[BirdWatcher]

(Okay, bear with me please as this is my first attempt at including screenshots in a posting.)

As a new convert to the OOTP way of life back in the Autumn of 2017, I found myself looking at all of the fun ways the game could be played, all of the variations of projects I could see myself getting fascinated by. But at first the one type of game I was skeptical about my ability to become immersed in was a universe populated entirely of fictional baseball players.

Still, wanting to play around with the game a bit and explore I did set up a fictional league, based upon MLB structure and strategies of 1965 (the year I was born), largely with default settings. A pretty vanilla affair. And just for fun I went ahead a took over the reins of the Denver Brewers, which the AI had created (had no Denver team been randomly created, I wonder if I would have ever moved forward at all with this league) and proceeded to the inaugural draft. Fortunately, I had inherited a scouting director with a good reputation, one of the few members of the organization's front office personnel and coaching staffs to not be inexperienced or have a poor reputation. So, relying a great deal on his guidance, I drafted my Brewers team. And, moving very slowly (kind of like this post- sorry), I started to put together a team that I didn't hate. And then Round 17 came and I drafted this guy: (see below)
(Oh, hey, that worked. Cool.) (Well, sort of worked. Not sure how to get this text below the attached image. I'll keep learning.)
And something about this cat that suddenly made me think- I really like this guy. And at that point it occurred to me that this fictional league concept might be alright after all.
As you can see, Streak Souffront is likely no superstar in the making. He's a super-speedy RF with decent enough defensive skills who should be able to hit enough to stick in the majors (though he really needs to develop his plate discipline) and some really great character traits that should serve him well. What it is about him that makes me like him so much more than other players is hard to define. Might even be his face- he just looks like a smart and likable guy.

(A few quick notes before I move on: as you probably have gathered I am using a 1-10 ratings system, not the commonly used 20-80 system that more closely aligns with real-life scouting. It's just more comfortable for me at this time. And when I set up this league I didn't think things through very well and not only is set-up and strategies based upon 1965 MLB but so are statistical modifiers. More on that soon. Oh, and the league is called the W.P. Kinsella League. And that I will also elaborate on below.)
But here we go. With Mr. Souffront and several other promising youngsters and a few solid veterans on board, I was ready (well, almost ready) to plunge into the world of OOTP fictional simulations. More to follow.