Playoff Settings?

cmimes21 · 08-30-2022, 07:54 PM

Hello All,

I'm relatively new having only been playing OOTP23 for a month. I'm curious if there is a special setting(s) for the playoffs? Or is there just a normal disparity?

There's a reason for this. With my current save, I've played 6 seasons. The first season, I made the playoffs and was swept in the first round. That team was good, not great, so I was okay with that. However, since then I've had 3 straight seasons of being the best team in baseball and I keep getting swept in the playoffs. In this most recent season that I just finished, my team had the following in the regular season:

-3 hitters w/batting averages over .280 and 40-50 home runs
-3 hitters w/batting averages over .270 and 25-30 home runs
-1 hitter with a .330 average and 35 homer runs
-1 hitter with .296 average and 27 home runs
-1 hitter with n.254 average and 18 home runs

- I also had two bench players players hitting over.250 with 20+ home runs.

- My #1 pitcher won 16 games with a 1.69 era
- My #2 pitcher won 19 games with a 2.37 era
- My #3 & 4 pitchers both won 16 games with 3.3 - 3.5 era's
- My #5 pitcher only won 12 games but had a 3.75 era

My L/R splits were good. I had 3 lefties, 3 righties, and 3 switch hitters. Of my hitter, 7 of them were the starting all-stars at their respective positions. One was an all-star but not a starter. My pitcher, closer, and setup reliever were also all all-stars.

We won 110 games and dominated. I've won between 107-110 games three straight seasons.

Every time I get to the playoffs, we lose. Badly. We get destroyed. My ace pitcher had an era over 7 in the playoffs this year.

Am I doing something wrong? are there playoff settings? People keep saying that a team can win on any given day. But, top teams in baseball don't get dominated in the playoffs every year and don't typically get swept. All of my players just play like garbage in the playoffs every year.

it's honestly ruining the fun for me and making it so I don't even want to play anymore. If anyone can help or has suggestions, I'd appreciate it because I'm about done with it.

ryanivr · 08-31-2022, 12:21 PM

Here's the short answer: no. There's nothing different in the simulation engine that make it harder for you to win in the playoffs.

The longer answer: I'm not a statistic guru though I'm sure there are some great resources out there -- but go to the team schedule page and take a look at your overall season. Did you have some three-game losing streaks? Take a look at your results for the week -- did you have some stretches where you lost three out of five games? There's probably quite a few of them. It's going to happen in the playoffs as well.

Now also keep in mind that in the playoffs you're playing the best teams in the league. It's going to be challenging. The playoffs are, essentially, a crapshoot.

So what can you do about it? I'd maybe consider thinking about your rotation. Are you moving to a 4-man rotation and putting your 5th guy in the bullpen? Are you thinking about the matchups and maybe carrying an extra bat of a specific handedness to counter their pitchers? Maybe having a speed guy who can come in to pinch-run in an important moment?

Even if you do all of these things, it's still a FIVE game series to open up the playoffs. You're performance across groups of five games is going to vary pretty wildly even on a really good team. You can do a little bit to give yourself an advantage, but sometimes luck is all it takes.

I wish you all the best and sincerely hope you re-think how this makes you feel about the game.

billyray1984 · 08-31-2022, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmimes21

Hello All,

I'm relatively new having only been playing OOTP23 for a month. I'm curious if there is a special setting(s) for the playoffs? Or is there just a normal disparity?

There's a reason for this. With my current save, I've played 6 seasons. The first season, I made the playoffs and was swept in the first round. That team was good, not great, so I was okay with that. However, since then I've had 3 straight seasons of being the best team in baseball and I keep getting swept in the playoffs. In this most recent season that I just finished, my team had the following in the regular season:

-3 hitters w/batting averages over .280 and 40-50 home runs
-3 hitters w/batting averages over .270 and 25-30 home runs
-1 hitter with a .330 average and 35 homer runs
-1 hitter with .296 average and 27 home runs
-1 hitter with n.254 average and 18 home runs

- I also had two bench players players hitting over.250 with 20+ home runs.

