Why I Cheat w/ OOTP

RubeBaker · 02-20-2023, 01:45 PM

Yep. You heard that right. I cheat. I don't play by the rules. However, I'm not banging trash cans or having buzzers hooked up to my players' chests.

What I mean is that I do NOT use the "Manfred Man" aka ghost runner. I've never been a fan of it and I really hate it now that it's been enforced as permanent by MLB. I'm also not a fan of the three-batter minimum rule.

So, this probably isn't very realistic playing OOTP games, but it works for me. And I'm sure I'm not the only person who does this. Perhaps they don't do what I do, but I'm sure there are other OOTP players who make up their own rules.

The three-batter minimum isn't the worst rule, but the ghost runner drives me crazy. Either go back to how it was pre-2020 or have the regular season games end in a tie after 12 innings as in other leagues which shall not be mentioned.

It doesn't make sense to me to put a runner on base and if he scores to charge the pitcher with an earned run he didn't earn. If I'm a pitcher, I'm not taking that run. Also, why the 10th inning? I could see putting a man on second if the game went to the 18th inning. That's nine additional innings. Perhaps I could go along with that, but I still am not a fan of the rule.

Thoughts?

Brad K · 02-20-2023, 02:32 PM

Its plenty realistic if you're playing historical instead of the current game.

BIG17EASY · 02-20-2023, 02:53 PM

That's not cheating. That's just using the rules that you like most. It would be cheating if you somehow made the AI follow the three-batter rule but not your own team. Or if you got the ghost runner in extra innings, but the AI didn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubeBaker

It doesn't make sense to me to put a runner on base and if he scores to charge the pitcher with an earned run he didn't earn.

Also, that's not an earned run for the pitcher. It's why pitchers can now be charged with a loss without being credited with allowing a run.

PSUColonel · 02-20-2023, 03:05 PM

Not cheating IMO. If the AI is playing by the same rules as you are, that is not a cheat.

uruguru · 02-20-2023, 03:09 PM

I play pre-DH rules. That's not cheating; that's just playing baseball.

zappa1 · 02-20-2023, 03:13 PM

I do what RubeBaker does. But I also dump the DH. I take today's game and turn back the clock to pre-DH days. I'm having so much more fun that way.

Sweed · 02-20-2023, 03:56 PM

Nothing wrong with playing using a previous set of real rules. There's also nothing wrong with combining any of the settings to make your own baseball world.

About that ghost runner and earned run. Pretty sure the pitcher is only charged with a run, NOT an earned run.

Brad K · 02-20-2023, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweed

Nothing wrong with playing using a previous set of real rules. There's also nothing wrong with combining any of the settings to make your own baseball world.

About that ghost runner and earned run. Pretty sure the pitcher is only charged with a run, NOT an earned run.

Proof the 2B runner doesn't fit the game.

BIG17EASY · 02-20-2023, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweed

About that ghost runner and earned run. Pretty sure the pitcher is only charged with a run, NOT an earned run.

Ah, you're right. I looked it up and if the "ghost runner" scores, the pitcher is charged with a run but not an earned run.

Sweed · 02-20-2023, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

Proof the 2B runner doesn't fit the game.

Not to those that get to make the rules. Whether one likes it or not.

Brad K · 02-20-2023, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweed

Not to those that get to make the rules. Whether one likes it or not.

Fortunately the MLB license isn't requiring the game to run on only current rules.

Brad K · 02-20-2023, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Ah, you're right. I looked it up and if the "ghost runner" scores, the pitcher is charged with a run but not an earned run.

An unearned run. We know those happen when there's an error. MLB admits their mistake!!!

Sweed · 02-20-2023, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

Fortunately the MLB license isn't requiring the game to run on only current rules.

I agree with that.

koohead · 02-21-2023, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

Fortunately the MLB license isn't requiring the game to run on only current rules.

Thank goodness.

I too do not use the ghost runner, nor do I use a 3 batter minimum. As noted in another thread I have kept my roster at 25, and so far have not banned shifts (TBD though to be honest).

Ty Cobb · 02-21-2023, 10:45 AM

If MLB can change the rules IRL, I can change them in my sim. Unless I'm editing my players to be Greek Gods, I'm not cheating.

"Go now, and sin no more, my son!"

uruguru · 02-21-2023, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

Fortunately the MLB license isn't requiring the game to run on only current rules.

