[Syd Thrift]

So, pitchers in this game and in real life are basically in control of 3 things:

1. Strikeouts
2. Walks
3. Homeruns

How does your team stack up in those 3 categories? I know Ryan was notoriously high in strikeouts but also in walks and if I’m being honest to me he’s really not so much an ATG but an extreme strikeout artist who was above average for a very long time.

Add FIP to the stats you track. That should give you a good idea of how your pitchers are really doing.

The other side of the equation is defense. OOTP puts a real premium on D, especially the further you go back in history to times when the K rates were half what they are now (I’m doing a fictional league that’s currently in 1973 and yes, league wide K rates are 5.3/9). If your FIPs are low, defense is the problem. You want to try to have plus fielders at short and center first and foremost, but also second and catcher (at least a strong arm there). Third and right are also important and usually you can get away with dumping bad defense in left and first but even there you can totally benefit from having good fielders at both positions.

If memory serves the testing on CF and SS defense found that the difference between a Gold Glove, top of the line defender and a bad defender at those positions was on the order of 6 wins a season.