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CeeBod · 02-07-2019, 02:51 AM

If we're talking about improvements that we'd like to see, then one that I think that's long overdue is a change to the way that new International Free Agents become available every year. Way too many of these guys are impossibly over-powered.

In my current play-through (OOTP 18), the latest crop of international free agents this year (2025) include a 5-star starting pitcher with much better skills than the current Cy Young award winner, a 4.5-star starting pitcher with excellent all around skills and 4 good pitches, and a 5-star firstbaseman with insanely good all around hitting skills, and a power skill that's at the 100/100 maximum. The 1B has just been signed by the Rockies for whom an International Free Agent just retired after racking up a career slashline of .303/.370/.612 and a HR/AB rate that was just behind Babe Ruth. As he signed at age 30 and was injury-prone, he only played for 6 seasons before retiring, and had only 2596 AB in that time - in the 4 seasons he was healthy enough to play 100 games or more he won 2 MVP awards, a rookie of the year, and 4 each of All-star appearances and Silver Slugger. (Quick edit - the Rockies are AI controlled by the way, so nothing that I did in playing had any impact on how overpowered this guy was!)

Maybe some people like having these uber-players available to sign, but for me it feels completely unrealistic for the modern game. When a player anywhere in the world shows extraordinary skills today they generate a media frenzy that means that everyone hears about them while they're still prospects, or at least very early in their career (MLB scouts knew all about Shohei Ohtani way back in 2012 for example), so how do these players with ridiculously high skillsets that can then dominate the league for years manage to arrive as 30 year old unknown free agents?

02-07-2019, 02:51 AM	#47
CeeBod Bat Boy Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 17	If we're talking about improvements that we'd like to see, then one that I think that's long overdue is a change to the way that new International Free Agents become available every year. Way too many of these guys are impossibly over-powered. In my current play-through (OOTP 18), the latest crop of international free agents this year (2025) include a 5-star starting pitcher with much better skills than the current Cy Young award winner, a 4.5-star starting pitcher with excellent all around skills and 4 good pitches, and a 5-star firstbaseman with insanely good all around hitting skills, and a power skill that's at the 100/100 maximum. The 1B has just been signed by the Rockies for whom an International Free Agent just retired after racking up a career slashline of .303/.370/.612 and a HR/AB rate that was just behind Babe Ruth. As he signed at age 30 and was injury-prone, he only played for 6 seasons before retiring, and had only 2596 AB in that time - in the 4 seasons he was healthy enough to play 100 games or more he won 2 MVP awards, a rookie of the year, and 4 each of All-star appearances and Silver Slugger. (Quick edit - the Rockies are AI controlled by the way, so nothing that I did in playing had any impact on how overpowered this guy was!) Maybe some people like having these uber-players available to sign, but for me it feels completely unrealistic for the modern game. When a player anywhere in the world shows extraordinary skills today they generate a media frenzy that means that everyone hears about them while they're still prospects, or at least very early in their career (MLB scouts knew all about Shohei Ohtani way back in 2012 for example), so how do these players with ridiculously high skillsets that can then dominate the league for years manage to arrive as 30 year old unknown free agents? Last edited by CeeBod; 02-07-2019 at 02:55 AM.