MLB 13: The Show Ratings Winners and Losers - CPRoark's Blog

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MLB 13: The Show Ratings Winners and Losers Stuck

Posted on February 26, 2013 at 08:49 PM.

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We are within a week of MLB: The Show's launch, and information is pouring out. Two of the more interesting pieces of press material are the player and team ratings.

Without further introduction, here, in no particular order, are some of my Winners and Losers of the ratings game:

Winners

1. Andrew McCutchen, 99: I get that he had a great season last year--enough to get him a cover spot--but I'm not sure that translates to a 99 rating. Prior to 2012, his OPS never crested .900. He's showed the ability to get to a 99, but I'm not sure it's deserved yet.

2. Carlos Ruiz, 94: Like The Cutch, Chooch's 2012 season was a career best. But this guy's never hit more than 20 home runs, and prior to last year, never more than 10. The rest of his pre-2012 stats are also pretty pedestrian. I will buy that he calls a great game, which may elevate his rank; I'm just not sure he's the third best catcher in the game.

3. Philadelphia Phillies Pitching (#1): I was surprised to see my favorite team grab the top spot in the pitching category. On paper it makes sense: 3 top-shelf starters, a promising bullpen, and two pretty dominant guys for the 8th and 9th innings. But Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan seem a little over-rated (mid-high 70s) and Halladay (while still being Halladay) is a giant question mark.

Losers

1. Joey Votto, 98: It's hard to say that 98 is losing, but I think if Pujols gets a 99 for a relatively average year, Votto deserves one for a truncated--but still productive--2012. In his nearly 500 at-bats, Votto got on almost half the time. And while his home run numbers were down, he certainly has shown a history of big-time play. I guess one point is a little nit-picky, but this guy is often picked as the number one first basemen in the game.

2. San Francisco Giants (#17): I can't stand these guys, so it doesn't hurt me to admit that I think they outplayed their ability last year. But still, they won the World Series. Judging by these rankings, they will finish 4th in their division, behind the Dodgers (#12), Rockies (#13), and Diamondbacks (#15). Certainly, they deserve more respect than that. (Is their farm system is bringing down the overall ranking that much?)

3. Jim Johnson (85): I'm guessing that these ratings look at multiple years, so I can see Johnson being a bit lower than some established closers. But he did have 51 saves last year, an ERA below 2.5, was an All-Star, and finished 7th in Cy Young voting. But in The Show, he doesn't crack the top 18 (!) closers.

These winners/losers are all pretty subjective, so don't read too much into my analysis. In fact, unless there's a secret evaluation tool that systematically creates players rankings based on statistics, I'm guessing the whole process is a bit subjective. Still, it's a fun debate.

That said, who won or lost in your opinion?

Comments

# 1 mikemulloy @ Feb 26

wait i never noticed that nike logo. does that mean there will be nike cleats and equiptment?

# 2 Thrash13 @ Feb 26

I'm a huge Rangers and Yu Darvish fan, but his 96 rating shocked me for sure. He may not even be our #1 going into the season (Matt Harrison), so he's definitely a winner. McCutchen, Pujols, and Hamilton are a couple points too high, but it is what it is. And the Giants at 17th is embarrassing.

# 3 evanreyes @ Feb 27

The Giants rating really doesn't make any sense to me.

# 4 Yankees2009Champs @ Feb 27

Now I'm starting to wish that they never switched to ratings numbers. People get all flummoxed when someone is rated higher when people don't understand that being high in a couple of categories can artificially inflate a rating. It's madden syndrome all over again where speed automatically dictates a higher rating. Just look at the bars, people.

# 5 mosdef328 @ Feb 27

Clearly I'm biased... but really guys come on The Giants will not finish 4th in their division. The Giants are a team that are built for the postseason. Getting there however can be tough for them, but 4th! ridiculous...

# 6 Yankees2009Champs @ Feb 27

Exactly the Giants are a team where the sum is greater than the parts. There is no way to emulate that.

# 7 ggsimmonds @ Feb 27

Torn on the switch to numbered ratings. It might help me in my franchise, but I am not looking forward to the constant rating debate. But what the hell, I will play along.

Looks to be inconsistent. Two of the winners had excellent years and that was enough to propel them to elite status. Johnson is the same, yet he is stuck at a 85? Read the first line for Jim Johnson, then read the entries for the first two winners.

# 8 Bbush @ Feb 28

Number ratings are better

# 9 fnz21 @ Mar 1

Johnny Cueto. I know he's coming off an injury, but he had 19 wins last year and should at least be around the 90 mark, at the lowest.

That being said, this is very weird to me, having number ratings on a baseball game (in terms of overall rating). This is the first baseball game I've owned with a numeric overall rating.