Some newbie questions - Types of Pitcher, Star Ratings, Fielding

monkeystyxx · 10-03-2014, 05:14 PM

Hey guys, hope you don't mind a complete n00b cluttering up the forums.

I'm trying to learn about baseball (I'm from the UK, so it's not something I ever had the opportunity to watch growing up). I get the general idea. I can watch a game and know roughly what's happening, the sheer volume of stats is still a bit overwhelming though! But that'll come with time...

I'm having trouble with two areas in particular though... pitchers and the star rating system.

Simplest one first, what do the star ratings represent? The obvious answer is 'how good a player is, and how good he can become', but what does this mean in real terms? There are players with great ratings, but only 1 star. For example, the guy that got me into baseball - Ichiro Suzuki. He's clearly an amazing fielder, and he doesn't seem to be god-awful with the bat. He's paid pretty well for a 40 year old, so why the single star rating? Is that just because he's old? What is it that makes Brett Gardner a 3.5* player, when Ichiro is only 1*? To a newbie like me, they seem similar with a bat (Gardner is slightly better, not not exceptional), and Ichiro seems a much better fielder. On occasions where a player has good ratings but few stars, would you pick a player with more stars or better ratings?

The other thing that confuses me greatly is the whole pitching thing. As I understand it, starting pitchers are obviously the main guys, and they take in turns so you'll have one starting pitcher per game, and good starting pitchers have high stamina and a good variation of pitches. That makes sense.

What doesn't make sense to me is the bullpen. If I understand correctly, these are the guys that take over from the starting pitcher when he gets tired during a game, right?

So your Long Relievers are guys with relatively high stamina who take over from the SP if he gets hurt early on in a game (or starts tired or something so he tires earlier than normal). So in theory these are guys that could be SPs but aren't quite good enough? Or...?

Middle Relievers are guys with lower stamina who can't pitch for a long time, but are otherwise good pitchers with a decent variety who can come in in the mid-game when the SP gets tired, right? So decent pitchers just with low stamina?

Then Closers are guys who are only really good at a few types of pitch, so would be too predictable to use long-term but are good for short bursts at the end of games to change things up?

This all kinda makes sense, assuming it's right!

What I don't get is, other than stamina, what makes a pitcher a relief pitcher instead of a starting pitcher?

Using the Angels as an example because I just played a (horrifying write-off of a) season with them, Ernesto Frieri is clearly a closer. Good at Changeup and Sliders, ok at Fastballs, but nothing else. Really low stamina. Makes sense.

But what about Matt Shoemaker? He's listed as a MR, but I can't see any reason why he can't be a SP? Is there something I'm missing? Or is it just simply that he's not as good as the Angels' other pitchers so they use him as a relief? I have no idea who he is, because as I said I'm a total newbie, so it might be that he used to be an SP for someone else (I've noticed that players who aren't a SP tend to have stamina so low that there's no way they can be used as one).

Specialists; obviously I get the idea here (they're better at pitching to righties or lefties), but when are they used? For EVERY lefty? That doesn't seem to make sense. Are they only used if the SP is particularly weak against a particular handedness. That doesn't seem to happen a whole lot.

Now for the big one... Setup? No idea at all. Any help?

While I'm here... Ground vs. Fly. I'm guessing that if you pitch a lot of ground-balls there's less chance of a HR but also less chance of catching batters out? And vice versa, flyballs tend to HR more but also get caught more?

Oh and one final thing... batting ability vs. fielding ability. How useful is a great fielder who can't bat that well? I'd imagine an average fielder who can bat really well would be better, especially if your batters on the whole weren't great? And if that's true, where do you need the best fielders; infield or outfield?

