OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Too Many Unsigned High-Quality Free Agents

Charlie Hough · 12-03-2020, 03:15 PM

In past versions of OOTP, it was somewhat common to see the occasional prominent free agent go unsigned by opening day. But I'm running an 8-team fictional historical league, starting in 1901, and there was a large number of quality free agents who were unsigned as of opening day for the second season. This included a couple of the top batters in the league and another 10 to 15 players and pitchers who would probably be regulars in the starting lineup or good additions to a pitching staff.

Their contract demands were easily affordable for any of the 8 teams in the league, all of whom could have signed multiple players with their available funds for free agents. While some teams have differing goals and priorities from their owner, it didn't make any sense to see teams leaving potential star players on the market, especially for those who had weaker players at those positions.

Some of these players were eventually signed over a period of several weeks, but I had to act as GM of several teams to force them to make offers to some of those star players and improve their clubs.

Maybe it's something with the size of my league, teams having full reserve lists, or the AI simply making poor decisions. But this doesn't make much sense, especially when every team's finances are in excellent shape. If I had taken advantage of it as a human GM, I could have loaded up my team with even more talent than we already have as the reigning champions. It could have completely unbalanced the league.

Does anyone else see this happen with modern MLB games, historical games or fictional games? I've never experienced anything on this scale with OOTP before, so I'm wondering if this is a newer issue and whether the AI needs to be adjusted accordingly.

12-03-2020, 03:15 PM	#1
Charlie Hough Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,640	Too Many Unsigned High-Quality Free Agents In past versions of OOTP, it was somewhat common to see the occasional prominent free agent go unsigned by opening day. But I'm running an 8-team fictional historical league, starting in 1901, and there was a large number of quality free agents who were unsigned as of opening day for the second season. This included a couple of the top batters in the league and another 10 to 15 players and pitchers who would probably be regulars in the starting lineup or good additions to a pitching staff. Their contract demands were easily affordable for any of the 8 teams in the league, all of whom could have signed multiple players with their available funds for free agents. While some teams have differing goals and priorities from their owner, it didn't make any sense to see teams leaving potential star players on the market, especially for those who had weaker players at those positions. Some of these players were eventually signed over a period of several weeks, but I had to act as GM of several teams to force them to make offers to some of those star players and improve their clubs. Maybe it's something with the size of my league, teams having full reserve lists, or the AI simply making poor decisions. But this doesn't make much sense, especially when every team's finances are in excellent shape. If I had taken advantage of it as a human GM, I could have loaded up my team with even more talent than we already have as the reigning champions. It could have completely unbalanced the league. Does anyone else see this happen with modern MLB games, historical games or fictional games? I've never experienced anything on this scale with OOTP before, so I'm wondering if this is a newer issue and whether the AI needs to be adjusted accordingly.