OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

BirdWatcher · 04-05-2019, 01:23 PM

I wanted to fill in some blanks and add some context about the WPK, especially for any of you who might just be getting acquainted with this thread and didn't follow along during the OOTP19 portion of this fictional universe.

So first a little information about some processes that I use that are mostly analog but interact with and inform the WPK.

1) The creation of WPK relatives of current players. Basically this is to ensure that at least some current WPK players will have relatives who also exist at some point of time in the WPK universe. This consists of an analog process which identifies on an annual basis two current WPK players who will have a relative who also plays baseball professionally. These relatives could be from the same generation as the current player (brother, cousin), or the next generation (son, son-in-law), or the generation after that (grandson). The process establishes a date of birth and name for the relative to be created and populated into the WPK universe and identifies what year they will enter via the amateur player draft. The process also involves identification of position and player type. I won't go into the details about this here, but essentially it involves having some player archetypes (speedster, defensive whiz, slugger, etc. among hitters, flame thrower (2 types), control artist (2 types), workhorse, etc. for pitchers, plus the rare Superstar (regardless of position.) There are then a series of templates for ratings for the various player (arche-)types and it is identified before-hand which template will be used for each created relative player. Early in the year that the player is to enter the draft I create a new player in the WPK OOTP universe to be part of the upcoming draft pool. The system is built so that most of these relative players will either never make it to the big leagues or will be marginal players in the WPK (Superstars being the obvious exception) but with the potential for some to turn into solid players or even stars.

2) WPK retired player deaths. Like the process described above, this is an analog approach for adding more full immersion to my OOTP fictional universe. Nobody lives forever and identifying when WPK (former) players pass away provides a more expansive view of the history of the league. It is a good time to look back at the past and one player's role in the WPK. And it provides the possibility of some interesting storylines around a player turning a milestone age (90, even 100?) and/or having the distinction of being the oldest living former WPK player. I'll leave the details aside here, but will just say that this involves maintaining a list of retired WPK players grouped into age categories, with an analog process (all of this gives me a chance to have the joy of rolling the 20-sided die) to identify, on January 1st, what former players will pass away during the current calendar year, what the date of their death will be, and what their cause of death will be. Thus far, given that we are early in the history of the WPK and the oldest former player is only in his upper-40's, no deaths have yet been identified. (This process is restricted to players who had at least one appearance in the WPK- career minor leaguers are not included.)

3) Statistical modifiers. The WPK started in 1965, mirrored on the structure, finances, and strategic norms of that season in the MLB. And for the time being anyway, I am letting the league move forward with finances and strategies mirroring the MLB season that matches the current WPK season. But for statistical modifiers I decided to pick a 20-year major league span (I settled on 1972-1991) and just prior to each WPK season (day before Opening Day) I roll a 20-sided die which dictates which MLB season to base statistical modifiers upon.

Some notes about league settings:
While I cannot remember the details of all of the settings I used to start the WPK (but could certainly share these later if anyone is interested), I can say that I use a setting that is pretty forgiving of aging and leads to somewhat longer careers and more graceful declines than might be strictly realistic in terms of what actually happens in the MLB.

I do use league evolution, but (for now, anyway) a few options are not allowed-primarily the institution of the DH and any change in the 40-man roster.
Thus far just one instance of league evolution has occurred in the WPK when, prior to the 1971 season, the number of major league service years required for free agency was increased to 7, with a corresponding increase in years of arbitration eligibility.

There is one feeder league that operates in the WPK universe and it is on the collegiate level. I am toying with creating others but so far it is just the one.

It is quite likely that I will be creating an independent league sometime in the next few seasons.

There is an existing Arizona Fall League and has been for several years now. (Current Brewers rookie Joe McPhillips starred in it early in his minor league career as did Bobby Erbakan.)

I also occasionally identify former WPK players who might make good coaches/managers, etc. (high leadership, high intelligence, mostly) and go into commish mode to make sure they are added to the available personnel list. I also have earmarked some minor leaguers, likely never to make the WPK, who could become coaches/managers after their professional playing careers end and will do the same with them.

That is all I can think of right now and probably more than most of you really want or need to know. But just wanted to fill in a few of the details for the few of you who might find this interesting.