- My #1 pitcher won 16 games with a 1.69 era
- My #2 pitcher won 19 games with a 2.37 era
- My #3 & 4 pitchers both won 16 games with 3.3 - 3.5 era's
- My #5 pitcher only won 12 games but had a 3.75 era

My L/R splits were good. I had 3 lefties, 3 righties, and 3 switch hitters. Of my hitter, 7 of them were the starting all-stars at their respective positions. One was an all-star but not a starter. My pitcher, closer, and setup reliever were also all all-stars.

We won 110 games and dominated. I've won between 107-110 games three straight seasons.

Every time I get to the playoffs, we lose. Badly. We get destroyed. My ace pitcher had an era over 7 in the playoffs this year.

Am I doing something wrong? are there playoff settings? People keep saying that a team can win on any given day. But, top teams in baseball don't get dominated in the playoffs every year and don't typically get swept. All of my players just play like garbage in the playoffs every year.

it's honestly ruining the fun for me and making it so I don't even want to play anymore. If anyone can help or has suggestions, I'd appreciate it because I'm about done with it.

Sample size is an issue in the playoffs. Good players are good over long stretches of time, not just a few games. Plus with the current playoffs setup, more teams means more rounds means more upsets. IRL, good teams do crap their pants in the playoffs and bad or imperfect teams win all the time.

The way to reduce playoff variance to an absolute minimum would be to go back to the old WS : no divisions, you win your league pennant, you go to the WS. You finish 2nd, well you're the first loser, see you next spring.

mytreds · 08-31-2022, 04:20 PM

Success in the postseason, much like success in the regular season, follows no golden formula. Runs scored during the regular season does not correlate with post season success. Neither does it’s component parts- home runs, walks, or stolen bases. It doesn’t matter how many runs a team scores or how it scores them, to predict the likelihood of a team succeeding in the post season. There is a very small correlation between runs allowed during the season and World Series victory, which may suggest that pitching and defense can be a slight factor. But that’s it. No other single stat can tell anyone about who will be successful in the playoffs.

Baseball has inherent parity. The worst teams win a third of their games, while the best win two thirds. Thus any short series will be hard to predict, compounded by the fact that the playoffs are the best teams competing. Each series amounts to a coin flip. Through the 2008 season, there were exactly 100 World Series in which teams with non-identical regular season records played. The team with the better record won the championship 50 times out of 100.

It’s ultimately is the nature of the sport and why it should be celebrated. It sucks when it happens to your team, in game and in real life. But that’s just how it is.

cmimes21 · 09-03-2022, 01:50 AM

It's still interesting to me and frustrating. I played another season and, again, finished 1st in the league. I essentially mortgaged the future because my owner was demanding a WS victory, so I traded prospects to essentially give myself 3 "Aces" and 2 other great pitchers, as well as a dominant bullpen. Without exaggeration, the All-Star team this year had every single one of my starters as an All-Star starter, and my top 3 pitchers were the 3 highest vote getters. My team was good. We won 116 games.

I made the WS. However, it's taken a ****load of insane management -- and I'm good with that. But, why is it not happening to AI teams? For instance, game 1 of the 2nd round of the playoffs (had a 1st rd bye) I lost my best pitcher for the next 9 months on the first at bat of the game. Game 2, I lost that pitcher for a week due to injury. Seems odd, but okay. My 3rd "Ace" who won 22 regular season games with an ERA of 2.52 has now pitched 5 games in the post-season and has an ERA around 14. I've watched this every playoffs where apparently my pitchers forget how to pitch in the playoffs. It's odd. I watch every play of every game. While I spent hours on end making sure that the team I put together had high defensive efficiency & great against errors...my team is averaging 3-4 errors per game, whereas the AI hasn't really had any. Up 4-2 in the 9th inning of the last game, I watched as my closer (who led the league in saves with a 1.82 era) had the following happen: Walk, Triple, Triple, Triple, HBP, Error on the pitcher, Error on SS, Triple. We lost 9-4. I've watched baseball for 40 years and I've never sean 4 triples and 2 errors in an inning. Certainly not in the playoffs. Those are the things that interest me.

