Mike Krukow makes a Will Clark-Bryce Eldridge comparison SF Giants need to come true

Sometimes positive things can come out of bad baseball seasons. For the SF Giants that may just be Bryce Eldridge who has already proven at the age of 21 that he’s a legitimate big league bat.

Retiring Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow recently compared Eldridge to Will Clark, and if Eldridge ends up taking a step forward next season like Clark did in his second season that would be huge for San Francisco. 

Krukow appeared on KNBR and said the following about Eldridge and Clark:

“You look at the numbers Will Clark had in 1986 in his rookie year and take a look at what Eldridge has done…there are a lot of similarities to it.”

Is Kruk right?

Well, in 1986 Clark played in 111 games and hit .287/.343/.444 with 11 home runs and 41 runs batted in. So far in 2026, Eldridge has hit .269/.364/.461 with 17 homers and 57 runs batted in across 107 games played.

Those aren’t identical numbers, in both cases they showed everyone that Clark and Eldridge have a ton of potential. In the case of Eldridge, it suggests that he has an even higher ceiling.

As for Clark, he followed up his promising rookie campaign with a stellar 1987 season where he hit .308/.371/.580 with 35 home runs and 91 runs batted in. The Giants went 90-72 that season and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game NLCS.

Bryce Eldridge could be on track to break out for Giants in 2027

One can only hope Eldridge can take the next step forward in 2027 and put up similar numbers. There is the chance 2027 could be shortened due to the looming lockout, but if there is a 162-game season then Eldridge would probably be able to reach 30 homers. He’s shown off his power all season long to all fields and he’s only going to be more mature and have a better understanding of how to succeed at the big league level next season.

It’s already fun imagining a lineup with Eldridge, who one can hope is only going to to get better, alongside Rafael Devers. The two were dangerous when paired up this season so they could power the lineup for a while going forward.

It may be premature to say Eldridge will have a Clark-like career and will end up having his jersey number retired, but if Krukow sees the similarities then there is probably something there and Eldridge has not been afraid to say he wants to be remembered amongst the greatest players in Giants history. 

Maybe Eldridge can have a breakout 2027 and lead the Giants to their first winning season since 2021. We know what they say about history repeating itself, so maybe Eldridge's rise can mirror Clark's some forty years later.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow