{"id":15712,"date":"2024-12-06T14:53:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T14:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=15712"},"modified":"2024-12-06T14:54:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T14:54:28","slug":"bcb-after-dark-who-would-you-want-to-take-the-most-important-golden-at-bat-for-the-cubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=15712","title":{"rendered":"BCB After Dark: Who would you want to take the most important Golden At-Bat for the Cubs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the late week pop-up coffee shop that serves all the beverages imaginable to get you through your week. Are you looking for that late night scotch as the clock ticks into Friday or that first cup of coffee as the sun rises? Whatever your pleasure, we\u2019ve got it all \u2014 along with some incredible Cubs banter and debate. Just remember to bus your tables so the Friday crew doesn\u2019t have to deal with a mess.<\/p>\n

As Al and our gracious host here at BCB After Dark, Josh, have already detailed this week there was a new potential rule rumored out there in MLB called the Golden At-Bat. While there are a variety of possible parameters and permutations on this rule the idea is essentially that once per game a team would be able to send it\u2019s best hitter to the plate to take an at bat, out of order.<\/p>\n

I want to be very clear at the outset of this post that I think the Golden At-Bat rule might be one of the worst ideas that Rob Manfred and Co. have ever had and yes, I know how many bad ideas they\u2019ve had, I curse their names every time I see a Manfred Man on second to start the 10th inning and I don\u2019t imagine that\u2019s going to change anytime soon. This post should not be interpreted as an endorsement of said rule, which I would gladly set on fire and banish from baseball conversation if I could.<\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019m an old debate coach so I am used to living in lands of hypotheticals and switching sides to test out ideas. So this week I found myself asking: if MLB were silly enough to deploy a rule that is obviously ridiculous on its face, who in the vast history of the Chicago Cubs would fans want to take the most important Golden At-Bat?<\/p>\n

First, though, some golden oldies…<\/p>\n

\n

One of the earliest music videos was Toto\u2019s Hold the Line. <\/em>It\u2019s a pretty iconic late 70\u2019s song, but the music video nugget is interesting, because MTV was still three years away when Toto decided to do this:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing fancy about this other than the part where it\u2019s a music video at all <\/em>in a time where no one really had a platform for disseminating that video. Think back to what you were doing in 1978, 79, 80? How would you even have seen this video without it being on one of the 4-13 channels you had that you probably could only change by standing up, walking to the TV and turning the manual dial on it to whatever else you thought might be on that day?<\/p>\n

The song itself is interesting beyond the signature piano riff at the top. I doubt it will surprise readers that that riff apparently inspired the whole song, but once it was in David Paiche\u2019s head, it was an obsession for days. When the words \u201cHold the line, love isn\u2019t always on time\u201d came into his head late at night he basically wrote the whole song in two hours.<\/p>\n

I know that feeling. Sometimes a story I want to write for this site is practically fully formed in my head before I sit down to write it. I\u2019ll be out walking around, or see something in a game and just know<\/em> what it\u2019s supposed to say and how to get there. Other times I\u2019ll have a glimpse of an idea and it struggles to ever gain traction and words. Al can attest that I have far too many stories in draft mode for months if not years.<\/p>\n

Inspiration is a funny thing.<\/p>\n

The song itself uses the phrase as a reference to someone begging a love interest to stay in a rocky relationship, but the actual etymology likely stems from military maneuvers. I admit the first image that pops into my head from this phrase is Theoden from the Lord of the Rings, but I\u2019m pretty sure he actually says \u2018reform the line\u201d not \u201chold the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of proper usage of the phrase in pop culture it seems clear that releasing Hold the Line <\/em>and having it debut near the top of the charts was a game changer for Toto.<\/p>\n

