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==Early life== ==Early life==
Clarke was born in ], on the island of ] in the ], on June 2, 1939.<ref name=BR>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clarkho01.shtml|title=Horace Clarke Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref> He was the youngest of six children of Dennis and Vivian Woods Clarke.<ref name=SABR>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/horace-clarke/|title=Horace Clarke|first=Rory|last=Costello|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref> Clarke was born in ], on the island of ] in the ], on June 2, 1939.<ref name=BR>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clarkho01.shtml|title=Horace Clarke Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref> He was the youngest of six children of Dennis and Vivian Woods Clarke. He had one brother (Verne) and four sisters (Dina, Holly, Annette, and Letty). He first played softball, since there were no ] in the territory at the time.<ref name=SABR>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/horace-clarke/|title=Horace Clarke|first=Rory|last=Costello|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref> He reportedly became a ] because the field was oriented in a way that hitting from the right side would result in the ] landing in the ocean.<ref name=SABR/><ref>{{cite news|title=Tim Kurkjian's Baseball Fix: The legendary reach of Randy Johnson|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29222956/tim-kurkjian-baseball-fix-randy-johnson-brought-fear-real-fear-every-hitter-stepped-batter-box|first=Tim|last=Kurkjian|publisher=ESPN Internet Ventures|work=ESPN|date=June 2, 2020|accessdate=August 7, 2020}}</ref> He attended ].<ref name=BR/>


He was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1958. He made his ] debut on May 13, 1965 against the ] at ]; he singled off ] in his first major league at bat. In his rookie season of 1966, Clarke, sharing ] duties with ] after ]'s retirement before the start of the season, batted .266 with six ]s and 28 ]. In 1967, he became the Yankees' regular second baseman upon the retirement of longtime veteran ]. In 10 seasons, he hit .256, with 27 home runs and 304 RBIs. In the space of one month in 1970, he broke up three possible ]s in the ninth inning (]<ref></ref> on June 4, ]<ref></ref> on June 19 and, ]<ref></ref> on July 2). That season, Clarke made 732 plate appearances (batting 686 times officially). As a fielder, though, the knock on Clarke was that he would not turn the double play with runners barreling in. Few ever took him out with a slide, but Clarke would hold the ball after leaping. He was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1958. He made his ] debut on May 13, 1965 against the ] at ]; he singled off ] in his first major league at bat. In his rookie season of 1966, Clarke, sharing ] duties with ] after ]'s retirement before the start of the season, batted .266 with six ]s and 28 ]. In 1967, he became the Yankees' regular second baseman upon the retirement of longtime veteran ]. In 10 seasons, he hit .256, with 27 home runs and 304 RBIs. In the space of one month in 1970, he broke up three possible ]s in the ninth inning (]<ref></ref> on June 4, ]<ref></ref> on June 19 and, ]<ref></ref> on July 2). That season, Clarke made 732 plate appearances (batting 686 times officially). As a fielder, though, the knock on Clarke was that he would not turn the double play with runners barreling in. Few ever took him out with a slide, but Clarke would hold the ball after leaping.

Revision as of 12:35, 7 August 2020

American baseball player Baseball player
Horace Clarke
Clarke in 1970
Second baseman
Born: (1939-06-02)June 2, 1939
Frederiksted, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Died: August 5, 2020(2020-08-05) (aged 81)
Batted: SwitchThrew: Right
MLB debut
May 13, 1965, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 15, 1974, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.256
Home runs27
Runs batted in304
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Horace Meredith Clarke (June 2, 1939 – August 5, 2020) was an American Virgin Islander baseball second baseman who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres from 1965 to 1974. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed.

Clarke was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees in 1958 and played for seven of their minor league affiliates until 1965, when the Yankees promoted him to the major leagues. After spending seven more seasons with the organization, he was traded to the San Diego Padres in 1974. He played his last game on September 15 that year.

Early life

Clarke was born in Frederiksted, on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, on June 2, 1939. He was the youngest of six children of Dennis and Vivian Woods Clarke. He had one brother (Verne) and four sisters (Dina, Holly, Annette, and Letty). He first played softball, since there were no Little Leagues in the territory at the time. He reportedly became a switch hitter because the field was oriented in a way that hitting from the right side would result in the baseball landing in the ocean. He attended Christiansted High School.

He was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1958. He made his Major League Baseball debut on May 13, 1965 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park; he singled off Dave Morehead in his first major league at bat. In his rookie season of 1966, Clarke, sharing shortstop duties with Tom Tresh after Tony Kubek's retirement before the start of the season, batted .266 with six home runs and 28 runs batted in. In 1967, he became the Yankees' regular second baseman upon the retirement of longtime veteran Bobby Richardson. In 10 seasons, he hit .256, with 27 home runs and 304 RBIs. In the space of one month in 1970, he broke up three possible no-hitters in the ninth inning (Jim Rooker on June 4, Sonny Siebert on June 19 and, Joe Niekro on July 2). That season, Clarke made 732 plate appearances (batting 686 times officially). As a fielder, though, the knock on Clarke was that he would not turn the double play with runners barreling in. Few ever took him out with a slide, but Clarke would hold the ball after leaping.

Clarke was sold to the San Diego Padres on May 31, 1974, for $25,000. He retired at the end of the 1974 season. After his retirement, he worked as a baseball instructor for the Virgin Islands Department of Recreation and as an assistant scout for the Kansas City Royals.

Clarke and Joe Mauer are the only hitters to break up three no-hit bids in the ninth inning.

In popular culture

In the television show The Job, Horace Clarke is referred to sometimes.

In the book The Wednesday Wars, the protagonist Holling practices with Clarke by arrangement with Mrs. Baker. Holling also calls him, along with Joe Pepitone, "One of the best baseball players to wear pinstripes since Babe Ruth," although this may be a bit sarcastically.

As one of the most well-known faces of the Yankees' teams from 1967 to 1973, that period in Yankees' history has been referred to as "The Horace Clarke Era."

References

  1. ^ "Horace Clarke Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Costello, Rory. "Horace Clarke". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. Kurkjian, Tim (June 2, 2020). "Tim Kurkjian's Baseball Fix: The legendary reach of Randy Johnson". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  4. Royals lose in 12 innings; Rooker blows no-hit game
  5. Clarke spoils 2nd no-hitter
  6. Clarke the spoiler ruins 3rd no-hitter
  7. Short, D.J. (25 May 2014). "Joe Mauer has broken up three no-hitters in the ninth inning during his career". NBC Sports. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  8. Johnson, Dick; Stout, Glenn. Yankees Century: 100 Years of New York Yankees Baseball. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 290; 315. ISBN 0-618-08527-0.

Sources

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