Fan/Spectator mode works for me. Being a GM and/or Manager of a professional sports franchise has never been a real desire of mine. Sure, like most fans I've sat on the couch and second guessed the moves made by the GM/Manager of my favourite team. I've yelled "dummy" at the TV screen, "I could have done better than that." However I don't really care to try and never really have.
I create a league and follow it like I follow real life baseball. Pick a couple of favourite teams, follow a bunch of favourite players, etc etc. Just like I do everyday for real sports.
I like to play out 1 day at a time, read box scores, read game recaps (these have been HUGE for my immersion). I really enjoy reading the logs for walk off wins. I watch 3 or 4 games a week, but mostly just read about them afterwards.
I don't mess with settings a lot once created, but I like to have my leagues swing through strong pitching eras then strong hitting eras, so I adjust PCM's and let it happen gradually over time. Other than that I let the league/world evolve and immerse myself in it's history as it happens.