\n

When Hold the Line <\/em>was released in September 1978 the Cubs were managed by Herman Franks and on their way to a 79-83 season. They finished third in the NL East and started September two games over .500 and facing off against the Astros. This was their lineup on September 1:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Greg Gross (CF)<\/li>\n
  2. Rodney Scott (3B)<\/li>\n
  3. Bill Buckner (1B)<\/li>\n
  4. Dave Kingman (LF)<\/li>\n
  5. Bobby Murcer (RF)<\/li>\n
  6. Manny Trillo (2B)<\/li>\n
  7. Dave Radar (C)<\/li>\n
  8. Iv\u00e1n De Jes\u00fas (SS)<\/li>\n
  9. Mike Krukow (P)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And while my gut instinct was that no one in that lineup is on any of our lists for the Cubs all-time Golden At-Bat. Well, read on \u2014 who SHOULD take that at bat?<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m me, so I started at FanGraphs and decided to peruse some leaderboards. I also decided for the purpose of this exercise to limit the sample to players who had at least 1,000 at bats in a Cub uniform, I didn\u2019t want any sample sizes under two solid Cubs seasons. My apologies to Topsy Hartsel and his excellent 1901 single season with the Cubs where he put up a 155 wRC+ but, well, there are lines. After that, it was a matter of sorting and searching and imagining.<\/p>\n

    I sorted by wRC+, a league and park adjusted stat for a player\u2019s ability to contribute runs to the game. It\u2019s normed off 100, so that\u2019s always average, with every higher number being that number percentile better than average and every number lower being that percentile worse than average.<\/p>\n

