Selecting the 2014 MLB Postseason's All-Clutch Team

Let's imagine we're in a movie where the 2014 MLB postseason is a villain that must be stopped. Now, let's imagine that the only way to do so is by assembling a team with the right kind of experience.

Cue the montage of us putting in calls to grizzled veterans who have tangled with the postseason before and lived to tell about it. These are surely the only guys who can help, and their names are...

Well, we'll get to that.

For now, let's just make sure we're good on the ground rules for this totally-for-fun project. Since it's obviously too early to tell who the heroes of this October are just yet, we're after 2014 postseason participants who have posted big numbers and/or had clutch moments in the past.

And when I say we're here to put together a team, I mean just that. We're going to start with a catcher and go all the way to a designated hitter, a starting pitcher and a closer.

Prepare to meet the 2014 MLB Postseason's All-Clutch Team.

Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals

If I mention Yadier Molina's name alongside the word "postseason," the home run featured above is probably what you think of first.

That homer broke a scoreless tie in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, and it ultimately propelled the St. Louis Cardinals into the World Series.

Dingers like that can define a postseason legacy all on their own. But in Molina's case, there's more.

Molina has racked up 313 postseason plate appearances across 80 games, slashing .294/.351/.381 for a solid .733 OPS. He was particularly excellent in the Cardinals' championship run in 2006, with a 1.057 OPS over his last 12 games, and he also hit .333 with an .838 OPS in his last 13 games in 2011.

To boot, Molina's defensive prowess had an impact on the 2011 World Series. Though the Texas Rangers were fifth in stolen bases in the regular season, they attempted only four in the series' seven games. All were by Ian Kinsler, and Molina gunned him down three times.

Basically, Molina has been himself in October: good hitter, dangerous defender.

First Base: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels

Of all the ridiculous numbers attached to Albert Pujols' name, make sure you don't overlook the ones he's accumulated in October.

Pujols has a firm place among the best postseason hitters baseball has ever known. In 321 plate appearances spanning 74 games with the Cardinals before he jumped ship to the Los Angeles Angels, he slashed .330/.439/.607 with 18 home runs. That ties him for the fourth-most all time.

And goodness knows there are moments to go along with the numbers. Pujols becoming just the second player ever to have a three-homer game in the World Series in 2011 is one, but there's nothing like the go-ahead three-run moonshot he hit off Brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS featured above.

Was that home run actually as epic as it looked? Well, here's ESPN Stats & Information:

"

Pujols' historic shot came off the bat at an estimated 117 mph, and impacted an estimated 95 feet above field level, 352 feet from home plate after a short 3.62 second flight..Had the ball continued uninterrupted back to field level, it would have carried 470 feet...

"

In other words: Yes.

Second Base: Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers

When you think of the great postseason performers of recent memory, here's guessing that Ian Kinsler's name doesn't come immediately to mind.

If so, you'd be surprised. The now-Detroit Tigers star got to play in quite a few postseason games in his time with the Texas Rangers, and he performed well in them.

In all, Kinsler racked up 144 plate appearances across 33 games and slashed .303/.413/.479 for an .892 OPS. And while he didn't specialize in racking up signature moments along the way, there were a couple series in which he was a true terror for the opposition.

In the 2010 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Kinsler posted a 1.444 OPS with three home runs. He got the Rays again in the 2011 ALDS with a .931 OPS, and he certainly wasn't one of the Rangers' problems during their defeat in the 2011 World Series. He hit .360 with a .900 OPS.

That's a postseason track record that should stand out, especially at a time when the pickings are pretty slim regarding second basemen with postseason experience.

Third Base: David Freese, Los Angeles Angels

A shoutout is owed to Pablo Sandoval, as the San Francisco Giants third baseman came into this postseason with an impressive .974 career OPS in October.

When you realize how much Panda's track record is skewed by his three-homer performance in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, however, David Freese's postseason track record starts to look awfully good.

The now-Angels third baseman racked up 185 postseason plate appearances in 48 games in his years with the Cardinals, slashing .289/.357/.518 with seven home runs. A lot of that, of course, occurred in one particular stretch.

In the 2011 NLCS and World Series, Freese went off to the tune of a 1.417 OPS with four homers in 13 games. He put his name in the record books for good with a game-tying two-run triple in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series and, later, the walk-off solo home run in extras pictured above.

“It's all about knowing that this is the same game as when you're six-years-old,” Freese said afterward, via the New York Daily News. “It's just elevated on a stage, and everyone is watching."

Ya don't say.

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals

Alright, fine. I honestly did start writing something about Derek Jeter before I remembered that the New York Yankees aren't in the playoffs and, alas, he's done playing forever.

No worries, though. Jhonny Peralta will do just fine.

The Cleveland Indians-turned-Detroit Tigers-turned-St. Louis Cardinals shortstop has played in 45 career postseason games, racking up 179 plate appearances and slashing .283/.326/.506 for an .832 OPS that comes with eight home runs.

Along the way, there were three series in which Peralta was an absolute pest. He posted a 1.246 OPS in the 2007 ALDS against the Yankees, a 1.199 OPS in the 2012 ALCS against the Yankees and a 1.167 OPS in last year's ALDS against the Oakland A's.

As you can see above, Peralta also had the big hit in that last series. With the Tigers facing elimination, he launched a game-tying three-run homer in the fifth inning that all but stopped the A's cold and opened things up for the Tigers to take the series. 

Not quite the stuff of legends, all told, but definitely better than what this October's other shortstops can boast about.

Left Field: Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles

This hypothetical team of ours is going to have to sacrifice some defense to keep Nelson Cruz in left field, but it's definitely worth it to get his ridiculous October bat into the lineup.

