TITLE: CLUTCH HITTING, 1987-2001

Clutch Hitting Leaders, 1987-2001

by Cyril Morong

(cyrilmorong@aol.com)

This list gives the leaders in various situations for the years 1987-2001. The situations are listed in the following order: Close and Late, with Runners in Scoring Position, with Runners in Scoring Position and 2 outs, with Runners on Base, and finally for All Plate Appearances or At-Bats. Players are ranked in four statistics: batting average (AVG), on-base percentage (OBP), slugging percentage (SLG), and OPS, which is OBP plus SLG. Close and Late means situations when the game is in the 7^th inning or later and the batting team is leading by one run, tied, or has the potential tying run on base, at bat or on deck.

The qualification: 6000 or more plate appearances, 1987-2001. There were 71 players. For the following players, OBP was calculated using only walks, hits and at-bats: Albert Belle, Brett Butler, Joe Carter, Chili Davis, Gary Gaetti, Ozzie Guillen, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Terry Pendleton and Tony Phillips. I also only had data on them for RISP and CL. This is because their situational stats were not listed at the cnn/si site and I took their data from STATS Player Profiles books. I did not have data for those ten players for Runners in Scoring Position and 2 outs and with Runners on Base.

The last list shows each player’s OPS in close and late situations relative to his OPS in non-close and late situations. 67 OF 71 PLAYERS HAD AN OPS IN CLOSE AND LATE SITUATIONS THAT WAS WITHIN 10% OF THEIR OPS IN NON-CLOSE AND LATE SITUATIONS. 52 WERE WITHIN 5%.

This suggests that players generally hit about the same in clutch situations as they do in non-clutch situations. It also appears from the last list that switch hitters seem to be better at maintaining their normal OPS in close and late situations than non-switch hitters. This may be because they don’t have to face a same-handed pitcher.

But that is the basic reason why I compiled this list: To show that hitting in the clutch is not that much different than other situations. As you look at these leaders, you will notice that the best hitters overall tend to be the best hitters in the various situations.