    You can see the top 25 Cubs below and honestly it pained me to cut it off at 25 with the Sarge, Gary Matthews sitting at 26. I considered going all the way to 50, solely because Willson Contreras is 46th all-time on this list and Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks, is 47th, but, well, I had to hold the line:<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    All-Time Cubs wRC+ Leaders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Name<\/th>\nG<\/th>\nPA<\/th>\nHR<\/th>\nR<\/th>\nRBI<\/th>\nSB<\/th>\nBB%<\/th>\nK%<\/th>\nISO<\/th>\nBABIP<\/th>\nAVG<\/th>\nOBP<\/th>\nSLG<\/th>\nwOBA<\/th>\nwRC+<\/th>\nWAR<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Name<\/th>\nG<\/th>\nPA<\/th>\nHR<\/th>\nR<\/th>\nRBI<\/th>\nSB<\/th>\nBB%<\/th>\nK%<\/th>\nISO<\/th>\nBABIP<\/th>\nAVG<\/th>\nOBP<\/th>\nSLG<\/th>\nwOBA<\/th>\nwRC+<\/th>\nWAR<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n
    Rogers Hornsby<\/td>\n317<\/td>\n1320<\/td>\n58<\/td>\n245<\/td>\n264<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n12.50%<\/td>\n7.88%<\/td>\n.254<\/td>\n.348<\/td>\n.350<\/td>\n.435<\/td>\n.604<\/td>\n.461<\/td>\n158<\/td>\n16.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Hack Wilson<\/td>\n850<\/td>\n3719<\/td>\n190<\/td>\n652<\/td>\n769<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n12.45%<\/td>\n12.40%<\/td>\n.267<\/td>\n.330<\/td>\n.322<\/td>\n.412<\/td>\n.590<\/td>\n.444<\/td>\n151<\/td>\n33.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    George Gore<\/td>\n719<\/td>\n3306<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n772<\/td>\n380<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n10.38%<\/td>\n5.32%<\/td>\n.119<\/td>\n.329<\/td>\n.315<\/td>\n.386<\/td>\n.434<\/td>\n.378<\/td>\n141<\/td>\n29.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    King Kelly<\/td>\n681<\/td>\n3072<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n728<\/td>\n480<\/td>\n53<\/td>\n7.45%<\/td>\n5.83%<\/td>\n.137<\/td>\n.329<\/td>\n.316<\/td>\n.367<\/td>\n.453<\/td>\n.375<\/td>\n138<\/td>\n24.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Frank Chance<\/td>\n1274<\/td>\n5066<\/td>\n20<\/td>\n794<\/td>\n590<\/td>\n400<\/td>\n10.78%<\/td>\n5.82%<\/td>\n.098<\/td>\n.304<\/td>\n.297<\/td>\n.394<\/td>\n.395<\/td>\n.385<\/td>\n137<\/td>\n48.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Ray Grimes<\/td>\n400<\/td>\n1674<\/td>\n27<\/td>\n255<\/td>\n248<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n11.77%<\/td>\n7.17%<\/td>\n.159<\/td>\n.348<\/td>\n.331<\/td>\n.418<\/td>\n.490<\/td>\n.419<\/td>\n137<\/td>\n11.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bill Madlock<\/td>\n400<\/td>\n1662<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n210<\/td>\n202<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n8.42%<\/td>\n6.02%<\/td>\n.138<\/td>\n.342<\/td>\n.336<\/td>\n.397<\/td>\n.475<\/td>\n.393<\/td>\n137<\/td>\n11.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Dave Kingman<\/td>\n345<\/td>\n1317<\/td>\n94<\/td>\n193<\/td>\n251<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n7.97%<\/td>\n21.72%<\/td>\n.291<\/td>\n.287<\/td>\n.278<\/td>\n.338<\/td>\n.569<\/td>\n.390<\/td>\n136<\/td>\n7.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Kris Bryant<\/td>\n833<\/td>\n3626<\/td>\n160<\/td>\n564<\/td>\n465<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n11.58%<\/td>\n23.77%<\/td>\n.229<\/td>\n.336<\/td>\n.279<\/td>\n.378<\/td>\n.508<\/td>\n.377<\/td>\n136<\/td>\n30.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Hank Leiber<\/td>\n282<\/td>\n1106<\/td>\n48<\/td>\n153<\/td>\n199<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n10.85%<\/td>\n12.21%<\/td>\n.202<\/td>\n.297<\/td>\n.291<\/td>\n.374<\/td>\n.492<\/td>\n.394<\/td>\n135<\/td>\n6.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Billy Williams<\/td>\n2213<\/td>\n9504<\/td>\n392<\/td>\n1306<\/td>\n1353<\/td>\n86<\/td>\n9.59%<\/td>\n9.83%<\/td>\n.207<\/td>\n.293<\/td>\n.296<\/td>\n.364<\/td>\n.503<\/td>\n.381<\/td>\n134<\/td>\n58.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Sammy Sosa<\/td>\n1811<\/td>\n7898<\/td>\n545<\/td>\n1245<\/td>\n1414<\/td>\n181<\/td>\n10.10%<\/td>\n22.98%<\/td>\n.285<\/td>\n.307<\/td>\n.284<\/td>\n.358<\/td>\n.569<\/td>\n.388<\/td>\n134<\/td>\n60.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bill Nicholson<\/td>\n1349<\/td>\n5614<\/td>\n205<\/td>\n738<\/td>\n833<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n12.40%<\/td>\n12.18%<\/td>\n.199<\/td>\n.282<\/td>\n.272<\/td>\n.368<\/td>\n.471<\/td>\n.391<\/td>\n134<\/td>\n37.