Is OOTP 25 in love with 1st base?

[AstroDeke]

I've noticed that this game has a particular love affair with fist basemen. In my league, it seems that every roster has at least 2 first basemen as their primary position. Most teams have three and I had one team with four on the roster. This is insane. There's no way that's realistic. I understand there will be some players who may play 1B as a second or third position, but not not as their primary position. Am I missing a particular setting and Is anyone else seeing this or is it just me?


PS, I still love this game in spite of the flaws.

[Brad K]

It's not just 25. It's been that way forever.

[mytreds]

Originally Posted by Brad K

It's not just 25. It's been that way forever.

Yeah was gonna say…I still play 21 and every created player that’s a HoFer is either a SP or a 1B.

IRL 1B technically has the most HoFers at 27 (tied with RF), followed by SS with 26.

[Brad K]

Congratulations on sticking with 21.

[zappa1]

I like 21, too. But on my game the left handed players graphics are backwards.

[ChaseReed]

You're encountering a peculiar quirk in OOTP 25 with an overabundance of first basemen.

[StLee]

Originally Posted by AstroDeke

I've noticed that this game has a particular love affair with fist basemen. In my league, it seems that every roster has at least 2 first basemen as their primary position. Most teams have three and I had one team with four on the roster. This is insane. There's no way that's realistic. I understand there will be some players who may play 1B as a second or third position, but not not as their primary position. Am I missing a particular setting and Is anyone else seeing this or is it just me?


PS, I still love this game in spite of the flaws.

I have been tweaking a lot of guys by giving them defensive skills for different positions and changing their position in Commissioner Mode hoping that the AI teams will try them out and use them at positions other than 1B. I think part of the problem is a lot of the generated players are terrible at defense, so where else will they play?

[Scoman]

Who's on first?

[BaseballMan]

At least they aren't throwing to first 10 times in a row like Triple Play 99

[Rain King]

I'm looking through a league that I let run for a while...and I think what you are seeing is that utility guys tend to get labeled with their "best" position...which is often going to be 1B.

Any time I see 3 or 4 players on a team with a 1B position label, there are at least a couple of them that are also rated at other positions.

If you are seeing something different, I would recommend taking some screenshots and I'm sure the Devs would look closer.

That being said, I do think it would be better if a players' primary position always matched where they are being utilized in the depth chart.

[Hrycaj]

There is also an issue with the ai valuing defense at the first base position (and maybe all positions) over offense. I'm wondering if there is a defensive overhaul for the game on the horizon? Aside from the catcher position which has it's own defensive ratings in the game, players in a real life draft tend to be labeled as SS, P, or OF. Yet those SS that are drafted find themselves in other positions all over the diamond as they enter professional baseball. I have heard plenty of times an analyst of draft night say something like "He played SS in college, but I'm not sure he sticks there". So I'm wondering if the primary position a player is labeled with in an OOTP draft boxes players into a certain pre-determined path? Would it make sense to maybe expand on the defensive ratings we already have and allow the user to and the ai to make the initial defensive assignment for a player after they are drafted and signed? There are probably flaws in my thinking here, but it seems players have been asking defensive related questions of players a bit more often on the forums, so it got me thinking.

[Rain King]

The game already works that way. I just simmed a test league to the draft.

Here is the player breakdown by listed position.

C: 66
1B: 19
2B: 37
3B: 35
SS: 60
LF: 32
CF: 82
RF: 40

Infield heavily leans SS and outfield heavily leans CF.

[Reed]

Originally Posted by ChaseReed

I agree with you.

Someone else with the name Reed. And it’s spelled correctly. Welcome onboard.

Reed

[Hrycaj]

Originally Posted by Rain King

The game already works that way. I just simmed a test league to the draft.

Here is the player breakdown by listed position.

C: 66
1B: 19
2B: 37
3B: 35
SS: 60
LF: 32
CF: 82
RF: 40

Infield heavily leans SS and outfield heavily leans CF.

I don't know. If you look at the real MLB draft the number of players listed as P and OF outweigh what you see in an OOTP draft.

[Cod]

Originally Posted by Hrycaj

I don't know. If you look at the real MLB draft the number of players listed as P and OF outweigh what you see in an OOTP draft.

I understand what you're saying, but it's hard to compare to the real MLB draft prospects' because these days the majority are listed as INF, OF, or Pitcher-handedness (LHP/RHP). It's rare to see a specific position listed now-a-days except for catchers. For example, look at D1Baseball's top 30 college prospects for 2025: https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/a...ted-d1baseball.

It does make me think, should OOTP take this approach with modern saves? That would force the user to check the ratings and trust their front office to help make position choices for players.

[Hrycaj]

Originally Posted by Cod

I understand what you're saying, but it's hard to compare to the real MLB draft prospects' because these days the majority are listed as INF, OF, or Pitcher-handedness (LHP/RHP). It's rare to see a specific position listed now-a-days except for catchers. For example, look at D1Baseball's top 30 college prospects for 2025: https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/a...ted-d1baseball.

It does make me think, should OOTP take this approach with modern saves? That would force the user to check the ratings and trust their front office to help make position choices for players.

That is exactly my point. Does the pre-determined position assignment pigeon hole players? Would a system where players use the defensive ratings to ultimately make the decision work better? I completely understand that players can move players where ever they want now, but do players actually look at the defensive ratings to make that determination or do they look at the fact that the game says they have the best chance to pay “x” position and just roll with it? Probably impossible to figure out because there is no way to actually know how the majority of players play the game.

[Cod]

Originally Posted by Hrycaj

That is exactly my point. Does the pre-determined position assignment pigeon hole players? Would a system where players use the defensive ratings to ultimately make the decision work better? I completely understand that players can move players where ever they want now, but do players actually look at the defensive ratings to make that determination or do they look at the fact that the game says they have the best chance to pay “x” position and just roll with it? Probably impossible to figure out because there is no way to actually know how the majority of players play the game.

I assume casual players just roll with it while die-hards dig into the numbers more. It's like the overall/potential ratings, especially stars. Works great for the majority of players and is one less thing to worry about.