A-Rod retires at 34?

Aerosol · 06-25-2008, 05:57 PM

I am enjoying the game so far, though a couple things kind of irk me. Such as A-Rod retiring at the age of 34 despite still putting up big numbers. Is this a fluke or has anyone else encountered this situation? Additionally, the Yankees unloaded virtually their whole team, rivera, posada, jeter to other squads (posada ended up at the mets) in the span of one day, whats up with that? And can some one explain the pros and cons of ghost players in the minors? I have whole leagues without a single player on a team. Sorry, I am not bitching like I said I am enjoying the game just trying to figure out some things.

JWay · 06-25-2008, 06:12 PM

Well the game goes by numbers only, it really doesn't know that the Yankees run in the 200 million dollar payrolls, and fans would riot the streets if they ridded themselves of all their "heroes" in one day. A-Rod retiring at 34 could be fluke, could be cause he got hurt, could be any number of reasons, but its not the first time a superstar retired while putting up ridiculous numbers. Honestly if I played until 34 and had made several hundred million dollars and the pros to keep player were making more money (unless he blows it, he's got enough) and to pad numbers, where the cons are as retiring early he gets to save his body from the stress of the sport. Who knows.

But basically to OOTP the real players are on the same level as fictional ones. Maybe if you went and edited all the players to have extremely high popularity ratings, they might be more reluctant to get rid of them. Hope that helps, but you'll never have a perfect/ideal real roster set with this game, but its damn close and you just have to live with the lumps (or not, go unretire A-rod) it comes with. Cause the AI has a mind of its own, and it may not follow conventional MLB thinking.

As for ghost players.

Pros: Smaller sizes, faster simming, less micromanaging.
Cons: You miss out on seeing those fictional players grow into something great when you drafted them in the 16th round.

I generally play with them on, but there isn't a great reason why for that. I'm just not used to having 100+ minor leaguers to pay attention to.

BusterKing · 06-25-2008, 06:23 PM

Like Michael Jordan retiring from basketball in his prime to play baseball. ARod probably wants to try his luck playing basketball.

akw4572 · 06-25-2008, 08:03 PM

Salary concerns? Look at what the Yankee budget is, that could explain them getting rid of the players.

Raidergoo · 06-25-2008, 08:57 PM

Jim Brown, Barry Sanders...sometimes they go out before the fall.

akw4572 · 06-25-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Jim Brown, Barry Sanders...sometimes they go out before the fall.

Sandy Koufax as well.

SittingDuck · 06-25-2008, 09:47 PM

Some hang in well past their historic retirement and continue to mount numbers.

So it goes both ways.

MorseMoose · 06-26-2008, 12:10 AM

Happened in my league too. I thought it may have been because he wasn't placed on the 40-man and was a FA.

metball4 · 06-26-2008, 02:47 PM

We could try to justify all these things all we want, but in reality this would NOT happened. A-rod retiring at 34 is RIDICULOUS. That should not happened.

Also, I think that a team like the Mets/Yankees should perhaps act differently then other teams. I.E. not trading all the Yankees and especially some of their many guys to the Mets.

I guess I just want to see more realism.

Solonor · 06-26-2008, 03:08 PM

I wonder if it might actually be a bug. The only way he can retire at 34 is if he quits after the 2008 season. And if the game settings have the option to retire historically turned on, then there might be a glitch where it sees this as historically accurate (because he doesn't play after 2007 in the Lahman db). It would have to be a pretty specific glitch...otherwise ALL historical players would quit after 2008, but maybe there's something about A-Rod. Like his salary...? If he goes FA after 2008, and the game assumes he won't take less than he's making now, and no one offers him that much, it might be set to retire him rather than have him accept the highest offer--even if it's a pay cut.

Anyway, I think it's worth reporting to tech support if it happens every time.

umwol13 · 06-26-2008, 07:03 PM

Easy, one too many trips to Toronto with a hooker and next thing you know, limp bat and an angry wife...

nick1091 · 06-26-2008, 11:39 PM

Happening in my game as well.

