and wasn’t. Every time I seemed to achieve something, they’d say, ‘now I bet he can’t do this.’ Finally, I got the opportunity to play, and they said I’d never be an everyday player. Now look what I’ve accomplished.” Clark’s storyline of putting his nose to the grindstone and succeeding through hard work fits in well in the City of Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin—a blue-collar work ethic. That same common trait could be found in Molitor, who will always be heralded for coming to play every day and running out every ground ball. “I consider myself a throwback player,” states Clark. “I wasn’t blessed with the five tools many other athletes have been blessed with.” If you are scoring at home, the five tools are running, throwing, hitting, speed and power. Although Clark would love to have any or all of those traits, he cherishes the two things he thinks get overlooked when it comes to evaluating an athlete: brains and heart. “People get caught up in watching someone in batting practice hit the ball 500 feet and see he has a lot of power,” Clark says. “I’ve run across a lot of guys who have had all those things, but they have become a big waste of talent because they didn’t have what it takes to succeed inside. They’ve relied on their natural abilities their whole careers, and eventually they get run out of the game.” An example of someone who had all the ability but left the game too early is very close to Clark, his father. Steve Clark, an invitee for Team USA’s first Olympic exhi- bition baseball team, was a two-sport star at Oregon State University in football and baseball. He was one of the lucky few drafted in both sports, football by the Green Bay Packers and baseball by the Boston Red Sox. He pursued a baseball career but wound up quitting, a decision Clark says his f ather has always regretted. “Things didn’t go the way he wanted, and he let it get to him,” Clark explains. “Through his teaching, I learned I could only control what I can control. He now says ride it out and give everything you’ve got, and I’ve absolutely listened to him.” His career up until now can be described by many as a grind, but Clark has now reached the point where he can offer some advice for those who may be struggling. “There’s a lot of money to be made in this game, but you have to enjoy life,” Clark says. “Nothing irritates me more than when people get stuck in a rut and aren’t having any fun. Well you know what? Change! It may put you in the hole for a while, but the ultimate goal in life is happiness.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASSOCIATED PRESS/AP

Profile Publicly, Clark’s success rarely puts a smile on his face, but that doesn’t mean he Full Name: isn’t fulfilled. While teammates Geoff Brady William Clark Jenkins, Ben Sheets and Carlos Lee often command the media’s attention, Clark sits Born: back at his locker after a game thinking for 04 /18 /1973 a moment about what went right and what can be corrected. “Part of my personality is Birthplace: if the spotlight is on me, fine,” Clark says. Portland, OR “I want to be able to come in after a game, and whoever wants to talk with me, I just Height: want them to say, ‘I wonder if that guy went 4-for-4 today or if he went 0-for-4 with four 6’2” strikeouts.’ I don’t want people to know; I want to be the same even keel guy the Weight: whole time.” 200 Up until now, Clark’s success has been noticed by very few. His manager, Ned Yost, Bats: saw Clark emerging last year, which helped Right lead to the off-season trade of then Brewers starting centerfielder Scott Podsednik to the Throws: Chicago White Sox. Podsednik was clearly Right struggling to fill the role of a true first College: hitter in the team’s lineup. Many Brewers fans, however, thought the organization was San Diego State bringing in the future with much heralded centerfielder Dave Krynzel. It wasn’t long MLB Debut: into spring training when Yost made it clear 09 / 03 / 2000 it was Clark’s job to lose. Something the 32- year-old Clark had never heard before since breaking into pro ball back in 1997. Another teammate, veteran infielder Jeff Tim Kurkjian ofESPN The Magazine Cirillo, marvels at Clark’s ability at fine- writes, “One scout claims Milwaukee’s tuning his trade, calling him a “perfectionist” Brady Clark is the NL’s best centerfielder. in the batting cage. Clark replies, “I am a There’s nothing that jumps out about Clark. perfectionist; I don’t spend extra time in the He’s just a grinder who lives for the game.” cage to get loose. I concentrate on keeping “I love the story of the guy who gets my swing where I want it to be. I think of it doubted and turns out to be a huge success,” like oiling the machine.” admits Lyle Overbay, Brewers first baseman The Army teaches visualization to its and Clark’s teammate. “It’s great to see cadets at West Point, New York. Through what he’s doing now because he has worked the Center of Enhance Performance, they so hard to get this. Nothing against Po train the central nervous system to react [Podsednik], but without Brady doing what to a real situation. The Army believes if he’s doing, we’re not nearly as dangerous a you can visualize it, you can do it. For team,” he adds. Bradly Clark, “it” is being the ignitor in

the lead-offspot and being one of the league’s b est centerfielders. He is almost militant in his way of preparing for his trade. “I playthe game in my mind a lot,” explains Clark. “I envision myself in cer- tain places doing certain things before they happen. I envisioned this season so far just as it’sbeen going. I’m capable [physically], but the mental aspect is very important to me, to be able to see it and visualize it and put those positive affirma- tions in my own head.” The Brewers do not need a fortuneteller to visualize a winning season with Clark at the top of the order.

Current Career Stats (200005) Season TeamG AB R H2B 3B HRRBI TBBB SO SB CS OBPSLG AVG 2000 CincinnatiReds 11 111 3 1 0 0 2 4 0 2 0 0.273 .364 .273 2001 CincinnatiReds 89129 22 343 0 618 55 22 164 1.373 .426 .264 2002 CincinnatiReds 51 666 10 30 0 913 69 1 2.233 .197 .152 2002 NewYork Mets10 123 5 1 0 0 1 6 1 2 0 0.462 .500 .417 2003 MilwaukeeBrewers 128315 33 86 211 640 127 2140 132 .330.403 .273 2004 MilwaukeeBrewers 138353 41 99 181 746 140 5348 158 .385.397 .280 2005* MilwaukeeBrewers 61257 44 83 130 625 114 1728 65 .384.444 .323 Career Totals 39 21 .360 .402 .28060 2 25141 459 120 145488 1143 150 320 *As of 61305 A UGUST 2005INSIDE WISCONSIN SPORTS37