I mean, from what I've seen it seems that being a baseman is pretty simple (not EASY, but SIMPLE). In general you stand on a base and catch the ball when someone chucks it at you. The hardest part seems to be working out who, if anyone, you need to throw it to afterwards. So I'd imagine that not being a great baseman would be less of a hindrance than not being a great outfielder, because diving for catches and having a good outfield throwing arm would be a better weapon than being an exceptional baseman, due to the 'extra' outs you can get that a lesser player might not have got. Kinda like how in soccer, if you're going to have an exceptional player on your team it's more useful to have him be a forward than a defender or goalkeeper, as even the best defences will leak goals, but crap attackers won't score 'em.

So would I be right in assuming that, in general, if you have to choose between good batters and good fielders, it's better to have the good batters in the infield where their average fielding ability is less crucial, and have the good fielders be the outfielders where they can make outs that otherwise wouldn't have happened?

On a side note, is there much difference in the skills required for the different bases? I kinda just assumed they all did roughly the same thing? If I've got two guys who're great at 3rd base, would putting the slightly-less-great one on 2nd base be a terrible idea?

Sorry, this got really long really fast.

Peregrine · 10-03-2014, 09:58 PM

As far as the stars go keep in mind that is the opinion of your team's scout, or the league's scout. If you have scouting on default levels there will be a lot of variability between what you see and what you may get. I would recommend turning scouting to 100% accurate until you get used to it. Also keep in mind that a good number of people who play the game don't like the star system at all and don't use it.

Quote:

What I don't get is, other than stamina, what makes a pitcher a relief pitcher instead of a starting pitcher?

Generally it's the lack of a valid third pitch - most starters, in addition to high stamina need at least 3 good pitches - generally relievers have 2, or sometimes 1. A starter will face a given batter multiple times in a game and unless they have 3 pitches to mix up, a batter will generally "figure them out" - but in relief a pitcher won't usually be seeing a batter more than once. It doesn't mean that an amazing starter with only 2 pitches can't succeed, but just a rule of thumb.

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Now for the big one... Setup? No idea at all. Any help?

The setup man is usually considered a team's second best (and third best if there are two) reliever - they will often pitch in the 8th inning when a team is winning to "set up" the game for the closer to finish things out in the 9th. They can be used in other situations too - like when you need some talent on the mound to get past the best hitters in the order.

Quote:

While I'm here... Ground vs. Fly. I'm guessing that if you pitch a lot of ground-balls there's less chance of a HR but also less chance of catching batters out? And vice versa, flyballs tend to HR more but also get caught more?

Generally groundball pitchers are preferred because if the other team hits most of the balls on the ground it will limit their ability to hit not only home runs but also all kinds of extra-base hits. If you have a good defensive infield with a good GB pitcher this enhances the effect. Flyball pitchers (usually) are power pitchers who throw hard, get a lot of strikeouts but if they do get hit the hitters will make good contact - generally leads to more home runs and extra base hits but also more popups (I believe.)

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Oh and one final thing... batting ability vs. fielding ability. How useful is a great fielder who can't bat that well?

To be honest the minor leagues are filled with players who can field well but can't hit. Generally hitting ability is what will determine if you can make a major league roster and stay there - that's not to say there's not some top notch fielders who are weak hitters around, but you usually have to have an additional skill (like speed) to make this work. As far as the different positions, usually first base is the position where a really bad fielder will hurt you the least, so often good hitters who can't play well at other positions due to age or whatever, get moved to first base successfully. Other infield positions you don't want to have really terrible defense, because it will allow a lot more hits to go through (because the player can't get there to make the play) in addition to straight errors.

monkeystyxx · 10-04-2014, 09:03 AM

Thanks for the answers

TGH-Adfabre · 10-04-2014, 01:23 PM

Quote:

I'm trying to learn about baseball (I'm from the UK, so it's not something I ever had the opportunity to watch growing up).

Turn scouting off or up to 100% accuracy until the game becomes too easy to be fun. Scouting works really well and that can make learning very cumbersome.

Quote:

Simplest one first, what do the star ratings represent?

