Clutch hitter

A clutch hitter is a baseball player with a knack for coming up with the "big" hit. The big hit is typically a game-deciding hit, sometimes a home run, often coming with two outs. Being known as a clutch hitter is a position of high honor and responsibility, as the clutch hitter is recognized as the "go-to guy" for the team, and his exploits in pressure situations are celebrated by both fans and players alike.

[edit] Famous clutch hits

Notable instances of clutch hitting include:

• Bucky Dent, 1978 for the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. In a one-game playoff for the Eastern division of the American League, Dent, an unlikely candidate for clutch hitting, came up with two outs and, after a lengthy at-bat, sent a ball over the Green Monster for what would eventually be the game-winning run. The Yankees would go on to win the World Series.
• Kirk Gibson, Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Oakland Athletics at Dodger Stadium. Coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, one baserunner and a deficit of one run, and battling with a recent injury, Gibson hit a walk off home run off Dennis Eckersley (who would later coin the term "walk off"). The Dodgers would go on to win the series.
• Joe Carter, Game 6 of the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Philadelphia Phillies at SkyDome. Coming to bat with the Jays trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, one out, and two men on base, Carter hits a walkoff home run off Phillies closer Mitch Williams to win the Series for the Blue Jays, giving Toronto back-to-back World Series titles (1992, 1993).
  
  
• David Ortiz, Game 3 of the 2004 American League Division Series for the Boston Red Sox against the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. In the bottom of the tenth inning, with a 6-6 tie, Ortiz hit a walk off home run to win the game and complete the sweep of the Angels.
  • Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. In the bottom of the twelfth inning, with a 4-4 tie, Ortiz hit another walk off home run. Had the Yankees won this game, it would have been a four-game sweep to prolong the Curse of the Bambino for at least another year.
  • Game 5 of the same series. At the bottom of the fourteenth inning, again with a 4-4 tie, Ortiz came up with two outs and Johnny Damon on second base. Belting a short single (viewers would later joke that it was only a single because his arms were tired from all his home run hitting), Ortiz allowed for Damon's impressive speed to carry him to home plate and score the winning run. The Red Sox would win the series, becoming the first Major League Baseball team to win a best of seven playoff after a deficit of three games to none, and would go on to win the 2004 World Series. Ortiz would later be honored with a plaque naming him as "The Greatest Clutch Hitter in Red Sox History."

[edit] Does clutch hitting exist?

It should be noted that various baseball analysts, including Bill James, Pete Palmer, Dick Cramer, and the Baseball Prospectus editors, have found so-called "clutch hitting" ability to be a myth. This is not to say that clutch hits, like those listed above, do not exist, but rather that any innate ability to perform well in high-pressure situations is an illusion. In his 1984 Baseball Abstract, James framed the problem with clutch hitting thusly: "How is it that a player who possesses the reflexes and the batting stroke and the knowledge and the experience to be a .260 hitter in other circumstances magically becomes a .300 hitter when the game is on the line? How does that happen? What is the process? What are the effects? Until we can answer those questions, I see little point in talking about clutch ability." Most studies on the matter involved comparing performance in the "clutch" category of statistics (production with runners in scoring position, performance late in close games, etc.) between seasons; if clutch hitting were an actual skill, it would follow that the same players would do well in the clutch statistics year in and year out (the correlation coefficient between players' performances over multiple seasons would be high). Cramer's study was the first of its kind, and it found that clutch hitting numbers between seasons for the same player varied wildly; in fact, the variance was the kind one would expect if the numbers had been selected randomly. Since Cramer published his results, many others have tried to find some evidence that clutch hitting is a skill, but almost every study has confirmed Cramer's initial findings: that "clutch hitting," in terms of certain players being able to "rise to the occasion" under pressure, is an illusion. Despite the evidence, though, most people in baseball steadfastly believe in the idea of the clutch hitter. "You can take those stat guys," Derek Jeter once told Sports Illustrated after SI informed the Yankees shortstop that many analysts deny clutch hitting as a skill, "and throw them out the window."

Jeter is perhaps a prime example of the difference between perception and reality when it comes to "clutch hitting." Widely considered a "clutch player," Jeter's career BA/OBP/SLG (through the end of the 2005 season) numbers are .314/.386/.461, while his playoff numbers are in fact marginally worse at .307/.379/.463. Jeter's home run to win Game 4 of the 2001 World Series helped earn him the nickname "Mr. November," but his offensive numbers for the series were a very poor .148/.179/.259, and the New York Yankees ultimately went on to lose the series in seven games.

[edit] References

• Verducci, Tom. "Does Clutch Hitting Truly Exist?" Sports Illustrated April 5, 2004: 60-62.