I'm at the end of February in 2010, and A-Rod, Chipper Jones, & Trevor Hoffman have all retired and joined the HOF. The common link is that all three became free agents after the 2008 season and didn't sign with any team the entire year.

There's definitely something up. As I said it's Feb 28th and there are 17 FAs rated 4* or higher and have yet to sign with a team (I can buy veteran players like Jeter or Magglio Ordonez maybe, but Dan Haren or Miggy Cabrera?)

Adding to this is the available $$. The D'Backs have $57 million to spend on free agents. The Yankees (whose entire payroll is now just a shade over $25 million

) have $82 million available to spend.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can I tweak the financials so this sort of disparity doesn't happen?

Syd Thrift · 06-27-2008, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metball4

We could try to justify all these things all we want, but in reality this would NOT happened. A-rod retiring at 34 is RIDICULOUS. That should not happened.

No, I'm sorry, it's not. Players do retire at the top of their game sometimes. Maybe A-Rod grew tired of the Yankee limelight and wanted to raise goats. I'm not saying it's common, but it does happen. At that, I think it probably happened earlier in baseball history than now (I can think of several guys from the deadball era who just up and quit for some reason or another - Turkey Mike Donlin most of all might have been a HOFer if he didn't keep retiring but there were others), but still... there's always that chance.

To Solonor: if that was a bug, wouldn't, like, everybody retire after 2008?

Solonor · 06-27-2008, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

To Solonor: if that was a bug, wouldn't, like, everybody retire after 2008?

Yes, that's why I said if it were it would have to be A-Rod specific or have something to do with his high salary.

MorseMoose · 06-27-2008, 08:45 AM

This is definitely an issue with the roster set or the game.

dougaiton · 06-27-2008, 08:54 AM

Finances in the roster set are shot to the heavens. For example, many teams have over $20million in player expenses, and are predicted a -$16million balance on the end of the year, so they can't resign any players or hold onto arb eligible guys.

Then, when the cash balance wears off one season in, they all have millions of dollars floating around, which they use to sign Jose Molina to 15mil per, 4 year contract. With these new ludicrously unbalanced payrolls, some teams can't afford to sign any FAs the nest season, and a ton of reasonable players retire. While some teams have payroll deficits of $30mil, others have $50mil to spend. It's boom-and-bust to a whole new level.

Maybe there's an underlying bug here, or maybe its just another reason why releasing a 'realistic' roster set is such a can of worms. Without offence to anyone, I find it difficult to believe the roster set was really properly checked for the financial side of things going forward - completely understandable, considering the work needed to go into the ratings alone - but right now, the roster set is not where it should be in terms of financial 'stability'.

And before people chip in with the ol' 'OOTP doesn't know names' stuff, I know that. Problem is, it doesn't seem to know ratings either, when it comes to the finances in the roster set. Perhaps it might be best to click 'generate player contracts', then 'generate finances', before starting? I'd rather have stable than perfect.

dougaiton · 06-27-2008, 08:57 AM

A list of threads suggesting financial problems that I had a quick gander for:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...inancials.html
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-signings.html
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-versions.html
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...h-rosters.html

Solonor · 06-27-2008, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougaiton

Finances in the roster set are shot to the heavens. For example, many teams have over $20million in player expenses, and are predicted a -$16million balance on the end of the year, so they can't resign any players or hold onto arb eligible guys.

Then, when the cash balance wears off one season in, they all have millions of dollars floating around, which they use to sign Jose Molina to 15mil per, 4 year contract. With these new ludicrously unbalanced payrolls, some teams can't afford to sign any FAs the nest season, and a ton of reasonable players retire. While some teams have payroll deficits of $30mil, others have $50mil to spend. It's boom-and-bust to a whole new level.

Maybe there's an underlying bug here, or maybe its just another reason why releasing a 'realistic' roster set is such a can of worms. Without offence to anyone, I find it difficult to believe the roster set was really properly checked for the financial side of things going forward - completely understandable, considering the work needed to go into the ratings alone - but right now, the roster set is not where it should be in terms of financial 'stability'.