There is a setting in the game "Overall rating based on all players, not positions". This matters quite a bit. Check yours. If you have it by position it will rate the players against everyone who plays that position, the problem is you can be fooled into thinking a player is worse or better if their position is changed. Say from RF to CF or LF.
The OVR (in your case Stars) is a rough estimate of the players talent relative to the rest of the league. It is not the final say, there are times when the OVR makes no sense to me at all and others when it seems spot on. Use it as a guide but not the final authority.
If you have scouts on then (and not set to 100% accuracy) then any Stars you see are subject to inaccuracy.

Quote:

Specialists; obviously I get the idea here (they're better at pitching to righties or lefties), but when are they used?

When an out is essential. 8th inning, one run lead, 2 outs, man on second, left handed batter. Bring in a left handed reliever because he has better odds of getting the out than your setup pitchers. Situations where getting the out may have a substantial effect on the rest of the game. These a referred to as "high leverage situations".

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I mean, from what I've seen it seems that being a baseman is pretty simple (not EASY, but SIMPLE).

No, it is incredibly hard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyvu1nWjOlI
Watch from 2:00-2:15

1B- Usually your weakest defensive infielder, the least important defensive position.
2B- Infield error and turn double play are essential
3B- Infield error and infield arm are most important
SS- Arguably the most important defensive position in the game. Error, arm, and turn DP are all important

Quote:

So would I be right in assuming that, in general, if you have to choose between good batters and good fielders, it's better to have the good batters in the infield where their average fielding ability is less crucial, and have the good fielders be the outfielders where they can make outs that otherwise wouldn't have happened?

To be more specific. I will give up defense in LF and 1B. I will sacrifice offense on the altar of defense at SS and CF.
C, 2B, 3B and RF are trade off positions. It depends how much offense I am getting compared to how much defense I am giving up.

Quote:

On a side note, is there much difference in the skills required for the different bases? I kinda just assumed they all did roughly the same thing? If I've got two guys who're great at 3rd base, would putting the slightly-less-great one on 2nd base be a terrible idea?

It depends on the specific defensive skills they have. In your example they need to have a high Turn DP to go to 2B and be useful.
1B or LF are god options. You can check in the player profile->Ratings tab. It will tell you all defensive ratings, that can tell you if can move.

Number4 · 10-05-2014, 05:18 AM

There is a thing called positional adjustment, it basically tells you how much a player is worth if he plays a more challenging defensive position compared to a easier one.

like for example, in football a striker who scores 10 goals per season might be rather weak, a midfielder with 10 goals is decent and a defender with 10 goals has a really great offensive contribution.

the values (in "runs per 600 plate appearances"), don't think about the numbers, they are just to show you which positions are more offensive minded, are:

catcher +12,5
shortstop +7,5
2nd, 3rd, center +2,5
lf, rf -7,5
1st -12,5
designated hitter -17,5

from that you can see that the most important defensive positons are catcher and shortstop. a catcher needs good catcher ability and arm rating (the arm is to throw out runners who try to steal a base),
a shortstop needs to be good at every infield rating.

a 2nd baseman needs good range and turn DP ratings, he can live with a weak arm, as he is between 1st and 2nd and almost all of his throws are to that bases. the ss and 3rd baseman especially need good arms, as 1st (where most outs are made) is farther away.

the 3rd baseman wants a good infield arm and not completly bad range, but this is a position where you might prioritize batting.

the center fielder needs great outfield range, as he covers the most ground of any single player in the park.

LF and RF are position where usually offense is more important, however you usually want a strong throwing arm in right field (as he can prevent runners advancing to third, however the left fielder has no reason to make the equivalent throw to first)

1st baseman is the most offensive minded fielding position, defense is a bonus.

and DH, if you play with one, is obivously offense only, as fielding is no concern for him.

monkeystyxx · 10-05-2014, 11:12 AM

Thanks guys, this has helped loads. A combination of watching lots of games (I watched 3 games back-to-back yesterday, I might be getting a little bit obsessed. And one of those was the epic Giants/Nats game

).