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Cap Anson<\/td>\n2276<\/td>\n10112<\/td>\n97<\/td>\n1719<\/td>\n1879<\/td>\n247<\/td>\n9.41%<\/td>\n3.06%<\/td>\n.117<\/td>\n.335<\/td>\n.329<\/td>\n.395<\/td>\n.446<\/td>\n.395<\/td>\n134<\/td>\n81.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Babe Herman<\/td>\n262<\/td>\n1072<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n142<\/td>\n177<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n7.93%<\/td>\n11.94%<\/td>\n.199<\/td>\n.317<\/td>\n.296<\/td>\n.353<\/td>\n.495<\/td>\n.384<\/td>\n133<\/td>\n6.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Riggs Stephenson<\/td>\n978<\/td>\n3964<\/td>\n49<\/td>\n533<\/td>\n589<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n9.96%<\/td>\n4.44%<\/td>\n.134<\/td>\n.344<\/td>\n.336<\/td>\n.408<\/td>\n.469<\/td>\n.404<\/td>\n132<\/td>\n25.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Anthony Rizzo<\/td>\n1308<\/td>\n5639<\/td>\n242<\/td>\n721<\/td>\n784<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n11.07%<\/td>\n15.45%<\/td>\n.217<\/td>\n.286<\/td>\n.272<\/td>\n.372<\/td>\n.489<\/td>\n.368<\/td>\n131<\/td>\n32.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Derrek Lee<\/td>\n924<\/td>\n4021<\/td>\n179<\/td>\n578<\/td>\n574<\/td>\n51<\/td>\n11.14%<\/td>\n17.93%<\/td>\n.227<\/td>\n.328<\/td>\n.298<\/td>\n.378<\/td>\n.524<\/td>\n.386<\/td>\n131<\/td>\n22.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Chuck Klein<\/td>\n263<\/td>\n1096<\/td>\n46<\/td>\n168<\/td>\n171<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n9.49%<\/td>\n8.58%<\/td>\n.200<\/td>\n.291<\/td>\n.297<\/td>\n.366<\/td>\n.497<\/td>\n.390<\/td>\n130<\/td>\n7.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Seiya Suzuki<\/td>\n381<\/td>\n1614<\/td>\n55<\/td>\n203<\/td>\n193<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n10.16%<\/td>\n24.78%<\/td>\n.192<\/td>\n.347<\/td>\n.278<\/td>\n.354<\/td>\n.470<\/td>\n.354<\/td>\n129<\/td>\n8.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Ron Santo<\/td>\n2126<\/td>\n8979<\/td>\n337<\/td>\n1109<\/td>\n1290<\/td>\n35<\/td>\n11.93%<\/td>\n14.16%<\/td>\n.193<\/td>\n.293<\/td>\n.279<\/td>\n.366<\/td>\n.472<\/td>\n.371<\/td>\n128<\/td>\n71.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Kiki Cuyler<\/td>\n949<\/td>\n4195<\/td>\n79<\/td>\n665<\/td>\n602<\/td>\n161<\/td>\n8.39%<\/td>\n8.82%<\/td>\n.160<\/td>\n.346<\/td>\n.325<\/td>\n.391<\/td>\n.485<\/td>\n.398<\/td>\n127<\/td>\n29.3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Ralph Kiner<\/td>\n264<\/td>\n1134<\/td>\n50<\/td>\n161<\/td>\n160<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n13.32%<\/td>\n13.84%<\/td>\n.220<\/td>\n.295<\/td>\n.284<\/td>\n.381<\/td>\n.505<\/td>\n.399<\/td>\n127<\/td>\n4.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Aramis Ramirez<\/td>\n1124<\/td>\n4705<\/td>\n239<\/td>\n651<\/td>\n806<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n7.93%<\/td>\n12.28%<\/td>\n.237<\/td>\n.291<\/td>\n.294<\/td>\n.356<\/td>\n.531<\/td>\n.377<\/td>\n126<\/td>\n25.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Gabby Hartnett<\/td>\n1926<\/td>\n7132<\/td>\n231<\/td>\n847<\/td>\n1153<\/td>\n28<\/td>\n9.69%<\/td>\n9.58%<\/td>\n.193<\/td>\n.305<\/td>\n.297<\/td>\n.370<\/td>\n.490<\/td>\n.390<\/td>\n126<\/td>\n52.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Select stats, at least 1000 plate appearancesFanGraphs<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    This is a fun list for a slew of reasons. There are Hall of Famers on this list, and who would have guessed that you could do a lot worse than 1978\u2019s cleanup hitter, Dave Kingman, as your choice for a single Golden At-Bat? Bryzzo is on this list, because of course Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant should be in the conversation as the best hitters in the history of the Cubs. They delivered that elusive ring. Sammy Sosa, whose 545 home runs in a Cubs uniform leads the franchise until future notice is on this list whether you like how he got there or not. The lone single active Cub on this list (as of writing time) is Seiya Suzuki who just edges out Ron Santo. And 24th, but certainly not least, is my original gut instinct for my answer to this question: Aramis Ram\u00edrez. Fun fact, the lead image for this piece was my first smartphone lock screen and it didn\u2019t change for years.<\/p>\n

