Player Ratings

PLAYER RATINGS

Be sure to check the Aging section which describes how ratings change over time

All players have several basic ratings, which range from 0 to 99. These numbers indicate the player’s current skill levels. The higher the numeric rating, the more skill the player possesses. The lower the rating, the lower the skill level. An average rating is 50 in all categories. The ratings are divided into two categories: Batting/Fielding and Pitching. However, since pitchers can bat, and batters may occasionally pitch, all players are rated in both categories.

In a Career Association, certain skill ratings will change during the course of a player’s career, improving from work during spring training and slowly declining as the player ages.

Each player has three different sets of ratings, which are used at various points:

Actual ratings represent the player’s normal performance levels as shown on the roster screen. Actual ratings do not change during the season.

Potential ratings represent the maximum level the player may reach in his career. You will never actually see a player’s potential ratings displayed anywhere within FPS: Baseball. A player’s actual ratings may increase during spring training and aging, but will never surpass the level of his potential ratings.

Effective ratings are up-to-the-minute player ratings used during a game. The effects of injuries, pitcher fatigue, and any situational modifiers are reflected in a player’s effective ratings.

Player Ratings: Batting/Fielding

Contact Hitting (CH)

This rating indicates how often the player makes contact, putting the ball into play.

Power Hitting (PH)

This rating indicates how hard the player hits the ball.

Speed (SP)

This rating indicates how fast the player runs.

Fielding Ability (FA)

This rating indicates how well the player plays his primary defensive position.

Arm Strength (AS)

This rating indicates both how far and how accurately a fielder can throw the ball.

Note: Unlike the other player ratings, Arm Strength cannot be calculated from existing fielding statistics and is thus completely subjective. All players in the MLBPA 98 have AS values that have been assigned based on information contained in player scouting reports. You should feel free to change any player ratings that you disagree with.

Pull (Pull)

This rating indicates how likely the batter is to pull the ball. Right-handed batters "pull" the ball when they hit it towards left field. Conversely, left-handed batters pull the ball when the hit it towards right field. A batter whose Pull is 70 or more is a strong pull hitter, one whose Pull is near 50 is a spray hitter, and one whose Pull is 30 or less is an opposite field hitter.

Groundball/Flyball (G/F)

This rating indicates how likely the batter is to hit the ball on the ground or in the air. A batter with a high G/F rating hits more on the ground; one with a low G/F hits more in the air.

Batting Situational Modifiers

These modify the CH and PH ratings of the batter. If a batter has a situational rating of 50 (average), it means the situation has no effect on his performance. A rating over 50 indicates that he does better than normal in this situation. A rating under 50 means he does worse than normal in this situation.

The two non-monthly situational modifiers (vs. L, Home) have implied 'opposite' ratings, which can be figured by subtracting the rating from 100. (For example, a batter with a vs. L. rating of 55 has an implied vs. R rating of 45.) The two situational modifiers, ScPos and C&L, show how well a player does in those situations.

The six monthly modifiers indicate an overall proficiency of a player during a given month. For instance, a player with an August modifier rating of 40 compared with ratings of over 50 for all other months, is likely to slump in all ratings during August.

All situational modifiers have a range of 40 to 60, except vs. L, which runs from 35 to 65.

vs. L: vs. Left-handed pitching situational modifier

ScPos: Scoring Position situational modifier

C&L: Close and Late situational modifier

Home: Home situational modifier

Apr: April situational modifier

May: May situational modifier

Jun: June situational modifier

Jul: July situational modifier

Aug: August situational modifier

S/O: September/October situational modifier

Player Ratings: Pitching

All players have pitching ratings, even if their primary position is not pitching. The ratings are as follows:

Holding Runners (HdRn)

This rating indicates how effectively the pitcher holds base runners.

Endurance (EN)

This rating indicates how many pitches a pitcher can throw in a game before losing his effectiveness. While this rating determines the number of pitches that can be thrown before tiring, the value of the rating does not represent the actual number of pitches.

Control (CO)

This rating indicates how accurately the pitcher throws at his target location

Groundball/Flyball (G/F)

This rating indicates how likely the batter is to hit the pitcher’s pitch on the ground or in the air. A pitcher with a high G/F rating gets more pitches hit on the ground; one with a low G/F has more hit in the air.

Arm Strength (AS)

This rating helps determine the speed of the pitcher's fastball.

Fastball (FB)

This is the standard pitch that nearly every pitcher has in his repertoire. Its flight path is essentially straight from the pitcher’s hand to the targeted location in the strike zone.

Curveball (CB)

The basic breaking ball, this pitch curves down and away from a batter batting from the same side of the plate as the pitcher is throwing (both are right-handed or both are left-handed).

Change-up (CU)

Also known as an off-speed pitch, the change-up is about 15 M.P.H. slower than the pitcher’s fastball.

Slider (SL)

A cross between a fastball and a curve, a slider breaks away from a same-handed batter like the curveball. The slider has more horizontal break than vertical break.

Sinker (SI)

This pitch has very little horizontal break, but drops substantially when it reaches the plate.

Screwball (SC)

A "reverse curveball," this pitch breaks in toward a same-handed batter.

Knuckleball (KN)

A pitch thrown with almost no spin, the knuckleball is susceptible to any random air currents between the mound and plate and breaks very unpredictably.

A pitcher will have a rating for each of the seven pitches, but if he has more than four pitches, only the best four pitches are available in games.

Pitching Situational Modifiers

These modify the ratings of the pitcher. If a pitcher has a situational rating of 50, it means the situation has no effect on his performance. A rating under 50 indicates that he does worse than normal in this situation. A rating over 50 means he does better than normal in this situation.

The two non-monthly situational modifiers (vs. L, Home) have implied 'opposite' ratings, which can be figured by subtracting the rating from 100. (For example, a pitcher with a vs. L. rating of 55 has an implied vs. R rating of 45.) The two situational modifiers, ScPos and C&L, show how well a pitcher does in those situations.

The six monthly modifiers indicate an overall proficiency of a pitcher during a given month. For instance, a pitcher with an August modifier rating of 40 compared with ratings of over 50 for all other months, is likely to slump in all ratings during August.

vs. L: vs. Left-handed batters situational modifier