That, in combination with deciding on a favourite team (the Pirates, because both of my UK sports teams are nicknamed the Pirates, so it makes sense! (Bristol Rovers in soccer and the Cornish Pirates rugby team) and learning more about them has been a great help. My in-game Pirates stole the last wildcard spot on the last day of the season, won it against the Giants (revenge!) and got through to the NLCS but lost 3-2 to the Dodgers (who went on to lose to the Red Sox).

A vast improvement from the Angels debacle!

Is there any way to see the results from previous seasons? Just noticed I can't see any final standings or anything from last year because it's all reset, and there doesn't seem to be an option to change the year or anything.

Regardless, we'll have to see how we do next year, as I have a feeling my trades and signings weren't exactly stellar.

Re-signed Liriano as he had a great year (er, I think. 17-8, 2.38 ERA, 234IP, 242K, .273 BABIP, 1.04 WHIP). Although I had to wait and sign him as a free agent as I didn't have enough budget for extensions before November.

Walker, Jared Hughes, Vance Worley and Ernesto Frieri all left as free agents (I guess the 2014 Mod had a roster update, as last time I played Frieri was a great closer for the Angels, now he's a meh relief for the Pirates). Worley was unquestionably awful, couldn't wait to get rid of him.

Traded away Pedro Alvarez (who had a terrible season), Charlie Morton (likewise), Travis Snider (who I just don't like) and a 3* potential catcher from the minor leagues to the Giants for Joe Panik.

So currently (pre-season not yet over) I've got
C - Russel Martin (if there's one thing I've learned from real-life Pirates, they really like Russel Martin. Can't really disagree given his stats last year in-game)
1B - Ike Davis (my best hitter last year with 30 homers and .936 OPS).
2B - Joe Panik
3B - Josh Harrison (my #1 area that needs work. Had decent batting stats last year to be fair, but spent most of the season in AAA)
SS - Jordy Mercer (this is an area I'm hoping to improve too, though I wouldn't be disappointed if Mercer was still here in April as his fielding was good last year and that's what's important for a SS).
RF - Greg Polanco (#1 prospect. Had a decent-but-not-amazing year, shares games with Jose Tabata)
CF - Andrew McCutchen (no explanation necessary. Though his ratings have declined a bit this year and he could do more with the bat).
LF - Jaff Decker (best batter behind Davis last year, though with only 7 HRs, but he spent a third of his time in AAA. Shares games with Marte, and Marte starts against lefties).

vs LHP, Jayson Nix starts at 2B, Starling Marte starts at LF and Gaby Sanchez at 1B but otherwise the same.

Pitching Rotations is:
Gerrit Cole (obviously. He's even got 15 singles and 6 doubles as a batter)
Francisco Liriano
Jameson Taillon (up from AAA, he looks great!)
Jeff Locke (not too happy with him)
Edinson Volquez

Pen:
Melancon as closer (1.56 ERA, 31 saves)
Tyler Glasnow as setup (a bit dubious about this but we'll see how he does. Ratings look good enough for it and had a good season as a starter in AAA).
MRs: Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, Jeanmar Gomez, Vin Massaro. The latter two I'm ok with, but Watson and Wilson had relatively poor seasons last year, both have ERA in the mid-high .3s, which as far as I'm aware isn't great for a relief pitcher.

