How Do You Do Your Playoff Matchups?

The Game · 07-29-2023, 01:38 AM

And am i wrong for not having the team with the best record, per league, not playing the wildcard team from their division in the 1st round?

As of now, i do not have the best record but the way i have the 1st round setup is
#1 vs #4 unless #4 is from same division
#2 vs #3

darkcloud4579 · 07-29-2023, 03:02 AM

Lately have been playing around with ladder playoffs since there's no rust in OOTP

kq76 · 07-29-2023, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

... there's no rust in OOTP

You sure about that? There's been rust (after injuries at least) in OOTP for years.

There might not be between long stretches of playing games, but I'm not sure about that.

Pelican · 07-29-2023, 11:41 AM

Rust never sleeps! That said, my approach is to reward regular season performance, if possible, in structuring playoffs. As in better teams, division winners, having the extra home game, and the opponent with the worst record. Effectively penalizing wild card teams.

Others have (wisely) pointed out that, if I play a "balanced" interleague schedule, winning a division doesn't mean much. Better to seed teams based solely on the regular season records.

One hidden factor is the interval between games. Days off favor teams with three stud SP. Playing on consecutive days helps teams with deeper pitching staffs. But too many days off means you are playing baseball in November. It felt odd waving my Phillies "Red October" flag at the World Series in November. Just sayin'.

MathBandit · 07-29-2023, 12:03 PM

I use a format that heavily incentivizes regular season performance, as well as larger divisions to try and avoid some of the issues with the current Centrals.

4 divisions of 8. Top 3 in each division make the playoffs. 2-seed hosts the 3-seed from the same division in a 2-game WC series (2-seed starts 1-0); winner of that faces the 1-seed from the other in-conference division in the CS.

Bluenoser · 07-29-2023, 02:19 PM

36 Team MLB - 18 in each league, 3 divisions of 6 teams.

No Interleague play, No DH

Division winners plus 1 WC from each league, so 8 teams total.

WC doesn't play team in its division in 1st rnd.

Best of 7 Division Series

Best of 7 League Championship

Best of 9 World Series with a 3-3-3 split. All Star Winner decides homefield. Getting homefield is a big advantage as it gives you a possible 6 games at home. Plus you get to host next seasons AS Game.

Reed · 07-29-2023, 04:01 PM

Two 8 team leagues.
3rd place team vs 2nd place team play best of 3 game series at 2nd place home.
Winner then plays best of 5 game series (2 home/3away) vs league leader.

brotherblues · 07-29-2023, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

You sure about that? There's been rust (after injuries at least) in OOTP for years.

There might not be between long stretches of playing games, but I'm not sure about that.

Seen guys sit out a year in FA because every team ran out of budget, then go on to put up MVP campaigns the next season--- tearing things up right from the get-go.

snepp · 07-29-2023, 04:55 PM

Two 12 team leagues
Division winner (bye) + 2 wild cards
Wild cards play 3 game series, all at home for #2 seed
Division winner hosts a 5 game series, all home games
League winners play traditional 2-3-2 final

kq76 · 07-29-2023, 11:38 PM

I've been thinking one way to give the home team a slightly better advantage is to do AAA-HHHH. Now before you think that's crazy, hear me out.

While I'll admit 2-2-1-1-1 is probably the most fair, MLB uses 2-3-2 and in both cases (my AAA-HHHH and MLB's 2-3-2), the lower seed gets 3 of the first 5 games. And you might say, "but if it's a sweep the higher seed only gets 1 home game". True, but how 7-game series are sweeps? Not many. I could link to the stats exactly again, but if memory serves me correctly sweeps came dead last by a fair margin. And of those sweeps, how many were won by the lower seed? Probably even less. So, the higher seed would rarely be hurt by this format, yet they would get, I'd say, a fairly significant advantage of having every possible deciding game at home. Plus, there'd be even less travel.

Brad K · 07-30-2023, 12:27 AM

Lots of different setups here. I don't know how to evaluate them though. Is there any data on how often the right team wins?

Le Grande Orange · 07-30-2023, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MathBandit

2-seed hosts the 3-seed from the same division in a 2-game WC series (2-seed starts 1-0)

That is sometimes referred to as a "best-of-two" series — the higher seed need only win once while the lower seed has to win both games. If I recall correctly the AHL has used this in the past.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

I've been thinking one way to give the home team a slightly better advantage is to do AAA-HHHH.

