how do you play the game

[jdolecek49]

How do you guys play the game? Do you play with your own fictional league? Do you play Perfect team? Do you play Standard Mode? and also do you play strictly as the General Manager or do you also Manage the team?

[David Watts]

I observe. Usually some form of Historical, often random debut. I don't manage or gm. I simply watch games and observe as a fan. I guess I'm the commissioner in a way, as I decide rules and such. Another way to put this is, I sit a room for hours on end pushing the space bar over and over and over.....

[jimmysthebestcop]

Last year I only played 1 season of modern day then it was all perfect team the rest of the year.

Ootp 21 I haven't touched perfect team. Doing modern day 2020 opening day. Full universe.

[Tony820]

I usually take over a present day team. Started with the White Sox, may switch over to the Rockies at some point, interested to try my hand at Coors.

I try and play every game is one pitch mode. Manager/GM. Get way more invested into the season that way.

[ohiodevil]

I usually play as the Indians and try to break the "curse" and get a World Series championship. I also like to sim the current season and then expand the league and take over one of the expansion teams and see how quickly I can turn them into a contender.

I really want to try a fictional league but can never get it off the ground...have the league setup in mind but can't get the desired stats.

[cheo25]

Historical sim. I sim on a day-by-day basis every day but Saturday with Real-Time Sim set to 300.

On Saturdays during the season, I watch a simulated "Game of the Week", which I take from what NBC televised in the given year I'm playing (this info is on the 506 Forums). The last four weeks of the season, I pick my own game if the scheduled TV game does not feature at least one team in contention or if there is another matchup that has more pennant race implications than the scheduled TV game.

I started in 1980, and I'm a week before the All-Star break in 1988. And I actually have a Friday night game this week, too, because NBC would do a couple of primetime games each year. Mets-Astros from Houston set for Friday and Saturday the weekend before the All-Star break.

[jg2977]

I observe fictional leagues. I like to sim through the regular seasons and then watch each playoff game to see which team wins the most championships. Right now I have a 56-team league in its 16th season. It's split up into 8 7-team divisions. 16 teams make the playoffs, 8 division winners and the 4 best wild cards in each conference, so I have an NHL style playoffs where I reseed the teams after the first round. I'm the commisioner so I adjust the league rules and stat modifiers to my liking, and add expansion teams every few years.

So far four teams are tied with 2 championships - Kansas City, New York, Las Vegas and Baltimore. A few years ago Baltimore actually won consecutive titles, which is a feat that will be extremely rare given my setup.

Something hilarious happened last season. San Francisco won 11 straight division titles and won 2 pennants but could never get over the hump. Last year their streak of division titles was broken, but made the playoffs as a wild card and finally won the championship.

I was thinking of starting to post the league's progress in the dynasty reports.

[The Yurpman]

I play as my hometown Red Sox every year. Just a modern game, nothing crazy. Play as the Manager/GM, although I sim all the games. This has been the toughest Sox team to start with in quite a few versions of OOTP lol. I also play PT on the side. I collect/buy/sell trading cards in real life so I'm naturally attracted to card collecting games.

I wish I had the creativity to make a full fictional league with all cohesive names, logos, uniforms, etc. but I don't. Some of the stuff I've seen throughout the years on here is mind blowing.

[thklein]

I'm playing a MLB modern day league I started in OOTP20. I'm now in the year 2043. I sim week to week during the regular season, basically acting as GM only except I do set the starting lineup. I play out each game of the post season.

Someday I'll start another league where I play out each game. Maybe a fictional league with a shorter season.

[Leo_The_Lip]

I like everything about OOTP--until I don't.

Then I switch to another form of the game.

I'm in my usual start of a new version in which I play as a Central (either league) team until I start winning. Then I'll resign and sim 10 more years and expand to Montreal and Vancouver. I'll also switch to 8-team divisions at that point.

When I tire of that, I'll go to one or more of my fictional setups--a 16-team Virginia league, or a 32 team post-war majors leagues. Or even an Italian league based on the idea that American soldiers stay in Italy and found a league which evolves into a league with Italian and Mediterranean players over time. However, I have not yet gotten that to work to my satisfaction.

Then I'll do an historical league for a bit, until I go back to a Standard game again.

All the while keeping up with my usually-floundering packs-only Perfect Teams.

So there's a lot to do!

[Beatles Eternally]

What a great question! (This will be sort of a long reply. Apologies)

I am a passionate student of the game's rich history. I am forever thankful that OOTP includes virtually the totality of not only MLB but all professional baseball. (I wish that at some point, the AAGPBL could be implemented).

For me, OOTP is the game I always dreamed of. As a kid, I would pore through Total Baseball and other mammoth resources and I would lose literally HOURS just focusing on a specific area or player. I would read about The Grey Eagle, The Flying Dutchman, and The Iron Horse. I would try to create games using these legends, but, of course, they were woefully poor.

I should add that I am such a baseball geek that I am possibly the only rock musician on the planet who would take Total Baseball to gigs! That's right! While other band members were meeting groupies during breaks, I would hunker down behind my synthesizers and read Total Baseball! (Yes, I did manage to meet a few birds .

Well, OOTP allows me finally to journey to all of the baseball I wanted to see and play! As you probably have guessed, I play mostly historical. Baseball is the greatest game ever created and its history is unparalleled. Deadball is my favorite era though I do play "modern" baseball as well. I am thrilled to "go back in time" and vicariously be at those old quirky parks (thanks to Silvam, Garlon, et. al.) to see Wagner, Cobb, Speaker, Jackson, and Sisler shine once again. There's nothing quite like watching - or managing - Johnson, Mathewson, Joss, and Alexander as they dominate.

