I can only imagine that you’re weighting runs scored in later innings according to some clutch scale. If you want to say that Beltran isn’t super clutch because he doesn’t always have great late-inning numbers, fine. You can make that argument, and it wouldn’t be a ridiculous one. He *does* come up with big late-inning hits, but not as often as some other players. I’ll accept that.

But surely you’ll admit that, in terms of winning a particular ballgame, a run scored in the first inning is just as valuable as a run scored in the ninth or tenth inning. If you want to call first-inning runs less clutch than 10th-inning runs, I’m fine with that, too.

If you would just admit to believing the following two points then we can probably put this all to rest:

1) Whatever your definition of clutch aside, Carlos Beltran is a very good, possibly great, all-around player and there are very few active players you would prefer to have playing centerfield for the Mets.

2) That a run scored in the first inning is equal to one run and that a run scored in the tenth inning is also equal to one run. Whatever credit you want to give to a particular player being clutch aside, in terms of accruing enough runs to win a game those two runs are exactly equivalent.