New York Yankees Editorial: Has Alex Rodriguez become Mr. Clutch?

For nearly two decades, when the New York Yankees needed a big hit, the man they wanted at the plate was Derek Jeter. With Jeter no longer around to save the team like he has so many times in the past, his former friend and teammate Alex Rodriguez has assumed the role of becoming the most clutch hitter on the team.

Rodriguez has performed better than many predicted, helping the Yankees sit in first place entering Monday, when they will visit Giancarlo Stanton and the Miami Marlins. When it comes to clutch hitting, Rodriguez has arguably performed better than ever. A-Rod has hit 12 home runs in 2015, and of those 12, seven have either given the Yankees the lead (five) or tied the game (two). That equals a 58.3 percentage of clutch home runs, which is much higher than his career mark of 41.5 percent.

While 654 home runs is a larger sample size than 12, it is still impressive considering that much of the predictions made before the season surrounding Rodriguez had the Yankees DH either on the bench or out of baseball by this time.

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Not only have Rodriguez’s home runs helped his team in key spots, they have also helped the slugger continue to climb the record books. Some of the memorable moments include passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list, and climbing into second place on the all-time RBI list, passing historic figures such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Barry Bonds. He is also five hits away from 3,000, though with two days off in a National League park, that will likely occur on the Yankees upcoming homestand.

The humbled Rodriguez hasn’t spoke much about his feats, though climbing baseball’s all-time ranks is a good feeling for the Yankees star, something he acknowledged after becoming the second player to reach 2,000 RBI’s:

"It”s just nice to be mentioned with some of the greats."

Rodriguez, always a controversial figure, has looked better than ever in clutch situations, fixing an inability that had been a big knock on him throughout his Yankee career. In four postseason series’ from 2005 through 2007, Rodriguez hit a combined 15-for-86 (.174).

After missing the playoffs in 2008, Rodriguez redeemed himself in 2009, hitting six home runs, on route to leading the Yankees to a World Series championship, the first and only, thus far, for Rodriguez. Following his magical 2009 run, Rodriguez hit a combined 12-for-75 (.160) in postseason games from 2010 through 2012, and even saw himself benched in the 2012 postseason.

Rodriguez has looked far more relaxed than he has at any other point since joining the Yankees, leading to better performance in big situations. The organization has to hope that the rejuvenated Rodriguez continues to produce in such spots.

Next: New York Yankees Editorial: All Aboard With Alex Rodriguez

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