    I could have just stopped there, but as I was perusing wRC+ leaderboards and playing around with playing time limits (and therefore history) I remembered there is also a stat on FanGraphs called \u201cclutch\u201d. Now, while I have some concerns about the validity of this stat (which you can, and should read more about), I also just couldn\u2019t fathom finishing this column without a nod to a stat that is seemingly built for the explicit purpose of the Golden At-Bat.<\/p>\n

    For those who are unfamiliar with clutch, it\u2019s basically a measure of Win Probability Added (WPA, which you are hopefully familiar with from the long running and excellent Heroes and Goats series) and Leverage Index to create a measure of how well you perform with the game on the line.<\/p>\n

    So with that, I present the top 25 Cubs hitters all-time with at least 1000 PA according to FanGraphs by clutch, and honestly, I\u2019ve rarely seen a more clear answer to a statistical question:<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    All-time Cubs Clutch Leaderboard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Name<\/th>\nWPA<\/th>\n-WPA<\/th>\n+WPA<\/th>\nWPA\/LI<\/th>\nClutch<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Name<\/th>\nWPA<\/th>\n-WPA<\/th>\n+WPA<\/th>\nWPA\/LI<\/th>\nClutch<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n
    Mark Grace<\/td>\n37.35<\/td>\n-129.69<\/td>\n167.04<\/td>\n29.29<\/td>\n7.16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Jerry Morales<\/td>\n4.26<\/td>\n-56.03<\/td>\n60.29<\/td>\n-0.66<\/td>\n4.39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Nico Hoerner<\/td>\n2.97<\/td>\n-35.86<\/td>\n38.84<\/td>\n0.16<\/td>\n2.88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Aramis Ramirez<\/td>\n22.94<\/td>\n-82.13<\/td>\n105.08<\/td>\n19.51<\/td>\n2.81<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Larry Biittner<\/td>\n0.68<\/td>\n-34.46<\/td>\n35.14<\/td>\n-1.91<\/td>\n2.49<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Darwin Barney<\/td>\n-3.82<\/td>\n-35.89<\/td>\n32.07<\/td>\n-5.88<\/td>\n2.10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Jerome Walton<\/td>\n0.55<\/td>\n-21.90<\/td>\n22.46<\/td>\n-1.43<\/td>\n2.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Anthony Rizzo<\/td>\n29.74<\/td>\n-87.32<\/td>\n117.06<\/td>\n28.33<\/td>\n1.95<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Jose Vizcaino<\/td>\n-1.28<\/td>\n-18.36<\/td>\n17.08<\/td>\n-2.97<\/td>\n1.70<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Doug Dascenzo<\/td>\n-1.50<\/td>\n-20.55<\/td>\n19.05<\/td>\n-3.15<\/td>\n1.68<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bob Dernier<\/td>\n0.70<\/td>\n-29.00<\/td>\n29.70<\/td>\n-0.64<\/td>\n1.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Shawon Dunston<\/td>\n-3.86<\/td>\n-92.91<\/td>\n89.05<\/td>\n-4.80<\/td>\n1.15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Luis Salazar<\/td>\n-0.43<\/td>\n-21.42<\/td>\n20.99<\/td>\n-1.49<\/td>\n1.09<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Steve Buechele<\/td>\n1.38<\/td>\n-22.59<\/td>\n23.97<\/td>\n0.31<\/td>\n1.03<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Scott Servais<\/td>\n-0.63<\/td>\n-27.59<\/td>\n26.96<\/td>\n-1.51<\/td>\n0.91<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Alex Gonzalez<\/td>\n-0.74<\/td>\n-23.39<\/td>\n22.65<\/td>\n-1.67<\/td>\n0.89<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bill Buckner<\/td>\n6.67<\/td>\n-72.72<\/td>\n79.39<\/td>\n5.54<\/td>\n0.79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Jose Cardenal<\/td>\n6.32<\/td>\n-38.77<\/td>\n45.09<\/td>\n4.90<\/td>\n0.76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Rick Monday<\/td>\n7.85<\/td>\n-31.08<\/td>\n38.93<\/td>\n6.50<\/td>\n0.76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Chris Coghlan<\/td>\n2.27<\/td>\n-17.22<\/td>\n19.48<\/td>\n1.64<\/td>\n0.64<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Kosuke Fukudome<\/td>\n2.67<\/td>\n-32.00<\/td>\n34.67<\/td>\n2.06<\/td>\n0.61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Alfonso Soriano<\/td>\n7.01<\/td>\n-68.63<\/td>\n75.64<\/td>\n6.23<\/td>\n0.59<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bobby Murcer<\/td>\n3.20<\/td>\n-26.07<\/td>\n29.27<\/td>\n2.45<\/td>\n0.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Bill Madlock<\/td>\n8.25<\/td>\n-28.12<\/td>\n36.37<\/td>\n7.34<\/td>\n0.35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Derrick May<\/td>\n0.26<\/td>\n-25.58<\/td>\n25.84<\/td>\n-0.09<\/td>\n0.33<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    WPA and Clutch stats for Cubs w\/ at least 1000 PAFanGraphs<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    My original gut instinct for this post, Aramis, is much higher on this list. A lot of guys who aren\u2019t anywhere near the first list appear here (like hello, Nico Hoerner!) but Mark Grace just jumps off the page.<\/p>\n

