 |
Clutch MLB Players-Delivering the goods
by Paul Mrocza
http://www.thegreek.com/.
They exist in every sport-players who can deliver when it
counts the most and when the pressure is on. After a while
the feats of such players take on a life of their own-a
mythology starts to surround them. In baseball, their final
inning home runs soar out of stadiums like guided missiles,
their fielding plays start to include jumps and stretches
that would rate "10's" from Olympic diving judges, and
their willingness to take one for the team makes you think
they deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor. So who are
those few ball players who rise to the occasion when that
occasion demands something big, stunning, and final?
Part fact and part fiction, clutch players aren't judged so
much by how many game-winning plays they make but by the
circumstances under which they make them. Reggie Jackson
built a career on heroics that annually occurred during the
tenth month of the year, earning him the appellation "Mr.
October."
Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez has had a lot of hits
that have won games, but often they've come early in the
game or in contests that were not in the limelight. He's
also made amazing defensive plays throughout his career.
However, large numbers of fans, including many lovers of
the Bronx Bombers, see him as a goat-the ultimate choke
artist. That's because more often than not when in a big
game, he hasn't come through or he's made a mistake. His
other problem is that he has never been on a World Series
winning team.
His teammate, Derek Jeter, is known as one of the best
clutch fielders and hitters in the game. When in the
national spotlight, Jeter has delivered. Who can forget the
play against the Red Sox a few years ago when Jeter gave up
his body and sailed into the stands to catch a foul ball,
getting injured in the process?
There's a certain cache that comes with being a cardiac kid-
someone who takes the final game, the last play, the
ultimate moment to the limit. In 2004, David Ortiz did it
in both American League playoff series-first against the
Angels and then against the Yankees. Last inning game tying
and winning homeruns and hits seemed to fly off his bat at
will. Big Papi became ensconced on the public stage. The
following season, he continued his late game clutch
performances, which resulted in Ortiz being compared to
Boston's patron saint of the big hit-Carl Yastrzemski.
Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede, of last year's
World Series Champs, was given the name Captain Clutch due
to his unbelievable defensive plays and decisive late-
inning hits. Crede had a dismal first playoff series,
batting only .111. But in the American League Championship
Series and the World Series, he banged a total of 4
homeruns and hit .333. The thing about being known as a
clutch player is people will forget and forgive the .111
performance if you make up for it later in an even bigger
situation. That's exactly what Crede did.
Consider Albert Pujols, first baseman for the St. Louis
Cardinals. Many feel he's the best hitter in baseball and
his performances in post-season contests underpin this
reputation. Pujols has been in the post-season for the past
4 out of 5 years. His batting average for those games
is .336. In 37 games, he's had 10 homeruns, 29 RBI and 28
runs scored. He's struck out only 27 times.
Is Pujols a clutch hitter? He is. Is he known as one?
Pujols has only been in one World Series and in those four
games he had 5 hits, 0 RBI and 1 run scored. Although he
batted .333, he didn't have one extra-base hit. It was the
series in which the Boston Red Sox easily won their first
World Series in 86 years. In those games, Pujols was a non-
entity, as was the entire Cardinal team, and his former
achievements paled in the glow of the charismatic Red Sox
team of Idiots.
Clutch players are known as clutch players as much due to
the public's perception of them as for their achievements,
and the more buzz those achievements create the more clutch
a player becomes.
The Braves' Andruw Jones, Blue Jays' Troy Glaus, and
Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki, like Pujols, are some of the
finest defensive and offensive forces presently in MLB.
They've all had amazing performances in numerous games.
They are true clutch players, especially in the eyes of the
fans who see them play day-in and day-out.
However, where the general public is concerned, these
players have not reached the status of a David Ortiz or a
Derek Jeter. Before they can do that, they'll have to do
amazing things on the biggest stage in Major League
baseball. In order for that to happen, they need a little
bit of luck, the right circumstances, and a great team that
can give them the chance to make the unbelievable catch or
smash the huge hit that wins the game and solidifies their
reputation forever.
This article was written by Paul Mrocza for
http://www.thegreek.com/. The Greek Sportsbook & Casino,
winner of Gambling Online Magazine's Top Payouts Sportsbook
two years in a row, is host to one of the top online
sportsbooks. The Greek is a must have sports betting and
entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus
available online. Reproductions of this article are
encouraged but must include a link pointing to
http://www.thegreek.com/.
Submit An Article
|
|  |
