[matskralc]

draven085, Aadik, SoxWin, and myself would like to announce the impending release of our 2004 Saberosters MLB roster set. draven085 and I have done much of the grunt work, but important contributions in the areas of finances, coaches, and prospects have been/will be made by Aadik and SoxWin.

What this set will include for next Monday's anticipated release:

-Current 40 man rosters

-4 year weighted player ratings. 2003 accounts for 40% of a player's rating, 2002 for 30%, 2001 for 20%, and 2000 for 10%. This is to ensure that a player's 2003 has the most impact on his future career, but also makes sure that a player who had a fluke 2003 doesn't become a god within a
league. It also helps boost players who had an off-year last year, by accounting for past success.

-Park adjusted ratings. This is something we're not sure we've seen any MLB roster set do. Using Diamond Mind Baseball's 4 year averages for ballparks, each season used to rate a player was adjusted for his home ball park. This means that players will not receive a double weighting for their ballpark. What I mean is this: a player's statistics have already been affected by his home ball park. By using those statistics to rate a player, one artificially inflates/deflates his ratings. Those ratings are inflated/deflated again within the game by a player's home ball park. The result is Colorado hitters and Detroit pitchers dominating the leaderboards, because they benefit from their ball parks being added into their statistics twice. Our roster set seeks to eliminate this by essentially making a player's ratings as neutral as possible, by eliminating his ball park from the rating process.

-Defense, baserunning, bunting ratings. These will be based off a combination of major league scouting reports, Diamond Mind's analysis, as well as UZR and other advanced defensive metrics.

-Ballpark ratings. Derived from Diamond Mind's analysis.

-Coaches and scouts.


What this set will include by final release:

-Full minor leagues, with prospects rated according to Sickels' book, Baseball America, minor league statistics, and other sources.

-Accurate salaries and contract lengths, with 70% modifier applied.

-Photo pack.

-Depth charts, lineups, and pitching rotations.


What this set will hopefully include by final release, but is no guarantee:

-Full team and league histories.

-Full player histories. This is something I'd always thought would be extra spiffy, but is enormously time consuming. Since this is my pet, whether or not it is included in the set is entirely dependent on me. I hope to get these in there.



This set will be made available before its final completion with the intention that you guys tell us what we goofed up. Point out any odd looking ratings. Tell us if a guy looks under or overrated. Most importantly, tell us why.

The four of us are excited about making a contribution to the OOTP community. We'd just like to get the word out so you guys know what we are trying to accomplish, and what sort of help we may require. We also think that our roster set could greatly benefit from any discussion that takes place prior to any releases. That's what this thread is for. Thanks!