After last week’s post, you all got me thinking. Many of you agreed that the Reds will never make the playoffs while continuing to start Jose Iglesias or Freddy Galvis. Others disagreed, citing Iglesias’ clutch-hitting as his offensive value. And a few of you changed the subject entirely, pointing out Joey Votto as a bigger offensive sinkhole than Iglesias.
Well, I’m happy to announce that all of you (and me) are right. Also, you (and I) are all wrong. Let me explain.
FanGraphs calculates a stat called “Clutch” that measures “how much worse or better a player performs in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment.