When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

[cardinalbird5]

I know David Freese has a 99 clutch as he deserves. Lets face it he probably had the most clutch hit in not only WS history but probably MLB History.

Anyways back to the topic what exactly does this do? Does it increase their PCI, raise their attributes, etc? And when would it apply? Only 9th inning, any time with RISP, any time with 2 outs, etc? That is the problem with clutch, because there isn't really a definition for it and it all varies from who you ask.

[cardinalbird5]

re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

I just noticed I forgot to put clutch in my title lol

[nomo17k]

re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

I know David Freese has a 99 clutch as he deserves. Lets face it he probably had the most clutch hit in not only WS history but probably MLB History.

Anyways back to the topic what exactly does this do? Does it increase their PCI, raise their attributes, etc? And when would it apply? Only 9th inning, any time with RISP, any time with 2 outs, etc? That is the problem with clutch, because there isn't really a definition for it and it all varies from who you ask.

I think this just keeps continuing. And on one hand you may want to know exactly what the attribute does (say if you are a roster creator), but on the other hand, you don't really need/want to know everything that's in the game. As is right now, all attributes precisely mean what they are in hard coded numbers, so if you exactly know what they do in the game (as far as dice rolls, etc.), then you start doing rather meaningless but sensible thinking like "okay, player XXX has Contact 45 and player YYY has Contact 47. I'm going with YYY here."

That's not my definition of fun...

Having said that I've search through posts after posts about Clutch rating. The best I can tell you is it's an attribute to boost some important ratings in "typical" clutch situations... but the change is only marginal. Even with Clutch 99, it's not going to make David Freese a second-coming of Barry Bonds on crack in those situations.

[RGmoney]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

I just noticed I forgot to put clutch in my title lol

Fixed
/10 char

[jmik58]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

There was a thread about 3 or 4 weeks ago very similar to this and Ramone from SCEA did imply that the clutch rating does barely anything when it kicks in. You have a very good question and we don't exactly know the statistical explanation, but I'm satisfied with knowing the impact is minimal.

[Russell_SCEA]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

It only kicks in for RISP situations for the pitcher and the batter. It's the only time it has an effect.

[bcruise]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

It only kicks in for RISP situations for the pitcher and the batter. It's the only time it has an effect.

Oooh, that's a nice little nugget of info. I always thought it had an effect in late-game situations or the playoffs.

[RnRexpress3423]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

It only kicks in for RISP situations for the pitcher and the batter. It's the only time it has an effect.

I've got my clutch rating around 75 or so and was wondering If I should keep dumping points into it. Thanks for clarifying

[balooko31]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

It only kicks in for RISP situations for the pitcher and the batter. It's the only time it has an effect.

So how would that affect a player in that situation? Does a batter get a boost in his contact/power ratings? A pitcher gets more control/speed on his pitches?

[ZouDave]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

I know David Freese has a 99 clutch as he deserves. Lets face it he probably had the most clutch hit in ... probably MLB History.

Bobby Thomson
Bill Mazeroski
Carlton Fisk
Kirby Puckett
Joe Carter
George Vukovich
Kirk Gibson
Todd Pratt
Chris Chambliss
Aaron Boone


They'd all like a word with you about history.

[Russell_SCEA]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

So how would that affect a player in that situation? Does a batter get a boost in his contact/power ratings? A pitcher gets more control/speed on his pitches?

Slight boost to all his offense attributes same with the pitcher.

[jmik58]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

Bobby Thomson
Bill Mazeroski
Carlton Fisk
Kirby Puckett
Joe Carter
George Vukovich
Kirk Gibson
Todd Pratt
Chris Chambliss
Aaron Boone


They'd all like a word with you about history.

First off, he did say "probably" and even if he said it WAS... I think he has an argument.

On Bobby Thompson's hit there was one out and Willie Mays was on deck. Unless he hits into a double play it's not the end of the season. If Freese gets even one more strike, the season is over.

For Carlton Fisk the game was tied at the time of his home run. It forced a game seven, which makes it a huge homerun; but not with as much risk as Freese.

Kirby Puckett's home run was just like Fisk. It was huge, but there wasn't as much risk. The game was tied at the time and it forced a game seven.

Joe Carter's shot was dramatic because it ended the the world series, but there was nowhere near as much on the line as any of the previous guys.

For Vukovich it wasn't even a world series game and he, like Puckett and Fisk, forced another game by breaking a tie.

