Clutch Hitting

"Let's Cut A-Rod Some Slack": Allen Barra, Wall Street Journal

I think Barra misses the point here. He defines clutch hitting as hitting well in the post-season, and then demonstrates that A-Rod has a better post-season batting average than greats like Dimaggio, Berra, Mantle, and Reggie Jackson.

He claims that there is no agreement about what it means to be a clutch hitter. This may be so, but I think there is a common sense definition: clutch hitting is getting a hit when your team needs a hit--being the game changer when the game hangs in doubt. There are clutch hits during the regular season, just as there are in the post-season. Someone can hit for high average during the course of a season, and still not hit in the clutch.

If you go by the common sense definition, then it makes sense why people don't consider A-Rod to be clutch. During the regular season, he gets the hits and homeruns, but often not when the team really needs them, in clutch situations. There is some question as to whether he can stay calm in a critical situations, calm enough to perform with all his skill.

The question of whether clutch hitting is a skill or pure luck is an interesting one. Certainly some clutch hitting seems to be luck--think Aaron Boone v. Red Sox in 2004. Yet when players consistently--or at least frequently--come through in the clutch, there seems to be something more at work. There's a large mental part to hitting, and for some reason some hitters can take the pressure better than others. I for one would love to see A-Rod mature enough as a person to be that kind of hitter.