Quote:
Originally Posted by Garlon
There really is no issue with how OOTP is handling pitcher stamina.
1. A pitcher is going to be given SP stamina if at least 40% of their Games Pitched were as Games Started. The formula is based upon IPouts per GS. This works in tandem with the League Totals Modifiers. Remember that you can choose to have pitcher Stamina determined based upon 1 season, 3 seasons, 5 seasons, or career.
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That's not exactly true. OOTP also flogs a pitcher's stamina rating if he didn't pitch a certain minimum number of innings. As I've mentioned in my posts on pitcher usage in the pre-reliever era, that's punishing a pitcher twice for being a bad pitcher.
There are also several problems with calculating stamina based on IP/GS. First, those stats are, as far as I'm aware, unavailable prior to 1916. Secondly, it's a stat that measures a bunch of other things besides a pitcher's durability that are beyond the pitcher's control. In addition to measuring how tired a pitcher might get, a pitcher's IP/GS stat is also dependent upon the manager strategy and the strength of the team's bullpen. It's sort of like basing a hitter's power rating on the number of RBIs he collected.
Finally, and most importantly from my perspective, the stamina ratings are a big factor in determining how the AI uses pitchers. In the modern era, that's usually not a problem, as there's a clear split between starters and relievers. But in the pre-reliever era, that split didn't exist. All pitchers were expected to be starters, which, in game terms, would mean that all pitchers should have "starter stamina." But that's not the case. According to the formula you laid out, any pitcher who started in less than 40% of his appearances gets "reliever stamina" as a default. And, as a result, the AI will put any pitcher who has "reliever stamina" into the bullpen, where he will be used like a modern-day reliever.
I'll give one example.
Myles Thomas pitched for the Yankees in 1926. He had 13 starts out of 33 appearances, which put him at 39%, just shy of the magic 40% level needed for receiving "starter stamina." In OOTP, the result is that he gets a 40 stamina (20-80 range). And that's despite his 6.8 IP/GS ratio.
Kent Greenfield of the Giants also had a 6.8 IP/GS ratio, but 71% of his appearances came as a starter, so he gets a 75 stamina rating. The AI designates Thomas as a middle reliever, even though the default is a five-man rotation and Thomas had the fifth-most starts for the Yankees that year (Sad Sam Jones, who had 11 starts to Thomas's 13, is slotted instead as the team's fifth starter*). If my past experience is any guide, that means that Thomas will rarely, if ever, start for the Yankees in any replay of the 1926 season.
You're correct to note that the ratings are all designed to produce realistic results and that they are all intended to work together to achieve that aim. But this is one situation where they work together to produce the
opposite result. The stamina ratings combined with OOTP's reliever model just don't work for the pre-reliever era. I'm not optimistic that OOTP will change its reliever model any time soon. That means that, if we want some improvements in this area, it will have to come from refiguring the stamina ratings.
EDIT: *That's wrong. OOTP slots Walter Beall, who had nine starts, ahead of Thomas in the rotation. Jones had 23 starts.