Gibson's was certainly clutch, but the dramatics were highlighted by him being injured. However, it was only game one of the world series. Not as much on the line.

Pratt's was a great moment as a division series clincher, but if they lost it would have just forced game 5. It wasn't even a must-win game/moment.

Chambliss, like others, only broke a tie game. He wasn't facing elimination or a loss, but instead broke a tie...and it was the LCS.

Boone's also broke a tie, but it's slightly weighted more monumental because it was game seven. However, it was just the LCS.

So... with all that considered, I'd say Freese has them all beat considering he executed when trailing in the game, series, and down to his last strike ... oh and then he finished off the same game with a walk-off homerun.

I'd say Freese takes first place for the most clutch hit(s) in MLB history.

[seanjeezy]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

I know David Freese has a 99 clutch as he deserves. Lets face it he probably had the most clutch hit in not only WS history but probably MLB History.

Anyways back to the topic what exactly does this do? Does it increase their PCI, raise their attributes, etc? And when would it apply? Only 9th inning, any time with RISP, any time with 2 outs, etc? That is the problem with clutch, because there isn't really a definition for it and it all varies from who you ask.

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but how does the result of one game determine how clutch a player is? I know, I know, biggest stage, 1 strike away, etc.

What about the regular season though? according to Fangraphs, Freese was below average in clutch situations.

Here's Fangraphs' explaination for their clutch rating

According to this chart, Bobby Abreu was the most clutch player in baseball last year

Again, this probably sounds douchey and whiney, but honestly I'm not trying to be either lol

[jmik58]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but how does the result of one game determine how clutch a player is? I know, I know, biggest stage, 1 strike away, etc.

What about the regular season though? according to Fangraphs, Freese was below average in clutch situations.

Here's Fangraphs' explaination for their clutch rating

According to this chart, Bobby Abreu was the most clutch player in baseball last year

Again, this probably sounds douchey and whiney, but honestly I'm not trying to be either lol

So glad that you asked. Here is a post I made at the first of the month on this very issue:

"First of all, David Freese has accumulated his stats over three years, totalling 184 regular season games. Essentially, that's a season. Ninety-eight RBI is pretty darn impressive, but that doesn't indicate clutch.

If you have a problem with his clutch rating, consider the following:

1. What he did in the playoffs and World Series.

2. His AVG with the bases empty in 2011: .267 -- His AVG with runners on in 2011: .327 -- His AVG with runners in scoring position (RISP) in 2011: .354 -- AND... wait for this one... His AVG with RISP and...I said AAAAAAAAAND two outs .... .364

His career numbers are nearly the same. His AVG with no one on is higher (.292) and his AVG with RISP and 2-outs is a little lower (.322), but his AVG with runners on (.304) and RISP (.337) follow the trend.

I'd say that's the definition of a guy who deserves a near maxed-out "clutch" rating."

[nomo17k]

Re: When does the "Clutch" attribute come into play and what does it do exactly?

...

2. His AVG with the bases empty in 2011: .267 -- His AVG with runners on in 2011: .327 -- His AVG with runners in scoring position (RISP) in 2011: .354 -- AND... wait for this one... His AVG with RISP and...I said AAAAAAAAAND two outs .... .364

His career numbers are nearly the same. His AVG with no one on is higher (.292) and his AVG with RISP and 2-outs is a little lower (.322), but his AVG with runners on (.304) and RISP (.337) follow the trend.

I'd say that's the definition of a guy who deserves a near maxed-out "clutch" rating."

Hi. Debbie Downer here. Compelled to chime in.

Since Freese is still a young man with only three seasons under his belt, those numbers aren't as good indicators as his true "clutch" ability. You are talking about only 150 - 300 at-bats, which isn't actually enough to nail down someone's "true" batting average (if that's ever possible).

If you run though numbers considering luck factors given the limited at-bats, his averages would fluctuate in those ranges (to do this stats people typically use Binomial statistics, which emulates coin flipping):

Ave: .292 => .266 - .318
Ave w/ men on: .304 => .277 - .331
Ave w/ RISP: .337 => .302 - .372

These ranges actually overlap each other, meaning the differences are not very statistically significant. A lot of people who study those things like this find there's no clutch ability differences among players.

It's a fun rating in a game, but it probably is an ability which doesn't really exist.

Like why do I go this length to solidify my reputation as a Debbie Downer? Well I'm jealous of those who are considered clutch. Because I have always failed on the most important occasions.