I do not agree. Selecting players on the basis of some heightened ability in the clutch, even when expanding the definition of clutch, is a foolish strategy. I would first argue that it is foolish because no such ability actually exists. But even if we granted such an ability, those heightened performances would be coming at the expense of less production in other situations. A .275 hitter is a .275 hitter regardless of how many of his hits come in "clutch" situations. If he hits .300 in the clutch, but .250 the rest of the time, that does not improve his club's chances because his periods of .250 hitting make it less likely that there will be clutch situations.
A club capable of producing five runs of offense a game, is no better off even if they have some special ability to score all five in the 9th inning every single night. Isn't that true? What is true for the club as a whole is true for each individual player. It's what the guy does the whole game which determines his value, not what he does in this inning or this situation rather than any other.
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