SLB Pitching Fatigue

The fatigue system for pitchers needs a major overhaul, and I would be happy to discuss this in depth. But the first thing that needs to be fixed is in-game fatigue. Currently it is based largely on the pitcher’s RL IP/G. There are at least 3 major problems with this method: (1) Far too few complete games. For most of baseball history, a pitcher who averaged 7 innings per start would have completed quite a few of those starts. In SLB, his fatigue will kick in quickly around the 6th or 7th inning, and his performance will deteriorate noticeably after that. (2) Pitchers who both started and relieved are severely and unduly penalized, because their total IP/G is low even though they frequently pitched long into the game when they started. 1992 Curt Schilling is an excellent example of this. (3) Modern relievers are often toast after 10 or 15 pitches; stretching them just slightly longer results in immediate and massive drop in performance.

Putting all of this together, far too many games result in teams using their entire bullpens, and far too many leads, including big leads, are blown in the late innings.

A good start would be to factor in a starting pitcher’s percentage of CG/GS. And for relievers, fatigue should either not kick in until they have reached double their actual IP/G and/or it should have much slower impact on performance.