Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggio509
I think my approach is ratings heavy for A and below. Balanced at AA and sometimes AAA but stat heavy at the MLB level. I have no idea if OOTP has hidden ratings or just gets real world randomness right but sometimes even a well scouted guy with high ratings never lives up to what you think he will.
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Biggio (totally off topic, but I have a soft spot for the Bigg not only b/c he was awesome but because he went to HS the town over from where I grew up ) -- a lot of good food for thought here. I'm making the transition to stats only pretty much for the reason you put your finger on here: the expectations created by the well scouted guy with stellar ratings.
I took a hiatus from OOTP14 for a few months and realized it was time to get back into it. I like to play with real MLB teams with fictional rosters, so I put together a league, did the fantasy draft, was pleased with the team I was putting together (SF Giants, for some reason).
But as the season was underway I had a realization: the expectations I have based on ratings was making the game more frustrating than enjoyable. Especially if you do an inaugural fantasy draft, where skill ratings are All Important, when my Ace and Franchise Players don't perform up to snuff, it starts to drive me crazy. I use the 20-80 scale, and those bright green (and blue!) bars start to become mesmerizing. "No, my pitcher has a 70 control -- why is he walking 4 batters?!?" "My 3B has a 65 Eye, why is he striking out so much?!?" On a rational level I know how childish this kind of thinking is -- nobody pitches flawless shut-outs one start to the next, and nobody gets on base with every AB. But for whatever reason -- I think it's those brightly colored bars! I must be a sucker for pretty colors, I guess -- with Ratings on, I find myself constantly unhappy when my stars under-perform, rather than happy when they perform pretty adequately.
Anyway, going to Stats Only has completely reoriented my perspective on the game. The player IS his stats. He is absolutely not "what the ratings say he's SUPPOSED to be." If nothing else, getting rid of the ratings bars makes it easier to remember this. It has completely shifted my expectations. Now I'm happy when guys perform well, rather than unhappy because they are 'supposed to be' the next Barry Bonds and Pedro Martinez. It has turned me from George Steinbrenner into Billy Beane.
...purely aesthetically, I do miss the ratings bars though. They really are pretty.
