Park factors/neutralized stats. Which combination?

[highandoutside]

If you are looking for a one year accurate replay of a season - where players perform as close as OOTP can get to real life - it looks like you have to decide either to go park factors ON/ Neutralized stats OFF -OR- Park Factors 1.000/Neutralized stats ON.

So my question is for you more seasoned replay buffs, which combination do you trust?

[actionjackson]

I prefer the neutered/park factors off selection, because I find it gives ratings to the players that are closer to what I feel they should be, but that's just me. You should probably run like 5-10 tests of the same season using the two different options and select the one you feel best reflects reality for you and stick with it.

[highandoutside]

Ok. Markus reply in this thread has me even more confused.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...zed-stats.html

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by highandoutside

Ok. Markus reply in this thread has me even more confused.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...zed-stats.html

The only way to replicate what happened IRL is to play Real Stats + Ballpark Factors using Actual Transactions as they happened and identical lineups. That's a lot of work and you'll still end up disappointed and frustrated with the results.

What I like using this game for is to compare say Jeff Bagwell and Todd Helton. How would their numbers have turned out had Bagwell's prodigious power not been swallowed up by the Astrodome or had Todd Helton not benefited from the light air at Coors Field? In my mind Helton is getting awfully close to HoF status and Bagwell is in the top 5 to 10 first basemen all-time. The stadiums that they called home make it appear that Helton is the better 1B, but to me that is an optical illusion created in large part by the disparity in hitter friendliness between their two home stadiums. That's not a diss of Helton's production; it's more a compliment to Bagwell's.

In the end you're going to have to figure out what you want from this game and experiment with different settings until you find results/ratings etc that you think are realistic. There seems to be a different version of reality for every baseball fan out there and that's no different for every member of this site. Keep tinkering. Lord knows Markus has given you enough options to last a lifetime.

[highandoutside]

Thanks Action. I think I just arrived at the frustration you mentioned. I've been playing around with the settings all afternoon and I can't get the 1908 Tigers to win the American League - or even finish a close 2 or 3rd. I can't figure out what is going on.

I wanted to start replaying the 1909 season with the transactions and line ups I downloaded from the NYtimes archives. However, now I'm worried about using OOTP for such an ambitious replay. The numbers I'm seeing for the 1908 season are just too far off: doubles, triples and Home runs consistently off by + or - 15%, historically bad teams finishing in the first division and the Tigers unable to win the division.

I've been replaying the 1908 without transactions, so I know that is having an impact, but I'm not sure the results should be this far off. (BTW, I don't understand why dead ball roster sets come with closers...I found it more accurate to turn them all to starters and set a 5 man rotation with "start the most well rested" option.)

OOTP is a fantastic game and I'm addicted to my fictional league, but I'm not sure I trust it for a single season replay yet. It has come a long way, but I'm not sure it is there. Don't take this as a flame because I love this game and I'll be a loyal costumer of the fictional aspects of this game for a long time to come.

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by highandoutside

Thanks Action. I think I just arrived at the frustration you mentioned. I've been playing around with the settings all afternoon and I can't get the 1908 Tigers to win the American League - or even finish a close 2 or 3rd. I can't figure out what is going on.

I wanted to start replaying the 1909 season with the transactions and line ups I downloaded from the NYtimes archives. However, now I'm worried about using OOTP for such an ambitious replay. The numbers I'm seeing for the 1908 season are just too far off: doubles, triples and Home runs consistently off by + or - 15%, historically bad teams finishing in the first division and the Tigers unable to win the division.

I've been replaying the 1908 without transactions, so I know that is having an impact, but I'm not sure the results should be this far off. (BTW, I don't understand why dead ball roster sets come with closers...I found it more accurate to turn them all to starters and set a 5 man rotation with "start the most well rested" option.)

OOTP is a fantastic game and I'm addicted to my fictional league, but I'm not sure I trust it for a single season replay yet. It has come a long way, but I'm not sure it is there. Don't take this as a flame because I love this game and I'll be a loyal costumer of the fictional aspects of this game for a long time to come.

Single season replay is absolutely not recommended particularly for seasons where transactions/lineups are not available, but historical leagues can still be fun provided you don't expect things to turn out exactly as they did. If you want that, you could spend days on Baseball-Reference, but then you wouldn't be immersed in a game would you?

If you want to buy games which are better at single season replays, look to games like Action! PC Baseball, Diamond Mind, and Strat-O-Matic. Don't complain that I didn't warn you about having to invest your life savings to buy the game and then each individual season you wish to play, or the fact that you can't feel the rush of drafting, trading, signing free agents and doing GM type things. There's nothing wrong with those games, but you're a manager in them, not a general manager.

You've arrived at both the best game and the best value for the money game that you can buy. Now find a way to make it do what you want it to.