Howard Roddy Clark (born February 13, 1974) is an American

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 ...

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 ...

and former utility 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), ...

(MLB) 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 ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, and Minnesota Twins, and coached for the Orioles and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He is currently the hitting coach for the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

Playing career

Clark was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 27th round (744th overall) of the

1992 Major League Baseball Draft The 1992 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 1, 1992, through a conference call involving all 28 MLB teams of the time. Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton was the first overall selection, chosen by the Houston Astros. Derek Jeter, sel ...

. He would spend ten years in Baltimore's minor league system before making an appearance in the majors. During this time, Clark played in parts of four seasons with the Rochester Red Wings, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate, from to and was named the team captain. After his contract was purchased by the Orioles on July 16, 2002, he finally made his major-league debut as a

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 ...

batting leadoff that same day in a 6–1 victory over the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

. He was given a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

after his first at bat resulted in a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

off

Joel Piñeiro Joel Alberto Piñeiro (, ; born September 25, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ...

. Clark eventually scored the first run of the contest. He played in 14 games with the Orioles in his first major league action, batting .302 with 4 RBI. He became 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 ...

after the 2002 season and signed with the

on November 12, 2002. After two seasons with the Blue Jays, Clark signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 1, 2004. He spent the season with the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

and the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, batting a combined .394 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 39 games. Clark re-signed with Baltimore before the season. Clark played most of the year with their Triple-A affiliate, the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

, but was called up to Baltimore for a brief stretch during the months of June and July. He played in seven games, recording one hit in seven at-bats (.143). Clark signed with the San Diego Padres on January 10, 2007. He was released at the end of Spring Training on March 31. On May 12, Clark signed a contract to return to the Blue Jays. On May 30, , while playing

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the Blue Jays, Clark let an easy pop fly fall after

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

yelled "Mine" in order to distract the infielders. Sports telecasts aired this play numerous times in the following days as part of discussions on Rodriguez's poor sportsmanship. Clark was cited in the 2007

Mitchell Report The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...

on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, but was later acquitted when it was discovered his GH was bunk because he bought it from a false Mexican source. Clark was outrighted to Triple-A by the Blue Jays on August 7, 2007. He then signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on November 21, 2007. He began the season with the Rochester Red Wings, now the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins. Clark was called up to Minnesota on May 16 to replace the injured Matt Tolbert, but 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 ...

to Rochester on May 31. He accepted the assignment, stating that one of his reasons for returning to Rochester was his good relationship with the fans. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on January 16, .

Coaching career

In February 2015, Clark was named the hitting coach of the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

, the Class-A affiliate of the

. In February 2017, Clark was named the assistant hitting coach for the Orioles. He was not retained by the ballclub following the 2019 season. He was named hitting coach of the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

, Triple-A affiliate of the

, for the 2020 season. On December 1, 2020, Clark was named assistant hitting coach for the

. In January 2023, Clark became the hitting coach of the

, Triple-A affiliate of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

References

External links

The Baseball GaugeMexican LeagueVenezuela Winter League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Howie 1974 births Living people Albany Polecats players Altoona Curve players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from San Diego Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Chicago White Sox coaches Chico Heat players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Gulf Coast Pirates players High Desert Mavericks players Las Vegas 51s players Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball second basemen Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Ottawa Lynx players Pastora de los Llanos players Rochester Red Wings players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links