Who Solidified Themselves as Playoff Hitters for the Twins, and Who Didn't

[ewen21]

On 10/24/2023 at 9:02 AM, Trov said:

I do not believe in a "playoff hitter" idea.  I agree that pitching is different, each pitch is so much bigger, and if you do not hit your pitch that will be the difference normally.  Some guys do seem to step up in the playoffs, and maybe some do shrink in the moment, but just having that 1 hit sometimes can make the difference a series, even if you go 0 for the rest that one player may have made the difference. 

Yes, do we want a line up full of Altuve, CC, Alverez, type hitters that seem to always come up big, of course.  However, that just is not going to happen. 

No offense, but I had to use my first disagree ever on your post right here.  Delmon Young is a playoff hitter and Max Kepler is not.  This goes way beyond their performance.  The overall vibe and body language of both in playoff situations says to me Delmon is a "playoff hitter" and Max is not.  

 

There idea of "there is no clutch" is completely absurd.  These are humans and they care about how they perform.  Some are like Kepler and go completely catatonic.  Others are like Delmon and they wake up and are dialed in.  I respectfully disagree 100% with your opening sentence.  Outcomes in baseball are not random samples.  It takes a heart, a brain and talent.  There is a psychology behind it and they psychology of it is a big reason while this organization lost 18 games in a row.  It was not because the other team was THAT MUCH better.  A good percentage of it was mindset.