Is 'clutch hitting' overrated?

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Ted, these stories of teams pulling together and individual accomplishments when the chips are down, make for a good read because they are a part of baseball lore. However, these examples are incidences which occur with less frequency than other good performances which generate less notoriety. And I think this is the point which Mr. Cycleback was making.

However, although being an ex-Giants fan, I certainly enjoy hearing about their ’51 dramatic season finish, the season finish which is my favorite is the one which led up to Walter Johnson finally being able to get into (actually won) the World Series. In that season of 1924, Bucky Harris took over the manager’s reins, and perhaps that responsibility hindered his batting production (he was six points below his career BA). But he was the only one on the team that didn’t have a better production that year than their lifetime averages. Joe Judge was up 26 points, Muddy Ruel +8, Bluege +9, Goslin +28 (to .334), McNeely +58, Peckinpaugh +13 and Sam Rice up 12 points to .334. All this hitting certainly helped Johnson who closed with thirteen consecutive wins down the stretch to take the pennant. The ’24 WS is legend, with Johnson winning the final game in relief.

But although these situations are the stuff from which legends are spun, they arise far less frequently than other types of good play, therefore, I conclude that they are mathematically not singularly important.