02-10-2009, 12:30 AM
<!--quoteo(post=16966:date=Feb 9 2009, 08:48 PM:name=KBwsb)-->QUOTE (KBwsb @ Feb 9 2009, 08:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->That's what, back in 1997? He was a 25-year-old then.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
OK, so clutchness is <b>not</b> an <i>inherent trait </i>that some guys like Jeter and Reggie just have in spades...it's something that "grows" with age. That's your story?
At age 25, Manny had just completed his 3rd straight full season with an OPS+ above 140 (for comparison, the last time the Cubs have had a player with an OPS+ that high, in even a <i>single</i> season, was back during D. Lee's monster year in 2005)...he was a superstar, and the best player on pennant-winning team. I fact, this was his <i>second</i> World Series, having led the Tribe to the '95 Series too. So he was hardly some unexperienced rook.
When Bobby Thomson hit his famous pennant-winning homer, he was 27. When Bill Mazeroski hit his World Series-winning blast in 1960, he was 23.
If Manny was truly "clutch," he would have won that Series for the Tribe with a timely hit.
But he didn't, because "clutchness" isn't an actual trait. Excellence is, and Manny has done well in other tight situations because he's an excellent hitter.
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Of course it grows with age, you mature. As a young player you might be nervous on the big stage. As you get older you get used to the situation and are able to deal with it better. It's just like anything else in life. It's <i>all</i> about mentality.
OK, so clutchness is <b>not</b> an <i>inherent trait </i>that some guys like Jeter and Reggie just have in spades...it's something that "grows" with age. That's your story?
At age 25, Manny had just completed his 3rd straight full season with an OPS+ above 140 (for comparison, the last time the Cubs have had a player with an OPS+ that high, in even a <i>single</i> season, was back during D. Lee's monster year in 2005)...he was a superstar, and the best player on pennant-winning team. I fact, this was his <i>second</i> World Series, having led the Tribe to the '95 Series too. So he was hardly some unexperienced rook.
When Bobby Thomson hit his famous pennant-winning homer, he was 27. When Bill Mazeroski hit his World Series-winning blast in 1960, he was 23.
If Manny was truly "clutch," he would have won that Series for the Tribe with a timely hit.
But he didn't, because "clutchness" isn't an actual trait. Excellence is, and Manny has done well in other tight situations because he's an excellent hitter.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Of course it grows with age, you mature. As a young player you might be nervous on the big stage. As you get older you get used to the situation and are able to deal with it better. It's just like anything else in life. It's <i>all</i> about mentality.
@TheBlogfines