His game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS was yet another clutch postseason triumph for David Ortiz. But claiming that Ortiz has the supernatural ability to perform at a higher level in the playoffs ignores the facts:
David Ortiz career OPS: .930
Career postseason OPS: 935
Ortiz has more than his fair share of epic October moments. He is one of only two players with multiple walk-off home runs in the playoffs. His overall postseason performance, however, is almost exactly in line with his overall regular season performance. The 'clutch' reputation ascribed to Ortiz is a product of our minds' tendency to remember the extraordinary (his handful of big hits) and forget the ordinary (his many failures).
This irrational labeling of certain players as 'clutch' is of course not exclusive to David Ortiz. Our need for narrative has pushed that label onto quite a few players from the last few decades of postseason play. And almost none of them truly deserved it:
Derek Jeter career OPS: .828
Career postseason OPS: .838
Bernie Williams career OPS: .858
Career postseason OPS: .850
Reggie Jackson career OPS: .846
Career postseason OPS: .885
Manny Ramirez career OPS: .996
Career postseason OPS: .937
Andy Pettitte career ERA: 3.85
Career postseason ERA: 3.81
Jack Morris career ERA: 3.90
Career postseason ERA: 3.80
There is certainly something to be said for the ability of these players to maintain (and in Reggie Jackson's case slightly improve upon) their regular season performances in the playoffs, given the elite pitching and higher stakes. It is, however, hyperbole to claim that a few players (Ortiz, Jeter, etc.) somehow possess the supernatural ability to elevate their performance to previously-unseen heights just because the calendar reads "October."
Except in the case of Carlos Beltran.
Carlos Beltran career OPS: .854
Career postseason OPS: 1.188
Only five players have a higher postseason OPS than Beltran, and Beltran has more plate appearances than all of them. His career line in the postseason is .340/.448/.740. In 41 postseason games, he has 51 hits, 16 home runs, 34 RBIs, 11 steals without getting caught once, and 29 walks against just 21 strikeouts. In 2004, he tied the record for home runs in a single postseason (eight) despite playing in only two postseason series (just 12 games).
Beltran has been so good in the playoffs that he's earned the 'clutch' label without ever even appearing in the World Series once. Beltran has been so good in the playoffs that he's earned the 'clutch' label despite spending almost 90% of his career with the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, and New York Mets. These are impressive feats.
His reputation was muddied for a while after he took a called strike three with the bases loaded to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. But the pitch he took was an Adam Wainwright curveball, and in the seven years since 2006 we have learned that succumbing to Adam Wainwright's curveball is hardly something to be ashamed of. And anyway, Beltran hit three home runs and had an OPS of 1.054 in that series.
In his two-year stint with the Cardinals, Beltran has rebuilt his postseason reputation for the benefit of those who temporarily doubted his powers. Last year, his OPS totals in two series were 1.486 and .964. In the deciding Game 5 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals, with his team trailing by two in the ninth, he hit a leadoff double that began a four-run series-clinching rally. Most recently, in Game 1 of this year's NLCS against the Dodgers, Beltran hit a game-tying two-run double in the third, threw out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the 12th, and hit the game-winning walk-off single in the 13th.
Beltran is now two wins away from finally advancing past the NLCS. In a postseason that has already eliminated all potential underdogs, rooting for Beltran to reach his first-ever World Series stands out as a noble rooting cause. Because if he gets there, the destruction he unleashes could be downright biblical.
No comments:
Post a Comment