Lineup is:
vs RHP
1 - Polanco (fastest leftie)
2 - Decker
3 - Panik
4 - Ike Davis (Crawford showed me last week why having your best homer as the 4th guy is useful. Not that he's the Giant's best homer, but it makes sense that grand slams are more likely if the previous 3 guys are the 3 most likely to make bases).
5 - Mercer
6 - McCutchen (good, but rightie)
7 - Harrison
8 - Martin
9 - Pitcher
PH: Tabata, Panik
PR: Broxton. Tabata

vs LHP
1 - Marte
2 - McCutchen
3 - Martin
4 - Sanchez
5 - Polanco
6 - Mercer
7 - Harrison
8 - Nix
9 - Pitcher
PH: Dean Anna, Sanchez
PR: Marte, Broxton

So I'm concerned about the pen and 3B, but otherwise pretty happy with the team right now. This probably means we'll get destroyed.

davehibb · 11-28-2014, 03:55 AM

As a fellow newbie to baseball and OOTP from the UK this thread has been very helpful guys.

Thanks!

10-05-2014, 11:12 AM	#6
monkeystyxx Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 293	Thanks guys, this has helped loads. A combination of watching lots of games (I watched 3 games back-to-back yesterday, I might be getting a little bit obsessed. And one of those was the epic Giants/Nats game ). That, in combination with deciding on a favourite team (the Pirates, because both of my UK sports teams are nicknamed the Pirates, so it makes sense! (Bristol Rovers in soccer and the Cornish Pirates rugby team) and learning more about them has been a great help. My in-game Pirates stole the last wildcard spot on the last day of the season, won it against the Giants (revenge!) and got through to the NLCS but lost 3-2 to the Dodgers (who went on to lose to the Red Sox). A vast improvement from the Angels debacle! Is there any way to see the results from previous seasons? Just noticed I can't see any final standings or anything from last year because it's all reset, and there doesn't seem to be an option to change the year or anything. Regardless, we'll have to see how we do next year, as I have a feeling my trades and signings weren't exactly stellar. Re-signed Liriano as he had a great year (er, I think. 17-8, 2.38 ERA, 234IP, 242K, .273 BABIP, 1.04 WHIP). Although I had to wait and sign him as a free agent as I didn't have enough budget for extensions before November. Walker, Jared Hughes, Vance Worley and Ernesto Frieri all left as free agents (I guess the 2014 Mod had a roster update, as last time I played Frieri was a great closer for the Angels, now he's a meh relief for the Pirates). Worley was unquestionably awful, couldn't wait to get rid of him. Traded away Pedro Alvarez (who had a terrible season), Charlie Morton (likewise), Travis Snider (who I just don't like) and a 3* potential catcher from the minor leagues to the Giants for Joe Panik. So currently (pre-season not yet over) I've got C - Russel Martin (if there's one thing I've learned from real-life Pirates, they really like Russel Martin. Can't really disagree given his stats last year in-game) 1B - Ike Davis (my best hitter last year with 30 homers and .936 OPS). 2B - Joe Panik 3B - Josh Harrison (my #1 area that needs work. Had decent batting stats last year to be fair, but spent most of the season in AAA) SS - Jordy Mercer (this is an area I'm hoping to improve too, though I wouldn't be disappointed if Mercer was still here in April as his fielding was good last year and that's what's important for a SS). RF - Greg Polanco (#1 prospect. Had a decent-but-not-amazing year, shares games with Jose Tabata) CF - Andrew McCutchen (no explanation necessary. Though his ratings have declined a bit this year and he could do more with the bat). LF - Jaff Decker (best batter behind Davis last year, though with only 7 HRs, but he spent a third of his time in AAA. Shares games with Marte, and Marte starts against lefties). vs LHP, Jayson Nix starts at 2B, Starling Marte starts at LF and Gaby Sanchez at 1B but otherwise the same. Pitching Rotations is: Gerrit Cole (obviously. He's even got 15 singles and 6 doubles as a batter) Francisco Liriano Jameson Taillon (up from AAA, he looks great!) Jeff Locke (not too happy with him) Edinson Volquez Pen: Melancon as closer (1.56 ERA, 31 saves) Tyler Glasnow as setup (a bit dubious about this but we'll see how he does. Ratings look good enough for it and had a good season as a starter in AAA). MRs: Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, Jeanmar Gomez, Vin Massaro. The latter two I'm ok with, but Watson and Wilson had relatively poor seasons last year, both have ERA in the mid-high .3s, which as far as I'm aware isn't great for a relief pitcher. Lineup is: vs RHP 1 - Polanco (fastest leftie) 2 - Decker 3 - Panik 4 - Ike Davis (Crawford showed me last week why having your best homer as the 4th guy is useful. Not that he's the Giant's best homer, but it makes sense that grand slams are more likely if the previous 3 guys are the 3 most likely to make bases). 5 - Mercer 6 - McCutchen (good, but rightie) 7 - Harrison 8 - Martin 9 - Pitcher PH: Tabata, Panik PR: Broxton. Tabata vs LHP 1 - Marte 2 - McCutchen 3 - Martin 4 - Sanchez 5 - Polanco 6 - Mercer 7 - Harrison 8 - Nix 9 - Pitcher PH: Dean Anna, Sanchez PR: Marte, Broxton So I'm concerned about the pen and 3B, but otherwise pretty happy with the team right now. This probably means we'll get destroyed. Last edited by monkeystyxx; 10-05-2014 at 11:15 AM.

