Jarrod Dyson had a .651 on-base plus slugging percentage in 290 plate appearances for the Kansas City Royals in 2014. He had four hits in 33 at-bats in September. Yet there was Dyson, scoring the tying run in the bottom of the ninth in the American League wild-card game.
The Royals won that game in 12 innings. They reached the World Series and lost in Game 7 with the tying run on third. Dyson was an important reason they got to keep playing, and an example of how the elimination aspect of the wild-card game changes not only how teams play the game but also how they construct their roster.