04-05-2019, 01:23 PM	#71
BirdWatcher Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 4,263	*The View from Outside the Park* I wanted to fill in some blanks and add some context about the WPK, especially for any of you who might just be getting acquainted with this thread and didn't follow along during the OOTP19 portion of this fictional universe. So first a little information about some processes that I use that are mostly analog but interact with and inform the WPK. 1) The creation of WPK relatives of current players. Basically this is to ensure that at least some current WPK players will have relatives who also exist at some point of time in the WPK universe. This consists of an analog process which identifies on an annual basis two current WPK players who will have a relative who also plays baseball professionally. These relatives could be from the same generation as the current player (brother, cousin), or the next generation (son, son-in-law), or the generation after that (grandson). The process establishes a date of birth and name for the relative to be created and populated into the WPK universe and identifies what year they will enter via the amateur player draft. The process also involves identification of position and player type. I won't go into the details about this here, but essentially it involves having some player archetypes (speedster, defensive whiz, slugger, etc. among hitters, flame thrower (2 types), control artist (2 types), workhorse, etc. for pitchers, plus the rare Superstar (regardless of position.) There are then a series of templates for ratings for the various player (arche-)types and it is identified before-hand which template will be used for each created relative player. Early in the year that the player is to enter the draft I create a new player in the WPK OOTP universe to be part of the upcoming draft pool. The system is built so that most of these relative players will either never make it to the big leagues or will be marginal players in the WPK (Superstars being the obvious exception) but with the potential for some to turn into solid players or even stars. 2) WPK retired player deaths. Like the process described above, this is an analog approach for adding more full immersion to my OOTP fictional universe. Nobody lives forever and identifying when WPK (former) players pass away provides a more expansive view of the history of the league. It is a good time to look back at the past and one player's role in the WPK. And it provides the possibility of some interesting storylines around a player turning a milestone age (90, even 100?) and/or having the distinction of being the oldest living former WPK player. I'll leave the details aside here, but will just say that this involves maintaining a list of retired WPK players grouped into age categories, with an analog process (all of this gives me a chance to have the joy of rolling the 20-sided die) to identify, on January 1st, what former players will pass away during the current calendar year, what the date of their death will be, and what their cause of death will be. Thus far, given that we are early in the history of the WPK and the oldest former player is only in his upper-40's, no deaths have yet been identified. (This process is restricted to players who had at least one appearance in the WPK- career minor leaguers are not included.) 3) Statistical modifiers. The WPK started in 1965, mirrored on the structure, finances, and strategic norms of that season in the MLB. And for the time being anyway, I am letting the league move forward with finances and strategies mirroring the MLB season that matches the current WPK season. But for statistical modifiers I decided to pick a 20-year major league span (I settled on 1972-1991) and just prior to each WPK season (day before Opening Day) I roll a 20-sided die which dictates which MLB season to base statistical modifiers upon. Some notes about league settings: While I cannot remember the details of all of the settings I used to start the WPK (but could certainly share these later if anyone is interested), I can say that I use a setting that is pretty forgiving of aging and leads to somewhat longer careers and more graceful declines than might be strictly realistic in terms of what actually happens in the MLB. I do use league evolution, but (for now, anyway) a few options are not allowed-primarily the institution of the DH and any change in the 40-man roster. Thus far just one instance of league evolution has occurred in the WPK when, prior to the 1971 season, the number of major league service years required for free agency was increased to 7, with a corresponding increase in years of arbitration eligibility. There is one feeder league that operates in the WPK universe and it is on the collegiate level. I am toying with creating others but so far it is just the one. It is quite likely that I will be creating an independent league sometime in the next few seasons. There is an existing Arizona Fall League and has been for several years now. (Current Brewers rookie Joe McPhillips starred in it early in his minor league career as did Bobby Erbakan.) I also occasionally identify former WPK players who might make good coaches/managers, etc. (high leadership, high intelligence, mostly) and go into commish mode to make sure they are added to the available personnel list. I also have earmarked some minor leaguers, likely never to make the WPK, who could become coaches/managers after their professional playing careers end and will do the same with them. That is all I can think of right now and probably more than most of you really want or need to know. But just wanted to fill in a few of the details for the few of you who might find this interesting.