Spring Training or No?

[Vezna31]

I have several leagues that I play, 4 historical and 3 fictional that I rotate in play. I was debating on whether I would start using the spring training option in them. Been a very long time since I have, like 10 years or so. I did a search and didn't find anything on the benefits or disadvantages, or better or worse for historical or not. I need some opinions, please. Thanks.

[DaBears]

Best use is gaining experience at other fielding positions.

[RchW]

ST has great value for me as a GM/Manager.

[NoOne]

knocking off rust from offseason alone is enough reason. leave it default.. make sure rp get close to 20ip or so. is that the minimum? probably not.. not being that precise/accurate

i don't do the 6-man rotation becaue i figure 24ip vs 20ip is useful for the sp. i do add a reliever or 2. if i see one getting more play than the others i'll change their role, even if not what i intend to use (not rp->sp, just rp roles)

i want to say gaining exp at a position happens faster in ST? refer to manual to confirm.. if not there, ignore that.

i zip through by day or week etc while making sure i don't have an RP headed for 32ip in 30games. i check at ~1/2 and lookin for ~10-12ip by half way through. adjust or even demote a player if i don't see enough work with "my" guys.

an extra closer helps. i'll swap teh 7th/8th setup guys if one is being neglected as what normally happens in ST. even both start at "7th" but one usually gets alot more work than the other. the setup guy is the one i typicall downshift to none specifed or middle use less often etc. sometimes a any random RP gets buried and i set them as sole LongR

if i need to hold the brakes, i move them to lefty spec and no secondary.. or non-specified if righty.

keep your batters slimmer for better ai management, imo... if you play games out it simply won't matter if you have 30 or 40, since you'll be making those decisions. i do set the backup catcher to 3rd or 4th day too. then, 7-10days on the benchplayers subbing, unless you have a platoon. ~15 batters is plenty, exceptions for high-end prospects personally.

with a platoon look for ways to get the vs lefty guy into depth chart elsewhere vs righties for AB.

while some years you'll want to learn a position with this player or simply see a prospect play in st etc... try to do it the same way each year.. you will know with certainty that everyone gets their AB and IP -- just have to glance at IP every so often, but can ludicrous speed through it. (a la spaceballs)

~28-32 players is ideal, imo. call up AAA'ers for injuries. no need to short-hand yourself.

[Vezna31]

Do you impose pitch counts on your pitchers? I was thinking of limiting starters to 60 pitches.

[Drstrangelove]

Originally Posted by NoOne

i want to say gaining exp at a position happens faster in ST? refer to manual to confirm.. if not there, ignore that.

It's complicated based upon my study of this. As the experience level rises, the amount earned per game declines for each player by position. And the starting rate varies both by player and position. E.g., a player with 150 games XP at CF might earn XP at the same rate or close to the same rate as the regular season in CF, but it would have been much faster had he started with zero XP at CF. It's also much faster for him at another position where he has much less than 100 XP, although the rate might vary from position to position. So everyone seems to earn XP in ST, but the rate of XP changes based upon several variables.

So, if you want to have someone learn a new position (where XP = 0), then, this seems to be the best place to start. Once it gets to around 120 to 150 XP, it seems to be far less effective, to the point that you wonder if a new position is worth learning.

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by Vezna31

Do you impose pitch counts on your pitchers? I was thinking of limiting starters to 60 pitches.

they have them hardcoded in ST. your SP will only go 4ip, assuming they don't torched, and they have to be removed early.

i do deviate from the pitch counts the game applies to MiL levels. check manual for exact values.

basically i do it to conserve some bullets for later on, without causing a noticeable loss of IP. i think AAA gets upto 110? it's lower at lower levels. i think i set it to 100. may have knoced off ~5 pitches at the other levels. i'd have to look it's been too long.

i lock that with the team strategy page -- input box for max pitch count is there. may need comissioner mode for that? as far as i am concerned, the organization will do as i tell them to, lol. you can accomplish it with per player pitch counts too, but i doubt that's necessary.