If you really want to reward the higher seed, I'd suggest either 2-2-3 or 3-2-2. Give the higher seed five out of seven games at home instead of four.

For a best-of-five series, the equivalent would be 2-1-2.

kq76 · 07-30-2023, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

If you really want to reward the higher seed, I'd suggest either 2-2-3 or 3-2-2. Give the higher seed five out of seven games at home instead of four.

True, but I think 3-4 would be easier to get people to agree to. The lower seed still gets 3 games and there's also the travel savings.

We could get crazy and say the higher seed gets to have all the games at home, but that's not likely to be accepted by any group of people.

Bluenoser · 07-30-2023, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

True, but I think 3-4 would be easier to get people to agree to. The lower seed still gets 3 games and there's also the travel savings.

We could get crazy and say the higher seed gets to have all the games at home, but that's not likely to be accepted by any group of people.

Curious why you're worried if it's acceptable by other people.

We're talking about OOTP here, not real life. There's lots of things people do in OOTP that would never pass the sippy test irl.

The fans in OOTP sure don't care

It's your game, play it your way.

kq76 · 07-30-2023, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Curious why you're worried if it's acceptable by other people.

We're talking about OOTP here, not real life. There's lots of things people do in OOTP that would never pass the sippy test irl.

Who cares? It's your game, play it your way.

True, but I guess my way is to try to keep things more realistic. :P

That said, I'm sure people could poke all sorts of realistic holes in some of my fictional leagues.

Bluenoser · 07-30-2023, 07:03 AM

Indeed - just take a look at my playoff format for some "unrealism". Got plenty more in my league too. That's the main thing that has always drawn me to OOTP - I can do things that would likely never be done irl and not worry what the real world thinks.

JasonC23 · 07-30-2023, 01:51 PM

I'm enjoying this thread immensely because I've been trying to figure out how best to balance regular season performance with the playoffs. My question is, how late in a particular season can I decide what, if any, playoff setup I want?

For example, take the 2 consecutive seasons in one of my fictional leagues shown below. In the first, Vancouver buried everybody, and I feel they deserve to win it all based on the regular season alone; why give anyone else a second, short-series chance to knock them off when they're clearly head and shoulders better than everyone else?

But in the second season, it would be a ton of fun to throw the top 4 teams into the playoff blender and see what comes out.

So, my question is, could I do that? Could I, as commissioner, decide that in year 1, there will be no playoff, but in year 2, there will be a 4-team playoff? Is that something the game can handle? If I do it correctly, would it be possible for everyone on Vancouver in year 1 to get the "champion" icon added to their profile, while in year 2, the players on the winner of the 4-team free-for-all would also get that "champion" icon?

Le Grande Orange · 07-30-2023, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

True, but I think 3-4 would be easier to get people to agree to. The lower seed still gets 3 games and there's also the travel savings.

The Junior World Series did use a 3-4 format at times. Did this benefit the team with the first three games at home more than the standard 2-3-2 format used in most World Series? (The Junior World Series used a best-of-9 series from 1920-31 and 1933-34, and best-of-7 series for the remainder.)

There is an important difference between the two: the team with home advantage for the series gets to start (and end, if need be) the series at home under 2-3-2. Under a 3-4 format, the team with home advantage for the series has to start on the road.

ETA: Small sample size, but it is interesting. The Junior World Series which used a 3-4 home field rotation for which I have game results. (Note that the advantage alternated annually between the American Association and International League representative.)

1938: Kansas City went 1-2 on the road and then 3-1 at home to win the series over Newark 4 games to 3.
1943: Columbus went 2-1 on the road and then 2-0 at home to win the series over Syracuse 4 games to 1.
1944: Baltimore went 2-1 on the road and then 2-1 at home to win the series over Louisville 4 games to 2.
1945: Louisville went 3-0 on the road and then 1-2 at home to win the series over Newark 4 games to 2.
1946: Montreal went 1-2 on the road and then 3-0 at home to win the series over Louisville 4 games to 2.
1947: Milwaukee went 1-2 on the road and then 3-1 at home to win the series over Syracuse 4 games to 3.
1948: Montreal went 2-1 on the road and then 2-0 at home to win the series over St. Paul 4 games to 1.
1949: Indianapolis went 2-1 on the road and then 2-1 at home to win the series over Montreal 4 games to 2.