I also play historical because in some bizarre way, I feel as though I am paying homage to the past greats of the game. (Must be the result of too many gigs reading Total Baseball). Not many fans talk about players like Elmer Flick, Sam Rice, or Sam Crawford. It's one thing to read for instance just how fearsome a slugger Crawford was and it's quite another to "see" him do it.

I also love to create seasons of great teams from all eras and experiment with era normalization. That part of me joyfiully continues on the admittedly futile quest of discovering what team was the greatest in all of baseball.

Anyhow, in a historical replay, I will choose a team to manage - usually the Pirates - but, I play in Commissioner Mode so that I can watch games too. As some know, 1908 is considered as one of the greatest pennant races of all time. Commisioner Mode allows me to manage the Bucs but then watch a game taking place beteen the Cubs and Giants. Yes. it's that learning experience/witnessing history again.

I do not play in GM mode. I allow actual transactions and I turn off financials. I am interested in the game on the field, not the price of tickets or beer. I love the challenge of managing in a style in which I have to scratch and claw for every run. Home runs are nice, but, artillery barrages get old quickly. When Mathewson and Brown are facing off, what could be better for a baseball geek?

I can think of no other game that gives me the opportunity to learn and re-learn baseball history in a way that won't break the bank. The closest competitor is Action PC Baseball. I love that game, but, after buying every season from 1900 to 2019 plus a lot of extra stuff and a decent portion of the 19th Century, I have come to appreciate not only the cost-effectiveness of OOTP but also the complete freedom to play as I wish!

I'll end my paean to this great game by saying thank you to OOTP Developments for creating my dream baseball sandbox and way back machine. Thanks also to this brilliant community for making it even more fun!

Now I must go, Walter Johnson and Smoky Joe Wood are about to start and,. surprise, I have a groupie that loves baseball!

Be safe everyone, we will beat this damned virus and soon we'll be at the parks again!!

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by Beatles Eternally

(I wish that at some point, the AAGPBL could be implemented).

Ask for it. Loudly.

[Vegas Vic]

GM only or Manager only, but never both.

[IanIachimoe]

GM & Manager while managing every game.

[Steebe]

Originally Posted by David Watts

I observe. Usually some form of Historical, often random debut. I don't manage or gm. I simply watch games and observe as a fan. I guess I'm the commissioner in a way, as I decide rules and such. Another way to put this is, I sit a room for hours on end pushing the space bar over and over and over.....

Silliness. Pure silliness. But it sounds better that yelling at the computer trying to get the manager to bench a .180 hitter.

[Motorhead667]

Perfect team
And my fictional league

[kevrock]

I’ve been in an online fictional league for maybe 7 years. Online is my favorite and primary way to play.

Then I play either MLB or fictional leagues offline with a challenging scenario. Right now, I’m doing a Tigers Franchise, standard MLB start, GM only.

No interest in Perfect Team.

[naterg1]

The last few versions of the game, I have mainly become a baseball universe creator and observer. I find that I generally enjoy fictional leagues in OOTP more than anything else. I’m currently following my Sun Valley Baseball Association. It’s an 8 team league set in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, with 3 minor leagues. There are also three other leagues running in the background (in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico) that I am using to create a series of tournaments. (A tournament between the four league champions once every 4 years, a tournament including all 32 teams from the four leagues every 4 years, and a tournament featuring all-stars from the 8 divisions every 2 years, In between the other tournaments.)

I sim each recital season game from the scores page and look at a few box scores and or game logs for each day (any game that seems like it might have been interesting or had a big performance by a player I like or a player I haven’t heard of yet). I also watch meaningful games down the stretch and watch the Sun Valley Series. So far, I haven’t really watched much of the tournament play. Those are more there as something I wanted to try out. I think that, because I don’t really have an investment in the other state leagues, the tournaments haven’t really grabbed me. For now, those are just there to add stats into the world, and give my players a few more things to do. I like the idea of players being selected for the All-Star tournament or having a team go deep in the other tournaments. However, if those don’t grab me over the next couple of seasons, I might eliminate the tournaments, and label them a failed experiment or something.

I have a shortlist of all of the number one draft picks in the league so far so I can check in on their progress. I also have a shortlist of players who have caught my interest for one reason or another.

I just completed the 2026 Sun Valley Series. It was an intense, back and forth, series that had many memorable moments.

I have a few favorite players and a favorite team, but I don’t really do anything to influence their success or failure. Several of my favorite players are not on that team.

I couldn’t believe a couple of trades that were made, but they ended up working out in ways I hadn’t expected.

I’ve been surprised by decisions about playing time, and compelled by the results of those decisions.

I also play some PT and have done some online playing, which I enjoy in fictional settings as well.

I occasionally mess around with other things in single player.. I’ve tried managing, GM’ing, both at the same time, modern day, historical, random debut, and probably a few other things. The type of league I described above is what I always come back to. I have generally started a new version of this basic league each year, with a few changes to address things that ended up bothering me in the previous version. So far, I’m loving this take on it.

[mbologna]

I am just learning. Started playing the 1970 season (the year I was born) as a Triple A manager.

Figured it would be a good way to learn how to manage without worrying about the other aspects. Trying to resist the urge to sim to jump ahead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Reggie]

I play a fictional league until I get mad.. then I switch to the Phillies in my real league until the same thing happens and switch back. To be honest, if I tracked every minute I've played over the last decade I bet I'd have equal time playing and creating fictional leagues. I mean I spend A LOT of time creating leagues for some reason.

I play out every game and I believe the farthest I've ever gotten was year 8..and it was fictional. That was years ago. I had a catcher named Stan Hale who was a beast. I played that save until he started to come down to earth and was pretty much just above average.

I play GM/Manager