OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Amarillo Armadillos

DoubleDub · 03-23-2023, 03:09 PM

It was about 6 or 7 weeks ago that I joined the Pro Baseball Experience (PBE), the playoffs for Season 37 had just ended and there was a stream or two of the Prospect League left before the Prospect Showcase and the Minor League Draft that happened the next day. Initially I didn’t know what the PBE was going to entail, all I knew was that the concept was interesting - what came next was a great season that has captured my imagination and has made the PBE into a big part of my everyday life.

Straight after joining the PBE and doing my initial build, I started to be contacted by representatives from the different Minor League teams. This was intriguing and really showed me what the PBE could become for me, hearing how these experienced people in the league talked about their teams and their players that they had created. Pretty much all of the discussions that I had (I talked to 9 of the ten teams in the league) were positive and left me with a lot of excitement to get started in the league after the draft. Following these scouting conversations I was left with three teams that I wanted to go to, Amarillo, Kansas City and Louisville. These three teams were the best conversations that I had, it was the ones were I felt like I connected the most with the person that I talked to and I knew that I would enjoy my time with them. When the draft came around I slipped further down the draft than I initially thought I would - I later learnt that as a new create (with a poor build) I shouldn’t have expected to go in the first round, I started to want to be drafted by anyone.

At number 14, Amarillo called my name and the journey of Wayne Wheeler began.

Amarillo selected three starting pitchers in the first 14 picks - so I was a part of a young core that would be together for the next couple of seasons before we make our way to the Major Leagues. Zodiac and BazookaJoe (the Amarillo GM’s) helped me get my head around what I needed to do to be successful in the PBE. First we discussed my build, it was woeful to start with - but they helped make my vision of a pitcher (a pitcher who can dot the zone and get weak contact) a reality in the PBE. Next was how to earn money and TPE in the league, after a week or two this became like second nature as I knew where to go on the forums and what was required of me. I was also able to pick up some jobs within the league - this will help me earn some money and has also helped me get a better understanding of the league and what the behind the scenes of the league looked like.

While this was happening the league was being played out, my results weren’t what I wanted but the Amarillo locker room kept me optimistic that it would come around especially if I kept earning TPE at a good level. The tides changed over the last 10 starts that Wheeler had, he finished the season strong and I finished the season feeling excited and extremely optimistic about his future. Amarillo missed the playoffs by four games this season but the locker room was genuinely a great time, being able to talk about the league or IRL sports and interests was great. Getting to know teammates and the front office was extremely fulfilling and showed how great of a community that the PBE has cultivated.

The season ended and I was excited to see how I could help out the Front Office in the off season, I ended up helping with the scouting of new creates. In a full circle of sorts I had gone from been the prospect to being the scout in the space of a season, I loved the conversations with the recreates but I enjoyed my conversations with the new creates even more. Helping these new people understand what the PBE could be was so much fun and really rewarding, I am really looking forward to being involved with this process again at the end of the next season. I was also helping with some build testing in OOTP, this really helped me understand what impacts the sim results that we see during the season. Being able to pick Zodiac’s brain in particular about OOTP and what impacts performance in PBE was invaluable - he also has incredible patience while I asked him a wide range of questions.

In the second half of the season I also started to get scouted again, this time by the Major League teams which I am being drafted to this offseason. These conversations were so in-depth and the people I spoke to were willing to provide a lot of information and to talk about the composition of their teams and how they were looking to build for a championship in the future. This was so much fun to hear about and it was nice that a lot of the assessments that I made on a teams future or playing list were echoed by the team’s representative that was talking to me. I have my list of teams that I would like to be drafted to but in the end I will give my all no matter who drafts me - I am just excited to get started in the major leagues.

I think I will be drafted at the backend of the first or the start of the second round, I no longer have any naivety about my draft stocks like I did in the minor league draft. This draft class is stacked, it has a fair few recreates that are well known around the league so I understand that I won’t be drafted above them.

Overall this season in the PBE has been extremely rewarding, I have loved seeing my player develop, I’ve loved producing content whether written or via podcasts. Most importantly though I have loved getting to know the community and connecting with different people, I am excited to see how my time in the PBE progresses and whether Wayne Wheeler can actually do anything worthwhile with his career.

