Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG17EASY
I haven't had a chance to dive into stats only yet, although I plan to start over the holidays. So I may be speaking out of turn here. But here's the thing that jumps out to me in what you're saying.
AI evaluation is fully customizable, so maybe you need to adjust those settings to stop the problem you're having. Considering there have been lengthy discussions about stats only on these boards for the past few years and nobody has ever had the problem you're having, I'm guessing that if it's not your AI evaluation settings that need to be tweaked, it's another setting that may not be right.
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You are sort of right. But there is nothing you can do about the AI core if you make it use stats only. You are seriously handicapping the AI because it does not seem to have the ability to think "an extra move ahead." Here is how I broke my league.
When evaluating players, what do humans do? Sure, we look at stats but we also look at player size, strength, speed, etc. In an all stats league, you obviously cannot do most of that since you are depending entirely on their historic stats. So if you are smart, you basically assume right from the front that you will never pay top dollar to anyone and you will play based on probabilities. So how do you build a great team in an all stats league? Simple. Play the numbers.
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Rule #1 - Your farm is the key. Spend on dev and coaching. NEVER bring a player up before they are 24 years old. Reason? 1st you want the stats. 2nd, in their second major league year they will be 26 and you will have huge leverage over contracts since they are on the see-saw of make or break in their careers. You will be able to lock them into 10 year contracts for about 30%-50% of their asking price. Its important to keep them under control (see #2 below). Dont worry about being locked into long term deals. Remember, you are paying them peanuts anyway and if they ever start to stink badly, place on waivers or trade away for fodder.
Rule #2 - Do not overplay rookies and young players until you lock them into long term deals. Always bench them if one looks like they are breaking away into super stardom. Wait till they are 26 and see #1 above.
Rule #3 - Play the numbers.
Batters: Look for players with at least 600 AB, .250 BA (or slightly below your league average), .320 OBA, < 80 SO, & good fielding stats (fielding is very important). Dont worry about any other stat like HR, RBI, Runs, etc (though injuries is important). These guys will always be super cheap and odds are, since they have a good eye, they will have break out years often (50% of the time). In break out years, they will hit .275/.350 which is what you want. If you hire 10 of these guys (including bench), usually 5 will break out every season and 5 will be the same or slump. Bench the slumpers, keep the breakout guys at the top of the lineup. You will need 2 power guys at #4 and #5. You can hire 1 super star if you want or just do what I do. .250/.320 player with 20+ HR, and (most importantly) < 60 SO. Yes, low SO's is very important.
Pitching: RELIEVERS ARE THE KEY! Yes, you read that right. Why? Because they are very cheap. You can hire the best of the best for peanuts. There is no excuse for not having the best relievers money can buy on your team. Further, you can always convert these guys to closers and they will cost you very little compared to a developed closer. Relievers are your bread and butter. That said, dont bother wasting high draft picks on them because they are plentiful.
For starters: Ignore wins, & losses (they are meaningless in stats league). Here is what you want. Low number of injuries, a lot of losses, few wins, 220+ IP, 3.50-4.50 ERA, < 4 BB/9. Why? Because these guys, again, will be super cheap and odds are they were just on a very bad team. Since you are loading up on good fielders, they will be a lot better on your team and their ERA will drop to around 3.00-4.00.
Thats it. If you do all the above, you will be so flushed with money, you wont know what to do with it so:
Rule #4 - Abuse your money. Use it on the draft and development. You know all those impossible draftees that the AI ignores due to demands? Yep, you should take them. Raise your development budget, and in 5-6 seasons your AAA team will be better than some AI major league teams. You will pump out one super star caliber player almost every year and if you follow #1 and #2 above, you will have them in their prime, and locked into 10 year contracts. (remember to give young ones minor league extensions to keep them on till 24ish). As you can see, it snowballs after that.
With this makeup, you will play about .500 the 1st 3-4 seasons (1st season usually sucks for me). In breakout years, you will go up as high as .600. Once your farm is pumping out stars in 4-5 years, the game will be over.
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There are a few work-arounds if you want to give the AI a chance in stats only mode.
#1, You can basically give the AI unlimited money. In this case, it really does not matter if they over pay for a mediocre players. (does not solve the AI farm disadvantage)
#2 Cut your total income to about 1/2 of league average. There are many ways to do this. (probably needs to be closer to 1/3).
#3 No minor leagues or feeders... kinda lame for an all stats league but since the AI sucks at drafting, contracts, and minor league management, it evens out the playing field... actually this is probably still not enough.
My 2 cents