10-03-2014, 05:14 PM	#1
monkeystyxx Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 293	Some newbie questions - Types of Pitcher, Star Ratings, Fielding Hey guys, hope you don't mind a complete n00b cluttering up the forums. I'm trying to learn about baseball (I'm from the UK, so it's not something I ever had the opportunity to watch growing up). I get the general idea. I can watch a game and know roughly what's happening, the sheer volume of stats is still a bit overwhelming though! But that'll come with time... I'm having trouble with two areas in particular though... pitchers and the star rating system. Simplest one first, what do the star ratings represent? The obvious answer is 'how good a player is, and how good he can become', but what does this mean in real terms? There are players with great ratings, but only 1 star. For example, the guy that got me into baseball - Ichiro Suzuki. He's clearly an amazing fielder, and he doesn't seem to be god-awful with the bat. He's paid pretty well for a 40 year old, so why the single star rating? Is that just because he's old? What is it that makes Brett Gardner a 3.5* player, when Ichiro is only 1? To a newbie like me, they seem similar with a bat (Gardner is slightly better, not not exceptional), and Ichiro seems a much better fielder. On occasions where a player has good ratings but few stars, would you pick a player with more stars or better ratings? The other thing that confuses me greatly is the whole pitching thing. As I understand it, starting pitchers are obviously the main guys, and they take in turns so you'll have one starting pitcher per game, and good starting pitchers have high stamina and a good variation of pitches. That makes sense. What doesn't make sense to me is the bullpen. If I understand correctly, these are the guys that take over from the starting pitcher when he gets tired during a game, right? So your Long Relievers are guys with relatively high stamina who take over from the SP if he gets hurt early on in a game (or starts tired or something so he tires earlier than normal). So in theory these are guys that could be SPs but aren't quite good enough? Or...? Middle Relievers are guys with lower stamina who can't pitch for a long time, but are otherwise good pitchers with a decent variety who can come in in the mid-game when the SP gets tired, right? So decent pitchers just with low stamina? Then Closers are guys who are only really good at a few types of pitch, so would be too predictable to use long-term but are good for short bursts at the end of games to change things up? This all kinda makes sense, assuming it's right! What I don't get is, other than stamina, what makes a pitcher a relief pitcher instead of a starting pitcher? Using the Angels as an example because I just played a (horrifying write-off of a) season with them, Ernesto Frieri is clearly a closer. Good at Changeup and Sliders, ok at Fastballs, but nothing else. Really low stamina. Makes sense. But what about Matt Shoemaker? He's listed as a MR, but I can't see any reason why he can't be a SP? Is there something I'm missing? Or is it just simply that he's not as good as the Angels' other pitchers so they use him as a relief? I have no idea who he is, because as I said I'm a total newbie, so it might be that he used to be an SP for someone else (I've noticed that players who aren't a SP tend to have stamina so low that there's no way they can be used as one). Specialists; obviously I get the idea here (they're better at pitching to righties or lefties), but when are they used? For EVERY lefty? That doesn't seem to make sense. Are they only used if the SP is particularly weak against a particular handedness. That doesn't seem to happen a whole lot. Now for the big one... Setup? No idea at all. Any help? While I'm here... Ground vs. Fly. I'm guessing that if you pitch a lot of ground-balls there's less chance of a HR but also less chance of catching batters out? And vice versa, flyballs tend to HR more but also get caught more? Oh and one final thing... batting ability vs. fielding ability. How useful is a great fielder who can't bat that well? I'd imagine an average fielder who can bat really well would be better, especially if your batters on the whole weren't great? And if that's true, where do you need the best fielders; infield or outfield? I mean, from what I've seen it seems that being a baseman is pretty simple (not EASY, but SIMPLE). In general you stand on a base and catch the ball when someone chucks it at you. The hardest part seems to be working out who, if anyone, you need to throw it to afterwards. So I'd imagine that not being a great baseman would be less of a hindrance than not being a great outfielder, because diving for catches and having a good outfield throwing arm would be a better weapon than being an exceptional baseman, due to the 'extra' outs you can get that a lesser player might not have got. Kinda like how in soccer, if you're going to have an exceptional player on your team it's more useful to have him be a forward than a defender or goalkeeper, as even the best defences will leak goals, but crap attackers won't score 'em. So would I be right in assuming that, in general, if you have to choose between good batters and good fielders, it's better to have the good batters in the infield where their average fielding ability is less crucial, and have the good fielders be the outfielders where they can make outs that otherwise wouldn't have happened? On a side note, is there much difference in the skills required for the different bases? I kinda just assumed they all did roughly the same thing? If I've got two guys who're great at 3rd base, would putting the slightly-less-great one on 2nd base be a terrible idea? Sorry, this got really long really fast. Last edited by monkeystyxx; 10-03-2014 at 05:21 PM.*

