A Detroit Tigers fan backed into Max Clark's Corvette. What happened next says everything

LAKELAND, Fla. — Max Clark got into a fender-bender with a Detroit Tigers fan on his way to Starbucks.

That sounds like the setup to a joke, but it was real life. Clark is famous, but he is a ballplayer like everyone else.

Clark received a $7.7 million signing bonus as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft and entertains more than 385,000 followers on Instagram, but the 19-year-old — who hasn't played above Low-A Lakeland — is living at the TigerTown dormitories with the rest of the minor leaguers in spring training.

"I don't think we've had a player of his personality that's been a Tiger," said Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell, who played 20 seasons for the Tigers, managed three more at the big-league level before becoming a special assistant for the franchise and managed Clark in Saturday's prospects-only game. "I think it's going to be great because he does it all the right way, but we've not had somebody like that who is already getting national attention. He's very popular, but he does it in a good way. I think that's great for the Tigers. We've haven't had a guy like that."

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And it showed when, in the early morning of March 4, Clark pulled out of the dorm parking lot in his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with a cup of coffee on his mind.

He was driving south on North Lake Ave. and approaching the stop sign at the East Bella Vista St. intersection, landmarked by the Osprey Manor retirement community.

John Dykes, a 71-year-old Detroit Tigers fan who played college baseball at Purdue, had stopped at that intersection, but his Buick Encore wasn't moving despite open roads in the residential area.

"He probably had his chance to turn, but he hadn't yet," Clark said. "I'm pulling up behind him, and he still hasn't turned. It was no big deal. I figured he was probably on his phone or whatever."

Dykes, a die-hard baseball fan, has been visiting Lakeland for spring training. He is from Metamora, Michigan, a village in Lapeer County. He wanted to watch players take batting practice on the backfields.

He was trying to find his way around the TigerTown complex.

Dykes thought he stopped too far into the middle of the intersection, thus putting his vehicle in the path of an oncoming car, so he put his Buick Encore in reverse, took his foot off the break and coasted backwards.

"Nobody was behind me, and there was a car coming down the street," Dykes said. "It's kind of a narrow road, so I thought I should back up a little bit. I should have looked behind or checked my camera, but I didn't."

He never saw the Corvette behind him.

"He backed up a little too far," Clark said.

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Dykes didn't feel anything, but he heard the noise of a collision.

Boom.

He backed into Clark.

"I've never been in an accident at all," Clark said. "I was shaking in my boots, worried that it was going to scratch it all up."

Clark kept his composure.

"I thought he'd come out there really pissed," said Dykes, who immediately apologized for his mistake. "There was no serious damage, but he didn't know that, and I didn't either, but he came out and was as calm as could be. I was surprised. There are a lot of guys I know that would not be as gracious as he was."

The collision knocked off Clark's front license plate frame and a piece of the carbon fiber on the frame, which Clark fixed on the spot. The vinyl wrap, covering the original paint, had a small scratch.

That was the only damage to the Corvette.

"It wasn't a big deal at all," Clark said. "It was the littlest cat scratch."

The 2022 Corvette Stingray Z51 is one of Clark's most prized possessions. There's a backstory to the high-powered sports car: His grandparents were successful business owners, and his grandfather owned a few Corvettes, so Clark grew up riding around town in his grandfather's Corvettes.

But Clark was just 4½ years old when his grandfather died from myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells.

"Literally the only memory I have of being with my grandfather is riding around in his Corvette," Clark said. "From a very young age, even before I was good at baseball, whatever I did, I wanted to have the opportunity to be driving a Corvette. That was the second purchase behind an engagement ring."

The Tigers drafted Clark on July 9 with the No. 3 overall pick in 2023 out of Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Indiana. Clark signed with the Tigers on July 17, locking in an agreed-upon $7.7 million signing bonus. The first half of the signing bonus hit his bank account at the beginning of August.

Within 72 hours, Clark purchased a ring for his future wife, Kayli Farmer, and a Corvette for himself.

"When I first bought it, it was white with a gray decal and gray trim," Clark said, "but now, it's completely matte black. I got it vinyl wrapped with a yellow stripe, and the interior is black and yellow as well. If you look up any Lamborghini ever, that's the color scheme. It looks just like a Lambo."

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But back to March 4: Clark and Dykes started talking at the site of the accident after assessing the damage.

Dykes asked if he was with the Tigers.

"Yes," Clark said.

Dykes asked about his age.

"Nineteen," Clark said.

Dykes asked for his name.

"Max Clark," he said.

"I'm slightly deaf in my left ear," Dykes said. "When he told me his name, I thought he said, 'Matt Clark.' I didn't find out it was Max until I went to watch batting practice and told the story. The guys there told me his name is Max, not Matt, and that he was last year's first-round pick."

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Before driving away, Dykes asked if he could get Clark's autograph.

Clark signed a baseball for him.

"I got his autograph, then we shook hands and parted ways," Dykes said. "He must have called me 'sir' about 20 times, and he never showed any anger or frustration."

Clark, one of the most famous prospects in baseball but still a long ways away from his MLB debut, spent about five minutes in the street fixing his plate frame, then he continued on his way to Starbucks.

The unexpected interaction between Clark and Dykes that morning in Lakeland provided rare insight into Clark's true personality, beyond his popularity on social media.

"If it's not a big deal, don't make it a big deal," Clark said. "That's kind of like my motto."

Clark handled the situation with grace, even when nobody besides a 71-year-old fan, who didn't know his name, social status or occupation, was watching.

"I don't know if he will make the big leagues, but I know he will never embarrass the Tigers," Dykes said. "A lot of class, that kid. I hope he makes it. I think he's got a good chance as long as the Tigers don't screw him up."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers fan's crash with Max Clark says all about top prospect