Yet.

chriskelly · 02-22-2023, 07:25 PM

it's funny, I started playing 23, and I was bored. I thought it was the game, but I realized it base baseball. HR, K, BB, that's it. So, I start my seasons by resetting league stats to 2011 levels, 25 man roster, no NL DH, no new rules. then, I prioritize speed, groundball pitchers and defense, and it's fun again

uruguru · 02-22-2023, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriskelly

it's funny, I started playing 23, and I was bored. I thought it was the game, but I realized it base baseball. HR, K, BB, that's it. So, I start my seasons by resetting league stats to 2011 levels, 25 man roster, no NL DH, no new rules. then, I prioritize speed, groundball pitchers and defense, and it's fun again

One of the strengths of baseball was always its adherence to tradition. Mike Schmidt, Hank Aaron, Joe Dimaggio, and Babe Ruth all played the same game as Honus Wagner.

Owners have lost sight of that and have untethered themselves from the game's historical roots, so it's no wonder that a lot of older fans no longer find the current game appealing.

Syd Thrift · 02-22-2023, 08:42 PM

I mean, Hank Aaron wouldn't have been allowed to play the game that Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner played...

uruguru · 02-22-2023, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

I mean, Hank Aaron wouldn't have been allowed to play the game that Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner played...

oh look, someone always has to derail a perfectly valid point by injecting race into it.

The point was that the rules of the game were unchanged for all of those players throughout the history of the game, but you knew that already.

02-20-2023, 01:45 PM	#1
RubeBaker All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: USA Posts: 640	Why I Cheat w/ OOTP Yep. You heard that right. I cheat. I don't play by the rules. However, I'm not banging trash cans or having buzzers hooked up to my players' chests. What I mean is that I do NOT use the "Manfred Man" aka ghost runner. I've never been a fan of it and I really hate it now that it's been enforced as permanent by MLB. I'm also not a fan of the three-batter minimum rule. So, this probably isn't very realistic playing OOTP games, but it works for me. And I'm sure I'm not the only person who does this. Perhaps they don't do what I do, but I'm sure there are other OOTP players who make up their own rules. The three-batter minimum isn't the worst rule, but the ghost runner drives me crazy. Either go back to how it was pre-2020 or have the regular season games end in a tie after 12 innings as in other leagues which shall not be mentioned. It doesn't make sense to me to put a runner on base and if he scores to charge the pitcher with an earned run he didn't earn. If I'm a pitcher, I'm not taking that run. Also, why the 10th inning? I could see putting a man on second if the game went to the 18th inning. That's nine additional innings. Perhaps I could go along with that, but I still am not a fan of the rule. Thoughts?

02-20-2023, 02:32 PM	#2
Brad K Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,059 Infractions: 0/3 (3)	Its plenty realistic if you're playing historical instead of the current game. __________________ Pirates Play Moneyball 1951 to 2008 46,000 views and counting!... Wow, up to 47,000, thank you. Wow, I hadn't checked for weeks. Oct 9 2024 its 79,561. 1967 World Series A's and Pirates - A Short Story in several parts

02-21-2023, 10:45 AM	#15
Ty Cobb Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Grayling, MI Posts: 4,289 Blog Entries: 109	If MLB can change the rules IRL, I can change them in my sim. Unless I'm editing my players to be Greek Gods, I'm not cheating. "Go now, and sin no more, my son!" __________________ "It is not heresy, and I will not recant!"—Michael Rayner “Chicken wings are basically trash. The only reason to eat them is if some *** stole the rest of the chicken."—JJ Sefton “That is the sound of inevitability.” "Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me."—Olenna Tyrell

02-20-2023, 03:05 PM	#4
PSUColonel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 13,071 Blog Entries: 37	Not cheating IMO. If the AI is playing by the same rules as you are, that is not a cheat.

02-20-2023, 03:09 PM	#5
uruguru All Star Starter Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 1,123	I play pre-DH rules. That's not cheating; that's just playing baseball.

02-20-2023, 03:13 PM	#6
zappa1 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,989	I do what RubeBaker does. But I also dump the DH. I take today's game and turn back the clock to pre-DH days. I'm having so much more fun that way.

02-20-2023, 03:56 PM	#7
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,274	Nothing wrong with playing using a previous set of real rules. There's also nothing wrong with combining any of the settings to make your own baseball world. About that ghost runner and earned run. Pretty sure the pitcher is only charged with a run, NOT an earned run.

02-22-2023, 07:25 PM	#17
chriskelly All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 751	it's funny, I started playing 23, and I was bored. I thought it was the game, but I realized it base baseball. HR, K, BB, that's it. So, I start my seasons by resetting league stats to 2011 levels, 25 man roster, no NL DH, no new rules. then, I prioritize speed, groundball pitchers and defense, and it's fun again