on the consistent front -- only speaking of ootp, not real life... machines in ootp are more machine-like than real life *with health. not biased and only based on their production year-to-year.
even so each thing mentioned isn't relevant to the example above -- no dtd injuries or in-game cause that can be seen by the user.. i agree with all of those causes in RL, of course.. but in game we know when those things are occurring.
seriously, this guy is ~160ops+ every year in ootp... then one clunker, lol.. no bias here while reading numbers. i don't have emotional attachment to pixels. (that's a bit of a lie). if you can find that example in real life that doesn't invovle an injury, great personal distress or age, i'd be surprised.. it'd only be handful of people after 100+ years and difficult to find. (only relates to superstars that can be consistent.. lots of players ahve peak years and mostly clunkers otherwise... not part of the orginal conversation, though)
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while i did at one time have illusions of granduer about certain players from childhood, i really don't fall prey to that kind of mistake. i'm too old to have an excuse not to have learned that lesson already. i would never assume anything without the data supporting it.
take harper as an example... popular, media calls him a superstar etc.. general perception is that... i totally disagree based on his historic numbers (good but not a superstar). he's 2 for 7? in years that qualify for such reverance... injuries? maybe, i don't follow washington. i'd look into that before making a final judgement, but i wouldn't rely on popular thought... the peanut gallery reads at a 3rd grade level, ffs..
wildly volatile BA and power. consitently misses games... not good. not worth 30m.year ever. steroids? they make you injury prone and brittle. he has to put up some good years without injuries before i agree he's anything special. and, he comes with ah high price tag, regardless, which further diminishes his value to me. overpriced talent so far.
in ootp i always try to get him, if available.. in the game he is awesome for sure. (unless drastic change in '19 from '18).. don't care if they are wrong, i want a monster RF, lol.
compare him to trout.. a real superstar, and you see the difference in consistency. even if injury-related, harper simply cannot stay on the field and that is equally important to being considered great. his numbers are a mess too.
facts not feelings dictate how i think, i promise.
(sorry tgh, it was open in browser and used as example, lol. if a washington or harper fan, no hard feelings - just showing that i don't rely on feelings, not an about what you wrote)
an equivalent would IF pujols put up a clunker while in St, Louis, which he didn't. even in the final year playing with plantar fasciitus or something wrong with his foot.