Detroit Tigers Top Five First Basemen Of All Time

#5 Tony Clark

Tony Clark was a prolific hitter who just happened to play during one of the worst eras in Tigers baseball history.  Clark played seven years with the Detroit Tigers after breaking into the major leagues in 1995. Over his career he hit 156 home runs, raked 524 RBI while hitting .277 and posting a OBP of .355. Clark’s slugging percentage of .502 ranks as number seven on the all-time list.

His career numbers are clearly worthy of all-time recognition. Unfortunately for Clark, 1995 to 2005 may be the worst ten-year stretch of professional baseball ever played in Detroit.  Eight of those seasons the Tigers lost more that 90 times including three 100 loss seasons in 1996, 2002 and 2003. As terrible as those teams were it could have been far worse if not for Clark’s stellar play at first base. He hit 30+ home runs (1997, 98, 99) for three consecutive seasons plating over 100 RBI’s in two of those.

The career of Tony Clark has been unfairly tainted by the teams he played on.  His has also been unfairly compared to Bobby Higginson whom Tiger fans still blame for bilking the organization of millions of dollars.

No matter what your perception is of Clark, the numbers don’t lie and as a result he deserves to be on the all time list for Tiger first basemen.

Next: #4 Cecil Fielder