I tried to address this earlier, you might have missed it.
quote:Sometimes we actually rank a lower graded player higher than the higher graded player. We get lots of emails and calls when that happens. It should be remembered that we only attach a grade from showcase events. We do not attach a grade to players in tournaments. That is because we can't always get enough during a game to accurately grade based on potential. However, let me give an example.
Player A is graded a 9 at a showcase.
Player B is graded an 8 at a showcase.
Player B didn't show as much ability at the showcase that player A did. But later on Player B showed a ton of ability at a tournament. He still shows up an 8, but we now think he is much better than an 8, in fact we think he is even better than Player A at this point, so we rank him accordingly.
So a player graded 8 at a showcase (in say 2006) would still maintain that grade of 8 because it was based on that event at that time. However, within our database, there could be added enough reason to think this player is now much better than an 8 so he would move up in the rankings despite his last or only grade is an 8.
Maybe it's an area we could improve on, but presently we don't give a grade other than individual events. While this might be easy to do (change the system) for pitchers, it would be much more difficult for position players. Pitchers at showcases (individual events) pitch live to hitters in a game, very much like they do at a tournament. On the other hand, position players are graded on fielding, throwing, BP, running, etc. Much of what we can't see enough of during an actual game.
We certainly haven't got this stuff mastered yet. There is a lot of room for improvement. I actually enjoy hearing these type things because it makes us think. Intellegence is not our strong suit, so we tend to listen to what others say a lot.