Ballpark Factor, lefty lineup

[RoteLaterne]

My ballpark factors
ABG LHB 1.1
AVG RHB 0.9
Doubles/Triples 1.0
POW LHB 1.1
POW RHB 0.9

I only play LHB who are good vs RHP in my lineup.

Under this strategy, sb suggested to have left-handed SP because it forces my opponent to use RHB which of course perform worse.

Is this consideration right?

[Lemandria]

Originally Posted by RoteLaterne

My ballpark factors
ABG LHB 1.1
AVG RHB 0.9
Doubles/Triples 1.0
POW LHB 1.1
POW RHB 0.9

I only play LHB who are good vs RHP in my lineup.

Under this strategy, sb suggested to have left-handed SP because it forces my opponent to use RHB which of course perform worse.

Is this consideration right?

Sure. You've created an all-lefty all the time park.

RHP relievers are the "specislists" in your bullpen. And you'll never need more than a couple.

Congratulations, an all-lefty rotation runs about 60% of the cost of the equivalent RHPs...until you get to top, anyway.

A bit too extreme for my tastes, and you'll discover the problems with buying the whole hawg.

[emilempenza]

Yeah, the problem is that you only play half your games at home, so in away games against lefty pitchers you will have a tough time of it with an all lefty team. Meanwhile in away games their righty hitters will have a field day.

It is effective though for teams on a budget if you get the right type of players. Lefties who hit lefties well are rare and valuable to a team like this

[daves]

Originally Posted by RoteLaterne

My ballpark factors
ABG LHB 1.1
AVG RHB 0.9
Doubles/Triples 1.0
POW LHB 1.1
POW RHB 0.9

I only play LHB who are good vs RHP in my lineup.

Under this strategy, sb suggested to have left-handed SP because it forces my opponent to use RHB which of course perform worse.

Is this consideration right?

I've used it and I have seen others use it effectively. It can give you an advantage at home which is only 1/2 your games. You still need decent left handers that can hit and field and good lefty starters that are equally effective against right handed hitters. It doesn't force your opponent to use Righties, but most users have more righty batters in their lineup when going against a lefty.

It's a radical strategy that can work when hosting a superior opponent. But it does also limit the talent you are trying to obtain.

[dkgo]

The other downside of an extreme strategy is that in the playoffs an opponent who is paying attention will move lefties into the rotation.

During the season though when most people arent checking in it can be very effective and has been since 19

[Spieler]

It's a decent strategy vs the Live SE teams, as they tend to be LHB-heavy (Yogi, Ichiro, Yaz, Snider, Ott, Klein, Cano, Billy Williams)

[chazzycat]

It's a good strategy for getting the most out of a limited budget, generally speaking. You'd probably be surprised by how many managers are not paying attention, even in the playoffs. When it comes to the playoffs, try to ensure you have a lefty pitching at home every single game. That is definitely important and well worth the micro-management. Keep your 99 Maddux on hand for road games though.

[RoteLaterne]

Originally Posted by emilempenza

Lefties who hit lefties well are rare and valuable to a team like this

I try go get LHB that do well against RHP.
3 out of 4 SP are righties and they don't perform well in my ballpark.
That's where I want to get an edge.

[daves]

When using this strategy you should also obtain a few decent switch hitters so you are not entirely at a disadvantage on the road against lefties.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by daves

When using this strategy you should also obtain a few decent switch hitters so you are not entirely at a disadvantage on the road against lefties.

If the game had separate lineups for home & road games, absolutely. But with the current setup I disagree. This is going to kill you against lefties at home, because the game will force them to hit from the right side, which you've nerfed. So that's a -20% penalty (from +10 to -10) in those situations, which is huge.

-20% penalties are to be avoided at all costs. You can never make up a -20% penalty on the road, because away parks average out to a neutral park. So at best all you can do on the road is +10% (lack of -10 penalty, but NEVER +10 boost).

Basically...it's counter-intuitive, but I would advise considering ONLY home games and not worrying about away games whatsoever.

[daves]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

If the game had separate lineups for home & road games, absolutely. But with the current setup I disagree. This is going to kill you against lefties at home, because the game will force them to hit from the right side, which you've nerfed. So that's a -20% penalty (from +10 to -10) in those situations, which is huge.

-20% penalties are to be avoided at all costs. You can never make up a -20% penalty on the road, because away parks average out to a neutral park. So at best all you can do on the road is +10% (lack of -10 penalty, but NEVER +10 boost).

Basically...it's counter-intuitive, but I would advise considering ONLY home games and not worrying about away games whatsoever.

1/2 of the games are on the road. A switch hitter can hit righties well and will still have a matchup advantage against lefties despite the ball park factors.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by daves

1/2 of the games are on the road. A switch hitter can hit righties well and will still have a matchup advantage against lefties despite the ball park factors.

I don't think I explained it properly. Let me try again. Let's take 2 players of equal ratings and put them both in a lefty home park.

Player A: reverse/minimal split lefty (think Carew, Gwynn, Erstad, etc.)
Player B: switch hitter.

Let's focus just on the vL lineup here in isolation to simplify things. At home vL, player A gets +10% boost, while player B gets a -10% penalty. So that's a 20% swing between the two players at home from park factors.

Your point that player B at least gets the platoon advantage is absolutely correct. And it would help make up some of the ground lost to that 20% swing. But the thing is, switch hitters tend to have even splits. That's the whole point of switch hitters, to perform well against both sides. So I'd be willing to bet that is maybe a 5% boost tops, and that's probably generous. So let's say with that in mind, that at home, our 20% advantage is down to 15%.

So if there is a 15% disadvantage at home, the switch hitter would need to be +15% on the road just to be equal with the lefty.

Now, if your entire league was full of RIGHTY-favored parks, (i.e. the opposite of OP) then in that case, it would make sense to load up on switch hitters. If that was the case then player B would enjoy a +25% advantage over player A on the road (+20% for park factors +5% for platoon) which is higher than 15% home penalty, so it's a good plan. But if your away parks are neutral, which over time they absolutely are, that 20% modifier disappears, there's simply no 20 point swing anywhere. Player B would have the platoon advantage of +5 on the road, but they are still -15 at home. Bad plan.

Basically what it comes down to is park factors are just more powerful than platoon advantages.

Now I will concede this is oversimplified, and it's not 100% fair to limit this just to the vL lineup. That is only a part of the overall picture, and you need to consider vR lineups as well. But TBH I don't want switch hitters in my vR lineup either. What if the RHSP gets relieved by a LHRP? Hello again, 20% penalty at home. In the crucial late game situation. I don't want any part of that.

This strategy works. My vL lineup has been unique in BFF in that I was the only one to use all lefties with reverse splits instead of righties or switch hitters. My team has generally been the most cost effective in terms of WINS per PP spent, of all the teams in BFF.

If you want to stretch your PP via park factors, my advice would be to lean INTO the park factors as hard as possible. Don't hedge your bet, just go all-in.

[RoteLaterne]

This team described in the first post is the best I have so far.
This strategy works fine for me.