There's a lot of trash talking from Yankee fans about how Alex Rodriguez does nothing worthwhile in the clutch, while Derek Jeter only ever does things when they count. Let's take a look at this. We'll break down RBI totals for Jeter and A-Rod by score of the game. If it's true that Jeter comes through when A-Rod doesn't, then we'll find that Jeter gets his RBI when games are close while A-Rod gets his when games are not close. Here is the summary for 2005 thus far (through July 7th):
Runs Batted In | Jeter | A-Rod |
In close games (within 3 runs) | 20 | 52 |
In non-close games | 16 | 18 |
Total RBI | 36 | 70 |
| | |
Percentage in close games | 56% | 74% |
The answer is the exact opposite! A-Rod has a higher percentage of RBI in close games than Jeter (74% vs. 56%). Then, to top it off, while A-Rod's total RBI nearly doubles Jeter's, their RBI in non-close games are very close (18 vs. 16).