As I type this I'm actually up 3 games to 2 in the WS. But, I just watched us lose as my best pitcher gave up 11 runs in the first 2 innings of the game. It just baffles me. How in the world do you find consistency if you can't count on the 3 best pitchers in the league to give up less than 10 runs per game in the playoffs? lol

cmimes21 · 09-03-2022, 02:07 AM

Also, quick side not. I just won the WS with a go-ahead Grand Slam in the 7th and I got ridiculously exciting. So, perhaps the game is a little too similar to real life in that it causes me to experience these extreme lows & extreme highs. lol

MathBandit · 09-03-2022, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmimes21

But, I just watched us lose as my best pitcher gave up 11 runs in the first 2 innings of the game. It just baffles me. How in the world do you find consistency if you can't count on the 3 best pitchers in the league to give up less than 10 runs per game in the playoffs? lol

As many people have tried to tell you here (and I think also on Reddit where a very similar post was made), you don't.

If you want to judge how good your team is, or how good of a GM you are, look at the standings after Game 162. Nothing that happens in a season after that point is meaningful.

A season where you win 110 games and get swept in the DS is almost certainly a better team - and should be viewed as a much bigger success - than a season where you win 85 games but sneak into a WC and win the World Series.

Brad K · 09-03-2022, 08:50 AM

cmimes21, reading through this you've made the playoffs 5 out of 7 years and won the world series. And this as someone who is inexperienced. I suggest you knock off whatever gamey crap you're doing that allowed you to achieve these way above norm results because otherwise you're never going learn how to really play the game.

BusterKing · 09-03-2022, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

cmimes21, reading through this you've made the playoffs 5 out of 7 years and won the world series. And this as someone who is inexperienced. I suggest you knock off whatever gamey crap you're doing that allowed you to achieve these way above norm results because otherwise you're never going learn how to really play the game.

I don't think he's interested in realism... LOL

mytreds · 09-03-2022, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmimes21

How in the world do you find consistency if you can't count on the 3 best pitchers in the league to give up less than 10 runs per game in the playoffs? lol

In 1922 the Yankees lost with Babe Ruth hitting .118 and no home runs. In 1962, Mays and Mantle combined to hit .189 and no home runs in 53 at-bats. You can field an entire team of HoF Immortals- Mays, Cobb, DiMaggio in the outfield; Schmidt, Wagner, Musial and Jackie Robinson in the infield, Campanella behind the dish; Bonds can DH, Frank Robinson can pinch hit. None of these greats batted better than .275 in the postseason. Collectively they batted .249, managing just 39 home runs in 1,158 at bats. Pitchers Steve Carlton, Maddux, and Randy Johnson are collectively 24-29 in the postseason. Vida Blue was 1-9.

2001 Mariners were 116 game winners, lost in the ALCS. 1954 Indians were 111 game winners, swept by the Giants in the World Series. The '06 Cardinals were 83 game winners and bested the Padres (88), Mets (97) and Tigers (95). Last year the Braves had the worst record for NL teams, and ended up winning it all.

Consistency? What consistency?

Bobfather · 09-08-2022, 09:45 PM

Check your depth chart. Since the most games, you play in a row are 3 your players should not be getting tired. Same for your bullpen, make sure you have the rolls, clearly defined. So when a starter only lasts 2 innings you have a long reliever ready. etc. Or do what I do, play out the playoffs, or at least watch so you can identify any issues. Or set up exhibition games against your play off opponent, if you don't like the idea of switching modes of play in the postseason.

jg2977 · 09-08-2022, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mytreds

In 1922 the Yankees lost with Babe Ruth hitting .118 and no home runs. In 1962, Mays and Mantle combined to hit .189 and no home runs in 53 at-bats. You can field an entire team of HoF Immortals- Mays, Cobb, DiMaggio in the outfield; Schmidt, Wagner, Musial and Jackie Robinson in the infield, Campanella behind the dish; Bonds can DH, Frank Robinson can pinch hit. None of these greats batted better than .275 in the postseason. Collectively they batted .249, managing just 39 home runs in 1,158 at bats. Pitchers Steve Carlton, Maddux, and Randy Johnson are collectively 24-29 in the postseason. Vida Blue was 1-9.

2001 Mariners were 116 game winners, lost in the ALCS. 1954 Indians were 111 game winners, swept by the Giants in the World Series. The '06 Cardinals were 83 game winners and bested the Padres (88), Mets (97) and Tigers (95). Last year the Braves had the worst record for NL teams, and ended up winning it all.