In all eight examples, the team that started with three games on the road went on to win the series.

The Junior World Series which used a best-of-9 series and a 4-5 home field rotation for which I have results:

1920: St. Paul went 1-3 on the road and then 0-2 at home to lose the series to Baltimore 1 game to 5.
1921: Baltimore went 1-3 on the road and then 2-2 at home to lose the series to Louisville 3 games to 5.
1933: Buffalo went 1-3 on the road and then 2-2 at home to lose the series to Columbus 3 games to 5,

In all three examples, the team that started with four games on the road ended up losing the series.

Brad K · 07-31-2023, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonC23

I'm enjoying this thread immensely because I've been trying to figure out how best to balance regular season performance with the playoffs. My question is, how late in a particular season can I decide what, if any, playoff setup I want?

For example, take the 2 consecutive seasons in one of my fictional leagues shown below. In the first, Vancouver buried everybody, and I feel they deserve to win it all based on the regular season alone; why give anyone else a second, short-series chance to knock them off when they're clearly head and shoulders better than everyone else?

But in the second season, it would be a ton of fun to throw the top 4 teams into the playoff blender and see what comes out.

So, my question is, could I do that? Could I, as commissioner, decide that in year 1, there will be no playoff, but in year 2, there will be a 4-team playoff? Is that something the game can handle? If I do it correctly, would it be possible for everyone on Vancouver in year 1 to get the "champion" icon added to their profile, while in year 2, the players on the winner of the 4-team free-for-all would also get that "champion" icon?

I don't know what you can do in OOTP but your evaluation is 100% correct. In the first year no one deserves a shot at Vancouver. And in the second a four team playoff is justified.

Meanwhile for year one most of the people in this thread would be trying to figure out a playoff format with 4 or 6 or 8 teams where Vancouver would be guaranteed to win. I don't get it.

HonusWagner · 08-01-2023, 11:52 AM

2 leagues, each a split season format:

1st and 2nd half winners play for league championship, winner going into World Series.

However, a team winning both 1st and 2nd half gets a bye into WS.

What I've discovered though is OOTP is limited at handling the above scenario:

- league history indexes ignore split season results. And teams that end in 1st in the overall standings are "champions". So that's no good.

- league history index post-season results displays the World Series final as a league championship with the result "Chicago over Washington, 0-0".

- manual changes to playoff formats to switch a league championship round to a bye are ignored by the game which doesn't recognize the new arrangement as still a playoff (I guess), so that while the WS is playing the game has moved into the Offseason Center.

07-29-2023, 11:38 PM	#10
kq76 Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 11,770	I've been thinking one way to give the home team a slightly better advantage is to do AAA-HHHH. Now before you think that's crazy, hear me out. While I'll admit 2-2-1-1-1 is probably the most fair, MLB uses 2-3-2 and in both cases (my AAA-HHHH and MLB's 2-3-2), the lower seed gets 3 of the first 5 games. And you might say, "but if it's a sweep the higher seed only gets 1 home game". True, but how 7-game series are sweeps? Not many. I could link to the stats exactly again, but if memory serves me correctly sweeps came dead last by a fair margin. And of those sweeps, how many were won by the lower seed? Probably even less. So, the higher seed would rarely be hurt by this format, yet they would get, I'd say, a fairly significant advantage of having every possible deciding game at home. Plus, there'd be even less travel. __________________ My OOTP Wishlist \| My FAQ List OOTP Wiki \| Your Recommended Team Nicknames, By City (A Crowdsourced Project)

07-30-2023, 01:51 PM	#17
JasonC23 All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 898	Tangentially related playoff question I'm enjoying this thread immensely because I've been trying to figure out how best to balance regular season performance with the playoffs. My question is, how late in a particular season can I decide what, if any, playoff setup I want? For example, take the 2 consecutive seasons in one of my fictional leagues shown below. In the first, Vancouver buried everybody, and I feel they deserve to win it all based on the regular season alone; why give anyone else a second, short-series chance to knock them off when they're clearly head and shoulders better than everyone else? But in the second season, it would be a ton of fun to throw the top 4 teams into the playoff blender and see what comes out. So, my question is, could I do that? Could I, as commissioner, decide that in year 1, there will be no playoff, but in year 2, there will be a 4-team playoff? Is that something the game can handle? If I do it correctly, would it be possible for everyone on Vancouver in year 1 to get the "champion" icon added to their profile, while in year 2, the players on the winner of the 4-team free-for-all would also get that "champion" icon? Attached Images

