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Charlie Hough · 12-07-2020, 01:14 PM

Always focus on player ratings and not statistics. A player's compiled statistics in OOTP are only a measure of past results, and as CBeisbol has said, you need a LOT of statistics before you can draw a valid conclusion.

Players will have slumps, streaks, and will sometimes underperform or overperform compared to your expectations. This can happen over an entire season too, especially due to statistical probabilities and randomness. There are standard variations that seem extreme to an observer, but they are within the realm of normal statistical probabilities. For example, a player whose ratings indicate that he should probably hit .300 might only hit .275 for a season because he goes through a long slump. We see these fluctuations in real life all the time, and when they happen in OOTP, they can be frustrating, but they are normal.

Here's a good example. I have a CF in my fictional league who had an amazing season one year ago. He hit far better than his ratings would indicate and finished in the top 5 in batting average despite only having a 6 contact rating on a 10-point scale. At one point he was hitting around .383 and still finished around .350. He was going to be a free agent, so I rewarded him with an expensive long-term contract extension.

Then he started the first month of his second season hitting an abysmal .150 to .170. He was cold and slumping for the first few weeks. I kept him out of the lineup on occasion or dropped him to the bottom of the lineup because he was doing so poorly. I even tried to trade him away and no one would take him. But I kept giving him chances, and suddenly he has been on an amazing streak and is now hitting a bit over .300 for the season, only two weeks after he was barely hitting .200. Be patient and keep playing or simulating games. Eventually a player's ratings will usually win out. But it's perfectly acceptable to bench a player or take him out of your pitching rotation or bullpen if it seems like he's in a bad slump and you want to minimize damage. You can do something like I did and give him chances to break out of the slump without playing him as a regular.

12-07-2020, 01:14 PM	#7
Charlie Hough Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,640	Always focus on player ratings and not statistics. A player's compiled statistics in OOTP are only a measure of past results, and as CBeisbol has said, you need a LOT of statistics before you can draw a valid conclusion. Players will have slumps, streaks, and will sometimes underperform or overperform compared to your expectations. This can happen over an entire season too, especially due to statistical probabilities and randomness. There are standard variations that seem extreme to an observer, but they are within the realm of normal statistical probabilities. For example, a player whose ratings indicate that he should probably hit .300 might only hit .275 for a season because he goes through a long slump. We see these fluctuations in real life all the time, and when they happen in OOTP, they can be frustrating, but they are normal. Here's a good example. I have a CF in my fictional league who had an amazing season one year ago. He hit far better than his ratings would indicate and finished in the top 5 in batting average despite only having a 6 contact rating on a 10-point scale. At one point he was hitting around .383 and still finished around .350. He was going to be a free agent, so I rewarded him with an expensive long-term contract extension. Then he started the first month of his second season hitting an abysmal .150 to .170. He was cold and slumping for the first few weeks. I kept him out of the lineup on occasion or dropped him to the bottom of the lineup because he was doing so poorly. I even tried to trade him away and no one would take him. But I kept giving him chances, and suddenly he has been on an amazing streak and is now hitting a bit over .300 for the season, only two weeks after he was barely hitting .200. Be patient and keep playing or simulating games. Eventually a player's ratings will usually win out. But it's perfectly acceptable to bench a player or take him out of your pitching rotation or bullpen if it seems like he's in a bad slump and you want to minimize damage. You can do something like I did and give him chances to break out of the slump without playing him as a regular.