What scout ratings are most important? - by Cyclones
So I got into a minor argument with the San Francisco Skyhawks on Discord over whether control was better than velocity, and other scout ratings. I started to doubt some of my own opinions, but when the Honolulu Shimakaze and San Diego Giants jumped in with their own preferences, I realized this would be a fun topic to discuss.
Thus my idea. What are FB owners priorities when it comes to scout ratings? I certainly have my preferences. I will rarely play anybody with contact lower than 95, or with defense lower than 70. I wanted to figure out what the overall ideas were throughout the website. I came up with 4 ratings debates, and I want you all to vote on the google form link at the bottom of the article. Now into the first argument…..
Power vs. Contact
This is one of the classic debates in the real world, as well as on FB. Would you rather have a player hit .250 but with 25 bombs, or someone hit .300, with only 15 homers? There are certainly other factors, but if each player were the same age, and had the same defense and speed, I would choose the contact. You may argue that historically great teams like Bombers or Reds have their basis with power. (I mean Bombers, it's in the name) But if you look through their respective rosters, many if not all of their players also have high contact (above 95). I think of it this way. A team composed of higher power does have the ability to destroy teams 15-5, when it seems that every player has hit at least 1 bomb. They also will have games when they go 3-40 as a team, and lose 5-1. That hit or miss potential will have me choose contact every time. Consistency trumps all, folks!
Defense vs. Offense
This is a much closer one, in my opinion. I feel like defense does a lot to contribute, but hitting is also important to a team in other ways. Every good team has their strengths and weaknesses, whether it's the Cranberries' lack of power, or the Peace Sharks (in older seasons) lack of pitching. For me, it really depends on the rest of my team's lineup. If my other positions all have strong D, I will risk the suspect defense for a higher powered O (unless it's at Catcher). If I have a weak D, I am more likely to choose the better defender and hope the rest of the lineup can pick up his lackluster hitting. Ultimately, if I had to choose, I’d go with the extra offense. As evidenced in Fury’s article about 2 months ago, the chances of a hit ball going to the poor defender, as well as it being a tough play (not an easy grounder) are very small and not enough to discourage me from better hitting.
Pitching vs. Hitting
This is very similar to the previous question, but with a few differences. First, unlike a fielder, a pitcher controls his own future. If he gets an easy grounder for a DP, or a strikeout, it makes it that much easier for his team. Secondly, the last question was about 1 single player. This question is about a whole team. Would you rather have 10 great pitchers, with 9 mediocre hitters, or 9 star batters, with 10 middling arms. We have seen teams have success either way. The super rotations of the Shimakaze and the ObZen are clearly an advantage, but the absurd hitting of the FISH Town and Deadly Sins are appealing as well. For my team, I would choose pitching. The appeal of being able to trot out a pitcher every night, knowing he will give you a good chance to win, is too great for me to ignore.
Scout Ratings vs. Performance
For the final question, I want to know whether you’d choose a player with great ratings, but meh performance, or a player with solid ratings, that has played very well throughout his career. This one requires more of an example. An 85-95-50-80, that hit .324 with 17 homers last season, or a 90-97-50-80 that hit .261 with 12 bombs. This is another close one for me, but I’d have to choose scout ratings. I have seen players completely transform their careers, all with a change of scenery. For example, my #2 starter Cortez Barfield, had a 4.84 ERA in 75 IP with the Fury last season, but he has a 3.00 ERA in 24 IP so far this season. Because you never know what you’ll get, only the possibilities, I’d have to choose the originally better player, and hope he can turn it around with me.
So those are the main 4 debates that I could come up with. I have another wrinkle to add to the Google Form. I will have you write your team name at the top, and I will figure out what you each said for all 4 questions. I will then total up the W-L of teams that said contact, and the group that said power. Once we find the group with the better total win %, we can find out which rating is the most important!!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2JevBgc1YscDRTCj2cxf3c1RJ7T8O0FcptBrH4qeugGX9iA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Here is the link. Plz comment your thoughts below, but don’t get into a massive argument (you know who I’m talking to). This is supposed to be a fun debate.
