I have heard various people define 'clutch' in two ways:
a)
A player that maintains a cool head (i.e. doesn't choke) under pressure. This is easy enough to understand. The guy doesn't get rattled, doesn't let his emotions get the better of him, etc...
b)
A player that acually performs better under pressure than otherwise. This is pretty straightforward also. Added pressure can causes heightened emotions which in turn causes added adreneline which, for clutch players, translate to a combination of better focus, better power, more agressiveness, just-doing-and-not-thinking-too-much, and so forth.
Mike Benjamin, a career 235 hitter, has gained the reputation of being a clutch hitter. Having watched him play, he does seem to have a knack for getting a hit at just the right time. I would say he has elements of both of the above types of clutch hitters. Lots of MLB experience can get you into the fist category. You've been in 100s these same situations and, as such, as not nervious in any way. But many ball players, as far as I know, are guily of overthinking, when they should just relax and let their well-honed and well-practiced skills take over (i.e. think the situation through before the at-bat, not during it). Added adreneline can cause the player to stop thinking about the sitation, to focus better, to just act, which can translate to better performance. Also, adreneline adds the tiniest bit of extra speed/strength, which can also result in better performance. Guys that do this consistantly get tagged with the 'clutch hitter' label. I believe this same logic can be applied to pitchers.
[ 04-05-2002: Message edited by: fluharty ]</p>
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