This piece on Hooks manager Dave Clark first appeared at cchooks.com on August 22, 2007. Clark was named interim manager of the Houston Astros on September 21, 2009.

by Matt Rogers

Dave Clark likes old-school Rhythm & Blues, a leisurely walk around the golf course and an occasional Romeo y Julieta.

But he loves smooth Jazz.

He likes putting on the uniform, the rhythm of baseball season, the strategy of running a game, the competition.

But he loves teaching. It’s about relationships.

“It’s the teaching part, more than anything, that I enjoy the most,” Clark said. “It’s about seeing the kids reach their potential, reach their goals.

“I get more satisfaction out of that than anything. I learned a long time ago, it’s not about me. It’s about them.”

And they’ve picked up on it. The players devoted to the only manager the Corpus Christi Hooks have known are legion. Count Jonny Ash, the second baseman at home in California nursing a knee injury, among them.

“Dave helps us believe in ourselves. Early in the season, we had a team meeting after a loss (a game in which the Hooks led by six runs) and he told us, ‘keep doing what you’re doing, keep your heads up. We’re going to win the first game of the doubleheader tomorrow and then take it from there.’”

The next day the Hooks swept Wichita.

And Josh Anderson, the Hooks’ regular center fielder and lead-off hitter in 2005-06.

“Winning the Texas League championship last year just goes to show what a great manager Dave is. He did a great job dealing with all the changes.”

Putting a team on the field seemingly greater than the sum of its parts defines managing excellence. All minor league managers deal with promotions and trades. It’s part of player development.

Time and again, Clark and the Hooks have responded to the challenge.

“The Astros organization has been great when we’re in a situation like this,” Clark explained. “Here we are, two games out with two weeks to go. My mind is set on one thing, to win ball games. The organization has been very supportive in that way.

“When it comes down to a critical time of the season and winning games, you might have to step on some toes. That’s when I’ll call a kid in and explain why I’m not playing him.”

Honest and open communication is a big key to Clark’s rapport with his players. It’s something he learned from Jim Leyland as a Pirates outfielder in the early 1990s.

“More than anything, you have to let them know you care about them,” Clark stated. “You can be tough, but you have to be fair. Through hard work and instruction, your job is to give them the best chance to make the big leagues. Honesty is the best policy. You can’t tell them what they want to hear.”

See Clark with a child once and you’ll see his paternal instincts take over. His chiseled 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame is topped with a shaved head and charismatic grin.

He’ll dispense fatherly advice to ballplayers feeling blue or downright sorry for themselves. Clark appreciates what the game has done for him and expects the same from his charges.

“I’ll tell them, ‘you’re wearing the uniform for a reason. It’s when you’re not wearing the uniform that things aren’t going well.’”

And when it’s time for Clark to tell a young man he’s worn a Hooks uniform for the last time, he’ll do everything he can to pull the ripcord.

“That’s the toughest part of this job, having to let somebody go. I was that guy a couple of times. It was at the big league level, so it was easier to get a job. It’s not that easy in the minors. I try to do all I can to help them stay in baseball, if that’s what they want.”

Clark’s done his share of adapting along the way. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up working a farm with five older brothers. There was a lot to do, but when the Clark boys had free time, they were into all sports.

Dave recalls an introduction to baseball about age 5. Over time, it became a passion, with boxing a close second.

“I picked boxing up from my uncle, O.D. Pounds, who fought professionally,” Clark recalled. “I went as far as the Olympic Trials, but then we had the 1980 boycott and that was it.”

Clark rolled to a 26-0 Golden Gloves record during his teen years. Prowess in the ring almost translated into a Marine stint and the leatherneck boxing program.

Upon Clark’s graduation from Shannon High School, Jackson State was the only Division I program to offer a scholarship.

“When that baseball scholarship came along, I took that. It was much safer,” he joked.

Clark thrived under the coaching of Bob Braddy and met long-time friend Scipio Spinks, now a professional scout with the Astros. Spinks was the Tigers’ pitching coach at the time after playing with Houston and St. Louis. Clark was a two-way player, pitching and playing the outfield.

In retrospect, college baseball was more than he expected. Coming from a small, rural high school, Clark gained valuable experience as JSU faced schools like Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida State.

“The competition was there,” he remembered. “It was the best brand of baseball I’d seen.”

The possibility of a career in pro baseball dawned on Clark after his sophomore year. An All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection in 1982, he played summer ball in the Central Illinois Collegiate League at Peoria and was one of three eventual first-round picks on the team, joining 1984 selections Norm Charlton (Rice/Reds) and Mike Dunne (Bradley/Cardinals). Jackson State teammate Marvin Freeman was chosen in the second round by the Phillies in 1984.

After three seasons at Jackson State, Clark was taken 11th overall by Cleveland in the 1983 amateur free agent draft. He went on to spend 13 years in the majors with the Indians, Cubs, Royals, Pirates, Dodgers and Astros before retiring after the 1998 season.

Since then, Clark has served Pittsburgh as hitting coach under Lloyd McClendon (2001-02) and managed Pirate affiliates in Lynchburg of the Carolina League (2003) and Hickory of the South Atlantic League (2004). Lynchburg reached the league finals and Hickory won the SAL.

His goal? To reach the majors as a manager. But don’t expect Clark to lobby. He’ll rely on relationships and reputation.

“What I do here, people see it,” he said. “I’ll let my work speak for itself. You have to be successful through hard work and being yourself.

“God’s plan will determine everything. We don’t know the future but we know He holds it in His hands. It’s up to us to use the gifts He gives us. That’s how I look at life.”

In the meantime, Clark will do all he can to move players up the ladder.

“I’d like all of them to have the opportunity to put a major league uniform on for one day,” he admitted. “This is a 24-hour a day job. You take it home with you, you wake up with it, sometimes in the middle of the night. I’m always thinking about the next night’s lineup.”

If he’s planned well – and Dave Clark does – there’s smooth Jazz in the background.