THE FREAK SHOW: GAME'S ON THE LINE, WHO YA GOT?

by DCScrap, Our Book of Scrap

freak definition
n.
1. A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular: A freak of nature produced the midsummer snow.

So why is this called "The Freak Show" you may be asking yourself? The reason is that every week or so the authors of Epic Carnival will be asked to pick 5 people or things that were so awesome, strange, or cool, that those people or things were just plain freaks. (Plus this is a Carnival themed site, so deal with it.)

This week the question that was posed was, "In honor of the playoffs, give me the five current hitters you would want up with the game on the line."

With the baseball playoffs nearing the World Series, we wondered who was the most clutch? Who would be the guy you'd want up with your season depending on it? The guys on this list are pretty good. Some might even say the guys on this list are "freaks."

Rank) Player, Points (1st Place Votes)
1) David Ortiz 47 (5)
Screw the stats, he's money. (Richie Rich)
2007: .341 Men On - 2 Outs, .358 RISP, .400 Bases Loaded.

2) Albert Pujols 27 (2)
2007: .455 Bases Loaded, .331 RISP, 0-2 Count .385.

3) Ichiro Suzuki 18 (1)
2007: .420 Men On - 2 Outs, .431 RISP - 2 Outs, .397 RISP.

4) Derek Jeter 17 (1)
Anyone who says otherwise is a damn fool. (Jack Cobra)
2007: .379 Men On - 2 Outs, .500 With Bases Loaded, .418 RISP - 2 Outs.

5) Manny Ramirez 11 (1)
2007: .316 RISP - 2 Outs, .333 Bases Loaded.

T-6) Alex Rodriguez 10
2007: .333 with RISP, .318 RISP - 2 Outs, .500 With Bases Loaded.

T-6) Magglio Ordonez 10 (1)
2007: .429 RISP, .676 Man On 3rd Less Than 2 Outs.

8) Joe Mauer 9 (1)
2007: .364 Man On 3rd Less Than 2 Outs, .324 RISP.

9) Chipper Jones 7
Ask the Mets. (Jack Cobra)
2007: .385 Bases Loaded, .556 Man On 3rd Less Than 2 Outs.

T-10) Miguel Cabrera 4
2007: .471 Bases Loaded, .378, RISP, Runners On .376.

T-10) Milton Bradley 4
The stats disagree. 2007: .288 RISP, .240 RISP - 2 Outs, .273 Men On - 2 Outs.

12) Curtis Granderson 3
2007: .313 Bases Loaded, .329 RISP - 2 Outs, .308 Men On - 2 Outs.

T-13) Jeff Kent 2
Again, the stats disagree. 2007: .258 RISP - 2 Outs, .259 Men On - 2 Outs.

T-13) Matt Holliday 2
2007: .333 Bases Loaded, .337 Men On - 2 Outs, .332 Runners On.

T-13) David Eckstein 2
And once again, stats would say no. 2007: .244 RISP, Runners On .301.

Others receiving votes: Jimmy Rollins 1, Marco Scutaro 1.

So how would you rank 'em? Are we missing anyone? Aaron Rowand? Darin Erstad? (I'm kidding.) Let us know in the comments.