BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : HE’S GOT WILL POWER : Giants’ Clark Knows He’s Good, and If You Don’t Like It, Tough

Please, do not misunderstand Will Clark. He does not like what he says are misconceptions about him and will present an impassioned defense, which tends to just reinforce the original criticisms.

He has been labeled in print as cocky, caustic and condescending. At the very least, the young and talented first baseman for the San Francisco Giants is strong-Willed. That opinion is vividly supported by a sign hanging from Clark’s locker at Candlestick Park: We’ll get along fine as soon as you realize I’m God .

With customary curtness, Clark says the media is merely mistaking extreme self-confidence for arrogance.

“For me, it’s my self-confidence that puts me over my edge,” Clark told a group of reporters the other day. “If people take that and perceive me as being cocky or arrogant, I’m sorry.”

Not many, however, will begrudge Clark’s ability. He hit .308 with 35 home runs this season and has at least one hit in all five National League championship series playoff games for the Giants, who can wrap up their first pennant since 1971 with a win over the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at 5:25 (PDT) in Game 6.

At 23 and in only his second major league season, Clark is perhaps the most charismatic Giant to many Bay Area fans. They call him “The Thrill,” and regularly show up early to thrill at his prodigious batting-practice shots into the right-field seats.

Supporters point out Clark’s short-cropped black hair, wholesome facial features and Louisiana roots and think they are seeing a sequel to “The Natural.” And remember, Roy Hobbs didn’t like talking about himself, either.

But the critics have been taken aback by Clark’s style, not his substance.

This is something that Clark wants to clear up right away. He wants people to know that he is not a prima donna. And even if it is true, he adds, what should it matter as long as he does his job and keeps to himself?

“Listen, I am very confident,” Clark said. “I have a lot of faith in my athletic ability. When you’re one guy facing nine, you’ve got to have an edge. That’s what gets me over the hump. That’s what sets me apart. I have to know in my mind that I’m better than the next guy.”

To some, it seems as if Clark’s soaring rise to success, in which even the slightest bit of adversity has been averted, has contributed to this superior attitude.

One label you can’t hang on Clark is a failure. As a senior at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, he batted .739. In the 1984 Olympics, Clark led the United States to the silver medal in the demonstration tournament by leading the club in home run and runs batted in. In 1985, he hit .420 and led Mississippi State into the College World Series. One organization voted him the nation’s top amateur baseball player that year.

Clark spent only 65 games in the minor leagues. He hit .309 for Fresno (Class A) in 1985, and homered in his first professional at-bat.

The next spring, in one of then-new Giant General Manager Al Rosen’s boldest moves, Clark was promoted from Class A to starting first baseman in San Francisco. Everybody seemed surprised, except for Clark, who homered in his first at-bat--off Nolan Ryan in the Astrodome, no less--and also homered in his first game at Candlestick Park.

As early as his rookie season, some of those current media perceptions had already been expressed in the Giant clubhouse. There were murmurs about cockiness and dues paying.

As teammate Jeffrey Leonard said earlier this season: “I knew I could get to Will back then. He was a hot-shot All-American making the big bucks, and he missed all those minor-league bus rides. I introduced him to a lot of stuff he was going to run into as a major leaguer. . . . I was curious about him. I wanted to see what Will Clark was made of, so I tested him--a lot.”

Leonard wasn’t the only Giant initially reluctant to accept Clark. Bob Brenly, watching Clark smash batting-practice pitches one day last week, laughed at some of the hazing and pranks to which Clark was subjected last season.

“When he first got here, the reason for the hazing was to see if he was going to be one of the guys or Joe College,” Brenly said, smiling. “We didn’t know. I mean, we had heard about the guy. We thought he might be some type of prima donna. Will had had a lot of success and, sometimes, it can go to your head. But he didn’t rebel. He came through with flying colors.”

Clark probably has never showed as much restraint as during those early days last season. One day, he got into uniform and headed to the field. When he returned a few minutes later, a $500 pair of cowboy boots had been spray-painted bright orange. As an encore, Clark’s bats were thrown into a trash can. That’s not a minor prank, if you know how much Clark cherishes his bats.

Teammates anxiously awaited Clark’s reaction. There was none, which meant he could take it. Which meant he had passed the test and would be accepted. Teammates and Manager Roger Craig later chipped in and bought Clark another pair of cowboy boots.