07-29-2023, 01:38 AM	#1
The Game Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Inside The Game Posts: 30,937	How Do You Do Your Playoff Matchups? And am i wrong for not having the team with the best record, per league, not playing the wildcard team from their division in the 1st round? As of now, i do not have the best record but the way i have the 1st round setup is #1 vs #4 unless #4 is from same division #2 vs #3 __________________ Go today don't wait for tomorrow It isn't promised, all the time you get borrowed Don't live your life for other people Don't bottle your emotions till they crack and fill a couple just sorrows Take your mind and refocus go get a paper write your goals out Throw your middle fingers to all your haters "Stay Strong"

07-29-2023, 03:02 AM	#2
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,688	Lately have been playing around with ladder playoffs since there's no rust in OOTP

07-29-2023, 11:41 AM	#4
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 2,978	Rust never sleeps! That said, my approach is to reward regular season performance, if possible, in structuring playoffs. As in better teams, division winners, having the extra home game, and the opponent with the worst record. Effectively penalizing wild card teams. Others have (wisely) pointed out that, if I play a "balanced" interleague schedule, winning a division doesn't mean much. Better to seed teams based solely on the regular season records. One hidden factor is the interval between games. Days off favor teams with three stud SP. Playing on consecutive days helps teams with deeper pitching staffs. But too many days off means you are playing baseball in November. It felt odd waving my Phillies "Red October" flag at the World Series in November. Just sayin'. __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.” Last edited by Pelican; 07-29-2023 at 11:49 AM.

07-29-2023, 12:03 PM	#5
MathBandit All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2021 Posts: 1,445	I use a format that heavily incentivizes regular season performance, as well as larger divisions to try and avoid some of the issues with the current Centrals. 4 divisions of 8. Top 3 in each division make the playoffs. 2-seed hosts the 3-seed from the same division in a 2-game WC series (2-seed starts 1-0); winner of that faces the 1-seed from the other in-conference division in the CS.

07-29-2023, 02:19 PM	#6
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,207	36 Team MLB - 18 in each league, 3 divisions of 6 teams. No Interleague play, No DH Division winners plus 1 WC from each league, so 8 teams total. WC doesn't play team in its division in 1st rnd. Best of 7 Division Series Best of 7 League Championship Best of 9 World Series with a 3-3-3 split. All Star Winner decides homefield. Getting homefield is a big advantage as it gives you a possible 6 games at home. Plus you get to host next seasons AS Game.

07-29-2023, 04:01 PM	#7
Reed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 2,339	Two 8 team leagues. 3rd place team vs 2nd place team play best of 3 game series at 2nd place home. Winner then plays best of 5 game series (2 home/3away) vs league leader.

07-29-2023, 04:55 PM	#9
snepp All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,482	Two 12 team leagues Division winner (bye) + 2 wild cards Wild cards play 3 game series, all at home for #2 seed Division winner hosts a 5 game series, all home games League winners play traditional 2-3-2 final

07-30-2023, 12:27 AM	#11
Brad K Banned Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,693 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	Lots of different setups here. I don't know how to evaluate them though. Is there any data on how often the right team wins?

07-30-2023, 07:03 AM	#16
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,207	Indeed - just take a look at my playoff format for some "unrealism". Got plenty more in my league too. That's the main thing that has always drawn me to OOTP - I can do things that would likely never be done irl and not worry what the real world thinks.

08-01-2023, 11:52 AM	#20
HonusWagner All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 521	2 leagues, each a split season format: 1st and 2nd half winners play for league championship, winner going into World Series. However, a team winning both 1st and 2nd half gets a bye into WS. What I've discovered though is OOTP is limited at handling the above scenario: - league history indexes ignore split season results. And teams that end in 1st in the overall standings are "champions". So that's no good. - league history index post-season results displays the World Series final as a league championship with the result "Chicago over Washington, 0-0". - manual changes to playoff formats to switch a league championship round to a bye are ignored by the game which doesn't recognize the new arrangement as still a playoff (I guess), so that while the WS is playing the game has moved into the Offseason Center.