Playing Outfield Deep

Curtis · 12-08-2013, 04:10 PM

This probably falls under the heading of stupid questions, but an interesting situation has now arisen with the real-life 2014 Mets that got me thinking. The Mets are going to be playing an outfield with one player with average range for centerfield, one with above average range for center and one with amazing range. Someone on the Amazin Avenue board just jokingly suggested that, granted the likely porosity of our infield, next season we should play the outfield shallow.

1) My question is, would that work in Out of the Park? If you had three starters with outfield ranges of 60/65/80+ (on the 20-80 scale), would it actually pay off to always play them shallow? Would the answer change if your infield had ranges of (3rd to 1st) 50/55/45/30?

2) If outfield arm affects the equation, assume the left fielder has range 65/arm 45; center fielder range 80+/arm 70; right fielder range 60/arm 55.

3) In the game it would be easier to accumulate an elite fielding outfield, but usually it would be associated with elite fielding also in the infield. Is there any reasonable outfield that could/should play shallow 90+% of the time behind an average infield defense?

I realize this theoretical stuff won't interest many posters, but hey, it's the offseason. Thank you for your time.

PSUColonel · 12-08-2013, 04:25 PM

I would like to be able to customize where fielders play. We should then be able to save different defensive formations.

Edit: but also the ability to do so on the fly

Fellini · 12-09-2013, 12:20 AM

I wouldn't think you'd see much difference in real life when spread out over a 162 games season but this is something a much smarter man than me would calculate on baseball prospectus.

As far as OOTP is concerned I assume there is a 'penalty' for outfield (and infield) shifts that probably outmatch a player's range unless that range is 1200 on a 20-80 scale. Again, pure speculation.

When I say 'penalty' I mean trade off. For example, in no doubles defense there's a bonus to decrease doubles but a penalty for allowing more singles.

12-08-2013, 04:10 PM	#1
Curtis Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Watertown, New York Posts: 4,567	Playing Outfield Deep This probably falls under the heading of stupid questions, but an interesting situation has now arisen with the real-life 2014 Mets that got me thinking. The Mets are going to be playing an outfield with one player with average range for centerfield, one with above average range for center and one with amazing range. Someone on the Amazin Avenue board just jokingly suggested that, granted the likely porosity of our infield, next season we should play the outfield shallow. 1) My question is, would that work in Out of the Park? If you had three starters with outfield ranges of 60/65/80+ (on the 20-80 scale), would it actually pay off to always play them shallow? Would the answer change if your infield had ranges of (3rd to 1st) 50/55/45/30? 2) If outfield arm affects the equation, assume the left fielder has range 65/arm 45; center fielder range 80+/arm 70; right fielder range 60/arm 55. 3) In the game it would be easier to accumulate an elite fielding outfield, but usually it would be associated with elite fielding also in the infield. Is there any reasonable outfield that could/should play shallow 90+% of the time behind an average infield defense? I realize this theoretical stuff won't interest many posters, but hey, it's the offseason. Thank you for your time.

12-09-2013, 12:20 AM	#3
Fellini Bat Boy Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 8	I wouldn't think you'd see much difference in real life when spread out over a 162 games season but this is something a much smarter man than me would calculate on baseball prospectus. As far as OOTP is concerned I assume there is a 'penalty' for outfield (and infield) shifts that probably outmatch a player's range unless that range is 1200 on a 20-80 scale. Again, pure speculation. When I say 'penalty' I mean trade off. For example, in no doubles defense there's a bonus to decrease doubles but a penalty for allowing more singles. __________________ Experience is what you get while looking for something else

12-08-2013, 04:25 PM	#2
PSUColonel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 13,143	I would like to be able to customize where fielders play. We should then be able to save different defensive formations. Edit: but also the ability to do so on the fly