Historical Starting Rotations Size

[Jor97]

Does anyone have any pointers as to how to achieve the most realistic pitching stats in a historical game? I'm planning on starting a game in 1901 and play until the modern day. I've come up with the following settings:

1901-1910: 18 man, 4 starters, 2 relievers, 12 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1910-1945: 25 man, 4 starters, 3 relievers, 18 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1946-1959: 25 man, 4 starters 4 relievers, 17 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1960-1977: 25 man, 4 starters, 5 relievers, 16 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1978-1989: 25 man, 5 starters, 5 relievers, 15 batters, start highest-rested
1990-2007: 25 man, 5 starters, 6 relievers, 14 batters, strict, on occasion highest-rested
2007-2020: 25 man, 5 starters, 7 relievers, 13 batters, strict rotation
2020-present: 26 man, 5 starters, 8 relivers, 13 batters, strict rotation

[WooBallFan43]

I mean personally I like to do a 6-6-1 with my pitchers where I have an extra starter in there for spot starts/long relief and 1 closer, but you do you.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by Jor97

Does anyone have any pointers as to how to achieve the most realistic pitching stats in a historical game? I'm planning on starting a game in 1901 and play until the modern day. I've come up with the following settings:

1901-1910: 18 man, 4 starters, 2 relievers, 12 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1910-1945: 25 man, 4 starters, 3 relievers, 18 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1946-1959: 25 man, 4 starters 4 relievers, 17 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1960-1977: 25 man, 4 starters, 5 relievers, 16 batters, start highest-rested, default starters in relief
1978-1989: 25 man, 5 starters, 5 relievers, 15 batters, start highest-rested
1990-2007: 25 man, 5 starters, 6 relievers, 14 batters, strict, on occasion highest-rested
2007-2020: 25 man, 5 starters, 7 relievers, 13 batters, strict rotation
2020-present: 26 man, 5 starters, 8 relivers, 13 batters, strict rotation

I won't restate here what I've argued, at length, in the past (check this thread for some insights). You can look at Garlon's post in that thread and find his roster recommendations. I imagine that those are optimized for OOTP and, by following them, you should, theoretically, get the best results. For my own part, I'd just say that, historically, there were no pitching rotations prior to around 1950 and that, before the reliever role was fully implemented in pitching strategies (probably around the mid-1950s), every pitcher on a team's staff was expected to start and relieve. Having dedicated relievers on every team before then is, therefore, not historically accurate. It may lead to somewhat accurate overall results, but you'll still get some strange individual outcomes.