Consistency? What consistency?

Another favorite of mine was 1987. The Twins (85 wins) beat the Tigers (98) and Cardinals (95).

Brad K · 09-08-2022, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jg2977

Another favorite of mine was 1987. The Twins (85 wins) beat the Tigers (98) and Cardinals (95).

And they were outscored and their expected record was 79-83.

pauwoo · 09-08-2022, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

And they were outscored and their expected record was 79-83.

Baseball, man… gotta love it.

08-31-2022, 04:20 PM	#4
mytreds All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 1,183	Luck and the Postseason Success in the postseason, much like success in the regular season, follows no golden formula. Runs scored during the regular season does not correlate with post season success. Neither does it’s component parts- home runs, walks, or stolen bases. It doesn’t matter how many runs a team scores or how it scores them, to predict the likelihood of a team succeeding in the post season. There is a very small correlation between runs allowed during the season and World Series victory, which may suggest that pitching and defense can be a slight factor. But that’s it. No other single stat can tell anyone about who will be successful in the playoffs. Baseball has inherent parity. The worst teams win a third of their games, while the best win two thirds. Thus any short series will be hard to predict, compounded by the fact that the playoffs are the best teams competing. Each series amounts to a coin flip. Through the 2008 season, there were exactly 100 World Series in which teams with non-identical regular season records played. The team with the better record won the championship 50 times out of 100. It’s ultimately is the nature of the sport and why it should be celebrated. It sucks when it happens to your team, in game and in real life. But that’s just how it is. __________________ “Baseball isn’t statistics; it’s Joe DiMaggio rounding second.” “Once, centuries ago, it was the beloved national pastime of the Americas, Wesley. Abandoned by a society that prized fast food and faster games. Lost to impatience.” “ The term ‘WAR’ should be replaced by ‘WAG’. WAR isn’t an actual measurement; it’s just a wild-ass guess” -Bill James RIP National League 1876-2022 Floreat semper vel invita morte. I make custom ballparks. Last edited by mytreds; 08-31-2022 at 04:24 PM.

09-08-2022, 09:45 PM	#11
Bobfather All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Boston Ma. Posts: 1,875	Check your depth chart. Since the most games, you play in a row are 3 your players should not be getting tired. Same for your bullpen, make sure you have the rolls, clearly defined. So when a starter only lasts 2 innings you have a long reliever ready. etc. Or do what I do, play out the playoffs, or at least watch so you can identify any issues. Or set up exhibition games against your play off opponent, if you don't like the idea of switching modes of play in the postseason. __________________ I play out every game—one pitch mode. Last edited by Bobfather; 09-08-2022 at 09:47 PM.

08-30-2022, 07:54 PM	#1
cmimes21 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	Playoff Settings? Hello All, I'm relatively new having only been playing OOTP23 for a month. I'm curious if there is a special setting(s) for the playoffs? Or is there just a normal disparity? There's a reason for this. With my current save, I've played 6 seasons. The first season, I made the playoffs and was swept in the first round. That team was good, not great, so I was okay with that. However, since then I've had 3 straight seasons of being the best team in baseball and I keep getting swept in the playoffs. In this most recent season that I just finished, my team had the following in the regular season: -3 hitters w/batting averages over .280 and 40-50 home runs -3 hitters w/batting averages over .270 and 25-30 home runs -1 hitter with a .330 average and 35 homer runs -1 hitter with .296 average and 27 home runs -1 hitter with n.254 average and 18 home runs - I also had two bench players players hitting over.250 with 20+ home runs. - My #1 pitcher won 16 games with a 1.69 era - My #2 pitcher won 19 games with a 2.37 era - My #3 & 4 pitchers both won 16 games with 3.3 - 3.5 era's - My #5 pitcher only won 12 games but had a 3.75 era My L/R splits were good. I had 3 lefties, 3 righties, and 3 switch hitters. Of my hitter, 7 of them were the starting all-stars at their respective positions. One was an all-star but not a starter. My pitcher, closer, and setup reliever were also all all-stars. We won 110 games and dominated. I've won between 107-110 games three straight seasons. Every time I get to the playoffs, we lose. Badly. We get destroyed. My ace pitcher had an era over 7 in the playoffs this year. Am I doing something wrong? are there playoff settings? People keep saying that a team can win on any given day. But, top teams in baseball don't get dominated in the playoffs every year and don't typically get swept. All of my players just play like garbage in the playoffs every year. it's honestly ruining the fun for me and making it so I don't even want to play anymore. If anyone can help or has suggestions, I'd appreciate it because I'm about done with it.

