[nanwynnfan]

By way of correcting an omission on the list of clutch hitters provided above, Orlando Cabrera should have been fairly high up the A.L. listing.

Cabrera also serves to raise another facet of hitting in other than neutral circumstances: the conscious attention of some batters to adjust somehow in order to focus on making contact, putting the ball in play. IMO, a very good place to check this is in the limited sphere of Man on 3B < 2 Out.

On average, modern era position players have a K rate of @ 19% strikeouts, or one strikeout for every 5.263 AB. With a runner on 3rd and less than 2 out, contact may well bring the runner home while a K most assuredly has a far less positive expected outcome.

Overall during 2007 YTD, Orlando Cabrera has a far better contact rate than most, with 54 K's in 535 AB, or 10.09%, or 1 K for every 9.9 AB, almost half of MLB position player average. Yet Cabrera, with 3B < 2O, is 1 K in 27 AB, a 3.7% rate, cutting his overall rate by two-thirds. Significance? To me it signifies that Orlando Cabrera is a player keenly aware ob AB context and opportunity ... he thinks, and he adjusts.

Of the clutch listed players, here are those who show a similar 3B < 2O situation adjustment to make contact. Some might argue the significance of the % drop for some; but some are eye-catching:

Player.....................Overall K Rate...........K Rate, 3B < 2O

A.L.

Ortiz............................19.21%........... .........16.67%
Lowell..........................10.31............. ...........3.23
Pedroia........................15.21.............. ..........5.56
Ordonez.......................13.83............... .........8.82
Jeter...........................14.55............. ...........9.57
Cabrera.......................10.09............... .........3.70
Ibanez........................16.06............... ..........7.40
Bartlett........................15.20............. ..........11.76
Redmond.......................8.93................ ..........0.00

[with 3B<2O, Redmond has NO K's in 18 AB's]

Crawford......................19.54%.............. .........15.00%
Del. Young....................19.70.................... .....11.24
Gathright......................15.19.............. .............9.10
Gload...........................12.75............. ..............9.10
Butler...........................16.67............ ...............5.88

N.L.

Renteria........................15.37%............ ............ 5.26%
*Rowand........................19.64.............. ............40.74
*Howard........................37.30.............. ............54.29
A. Ramirez.....................13.33................. ...........9.10
Floyd............................17.00............ ...............12.50
Garciaparra......................9.10............. ...............5.00

Rowand and Howard are uniquely oblivious to contact, fanning half the time they appear with a teammate at 3B and less than 2 out. [In fact, a proper re-calculation of Howard's composite would drop him from the clutch listing. Casting aside his K's, with 3B < 2O, Howard is 6 for 34, BA = .176.

Not on the N.L. list is Albert Pujols, who is exceptional in displaying contact awareness with 3B < 2O, having NO K's in 24 AB. With an overall K rate @ 11.74%, Pujols has '0" K's in 9 AB with the bases loaded, and "0" K's as well in 15 additional AB with runners either on first & third or second & third. That's zero K's in those 48 AB.

Pujols' non-appearance on the listing, because of his astounding career thus far, bears explanation. Here are the numbers I used to start:

Situation...............Hits........AB............ AVG

Men on, 2 Out........11..........47........... .234

3B < 2 Out..............7..........24........... .292

In order NOT to omit anyone I then went on to:

Sc. Pos.................29..........98........... .296

Sc. Pos, 2 Out.........6..........26........... .231

@ Neutral:

None on, [Total] 87........259.......... .336

None on; None Out.36..........84.......... .429

This is NOT to suggest any negative for Pujols other than why he is not on the list. Any of the work I'm doing now is to find clutch clues in hitters' YTD profiles and identify these as positives.

I am not simultaneously trying to identify "chokers." In fact, I would say that Pujols' indicated focus on contact situations mIGHT legitimize the facet of "luck" entering 48 AB with zero K's, in key men on situations. He's hitting the ball ... maybe right at someone.