Longtime Marlins beat writer Clark Spencer retires from Miami Herald

Marlins beat writer Clark Spencer retired on Tuesday, as first reported by Tom Koehler. (Yes, that Tom Koehler, the former Marlins pitcher.) Moving forward, Jordan McPherson will be handling his responsibilities for the Miami Herald.

Spencer got his start in the business well before the Marlins came into existence. He covered the team beginning in 1999 and served as president of the Baseball Writers Association of America along the way. He also handled assignments for the Summer and Winter Olympics, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four, College Football Playoffs and Triple Crown. Very passionate about horse racing, he was still providing coverage of it for the Herald leading up to this retirement.

Always reluctant to bring attention to himself, Spencer didn’t make any direct announcement about his career decision. His final piece for the Herald was this run-of-the-mill preview of Wei-Yin Chen’s upcoming Spring Training start, revisiting his extreme home/road splits from last season.

Spencer graduated from the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and would frequently tweet about fellow alumni in the sports industry.

Though we have never met in person, I greatly admire Clark Spencer for his consistency and the respect he showed his peers. The Marlins receive less local media attention than most MLB teams do in their respective markets; that means each individual reporting on the team carries a heightened responsibility when it comes to keeping fans informed. He always rose to that challenge.

Please join me in thanking Clark for two decades of Marlins coverage and wishing him a long, leisurely retirement.

Follow Clark Spencer on Twitter (@clarkspencer)