10-04-2014, 09:03 AM	#3
monkeystyxx Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 293	Thanks for the answers

10-05-2014, 05:18 AM	#5
Number4 Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 460	There is a thing called positional adjustment, it basically tells you how much a player is worth if he plays a more challenging defensive position compared to a easier one. like for example, in football a striker who scores 10 goals per season might be rather weak, a midfielder with 10 goals is decent and a defender with 10 goals has a really great offensive contribution. the values (in "runs per 600 plate appearances"), don't think about the numbers, they are just to show you which positions are more offensive minded, are: catcher +12,5 shortstop +7,5 2nd, 3rd, center +2,5 lf, rf -7,5 1st -12,5 designated hitter -17,5 from that you can see that the most important defensive positons are catcher and shortstop. a catcher needs good catcher ability and arm rating (the arm is to throw out runners who try to steal a base), a shortstop needs to be good at every infield rating. a 2nd baseman needs good range and turn DP ratings, he can live with a weak arm, as he is between 1st and 2nd and almost all of his throws are to that bases. the ss and 3rd baseman especially need good arms, as 1st (where most outs are made) is farther away. the 3rd baseman wants a good infield arm and not completly bad range, but this is a position where you might prioritize batting. the center fielder needs great outfield range, as he covers the most ground of any single player in the park. LF and RF are position where usually offense is more important, however you usually want a strong throwing arm in right field (as he can prevent runners advancing to third, however the left fielder has no reason to make the equivalent throw to first) 1st baseman is the most offensive minded fielding position, defense is a bonus. and DH, if you play with one, is obivously offense only, as fielding is no concern for him.

11-28-2014, 03:55 AM	#7
davehibb Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: England Posts: 26	As a fellow newbie to baseball and OOTP from the UK this thread has been very helpful guys. Thanks!