It’s Not Exactly a Field Day in Left for the Padres’ Jerald Clark

It wasn’t the type of thing that instills confidence in a major league rookie.

It was so bad, in fact, that Jerald Clark was in no mood to discuss it afterward. He tried to vent his frustration by attacking baseballs in the batting cage under the stands at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, but even that did no good.

Given a rare chance to start in left field for the Padres against left-hander Atlee Hammaker of the San Francisco Giants Sunday night, Clark had two fielding misadventures in the first two innings and went hitless in three times at bat. The crowd of 26,976 rode him unmercifully as the Padres lost, 3-1.

Clark was so distraught by all this that when he was approached by a reporter, he said, “I really don’t care to talk about it. I just want to forget it. I don’t want to be rude, but it’s tough to swallow, man. It’s tough to get over.”

Actually, Clark could have been excused to some extent in both instances in which he let balls that he might have fielded go all the way to the left-field wall.

On Will Clark’s drive in the first inning, Jerald Clark raced in, then fell, and the Giant all-star first baseman wound up with a triple instead of a single.

On Ernest Riles’ drive in the second, Jerald Clark tried to flag down the ball on a short hop, and it caromed off his glove as Riles continued to third base. While it was clearly an error, no less an authority than Tony Gwynn said it would have been a difficult chance for any outfielder.

After that, Clark was booed when he went to bat and received derisive cheers when he handled a ball cleanly. Aside from the home run with which Jack Clark gave the Padres their only run, his catch of Brett Butler’s fly in the seventh--his only putout--gave the unsympathetic fans their biggest kick of the night.

The reaction of the crowd incurred the wrath of both Gwynn and the man who was victimized by Clark’s troubles, pitcher Eric Show.

Gwynn said, “I feel bad for Jerald because he can play. The way the fans got on him was really bad. We all talked to him and told him to hang in there. If a guy gets down on himself after something like that, it can only make matters worse.”

The first of Clark’s miscues led to a run, but Show said, “What bothered me was the way the fans treated him. That was uncalled-for. Actually, he made good efforts on both plays. I’d rather have a left-fielder make a try for a ball than just stand there and wait for it.

“I met him in the tunnel after the second one and told him, ‘If you give a good effort like that every time, everything will come out OK in the long run.’ He needs a pat on the back.”

Clark’s fielding always has been suspect, but Manager Jack McKeon gave him his second start of the season in an effort to beef up the Padres’ sagging offense. Clark hit over .300 in all five seasons he spent in the minor leagues.

“He’s a good kid, and basically, he’s a bat,” McKeon said. “On the first one tonight, he fell and couldn’t do much about it. The other one was pretty tough. He probably should have laid back on it.”

Asked if he had talked to Clark during or after the game, McKeon said, “What are you going to say to him? I’m sure he doesn’t want to be reminded of it.”

Gwynn noted that Clark was trying hard to improve his fielding.

“Defense has been a quote, rap, unquote that people have put on him,” Gwynn said. “He needs work, and I can tell you that he works as hard as anybody on this ball club.”

Joe Carter, who came over from center field to handle both balls that eluded Clark, cited lack of confidence as a contributor to Clark’s problems.

“I found out when I joined the club this spring that he’s kind of sensitive as far as his defense is concerned. I’ve slipped going after balls, too. We all have.”

Both Carter and Garry Templeton were seen giving encouragement to Clark as they walked off the field at the end of innings.

“All I told him was that we all make mistakes and that he should keep his head up,” Templeton said. “This wasn’t the first time a crowd has gotten on somebody, and it won’t be the last.”