And before people chip in with the ol' 'OOTP doesn't know names' stuff, I know that. Problem is, it doesn't seem to know ratings either, when it comes to the finances in the roster set. Perhaps it might be best to click 'generate player contracts', then 'generate finances', before starting? I'd rather have stable than perfect.

I think this is absolutely the main reason for this scenario...except that I think there's another, underlying issue in FA decisions...

Do you really think a still viable baseball player is going to quit the game just because he doesn't get paid enough? Hell, it's hard to get rid of NON-viable players (*cough* Schilling *cough*).

To be sure, a player like A-Rod demands a high salary. But the only reason he gets it is because it's available. If no team offered him that much, he'd take the highest offer and play. He might grumble and charge collusion. He might even sit out a few weeks or even an entire season, but I doubt that he'll retire forever. And even if he did, would that happen to EVERY player? Not likely.

So, I think that the real problem here is that the player AI is too quick to retire and too unwilling to accept the high bid. A player that wants to play and that is desired by even the worst team in the league should be playing...even if he takes a pay cut.

06-25-2008, 05:57 PM	#1
Aerosol Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 80	A-Rod retires at 34? I am enjoying the game so far, though a couple things kind of irk me. Such as A-Rod retiring at the age of 34 despite still putting up big numbers. Is this a fluke or has anyone else encountered this situation? Additionally, the Yankees unloaded virtually their whole team, rivera, posada, jeter to other squads (posada ended up at the mets) in the span of one day, whats up with that? And can some one explain the pros and cons of ghost players in the minors? I have whole leagues without a single player on a team. Sorry, I am not bitching like I said I am enjoying the game just trying to figure out some things.

06-26-2008, 02:47 PM	#9
metball4 Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 328	We could try to justify all these things all we want, but in reality this would NOT happened. A-rod retiring at 34 is RIDICULOUS. That should not happened. Also, I think that a team like the Mets/Yankees should perhaps act differently then other teams. I.E. not trading all the Yankees and especially some of their many guys to the Mets. I guess I just want to see more realism. __________________ Mets in 2003...or 2074 Lets Go Mets!

06-26-2008, 03:08 PM	#10
Solonor Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Maine Posts: 4,467	I wonder if it might actually be a bug. The only way he can retire at 34 is if he quits after the 2008 season. And if the game settings have the option to retire historically turned on, then there might be a glitch where it sees this as historically accurate (because he doesn't play after 2007 in the Lahman db). It would have to be a pretty specific glitch...otherwise ALL historical players would quit after 2008, but maybe there's something about A-Rod. Like his salary...? If he goes FA after 2008, and the game assumes he won't take less than he's making now, and no one offers him that much, it might be set to retire him rather than have him accept the highest offer--even if it's a pay cut. Anyway, I think it's worth reporting to tech support if it happens every time. __________________ Solonor's Groovy Computer Baseball League - Making baseball a hobbit since 2003! "Beings will come, Frodo. The one constant through all the years has been baseball. Middle Earth has rolled by like an army of Mumakil. It has been erased like a slate, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Frodo. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... beings will come Frodo. Beings will most definitely come." - Gladden Field of Dreams

06-26-2008, 11:39 PM	#12
nick1091 Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 11	It's Not Just A-Rod Happening in my game as well. I'm at the end of February in 2010, and A-Rod, Chipper Jones, & Trevor Hoffman have all retired and joined the HOF. The common link is that all three became free agents after the 2008 season and didn't sign with any team the entire year. There's definitely something up. As I said it's Feb 28th and there are 17 FAs rated 4* or higher and have yet to sign with a team (I can buy veteran players like Jeter or Magglio Ordonez maybe, but Dan Haren or Miggy Cabrera?) Adding to this is the available $$. The D'Backs have $57 million to spend on free agents. The Yankees (whose entire payroll is now just a shade over $25 million ) have $82 million available to spend. Maybe I'm missing something, but how can I tweak the financials so this sort of disparity doesn't happen?

