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LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Max Clark got into an argument with a Detroit Tigers fan on his way to Starbucks.
It sounds like a joke, but there’s no punchline.
It’s a genuine situation.
Clark earned a $7. 7 million signing bonus as the third overall pick in the 2023 draft and entertains more than 385,000 fans on Instagram, yet the 19-year-old, who hasn’t played above Low-A Lakeland, lives in the TigerTown Dorms with the rest of the minor leaguers in spring training.
He’s famous, but he’s a baseball player like everyone else.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a player of his personality who was a Tiger,” said Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell, who played 20 seasons for the Tigers, works as a special assistant in the front office and coached Clark on Saturday’s Client Game. “I think it’s going to be wonderful because he’s doing it the right way, but we haven’t had someone like that getting national attention yet. It’s very popular, but it does it in a clever way. I think, “It’s wonderful for Tigres. No we’ve had a guy like that. “
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His truth came to light when, early in the morning of March 4, Clark pulled out of the dorm parking lot in his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with a cup of coffee in mind.
He drove south on North Lake Ave. and came to the caution sign at the intersection of East Bella Vista Street, which indicated the retirement community of Osprey Manor.
John, a 71-year-old Detroit Tigers fan who played baseball at Purdue School, had stopped at the intersection but his Buick Encore wouldn’t move despite the open roads in the residential community of TigerTown.
“It probably had a chance to transform, but it hasn’t yet,” Clark said. “I stopped him and he still hasn’t turned around. It didn’t matter. I figured he was probably on the phone or something. “
, an avid baseball fan, traveled to Lakeland for spring practice. He is a local of Metamora, Michigan, a town in Lapeer County. I wanted to see the players practice batting in the backfields.
He seeks his way around the TigerTown community.
She thought he, too, had stopped in the middle of the intersection, thus hitting his vehicle in the path of an oncoming car. He then put his Buick Encore in reverse, took his foot off the brake and accelerated.
“No one was me and there was a car coming down the street,” he said. “It’s quite a narrow road, so I thought I’d have to back off a little bit. I deserved to have looked back or checked my camera, I still didn’t. “
He never saw the Corvette.
“It subsidized too much,” Clark said.
He didn’t feel anything, he heard the sound of a collision.
Boom.
He walked over to Clark.
“I’ve never had a twist of fate,” Clark said. My boots were shaking, I was afraid I was going to scratch everything. “
Clark is calm.
“I figured I would be,” he said, who immediately apologized for his mistake. “There wasn’t any serious damage, but he didn’t know it, and neither did I, but he came out and as calm as he could. “Maybe it just is. I’m surprised. I know there are a lot of guys who wouldn’t be. As kind as he is.
The collision knocked down Clark’s front plate frame and a piece of carbon fiber from the frame, which Clark repaired on the spot. The vinyl film covering the paint had a small scratch on it.
This is the only damage sustained by the Corvette.
“It’s not a big deal,” Clark said. It’s the smallest cat scratch. “
The 2022 Corvette Stingray Z51 is one of Clark’s most prized possessions. This rugged sports car has a history: His grandparents were successful business owners and his grandfather owned a few Corvettes, so Clark grew up cruising around town in his grandfather’s Corvettes. .
But Clark was only four-and-a-half years old when his grandfather died of myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells.
“The only memory I have of being with my grandfather is riding his Corvette,” Clark said. “From a young age, even before I was smart in baseball, no matter what I did, I was looking for the opportunity to drive a Corvette. “It was time to get an engagement ring. “
The Tigers selected Clark on July 9 with the third overall pick in 2023 from Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Indiana. Clark signed with the Tigers on July 17, getting a $7. 7 million signing bonus. The first part of the signing bonus hit his bank account in early August.
Within 72 hours, Clark bought a ring for his wife of many years, Kayli Farmer, and a Corvette for himself.
“When I first bought it, it was white with a gray sticker and gray border,” Clark said, “but now it’s absolutely matte black. I bought it on vinyl wrapped in a yellow stripe, and the inside is also black and yellow. “If you’re looking for a Lamborghini, what you’re looking for is its color palette. It looks like a Lambo. “
But let’s go back to March 4: Clark speaking at the crash site after assessing the damage.
asked if he was with the Tigers.
“Yes,” Clark said.
He asked her how she was doing.
“Nineteen,” Clark said.
He asked for her name.
“Max Clark,” he said.
“I’m deaf in my left ear,” he said. When he told me his name, I thought he said ‘Matt Clark. ‘”
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Before leaving, he was asked if he could get Clark’s autograph.
Clark signed him a baseball.
“They gave me his autograph, then we shook hands and parted ways,” he said. “He must have called me ‘sir’ about 20 times, and he never showed anger or frustration. “
Clark, one of baseball’s most prominent customers but still far from his MLB contract, spent about five minutes on the street repairing his license plate frame and then continued on his way to Starbucks.
The interaction between Clark and that morning in Lakeland provided a rare glimpse into Clark’s true personality, beyond his popularity on social media.
“If it’s OK, don’t make a big deal out of it,” Clark said. “That’s my motto. “
Clark treated the stage gracefully, even when no one — a 71-year-old fan who didn’t know his name, social status or profession — was watching.
“I don’t know if he’s going to make it to the big leagues, but I know he’s never going to embarrass the Tigers,” he said. “A lot of class, this kid. I hope he succeeds. I think he’s got a clever ability. “possibility as long as the Tigers don’t screw it up. “
This article made the impression in Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers fan’s collision with Max Clark says a lot about the most sensible prospect