[Curve Ball Dave]

I used think there was a real thing as a "clutch" hitter until I gave it some thought.

With tying and winning runs on base and the game on the line darned right I would have wanted George Brett at the plate instead of say Jason Heyward. But when I thought of it, I'd want Brett batting instead of Heyward in any situation. Examples of these kinds of contrasts between hitters are endless. The best hitters come through no matter the situation, and you could manipulate the stats any way you want, come up with whatever "advanced metric" you want and the end of the day George Brett will come out better than Jason Heyward.

For pitchers I think it's a little different. There are pitchers with ice water in their veins who want the ball with the game on the line. "Put me in skip, I'll get 'em." These are the guys you bring in kill the late inning rally, or nail down the final three outs. Not every pitcher can do this. That's why there are guys with electric stuff starting clean seventh innings because they can't be trusted in pressure situations. If everyone could be a stopper or closer, they would.