CLOSE AND LATE

Rank	Name	AVG	Rank	Name	OBP	Rank	Name	SLG	Rank	Name	OPS
1	Tony Gwynn	0.361	1	Edgar Martinez	0.461	1	Mark McGwire	0.543	1	Barry Bonds	0.972
2	Edgar Martinez	0.323	2	Barry Bonds	0.439	2	Barry Bonds	0.533	2	Mark McGwire	0.961
3	Mark Grace	0.320	3	Jeff Bagwell	0.434	3	Juan Gonzalez	0.518	3	Edgar Martinez	0.951
4	Paul Molitor	0.315	4	Frank Thomas	0.430	4	Tino Martinez	0.517	4	Jeff Bagwell	0.946
5	Tony Fernandez	0.305	5	Tony Gwynn	0.419	5	Ken Griffey Jr.	0.516	5	Tony Gwynn	0.906
6	Dante Bichette	0.301	6	Gary Sheffield	0.418	6	Jeff Bagwell	0.512	6	Frank Thomas	0.905
7	Roberto Alomar	0.297	7	Mark Grace	0.418	7	Dante Bichette	0.508	7	Ken Griffey Jr.	0.902
8	Tino Martinez	0.297	8	Mark McGwire	0.418	8	Larry Walker	0.504	8	Gary Sheffield	0.900
9	Luis Gonzalez	0.294	9	Rickey Henderson	0.416	9	Rafael Palmeiro	0.502	9	Larry Walker	0.899
10	Tim Raines	0.293	10	Paul Molitor	0.402	10	Albert Belle	0.496	10	Tino Martinez	0.889
11	Barry Larkin	0.291	11	Tim Raines	0.398	11	Edgar Martinez	0.490	11	Mark Grace	0.867
12	Bernie Williams	0.291	12	John Olerud	0.396	12	David Justice	0.487	12	Rafael Palmeiro	0.864
13	John Olerud	0.290	13	Larry Walker	0.395	13	Tony Gwynn	0.487	13	Albert Belle	0.863
14	Wally Joyner	0.288	14	Wade Boggs	0.393	14	Andres Galarraga	0.485	14	Bernie Williams	0.858
15	Brett Butler	0.286	15	Barry Larkin	0.390	15	Gary Sheffield	0.482	15	Luis Gonzalez	0.857
16	Frank Thomas	0.286	16	Luis Gonzalez	0.389	16	Sammy Sosa	0.480	16	Fred McGriff	0.852
17	Gary Sheffield	0.286	17	Fred McGriff	0.387	17	Gary Gaetti	0.477	17	David Justice	0.852
18	Kenny Lofton	0.285	18	Tony Phillips	0.387	18	Bernie Williams	0.476	18	John Olerud	0.849
19	Larry Walker	0.285	19	Ken Griffey Jr.	0.386	19	Frank Thomas	0.475	19	Paul Molitor	0.848
20	Wade Boggs	0.285	20	Chili Davis	0.385	20	Harold Baines	0.469	20	Juan Gonzalez	0.847
21	Gregg Jefferies	0.283	21	Brett Butler	0.382	21	Jose Canseco	0.468	21	Dante Bichette	0.844
22	Harold Baines	0.283	22	Bernie Williams	0.382	22	Luis Gonzalez	0.468	22	Harold Baines	0.842
23	Jeff Bagwell	0.282	23	Roberto Alomar	0.382	23	Fred McGriff	0.465	23	Will Clark	0.840
24	Barry Bonds	0.281	24	Will Clark	0.378	24	Will Clark	0.462	24	Andres Galarraga	0.835
25	Ken Griffey Jr.	0.280	25	Tony Fernandez	0.376	25	John Olerud	0.453	25	Jose Canseco	0.816
26	Rafael Palmeiro	0.280	26	Harold Baines	0.373	26	Mark Grace	0.449	26	Rickey Henderson	0.816
27	Will Clark	0.277	27	Tino Martinez	0.372	27	Paul Molitor	0.447	27	Bobby Bonilla	0.815
28	Andres Galarraga	0.276	28	Kenny Lofton	0.370	28	Bobby Bonilla	0.446	28	Tim Raines	0.812
29	Fred McGriff	0.275	29	Bobby Bonilla	0.369	29	Jay Buhner	0.433	29	Sammy Sosa	0.811
30	Omar Vizquel	0.275	30	Albert Belle	0.368	30	Ray Lankford	0.433	30	Roberto Alomar	0.805
31	Albert Belle	0.273	31	Chuck Knoblauch	0.367	31	Ron Gant	0.433	31	Barry Larkin	0.799
32	David Justice	0.270	32	Wally Joyner	0.366	32	Eric Karros	0.432	32	Chili Davis	0.799
33	Jay Bell	0.270	33	Craig Biggio	0.365	33	Matt Williams	0.432	33	Jay Buhner	0.794
34	Steve Finley	0.269	34	David Justice	0.365	34	Ellis Burks	0.431	34	Ellis Burks	0.785
35	Rickey Henderson	0.268	35	Mark McLemore	0.362	35	Roberto Alomar	0.423	35	Wally Joyner	0.785
36	Cal Ripken	0.267	36	Rafael Palmeiro	0.362	36	Ruben Sierra	0.423	36	Ray Lankford	0.783
37	Mark McLemore	0.266	37	Jay Buhner	0.361	37	Wally Joyner	0.419	37	Tony Phillips	0.783
38	Delino DeShields	0.265	38	Paul O'Neill	0.361	38	Cal Ripken	0.417	38	Gary Gaetti	0.782
39	Chuck Knoblauch	0.264	39	Delino DeShields	0.358	39	Eddie Murray	0.414	39	Paul O'Neill	0.774
40	Gary Gaetti	0.264	40	Gregg Jefferies	0.356	40	Tim Raines	0.414	40	Tony Fernandez	0.765
41	Ozzie Guillen	0.262	41	Ellis Burks	0.354	41	Chili Davis	0.414	41	Cal Ripken	0.763
42	Craig Biggio	0.262	42	Brady Anderson	0.351	42	Paul O'Neill	0.413	42	Ron Gant	0.760
43	Juan Gonzalez	0.262	43	Jay Bell	0.351	43	Barry Larkin	0.409	43	Wade Boggs	0.759
44	Chili Davis	0.261	44	Andres Galarraga	0.350	44	Robin Ventura	0.405	44	Eddie Murray	0.754
45	Paul O'Neill