It's always the unknown players that come though in big situations. Or at least it seems that way most of the time. The core four were special though; Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada, along with Bernie Williams, were all incredible postseason performers. I know it's a small sample size, but in one series, Mike Trout batted .83, with only one hit throughout the series. Some, "big name," players, don't seem to come though with the big hits, or big pitches.
Orlando Hernandez had an ERA slightly above 4 for most of his seasons with the Yankees, but what about the postseason? A 2.55 ERA, with a 9-3 record. How about a 2.20 World Series ERA? Why couldn't someone like Randy Johnson pitch like that in the postseason, or even Roger Clemens?
Of all the players in 2012, why did Raul Ibanez have to have to hit 3 clutch home runs? Not only did he have 3 clutch home runs in the postseason, he was clutch throughout the whole year, but managed to do it with a .240 regular season BA. Similar to Travis Ishikawa in 2014, who hit the home run that sent the Giants to the World Series. He played only 47 games with the Giants in 2014...
Okay, Tino Martinez wasn't that great in the postseason, but he did have one of the biggest hits for the Yankees in 2001; his game tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 5 of the World Series... With two outs. How much more clutch can you get?
And than there are the little things. Without Paul O'Neils single, Tino Martinez could have never hit that home run, and the series could have been over within 5 games. Don't get me wrong, great players come up clutch also!
A.J. Burnett...?
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Thank you for reading!
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