All-Stars Robinson Cano and Jose Reyes are the starters up the middle leaving Aybar to produce when called upon as a pinch-hitter, runner, or defensive replacement. As good of a player Aybar is, he was stuck behind arguably the two best players at their respective positions in the world.
Whether "clutch" is real or not, Aybar stepped up in multiple situations that helped lead the Dominican to the WBC championship with an undefeated record. Against the Americans and Braves fresh star closer Craig Kimbrel with a 1-1 count in the 9th inning of a tied game and a runner on third, Aybar watched a breaking ball miss the strike zone by a foot, but had it called a strike by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. As furious as he was, Aybar dug in and drove the next pitch to right field for the go-ahead and winning RBI. Even though it may be only March, Kimbrel gave up only one hit with runners in scoring position all of last season and never gave up two hits in an inning.
Aybar got the nod to bat 2nd and DH in the WBC championship game against Puerto Rico. Before the final game Aybar had been 3-9 with a sacrafice bunt and an RBI. In the final game, a sac-bunt in the first to move Reyes to third, and a hit in the 3rd showed Aybar will not shy in big games. Angel fans should be proud to have him as their shortstop. A fabulous defender who hit .290 last year can sit second row behind Trout, Pujols, and Hamilton and just do his thing. Aybar will be a very productive piece of the puzzle for the 2013 Angels.
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