06-27-2008, 08:54 AM	#16
dougaiton Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Location: Posts: 3,414	Finances in the roster set are shot to the heavens. For example, many teams have over $20million in player expenses, and are predicted a -$16million balance on the end of the year, so they can't resign any players or hold onto arb eligible guys. Then, when the cash balance wears off one season in, they all have millions of dollars floating around, which they use to sign Jose Molina to 15mil per, 4 year contract. With these new ludicrously unbalanced payrolls, some teams can't afford to sign any FAs the nest season, and a ton of reasonable players retire. While some teams have payroll deficits of $30mil, others have $50mil to spend. It's boom-and-bust to a whole new level. Maybe there's an underlying bug here, or maybe its just another reason why releasing a 'realistic' roster set is such a can of worms. Without offence to anyone, I find it difficult to believe the roster set was really properly checked for the financial side of things going forward - completely understandable, considering the work needed to go into the ratings alone - but right now, the roster set is not where it should be in terms of financial 'stability'. And before people chip in with the ol' 'OOTP doesn't know names' stuff, I know that. Problem is, it doesn't seem to know ratings either, when it comes to the finances in the roster set. Perhaps it might be best to click 'generate player contracts', then 'generate finances', before starting? I'd rather have stable than perfect. __________________ tThis shower of clowns My park-adjusted, historically split Born in '69 league file! (also at Joe's wonderful site +BBSC) Last edited by dougaiton; 06-27-2008 at 08:56 AM.

06-25-2008, 06:12 PM	#2
JWay Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 5,031	Well the game goes by numbers only, it really doesn't know that the Yankees run in the 200 million dollar payrolls, and fans would riot the streets if they ridded themselves of all their "heroes" in one day. A-Rod retiring at 34 could be fluke, could be cause he got hurt, could be any number of reasons, but its not the first time a superstar retired while putting up ridiculous numbers. Honestly if I played until 34 and had made several hundred million dollars and the pros to keep player were making more money (unless he blows it, he's got enough) and to pad numbers, where the cons are as retiring early he gets to save his body from the stress of the sport. Who knows. But basically to OOTP the real players are on the same level as fictional ones. Maybe if you went and edited all the players to have extremely high popularity ratings, they might be more reluctant to get rid of them. Hope that helps, but you'll never have a perfect/ideal real roster set with this game, but its damn close and you just have to live with the lumps (or not, go unretire A-rod) it comes with. Cause the AI has a mind of its own, and it may not follow conventional MLB thinking. As for ghost players. Pros: Smaller sizes, faster simming, less micromanaging. Cons: You miss out on seeing those fictional players grow into something great when you drafted them in the 16th round. I generally play with them on, but there isn't a great reason why for that. I'm just not used to having 100+ minor leaguers to pay attention to.

06-25-2008, 06:23 PM	#3
BusterKing Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,433	Like Michael Jordan retiring from basketball in his prime to play baseball. ARod probably wants to try his luck playing basketball.

06-25-2008, 08:03 PM	#4
akw4572 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 2,601	Salary concerns? Look at what the Yankee budget is, that could explain them getting rid of the players.

06-25-2008, 08:57 PM	#5
Raidergoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,005	Jim Brown, Barry Sanders...sometimes they go out before the fall.

06-25-2008, 09:47 PM	#7
SittingDuck All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,834	Some hang in well past their historic retirement and continue to mount numbers. So it goes both ways.

06-26-2008, 12:10 AM	#8
MorseMoose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 6,023 Infractions: 1/1 (1)	Happened in my league too. I thought it may have been because he wasn't placed on the 40-man and was a FA.

06-26-2008, 07:03 PM	#11
umwol13 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 52	Easy, one too many trips to Toronto with a hooker and next thing you know, limp bat and an angry wife...

06-27-2008, 08:45 AM	#15
MorseMoose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 6,023 Infractions: 1/1 (1)	This is definitely an issue with the roster set or the game.

06-27-2008, 08:57 AM	#17
dougaiton Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Location: Posts: 3,414	A list of threads suggesting financial problems that I had a quick gander for: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...inancials.html http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-signings.html http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-versions.html http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...h-rosters.html __________________ tThis shower of clowns My park-adjusted, historically split Born in '69 league file! (also at Joe's wonderful site +BBSC) Last edited by dougaiton; 06-27-2008 at 09:03 AM.