03-23-2023, 03:09 PM	#4
DoubleDub Bat Boy Join Date: Feb 2023 Posts: 10	My first season in the PBE It was about 6 or 7 weeks ago that I joined the Pro Baseball Experience (PBE), the playoffs for Season 37 had just ended and there was a stream or two of the Prospect League left before the Prospect Showcase and the Minor League Draft that happened the next day. Initially I didn’t know what the PBE was going to entail, all I knew was that the concept was interesting - what came next was a great season that has captured my imagination and has made the PBE into a big part of my everyday life. Straight after joining the PBE and doing my initial build, I started to be contacted by representatives from the different Minor League teams. This was intriguing and really showed me what the PBE could become for me, hearing how these experienced people in the league talked about their teams and their players that they had created. Pretty much all of the discussions that I had (I talked to 9 of the ten teams in the league) were positive and left me with a lot of excitement to get started in the league after the draft. Following these scouting conversations I was left with three teams that I wanted to go to, Amarillo, Kansas City and Louisville. These three teams were the best conversations that I had, it was the ones were I felt like I connected the most with the person that I talked to and I knew that I would enjoy my time with them. When the draft came around I slipped further down the draft than I initially thought I would - I later learnt that as a new create (with a poor build) I shouldn’t have expected to go in the first round, I started to want to be drafted by anyone. At number 14, Amarillo called my name and the journey of Wayne Wheeler began. Amarillo selected three starting pitchers in the first 14 picks - so I was a part of a young core that would be together for the next couple of seasons before we make our way to the Major Leagues. Zodiac and BazookaJoe (the Amarillo GM’s) helped me get my head around what I needed to do to be successful in the PBE. First we discussed my build, it was woeful to start with - but they helped make my vision of a pitcher (a pitcher who can dot the zone and get weak contact) a reality in the PBE. Next was how to earn money and TPE in the league, after a week or two this became like second nature as I knew where to go on the forums and what was required of me. I was also able to pick up some jobs within the league - this will help me earn some money and has also helped me get a better understanding of the league and what the behind the scenes of the league looked like. While this was happening the league was being played out, my results weren’t what I wanted but the Amarillo locker room kept me optimistic that it would come around especially if I kept earning TPE at a good level. The tides changed over the last 10 starts that Wheeler had, he finished the season strong and I finished the season feeling excited and extremely optimistic about his future. Amarillo missed the playoffs by four games this season but the locker room was genuinely a great time, being able to talk about the league or IRL sports and interests was great. Getting to know teammates and the front office was extremely fulfilling and showed how great of a community that the PBE has cultivated. The season ended and I was excited to see how I could help out the Front Office in the off season, I ended up helping with the scouting of new creates. In a full circle of sorts I had gone from been the prospect to being the scout in the space of a season, I loved the conversations with the recreates but I enjoyed my conversations with the new creates even more. Helping these new people understand what the PBE could be was so much fun and really rewarding, I am really looking forward to being involved with this process again at the end of the next season. I was also helping with some build testing in OOTP, this really helped me understand what impacts the sim results that we see during the season. Being able to pick Zodiac’s brain in particular about OOTP and what impacts performance in PBE was invaluable - he also has incredible patience while I asked him a wide range of questions. In the second half of the season I also started to get scouted again, this time by the Major League teams which I am being drafted to this offseason. These conversations were so in-depth and the people I spoke to were willing to provide a lot of information and to talk about the composition of their teams and how they were looking to build for a championship in the future. This was so much fun to hear about and it was nice that a lot of the assessments that I made on a teams future or playing list were echoed by the team’s representative that was talking to me. I have my list of teams that I would like to be drafted to but in the end I will give my all no matter who drafts me - I am just excited to get started in the major leagues. I think I will be drafted at the backend of the first or the start of the second round, I no longer have any naivety about my draft stocks like I did in the minor league draft. This draft class is stacked, it has a fair few recreates that are well known around the league so I understand that I won’t be drafted above them. Overall this season in the PBE has been extremely rewarding, I have loved seeing my player develop, I’ve loved producing content whether written or via podcasts. Most importantly though I have loved getting to know the community and connecting with different people, I am excited to see how my time in the PBE progresses and whether Wayne Wheeler can actually do anything worthwhile with his career.