Spring training

[Pelican]

On the split squad issue, not all of those games are listed on the team schedules, and not all of those games are open to the public. Teams may set them up informally just to give guys game experience, better than intrasquad games. If you hang around Spring parks, you may luck into one of those games.

Where the Spring Schedule OOTP generated had off days, I scheduled games with my AAA affiliate (but this works best late in the Spring, when the AAA squad is populated with players sent down in early cuts).

Doubleheaders actually make more sense with the OOTP rosters. You have plenty of guys, with a fifty-man Spring roster. The problem with split-squad games is that the teams are not actually split in OOTP. All players are available in either game. You can mitigate the risk of one player in both games by setting [different] lineups for each game. But I did have a guy hitting a home run in each game - basically simultaneously. The biggest worry would be pitchers. Not sure how the game would handle a guy pitching two innings in one game and three innings more in a split-squad game the same day. That’s a lot of pitches on a tender arm. Risk of injury??

Agree with the thought that the main goals of ST games should be: [1] exposure for young players, even those destined for A or AA; [2] a fair chance for those actually competing for roster spots; [3] gradually ramping up innings for starting pitchers; [4] enabling veterans to get in shape; [5] putting something like the final roster on the field for the last week or so. Also [6] allowing guys to try new positions in the field; [7] putting relievers in new roles; and [8] rehabbing guys coming off injuries.

[oldfatbaldguy]

Originally Posted by Sweed

I'd find split squads and "other things" more in depth for ST to be too much. However, I get that some want more realism in their game, and that's ok too.

Concur. If that's implemented, I would prefer to have an option to ignore it. Thirty preseason games is plenty.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Pelican

On the split squad issue, not all of those games are listed on the team schedules, and not all of those games are open to the public.

Of the numbers I provided, those are the games that were on the spring training schedule published on MLB's website a few days before spring training started. I also have the box scores for every spring training game for 2023. (I've been tracking the game-by-game results and saving box scores for MLB spring training since 2017 so as to have data showing exactly the nature of player usage during spring training.)

[Syd Thrift]

It’d be… cool to have ST work a bit more like actual ST, although I’d be a lot more interested in actually setting up the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, assigning separate ballparks, and so on. Perhaps also some emphasis on training in some way; I appreciate that a player can train into a position much quicker in spring training but I’d still prefer some way to train them (or try to work on developing and adding pitches, or working development in general for players above and beyond actual games). I agree that split squad games, while interesting, aren’t really a massive factor in ST.

I’m sure that adding a whole fake set of leagues for spring training purposes is going to be sort of a big lift though.