Inconsistent Players?

[Mr. Baseball]

I'm sure others have noticed that occasionally in the scouting reports you'll see something like, "Inconsistent. Sometimes he can tear the cover off a ball, other times he can't seem to do anything right"

When the scouting reports refer to an individual player as 'inconsistent', does that actually carry any weight? Are certain players actually more inconsistent than others? I know that's true in real life, but is there some hidden value for this that isn't displayed on the player pages that makes one guy inconsistent and another guy consistent?

[JohnHoward]

Colby Rasmus.

I'm thinking:
Greed = high
Desire for winner = very low
Loyalty = very low
Intelligence = high
Work ethic = very low

[24Rocks]

He actually works very hard to keep his job here but he is so frustratingly Inconsistent it kills.

[Charlie Hough]

Originally Posted by Mr. Baseball

I'm sure others have noticed that occasionally in the scouting reports you'll see something like, "Inconsistent. Sometimes he can tear the cover off a ball, other times he can't seem to do anything right"

I take this to mean that he's an average player. He doesn't have high enough ratings to be a consistent offensive threat. I see scouting reports talk like this all the time about average players.

To my knowledge, there is no hidden rating or real "consistency" factor in OOTP. Players can get hot and cold, but that's not a matter of consistency as it is an arbitrary streak.

[Mancandy]

Admittedly, I haven't looked real closely at who is labelled as inconsistent and who isn't, but it seems like I usually see one dimensional players get that in their scouting report. A guy who can hit for power but not much contact, or a guy with a good contact rating but not much of an eye. Basically, guys who are inconsistent in their ratings.

And like a previous poster mentioned, personality may play a role. Especially work ethic. That is, assuming there's no hidden consistency stat.

[dodger300]

High intelligence and work ethic=consistency. Low intelligence and work ethic=inconsistency.

[goalieump413]

Originally Posted by dodger300

High intelligence and work ethic=consistency. Low intelligence and work ethic=inconsistency.

This! Lazy morons still get lucky sometimes.

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by JohnHoward

Colby Rasmus.

I'm thinking:
Greed = high
Desire for winner = very low
Loyalty = very low
Intelligence = high
Work ethic = very low

As a Jays fan I don't think Colby has bad work ethic, I actually like the guy. I think it could've been very easy to go the way of so many other players and be out of the game by now but he has kept at it.

[24Rocks]

Originally Posted by Canuck

As a Jays fan I don't think Colby has bad work ethic, I actually like the guy. I think it could've been very easy to go the way of so many other players and be out of the game by now but he has kept at it.

But as a jays fan my self he is INCONSISTENT look at today like wow then last week nothing. I do think he is a team player tho and not as bad as everyone thinks but he is a 5 tool guy (could be) but his problems make him undesirable to some people he is a great fielder and a young guy a perfect fit for now here in TO. The game has these players to the ones who you think should hit .300 30/90 but hit .270 25/75 and then have a great year once or twice thats how I see it in the game.

[beorn]

Under personality ratings in the manual it says: Work ethic - How strong the player's work ethic is. Players with a strong work ethic can have a positive effect on other players in the clubhouse, and can influence player development. They are also somewhat less prone to slumps. Players with poor work ethic are also more prone to drug suspensions.

From this I get that there is coding in the game making some players more and some players less prone to slumps... and that work ethic is one factor that impacts this. Maybe the only factor, maybe not.

Since the game marks players as in a slump or hot, I deduce that this coding runs in both positive and negative directions. (Many people have argued that in real life, hot streaks and slumps are statistically just the result of chance. I make no claims about real life, but the implication is that OOTP codes these things to happen artificially.)

As to the text in the scouting report, I could not say. Maybe this refers specifically to poor work ethic. (That you could check up on.) Maybe it refers to other code making the player more prone to hot and cold streaks. Or maybe it is just generic text that was not thought out very deeply. (I think I remember a call for volunteers to help write the text for personality reports, but I don't remember whether Markus himself designed the scouting text, or whether that too was put together by volunteers apart from any inside knowledge of the game engine.)

[mgoetze]

Originally Posted by beorn

Since the game marks players as in a slump or hot, I deduce that this coding runs in both positive and negative directions. (Many people have argued that in real life, hot streaks and slumps are statistically just the result of chance. I make no claims about real life, but the implication is that OOTP codes these things to happen artificially.)

Whatever the code actually does to vary a player's performance level, the in-game "hot" and "cold" icons are obviously purely results-based. If you demote a "cold player" to the minors and call him up again several months later, he will immediately get the "cold" icon again.

My guess would be that the game gives players with lower work ethic a higher standard deviation on their results.

[VanillaGorilla]

Originally Posted by beorn

Under personality ratings in the manual it says: Work ethic - How strong the player's work ethic is. Players with a strong work ethic can have a positive effect on other players in the clubhouse, and can influence player development. They are also somewhat less prone to slumps. Players with poor work ethic are also more prone to drug suspensions.

From this I get that there is coding in the game making some players more and some players less prone to slumps... and that work ethic is one factor that impacts this. Maybe the only factor, maybe not.

Since the game marks players as in a slump or hot, I deduce that this coding runs in both positive and negative directions. (Many people have argued that in real life, hot streaks and slumps are statistically just the result of chance. I make no claims about real life, but the implication is that OOTP codes these things to happen artificially.)

A-HA!....Citing the manual!....What a concept!! (nice find, btw).

This is clear indication of streaks being coded. If they are not, then the bolded text should be removed from the manual.

[beorn]

Originally Posted by mgoetze

Whatever the code actually does to vary a player's performance level, the in-game "hot" and "cold" icons are obviously purely results-based. If you demote a "cold player" to the minors and call him up again several months later, he will immediately get the "cold" icon again.

I have definitely noticed that a hot or cold player retains that designation through the off season, or through an assignment to a different level. I am not as convinced as you are that this means the icons are results-based. In my subjective experience, the icon is a better predictor of what is going to happen in the upcoming games than a reflection of what has happened recently. Further, icons frequently fail to show up for players who have produced spectacularly or dismally the past several games.

I'm far from certain, but I think the icons indicated more than past performance.

Originally Posted by mgoetze

My guess would be that the game gives players with lower work ethic a higher standard deviation on their results.

That could be. But if that is the case, then a lower work ethic is not clearly a penalty in this area. It would mean higher highs as well as lower lows.

On the other hand, as far as I have ever been able to tell, neither work ethic nor intelligence have a noticeable effect, over a career. I've looked several times and seen no tendency for later draft picks to do any better if they have high work ethic and/or intelligence (or the reverse for low ratings). So maybe you are right.

[mgoetze]

Originally Posted by beorn

On the other hand, as far as I have ever been able to tell, neither work ethic nor intelligence have a noticeable effect, over a career. I've looked several times and seen no tendency for later draft picks to do any better if they have high work ethic and/or intelligence (or the reverse for low ratings). So maybe you are right.

If anyone is bored enough to run tests, BTW, I would be interested in knowing whether intelligence and/or work ethic affects how fast players gain experience at a position.