Are CLUTCH PLAYERS a real thing?

[CoachJD]

Absolutely. Really, I think "clutch" is just short for "players who don't break under pressure".

Yes, this has been proven to be the case.

Clutch *situations* exist. Clutch *events* exist. But clutch players really don't. There are just some players who maintain their usual performance more than others.

Someone arguing for the existence of a clutch player is going to have to prove their data isn't just random variation, especially since those clutch situations are of a much smaller sample size. Cal Ripken "hit better" in the playoffs, but he only had 124 playoff plate appearances in his career. Was he really clutch or did he just happen to have what amounts to a good month, spread out over three separate years (83, 96, 97)? Was Barry Bonds "not clutch" or did he just run up against a bunch of Ace pitchers?

 

[BigSkyHi]

It's easy to have a lower performance overall when the Ace pitchers can also pitch around you because you are not very protected by your teammates in the batting order.

These are the games of baseball and fast pitch and 'clutch' is who brings the fans and dugouts to their feet at those special moments.
Darn it’s fun .

 

[sluggers]

Reggie Jackson is so-so? I guess hall of famers don't get much respect. His WS numbers in 5 fall classics are off the charts good.

Jackson was a decent player in the *regular* season. His .268 lifetime batting average isn't an HOF number.

He was a great clutch hitter, which is why he is in the HOF.

 

[CoachJD]

Jackson was a decent player in the *regular* season. His .268 lifetime batting average isn't an HOF number.

He was a great clutch hitter, which is why he is in the HOF.

The 563 regular season home runs probably had a lot to do with it. Being worth 70+ wins above replacement for his career, while certainly not factored in when he was voted in, also confirm he is deserving. And WAR doesn't account for "clutch." According to FanGraphs' Clutch stat (it uses WPA and Leverage Index and compares a player against himself), Reggie Jackson was at -0.60 for his career. But he did have a few big postseason homers!

Reggie Jackson is in the HOF because he was a great hitter, despite a career batting average that was only 6-7 points higher than league average during his time in the league. Some may have the perception that he was "a great clutch hitter" because of a few moments, but the data suggests he was actually worse in clutch situations than he was overall.

 

[Westwind]

This is a fun topic! I am pretty much a believer that a .500 hitter is going to be successful in clutch situations half the time....

Yet I am also a believer that successful people who “get in the zone” and “see the ball well” are actually practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is the idea that you are exceptionally aware and in the moment. You are able to process more info, “see better” because you are not considering all the noise that comes with the flow chart of possibilities that exist after that thing you are doing at the moment. It is truly about being “in the moment” and putting yourself in a place where distractions of the future don’t take over your thoughts in the present. It’s about the “right now”.

My professional life was built around finding needles in haystacks. (That’s all I can really say about it. ) I was at my best when I was just watching. Not really “trying” to find those hidden needles, just being there and watching everything. My bosses hated it because while it takes total focus, and it’s exhausting, it looked like I wasn’t doing anything. Yet it turned into high profile productivity over and over and over again. I worked for some really small minded type A’s over the years that hated “low effort” success. It’s completely the opposite though. It’s that “peaceful easy feeling“ the Eagles sing about but it is far from low effort.

The above is why what you say to your kids is so important. What you say on Tuesday is the doubt, that nagging thought that might worm its way into Sunday afternoon when her mind should be empty, in the moment, comfortably and pleasantly focused.

When I write this stuff it sounds like some hippy acid trip. I really believe in it though. It’s the secret sauce.

 

[Westwind]

Perpetually “not clutch” coaches, this is for you. By the way, it isn’t your team that can’t finish on Sunday. It’s you.

If you are a coach that does things technically correct, year after year, you conduct purposeful practices, your players get tons of meaningful reps, the whole deal and your kids don’t play well this is probably why. That’s why year after year you don’t win anything and you win only about half your games and are one and done on Sunday, this is why. I see it all the time. Listen to the stuff you are saying. Are you really good at telling them what they are doing wrong? Yep, you’re the problem. If you aren’t telling them “what to do” and you aren’t noticing when they do it right, even partially right, you are the problem.

Want to fix it? Read up on being in the moment. Read about mindfulness. Find ways to get the worry and the anticipation of the future, good or bad, out of the players minds. Read Phil Jackson’s books. Most of the time don’t tell them “what they did wrong”. Tell them “what to do”. Catch them doing something right. This approach snowballs. It creates the “clutch” that wins games but doesn’t really exist.

