Clutch Team Experiment

I built a team to see how much clutch ratings came into play. I got the absolute best clutch players available to fit my team and batted them in the middle of the order all year long. Basically between 3rd - 7th depending upon where they fit best in my estimation and I didn't really alter my lineup as best as I can recall.

You can see the results in the link:

https://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/misc/1610052

Not very impressive if you ask me. I welcome your thoughts.

Clutch seems to occur less than you think it would. However, I am still too afraid to use cards like Willie Wilson.

Clutch seems to occur less than you think it would. However, I am still too afraid to use cards like Willie Wilson.

Willie Wilson is one of the best small ball values out there, so please feel free to NOT use him.

I bat him 1st or 2nd regularly against LHP's.

You had 20 clutch hits, and about half your lineup was positive clutch. That's about what I would expect. The last all-clutch team I built I think finished with 45 clutch hits. Guessing Paul O'Neill probably had a ton of IBBs batting in front of negative clutch George Brett?

I estimate a clutch hit is worth 1.3 runs and a clutch out worth -1.3, so you netted about +5 runs. To really take advantage of clutch I think it needs to be across the whole lineup.

If someone is looking to create a team with good clutch hitting up and down the lineup, here are a few to check out:

C: 1891 Milligan, 1979 Porter, 2008 Mauer, 1921 E Smith, 2012 Ruiz, 1929 Cochrane, 1938 York
1B: 1889 Connor, 1934 Gehrig, 1945 Cavaretta, 1993 Gallaraga, 1989 W Clark, Chance 1903/05/06
2B: 1914 Collins, 1911 Sweeney, 2006 Sanchez, 1930 Hodapp, 2001 Alomar, Lajoie 1904 / 1906
3B: 2017 Arenado, 1929 Traynor, 1997 Spiers, 1912 Gardner, 2013 Carpenter, 2018 Bregman, Baker 1912/13
SS: 1936 Appling, 1930 Cronin, 1954 Reese, 2016 Andrus, 2009 Bartlett, Wagner 1908/09, Banks 1958/59
LF: 1948 T Williams, 1901 Delahanty, 1919 Veach, 1936 Ott, 1996 Gilkey, 1957 Minoso, 1962 T Davis , 2014 Brantley
CF: 1911 Cobb, 1955 Snider, 1905 Seymour, 1987 E Davis, 1989 Yount, 1996 Mota, S Crawford 1909 / 1912
RF: 1894 Thompson, 1909 Cobb, 1927 Waner, 2007 Ordonez, 1999 Ramirez, 1908 Donlin, 1997 O'Neill, Youngs 1920/21
DH: 1939 Padgett, 1923 Sewell, 2003 Sheffield, 1913 Cravath, 1989 L Smith, 1920 Evans, 1912 Russell, 1951 Irvin

This is not a comprehensive list, but it's a good start.

Given that clutch is quantified (priced) in SOM, it’s not about scoring more runs — for that, you’d spend on other attributes. Quantified clutch is about maximizing the leverage of the runs you do score. You overperformed your expected wins (90) by five — I’d call that the outcome you paid for.

Clutch seems to occur less than you think it would. However, I am still too afraid to use cards like Willie Wilson.

WILLIE WILSON IS A MINOR GOD.

I have the same experiment going right now, where everyone is positive clutch, except for the '39 Dimaggio card which is a 0 clutch rating.

so far, through 78 games, I have picked up exactly 4 clutch hits. Now, not everybody is the top clutch stud at their position, but for example, the 59 Banks card, which is clutch 8/9 vs l/r, has not picked up a single clutch hit all year despite hitting 2 against lefties and 5 against righties.

I was surprised by this given that my teams normally suffer somewhere between 30 and 40 chokes each season. I cant figure out if its because my overall OBP is lower with this team, so less men on base means less clutch chances, or if this is just a run of bad luck.

Anyway, my results have been disappointing.

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/sim/1617971

Yeah a .326 team OBP is not helping you. And a bunch of your guys have clutch in the +2 to +4 range which is not going to hit too often.

The best clutch team I had put Cobb and Williams batting 1-2 so there were lots of opportunities. The other time it works well is a total small ball team where you are doing a lot of bunting and hit & run to put runners in scoring position. But when building a clutch team I like everyone to be +6 or better.

yeah, I have come to realize I made a few mistakes with this team. Thats why they call them experiments I guess.

If I had to do it again, I would let a few negative clutch guys on the team with high on base to set up those chances, like you said. I used pretty much the same process I always do, just filtered for no negative clutch ratings. I need to go into details more rather than using the blanket approach.

Live and learn. I know I wont make a mistake like this again.