08-31-2022, 12:21 PM	#2
ryanivr All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 907	Here's the short answer: no. There's nothing different in the simulation engine that make it harder for you to win in the playoffs. The longer answer: I'm not a statistic guru though I'm sure there are some great resources out there -- but go to the team schedule page and take a look at your overall season. Did you have some three-game losing streaks? Take a look at your results for the week -- did you have some stretches where you lost three out of five games? There's probably quite a few of them. It's going to happen in the playoffs as well. Now also keep in mind that in the playoffs you're playing the best teams in the league. It's going to be challenging. The playoffs are, essentially, a crapshoot. So what can you do about it? I'd maybe consider thinking about your rotation. Are you moving to a 4-man rotation and putting your 5th guy in the bullpen? Are you thinking about the matchups and maybe carrying an extra bat of a specific handedness to counter their pitchers? Maybe having a speed guy who can come in to pinch-run in an important moment? Even if you do all of these things, it's still a FIVE game series to open up the playoffs. You're performance across groups of five games is going to vary pretty wildly even on a really good team. You can do a little bit to give yourself an advantage, but sometimes luck is all it takes. I wish you all the best and sincerely hope you re-think how this makes you feel about the game.

09-03-2022, 01:50 AM	#5
cmimes21 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	It's still interesting to me and frustrating. I played another season and, again, finished 1st in the league. I essentially mortgaged the future because my owner was demanding a WS victory, so I traded prospects to essentially give myself 3 "Aces" and 2 other great pitchers, as well as a dominant bullpen. Without exaggeration, the All-Star team this year had every single one of my starters as an All-Star starter, and my top 3 pitchers were the 3 highest vote getters. My team was good. We won 116 games. I made the WS. However, it's taken a ****load of insane management -- and I'm good with that. But, why is it not happening to AI teams? For instance, game 1 of the 2nd round of the playoffs (had a 1st rd bye) I lost my best pitcher for the next 9 months on the first at bat of the game. Game 2, I lost that pitcher for a week due to injury. Seems odd, but okay. My 3rd "Ace" who won 22 regular season games with an ERA of 2.52 has now pitched 5 games in the post-season and has an ERA around 14. I've watched this every playoffs where apparently my pitchers forget how to pitch in the playoffs. It's odd. I watch every play of every game. While I spent hours on end making sure that the team I put together had high defensive efficiency & great against errors...my team is averaging 3-4 errors per game, whereas the AI hasn't really had any. Up 4-2 in the 9th inning of the last game, I watched as my closer (who led the league in saves with a 1.82 era) had the following happen: Walk, Triple, Triple, Triple, HBP, Error on the pitcher, Error on SS, Triple. We lost 9-4. I've watched baseball for 40 years and I've never sean 4 triples and 2 errors in an inning. Certainly not in the playoffs. Those are the things that interest me. As I type this I'm actually up 3 games to 2 in the WS. But, I just watched us lose as my best pitcher gave up 11 runs in the first 2 innings of the game. It just baffles me. How in the world do you find consistency if you can't count on the 3 best pitchers in the league to give up less than 10 runs per game in the playoffs? lol

09-03-2022, 02:07 AM	#6
cmimes21 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2022 Posts: 3	Also, quick side not. I just won the WS with a go-ahead Grand Slam in the 7th and I got ridiculously exciting. So, perhaps the game is a little too similar to real life in that it causes me to experience these extreme lows & extreme highs. lol

09-03-2022, 08:50 AM	#8
Brad K Banned Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,693 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	cmimes21, reading through this you've made the playoffs 5 out of 7 years and won the world series. And this as someone who is inexperienced. I suggest you knock off whatever gamey crap you're doing that allowed you to achieve these way above norm results because otherwise you're never going learn how to really play the game.