Last: softball isn’t work. Practice isn’t work. It is joyful. It is hard. It isn’t easy. It hurts sometimes but it “hurts so good”. It isn’t work. Work is drudgery you do in a factory to get money. Good players don’t work and they aren’t doing their job. They are intrinsically motivated and they love it. Quit saying that baloney about “hard work” and “doing your job”. Want to get more out of your players? Intrinsic motivation is the path.

 

[radness]

Perpetually “not clutch” coaches, this is for you. By the way, it isn’t your team that can’t finish on Sunday. It’s you.

If you are a coach that does things technically correct, year after year, you conduct purposeful practices, your players get tons of meaningful reps, the whole deal and your kids don’t play well this is probably why. That’s why year after year you don’t win anything and you win only about half your games and are one and done on Sunday, this is why. I see it all the time. Listen to the stuff you are saying. Are you really good at telling them what they are doing wrong? Yep, you’re the problem. If you aren’t telling them “what to do” and you aren’t noticing when they do it right, even partially right, you are the problem.

Want to fix it? Read up on being in the moment. Read about mindfulness. Find ways to get the worry and the anticipation of the future, good or bad, out of the players minds. Read Phil Jackson’s books. Most of the time don’t tell them “what they did wrong”. Tell them “what to do”. Catch them doing something right. This approach snowballs. It creates the “clutch” that wins games but doesn’t really exist.

Last: softball isn’t work. Practice isn’t work. It is joyful. It is hard. It isn’t easy. It hurts sometimes but it “hurts so good”. It isn’t work. Work is drudgery you do in a factory to get money. Good players don’t work and they aren’t doing their job. They are intrinsically motivated and they love it. Quit saying that baloney about “hard work” and “doing your job”. Want to get more out of your players? Intrinsic motivation is the path.

Excellent read! Impact statement!

Positive Purposeful Presence

 

[Tatonka]

Perpetually “not clutch” coaches, this is for you. By the way, it isn’t your team that can’t finish on Sunday. It’s you.

If you are a coach that does things technically correct, year after year, you conduct purposeful practices, your players get tons of meaningful reps, the whole deal and your kids don’t play well this is probably why. That’s why year after year you don’t win anything and you win only about half your games and are one and done on Sunday, this is why. I see it all the time. Listen to the stuff you are saying. Are you really good at telling them what they are doing wrong? Yep, you’re the problem. If you aren’t telling them “what to do” and you aren’t noticing when they do it right, even partially right, you are the problem.

Want to fix it? Read up on being in the moment. Read about mindfulness. Find ways to get the worry and the anticipation of the future, good or bad, out of the players minds. Read Phil Jackson’s books. Most of the time don’t tell them “what they did wrong”. Tell them “what to do”. Catch them doing something right. This approach snowballs. It creates the “clutch” that wins games but doesn’t really exist.

Last: softball isn’t work. Practice isn’t work. It is joyful. It is hard. It isn’t easy. It hurts sometimes but it “hurts so good”. It isn’t work. Work is drudgery you do in a factory to get money. Good players don’t work and they aren’t doing their job. They are intrinsically motivated and they love it. Quit saying that baloney about “hard work” and “doing your job”. Want to get more out of your players? Intrinsic motivation is the path.

Great stuff WW!! Makes so much sense and yet is so hard to do consistently. If more Coaches had this mentality and could productively put it to use in practice/games the results would be so much different. If more Parents could adopt this philosophy and focus on the positive and pure joy of watching and getting to spend this important time with their kids things would be so much different. How many kids do you know who have left the game due to negativity, destructive criticism or worse from parents or coaches? This "positive reinforcement" message is out there but way too often ego, bias or simply old habits get in the way.

 

[Tatonka]

Regarding Turbo's question of "Clutch" I fall on the side that on average the talented, skilled player is going to pull through and make that play or get that crucial hit more often than a less talented player. They've seen it more often and should be more relaxed in that moment based on having more experience. There's a reason the more "elite" athletes practice performing in high stress environments...so they can mainatin that focus and composure when they need to. Sure some kids are naturally better at staying relaxed and some need coaching and experience to develop it. Beyond any of that...even a blind squirrel will find a few nuts now and then!

 

[BigSkyHi]

Just remembered this story of playing a really top tier 18u team in an important tournament. The other team had bases loaded and one of their best hitters came up to the Box.
A player that i knew of for years.
Instead of swinging, she leaned across into the river, turned her hip into the pitch and got hit by the ball. I watched what she did from my catching position and knew it was intentional. Umpire gave her first base. The other team scored what turned out to be the winning run in the top of that last inning. While the other team did win that game,
that player lost my respect.

Its is unclutch to be cheesy!

She turned cheesy into cheeky. Leaves a sour taste in your mouth like a real bad apple.