Many different perspectives seem to be popping up these days regarding who or what is "clutch" in sports, from Paul Sullivan, author of a book published this year called "Clutch", to an unknown blogger here, who seemed ready to crown South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na the greatest clutch athlete of all time after her gold medal-winning performance in figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Were I a fan of figure skating, Yu-Na might crack my list, too; in the end, everyone is biased in their own way. As you will see, however, the list that follows is absolutely unbiased and objective in every way.
5. Tyreke Evans.
As I am writing this, the Sacramento Kings are 6-23, the worst record in all of the NBA. That, however, makes what happened Wednesday night all the more unlikely. Down by one point with 1.5 seconds left, DeMarcus Cousins inbounded to Evans, who launched a double-clutch, game-winning shot from behind halfcourt, by my account (and others) the longest buzzer-beater in the history of professional basketball in the United States. Watch the madness and read some of the reaction here.
Was the shot clutch? Well, it was certainly lucky, and supremely unusual, especially considering both Evans and the Kings have been horrendous in the clutch as of late. Was Evans more likely to make the shot given that it was a game-winning attempt, rather than say, at practice? I'll say yes. It went in, didn't it?
4. Stanford women's basketball.
Last night, Stanford's women's basketball team defeated U. Conn., 71-59, ending the Huskies' record 90-game winning streak. Did the Huskies choke, or was Stanford clutch? Consider Stanford's Jeanette Pohlen, a senior from Brea, California. Pohlen has been a good player, averaging 15.6 points per game this year prior to last night. Against U. Conn., however, the #1 team in the land, Pohlen had a career-high 31. She had a focused look in her eye throughout the night, a look that I recognized from other athletes who have been successful in the clutch lately (e.g., the Giants' Tim Lincecum)...
3. Landon Donovan.
Donovan's final-minute goal at the 2010 World Cup to beat Algeria and send the United States on to the elimination round was the highlight of the summer, in the U.S. anyway, and thus perhaps the most famous clutch performance of the year. Donovan is good anyway; was this goal better than we should expect from him under ordinary circumstances? Not necessarily. But we can certainly agree that these were not ordinary circumstances. The World Cup is widely regarded as the most-watched sporting event worldwide, and the goal advanced the U.S. further in the tournament than they had been since 1930. Never mind that they promptly lost in the next round to Ghana.
2. Graeme McDowell.
Somewhat under the radar to the casual sports fan, McDowell, a 31-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland, may well have been the clutch performer of the year for 2010. In June, McDowell won the U.S. Open, to capture the first major title of his career; in October, he beat Hunter Mahan to clinch the Ryder Cup trophy for Europe, later describing the pressure there as "bananas"; then earlier this month, he capped his year with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over a rejuvenated Tiger Woods at Tiger's tournament in Thousand Oaks, California. McDowell's performance down the stretch to beat Tiger was some of the best clutch stuff I've seen in golf: watch here.
1. The San Francisco Giants.
As I told you, this list is completely unbiased. Let me give you some numbers to back this one up, however.
In the regular season through August, the Giants were 74-62 (.544). In September and the postseason, they were 29-12 (.707). Through August, the Giants' pitching staff posted a 3.36 ERA. In September and the postseason, it was 2.03.
Cody Ross has a career slugging percentage of .466. For the Giants in the 2010 regular season, it was exactly that: .466. In the 2010 postseason, it was: .686.
In 703 regular season at-bats with the Giants across 2009-10, Edgar Renteria had hit 8 home runs, or one every 88 at-bats. Renteria hit two home runs in 35 plate appearances in the 2010 postseason for the Giants: that's one every 17.5 at-bats. Renteria's three-run Game 5 series-clincher came off of the Rangers' Cliff Lee, who had previously pitched 27.1 innings in the World Series... without giving up a home run.
