rockin500
03-08-2003, 12:57 PM
MESA, Ariz. -- It didn't take long for Will "The Thrill" Clark to make an impact. He knew almost immediately that Chicago Cubs second baseman Bobby Hill was pressing.
"The fact that he walked up to me on March 6 and said 'I'm 0-for-16' or '0-for-19' or whatever it is," Clark said when asked what tipped him off about Hill, who started Friday in a 0-for-17 funk. "You shouldn't be counting your at-bats the first week in March. That's one thing and you go from there."
Clark, who played for Cubs manager Dusty Baker in San Francisco, joined the team as a guest coach for one week to talk to the players, including first baseman Hee Seop Choi.
Before Friday's game, Clark and Choi were talking defense at first base.
"He helped me a lot today," Choi said. "I'm more comfortable on defense."
The instant impact is exactly what Baker was looking for.
"He's Golden Glove, Silver Bat, he's All-Star, he's RBIs, so he can talk offense, defense, hitting, baserunning," Baker said. "He was one of the best base runners I had. He was definitely the most hustling base runner I had.
"The 'Thrill' came to play. I'm glad to have him here."
So was Hill, who grew up a fan of Clark, who compiled a .303 career average in 15 seasons for San Francisco, Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis.
"(Clark) said, 'Man, 19 at-bats is nothing,'" Hill said of their conversation. "For me, it's everything. I'd rather be 7-for-19 or 8-for-19. I'm a competitor. I want to compete. That's how I play this game. I always want to do the best I can. I wish I was 19-for-19 but then again I probably still wouldn't be happy."
Baker just wants the 24-year-old second baseman to take a deep breath and relax.
"I have confidence in him," Baker said of Hill. "That's a personal problem. You can't give people confidence. Confidence comes from inside. I can give him an injection, but after that it has to be built on his own. Certainly he's better than he's hitting."
Hill is going through the same process most players deal with at this stage.
"We're here to find out not only who can handle the good times but who can handle the bad," Baker said. "This is not the last slump you're going to be in. That's part of the growing process. In baseball, it's how you handle failure more than how you handle good times. If you're hitting .300, you fail 70 percent of the time so it's more a test of failure than a test of success."
"Having somebody like (Clark) tell me not to worry about it, don't change nothing (helps)," Hill said. "I haven't changed my approach up there. There's not too much to change except hit it somewhere where they're not playing."
Clark, who turns 40 on March 13, will wait for players to approach him. He doesn't want to step on anyone's toes. Any aspirations to coach or manage full time?
"I'm having too much fun being retired," he said
"The fact that he walked up to me on March 6 and said 'I'm 0-for-16' or '0-for-19' or whatever it is," Clark said when asked what tipped him off about Hill, who started Friday in a 0-for-17 funk. "You shouldn't be counting your at-bats the first week in March. That's one thing and you go from there."
Clark, who played for Cubs manager Dusty Baker in San Francisco, joined the team as a guest coach for one week to talk to the players, including first baseman Hee Seop Choi.
Before Friday's game, Clark and Choi were talking defense at first base.
"He helped me a lot today," Choi said. "I'm more comfortable on defense."
The instant impact is exactly what Baker was looking for.
"He's Golden Glove, Silver Bat, he's All-Star, he's RBIs, so he can talk offense, defense, hitting, baserunning," Baker said. "He was one of the best base runners I had. He was definitely the most hustling base runner I had.
"The 'Thrill' came to play. I'm glad to have him here."
So was Hill, who grew up a fan of Clark, who compiled a .303 career average in 15 seasons for San Francisco, Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis.
"(Clark) said, 'Man, 19 at-bats is nothing,'" Hill said of their conversation. "For me, it's everything. I'd rather be 7-for-19 or 8-for-19. I'm a competitor. I want to compete. That's how I play this game. I always want to do the best I can. I wish I was 19-for-19 but then again I probably still wouldn't be happy."
Baker just wants the 24-year-old second baseman to take a deep breath and relax.
"I have confidence in him," Baker said of Hill. "That's a personal problem. You can't give people confidence. Confidence comes from inside. I can give him an injection, but after that it has to be built on his own. Certainly he's better than he's hitting."
Hill is going through the same process most players deal with at this stage.
"We're here to find out not only who can handle the good times but who can handle the bad," Baker said. "This is not the last slump you're going to be in. That's part of the growing process. In baseball, it's how you handle failure more than how you handle good times. If you're hitting .300, you fail 70 percent of the time so it's more a test of failure than a test of success."
"Having somebody like (Clark) tell me not to worry about it, don't change nothing (helps)," Hill said. "I haven't changed my approach up there. There's not too much to change except hit it somewhere where they're not playing."
Clark, who turns 40 on March 13, will wait for players to approach him. He doesn't want to step on anyone's toes. Any aspirations to coach or manage full time?
"I'm having too much fun being retired," he said