When you look at Cruz, you're looking at a guy with a career .278/.336/.683 postseason batting line and 14 home runs in 137 plate appearances spanning 34 games with the Rangers. This makes him one of the great postseason sluggers of all time. Beyond those 14 home runs putting him in the top 15 all time for the postseason, his .683 slugging percentage is tied for third all time.

Prepare for extreme name-droppage: The guy Cruz is tied with is Carlos Beltran, and the only guys ahead of them are Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

It didn't all come at once either. Cruz slugged .733 with six homers in the 2010 postseason and .645 with eight homers in the 2011 postseason.

And while we're ignoring this year's postseason, it is worth noting that Cruz has already shown the Baltimore Orioles he still has it.

Center Field: Josh Hamilton, Los Angeles Angels

Yup, we're going to have to sacrifice some defense here too. It's either that or choose between a variety of lousy postseason track records among this fall's center fielders.

Granted, Josh Hamilton's postseason track record isn't exactly Cooperstown-worthy either. The now-Angels outfielder played in 34 playoff games and logged 132 plate appearances in his days with the Rangers, and he slashed only .227/.295/.424 with six home runs.

It's when you go looking for intriguing individual parts where things get better. Best of all was when Hamilton destroyed the Yankees in the 2010 ALCS, batting .350 with a 1.536 OPS and four home runs on his way to earning MVP honors (both for the series and the season).

And though Hamilton was largely invisible in both World Series he played in, think of how different the narrative would look if the go-ahead home run he hit in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series (pictured above) had actually held up. There aren't too many guys who can say they hit a home run that won the Fall Classic, you know.

Hamilton's not one of those guys. But oh, he could have been one. He could have been one.

Right Field: Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals

Of all the great contemporary postseason performers in the game today, Jayson Werth might fly under the radar more than any of them.

Most of Werth's postseason experience came with the Philadelphia Phillies between 2008 and 2010, and he was one of the club's best October hitters in that span. In 161 plate appearances spanning 38 games, he slashed .272/.379/.603 for a .982 OPS and 11 home runs.

Some of his best work came when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, as he hit a staggering .444 with a 1.361 OPS in five games. He followed that up with a .996 OPS in the 2009 World Series, giving him a 1.176 World Series OPS that ranks among the best all time.

Not that Werth's postseason track record is limited entirely to those three seasons. He posted a 1.197 OPS and hit two home runs in limited action in 2004 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his first postseason with the Washington Nationals in 2012 included the above walk-off homer that forced a Game 5 in the NLDS against the Cardinals.

Werth's built himself a pretty solid career in the regular season, but what he's done in October is a lot better than solid.

Designated Hitter: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Yes, Miguel Cabrera's a first baseman. But he's really a DH masquerading as a first baseman, and I want his postseason track record on this team, darn it.

That track record is more extensive than you might think. Though Cabrera has made only four trips to the postseason, each one has been an extended stay. The production has been there too.

Especially in the first three trips. With the Florida Marlins in 2003 and the Detroit Tigers in 2011 and 2012, Cabrera logged 178 plate appearances in 41 games and slashed .276/.379/.533 for a .911 OPS and 10 home runs. He also owned a couple individual series along the way.

He posted a 1.027 OPS and hit a big three-run homer in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS against the Chicago Cubs. In a losing effort against the Rangers in the 2011 ALCS, he posted a 1.606 OPS with three homers. He hit only one homer in the 2012 ALCS against the Yankees, but he also hit .313 with a .984 OPS.

As for last year, it was obvious from the start that Cabrera wasn't healthy enough to be himself. But as you can see above, he did hit a two-run homer in Game 5 of the ALDS against the A's that really sucked the life out of O.co Coliseum. Without it, the Tigers might not have advanced.

Take Cabrera's regular-season numbers and add an impressive postseason track record to them. Then gawk at it all.

Starting Pitcher: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

What? It's pre-2014 postseason excellence we're after. That means we don't have to look at the ugliness that was Justin Verlander's start in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Orioles. Before that went down, he was sitting on a dandy of a postseason track record, featuring a 3.28 ERA over 15 career starts.

Dig a little deeper, and things look even better.

Somewhat quietly, Verlander is 10th all time in postseason strikeouts with 108. He's also first all time with six 10-strikeout games in the postseason. If Game Score is more your speed, there are only five pitchers in history who have posted a Game Score of at least 70 in more postseason starts than Verlander's six.

And as far as Game Score is concerned, Verlander's two best postseason starts both happened in elimination games: in Game 5 of the ALDS against the A's in 2012 and 2013. The first saw him pitch a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts, and the other (pictured above) saw him go eight scoreless with 10 strikeouts.

It may not look like it now, but Verlander's actually one of the more accomplished postseason pitchers ever.

Relief Pitcher: Trevor Rosenthal, St. Louis Cardinals

Right now, you might know Trevor Rosenthal best as that guy who saved 45 games for the Cardinals despite walking the ballpark with regularity.

Look back at what he's done in his two trips to the postseason, however, and you might remember that it wasn't long ago that the flame-throwing right-hander was downright unfair.

Rosenthal made 17 postseason appearances in 2012 and 2013, pitching 20.1 innings and allowing six hits and...drum roll...zero earned runs.

That's what you can do when you have a perfect mix of good command and overpowering stuff. In addition to striking out 33 in his 20.1 innings, Rosenthal issued only three unintentional walks.

You're not going to be as impressed if saves are your thing, as Rosenthal racked up only four saves in his 17 appearances. But if it helps, none of the four were easy. He had only two-run leads to protect in two of them, and he had mere one-run leads to protect in the other two.

So for two postseasons at least, Rosenthal showed there's nothing he can't do in October.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked, and are current as of the start of this postseason.