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Atlanta Braves: Top 5 Most Clutch Hitters Since 1990

By Seth Carter

PHILADELPHIA - CIRCA 1996: Chipper Jones #10 of the Atlanta Braves signs autographs during the 1996 MLB All-Star Game workout at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jones played for 19 seasons, all with the Atlanta Braves, was a 8-time All-Star, was the 1999 National League MVP and inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - CIRCA 1996: Chipper Jones #10 of the Atlanta Braves signs autographs during the 1996 MLB All-Star Game workout at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jones played for 19 seasons, all with the Atlanta Braves, was a 8-time All-Star, was the 1999 National League MVP and inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images) /
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Matt Diaz #23 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Matt Diaz (2009)

Matt Diaz came to the Braves in 2006 as a 28-year-old with just 48 career games under his belt with two organizations. He thrived while with the Braves hitting .327 and playing in 124 games his first season. The next season, he upped the average to .338, excelling as a destroyer of left-handed pitching.

In 2009 Matt Diaz set career highs in several categories. He was known as a lefty killer, and lefty killer he was. For his career, Diaz finished with a .322/.363/.495 slash against southpaws while he slugged just .360 against righties. When you look at his final numbers for 2009 you may assume that something clicked against righties that season, but that’s not quite the case.

He was fair enough against RHP with a .255/.349/.400 slash, but he turned the jets up against left-handed pitching. Diaz hit .412/.464/.640 in his specialty role in 2009.

Another area he excelled in 2009 was when the pressure was on.

The platoon player slashed .400/.489/.625 when the heat was on in 2009. Diaz posted an RBI every two high-leverage at-bats while scoring 20 runs in such situations. Diaz’s play would lead him to career highs in plate appearances (425), at-bats (371), runs scored (56), home runs (13), RBI (58), steals (12), OPS (.878), triples (4), and walks (35).

What many believed was a breakout season at age 31 turned out to be the peak of his career. Diaz’s OPS+ finished at a sparkling 132 but he would never break 100 again. He finished his career with a .290 average over 11 seasons, with the best coming in 2009 as an Atlanta Brave. That season wasn’t just his best major-league season, it was good for the fourth-best clutch hitting season on this list.

His wRC+ of 202 finished just two points higher than Freddie Freeman’s 2013. Granted, Diaz had 22 less high-leverage plate appearances than Freeman’s season, but based on our criteria, his 2009 season was good for fourth-best all-time in Braves history.

Cheers to Matt Diaz!

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