“Will’s a high-strung kid,” Craig said. “He’s got a lot of fight in him and has to learn how to channel it. But he’s a good kid at heart. Because he took that boot thing with a laugh, we made sure we got him some new ones.”

Clark now is an accepted member of the Giants, if not a leader, but problems apparently have arisen. Clark and Leonard had a clubhouse argument in Philadelphia and, according to one report, almost had to be restrained, when Clark refused to autograph baseballs for Leonard’s nephew.

But that incident apparently has been forgotten, and Clark’s only recent battles have been with the media.

Clark, it seems, is concerned about what is written about both himself and the Giants. After Friday night’s Giant loss that put them down, 2 games to 1, San Francisco Examiner columnist Art Spander filed a critical column for an early edition of the Sunday paper, one that hit the streets on Saturday afternoon.

Clark apparently reads early editions, too, because he sought out Spander before Game 4 and said to him: “It’s guys like you that make it tough for us here. We have to play the Cardinals and you guys (the media).”

But Clark’s most explosive outburst came after Game 2 in St. Louis. Clark had homered off John Tudor to help lead the Giants to a 5-0 win over the Cardinals, and a radio reporter asked Clark a question.

“Uh, Jack . . . “ the reporter began, momentarily confusing Will with Jack Clark, the injured St. Louis slugger.

Clark did not find this at all amusing.

“The name is Will,” an angry Clark said. “Jack’s in the other clubhouse, and he’s hurt.”

Asked about that exchange a few days later, Clark was still upset by it.

“I’ve been running into it a lot this year, especially since the series started,” Clark said. “It pesters me. It pesters me a lot. I’m standing in the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse, and somebody comes up to me and calls me Jack Clark. Or, I’m on the road and people give me his bubble-gum card to sign.”

Whether he likes it or not, Will Clark compares quite favorably with Jack. Will’s 35 home runs equals Jack’s best output (this season), and Will’s .308 batting average is higher than Jack’s.

Craig, one of Clark’s biggest supporters, has compared him with Stan Musial, whose statue is prominently displayed outside Busch Stadium.

“He’s 23 and he’s going to get better and better,” Craig said. “Nobody knows what he can do. He’s got a lot of confidence. A lot of pride. He’s driven.”

Clark takes the Stan Musial comparison in stride. There is no, “Aw shucks,” reaction or a denial of that possibility.

“People think that because I’m a young player, I’ve got to be in awe of people, making adjustments, that stuff,” Clark said. “I’ve never been like that.

“I’m finding that my biggest problem is with the media. People like to cut you down. They’ll find a way. But for me to get up for a game, I’ve got to have that game-face on.”

Clark admits he appears cocky on the field and in the clubhouse, but he maintains it is necessary. His game-face, as he calls it, often features a sneer and a smirk.

Watching Clark strut around during batting practice recently, it all seemed like an act. After depositing a batting-practice pitch into the right-field seats, Clark stepped out of the batter’s box and proclaimed, “That’s 5 for 5. Five . . . for . . . five.”

Even during this act, Clark is approachable.

“Am I intense?” said Clark, repeating a question. “I’m confident, intense and a competitor. In that order. I’m so intense on the field that when I’m off it, I’ll take it completely easy. I have to.”

Most don’t see that side of Clark, if there indeed is one.

Brenly, at 33 one of the Giants’ elder statesmen, has caught glimpses of a more human side of Clark.

“Off the field, he’s basically a down-home Southern guy,” Brenly said. “His pleasures are simple. He makes friends at a heartbeat.

“In fact, last season, he made them too easy. One time last season, we came out for batting practice and a fan yells, ‘Hey, Will, why don’t you come on over for dinner tonight?’ Well, Will actually went over, got the guy’s address and went to dinner.

“That’s a nice gesture, but let’s be serious. You can’t do that all the time with everybody who asks. I think he’s learned a lot about how to react to the big leagues. He really hasn’t been in pro ball that long.”

Despite his problems with the media and apparent misconceptions, this much is certain about Clark: He can hit.

“Will is an absolutely amazing hitter,” said Mike Aldrete, a teammate and close friend of Clark. “If he keeps having years like he’s having now, he can act any way he wants. I wouldn’t change a thing if I were him.”