2001 Fleer Tradition
Tony Clark (2002)
The 29-year old logged only 636 AB the previous two seasons, as a bad back hampered the 6’8” first baseman. But he was also the author of three straight 30-homer seasons from 1997 to ’99. The Sox claimed him off waivers in November 2001 and paid him $5 million. I attended a Peter Gammons talk shortly after the transaction and asked him about Clark; Gammons classified him as a major wild card — 30 homers or bust.
The result: bust. Despite a 3-for-5 performance on Opening Day (with a dinger into the net), Clark compiled a feeble .207/.265/.291 slash line with 3 homers and 29 RBI in 275 AB. He was gone to the Mets the next year, to the Yankees the year after that, and somehow hung around until 2009. He is now the executive director of the MLBPA