    He\u2019s actually 13th all-time by clutch for players with at least 1000 PA (yes, really.) This is not a soft list. It headlined by Tony Gwynn and includes Pete Rose, Ichiro Suzuki, Dave Parker, and yes, Mark Grace. Interestingly, this clutch leaderboard is like a who\u2019s who of guys who rarely struck out and had a knack for hitting .300.<\/p>\n

    With a clutch score of 7.16 Grace is orders of magnitude better in high leverage situations by clutch than anyone else in the history of the franchise. Now, it\u2019s worth noting a few things that may give readers pause about just trusting clutch and moving on. First, not all players have WPA and LI stats in FanGraphs so there is a generational blind spot here that doesn\u2019t exist with wRC+. Second, before you start praying to the Bible of Clutch, here are the bottom five Cubs with at least 1000 plate appearances and the requisite WPA\/LI stats on that list in order:<\/p>\n

    80. Kyle Schwarber \u2014 clutch -4.66<\/p>\n

    81. Michael Barrett \u2014 clutch – 5.09<\/p>\n

    82. Ryne Sandberg \u2014 clutch -5.28<\/p>\n

    83. Willson Contreras \u2014 clutch – 6.88<\/p>\n

    84. Sammy Sosa \u2014 clutch – 14.09<\/p>\n

    Say what you will about the three true outcomes but there is no world where those are the worst five hitters with at least 1,000 PA in the history of the franchise. There is clearly something being measured by clutch that is generational and I\u2019m going to be thinking about that for a while. But that\u2019s why BCB After Dark is here, to ponder these things and debate them out as Cubs fans. So I ask you, who would you want to take the most important Golden At-Bat in the history of the franchise for the Cubs and why?<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    Poll<\/h3>\n

    Who would you want to take the most important Golden At-Bat for the Cubs?<\/h4>\n
    \n
      \n
    • \n
      \n
      37%<\/h6>\n
      \n
      Rogers Hornsby<\/h6>\n

      (24 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

    • <\/li>\n
    • \n
      \n
      18%<\/h6>\n
      \n
      Aramis Ram\u00edrez<\/h6>\n

      (12 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n
      \n
      9%<\/h6>\n
      \n
      Someone else: Comment and make your case<\/h6>\n

      (6 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      64 votes total Vote Now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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