SAN FRANCISCO — Former first baseman Will Clark is coming back to the San Francisco Giants as a special assistant.

The 44-year-old Clark, a former Mississippi State star, was drafted by the Giants with the second overall pick in 1985 and played the first eight of his 15 major league seasons with San Francisco. The first baseman became a fan favorite during those years from 1986-93, helping the team reach the 1989 World Series.

"He did it all the right way," new managing partner Bill Neukom said on a conference call Wednesday. "We have welcomed back into the Giants family one of the great all-time Giants in Will Clark. Will Clark provided offense, defense, leadership by example and attitude. He showed he knew how to play the game and had a great respect for baseball."

Clark's duties will include representing the club at both in-season and offseason community events while also attending spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz., starting next month to work with players in both big league camp and at the minor league level.

The exact breakdown of his job hasn't yet been determined, but Neukom said Clark might spend two-thirds of his time doing community and fan events and the rest on the field.

Since retiring after the 2000 season, the six-time All-Star has been working in similar roles for the St. Louis Cardinals and most recently as an adviser for the Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training from 2004-08. He receives a one-year contract from the Giants.

"I'm hoping to stay on for a long time," said Clark, who lives outside Baton Rouge, La., but intends to be in San Francisco several times during the season. "I am proud to be part of the Giants family again, especially the family I was drafted by and basically grew up in and became a major leaguer in."

Clark is a career .303 hitter with 284 home runs and 1,205 RBIs with San Francisco, Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis. He won a Gold Glove while with the Giants in 1991.

Many people told Clark his job one day would be to "hand down the knowledge" he had, and he's looking forward to doing so now.

"I will do whatever (manager) Bruce Bochy needs help with," he said. "I am not the hitting instructor or fielding instructor. There's definitely ways to go about being a major leaguer and succeeding on the major league level. I was taught some of those ways and I'm going to try to pass it on to them."