A former executive with the Atlanta Braves who helped the team draft and sign of some its most recent stars has passed away.
Roy Clark, 68, who lived in East Cobb, died on Aug. 22, and had been experiencing heart issues in recent years.
He was called “the Dale Earnhardt of scouting” for his work with Braves from 1989 to 2008 and from 2015 to 2018. During those periods, he evaluated and signed Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Charlie Morton, Freddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley and A.J. Minter, among others.
Freeman, Morton, Riley and Minter were key players during the Braves’ World Series championship season in 2021.
Clark joined the Kansas City Royals in 2022 and also worked for the Cleveland Guardians, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers during his career.
A native of North Carolina, Clark played baseball in college and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1979, and played three seasons of minor league baseball.
Survivors include his wife Debbie and their three grown children. A celebration of life service will be held will be held Friday, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. at H.M. Patterson and Son-Canton Hill Chapel at 1157 Old Canton Road in East Cobb.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
