Why I will hold onto OOTPB 21 and hope for the best.

[Déjà Bru]

On the NYT website today is an article headlined "Baseball Avoided a Lost Season. But Bigger Threats May Lie Ahead." It's mostly about how MLB is threatened by: "The contentious negotiations between M.L.B. and the players’ union that nearly killed the 2020 season only deepened a schism that could soon swallow up the sport."

The current CBA expires in December 2021 which "explains why the union was wary of giving any ground — even amid a pandemic — and why many observers fear the end of the current C.B.A. could bring the first work stoppage since the strike that canceled the 1994 World Series and devastated the sport’s momentum for years." But that is not my chief concern.

What I am most worried about is that "fans’ tastes are changing . . . and baseball has work to do to stabilize its popularity in the future . . . This season will include several rule changes: every pitcher must face at least three batters (or finish an inning); the designated hitter will be used in both leagues; and extra innings will begin with a runner on second base, to reduce the likelihood of marathon games.The latter two measures are intended to protect players’ health for this season only, but they could become fixtures that might unsettle longtime followers."

I am actually fine with most of that but the one thing that really would bother me is the runner on second base to start extra innings. That is a basic change to the game of baseball itself and it crosses a line.

Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Brian Anderson is quoted thusly: “I don’t believe you make baseball fans by fundamentally changing the game . . . “If they’re going to really change the game, they’d have to blow it up — seven innings, ties, three balls for a walk, two strikes for a strikeout. I don’t want to see that.” Neither do I.

This is why I am holding onto OOTPB 21 and I am hoping for the best concerning the future of this franchise. No doubt some of these changes will become defaults in future versions. Yet I hope OOTPB will always have settings for returning to traditional baseball; to the game that I grew up admiring and loving.

[Matt Arnold]

You don't have to worry about us While, yeah, if MLB comes out with runners on 2nd in extra innings, or decides on a rule where in odd innings you only need 3 balls for a walk, we'll do our best to be able to handle those changes, but we do always support our historical or traditional players, that's why rules like the 3 batter min obviously make sense as completely optional.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

You don't have to worry about us While, yeah, if MLB comes out with runners on 2nd in extra innings, or decides on a rule where in odd innings you only need 3 balls for a walk, we'll do our best to be able to handle those changes, but we do always support our historical or traditional players, that's why rules like the 3 batter min obviously make sense as completely optional.

Thanks for the reassurance. It is greatly appreciated.

[OutS|der]

With the way things are going the season might not even start and even less likely to finish even 60 games.

They really are better off just canceling the whole season.

[Giants44]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

You don't have to worry about us While, yeah, if MLB comes out with runners on 2nd in extra innings, or decides on a rule where in odd innings you only need 3 balls for a walk, we'll do our best to be able to handle those changes, but we do always support our historical or traditional players, that's why rules like the 3 batter min obviously make sense as completely optional.

reason 1 of 1 billion why OOTP is always my best game of all time. everything is customize-able - you can always configure the game to an incredible level of detail and exactly to your liking.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by Giants44

you can always configure the game to an incredible level of detail

Yes

and exactly to your liking.

No

[Bobbyraz49]

Originally Posted by OutS|der

With the way things are going the season might not even start and even less likely to finish even 60 games.

They really are better off just canceling the whole season.

I agree. This is a pandemic.
All you need is one positive test and it throws everything out of whack. Then the team they just played is screwed. I could see some teams ending up playing 40 games while others may get to 60.
That's when MLB will probably need to use win percentage for playoff races.

One issue I have with baseball is the actual time it takes to play a game. It seems like every NYY and Boston lasts over 4 hours for 9 innings.

[cheo25]

It's pretty clear Rob Manfred and some of his marketing people do not like baseball. To me, baseball's problems have more to do with some of their insane business practices (such as blacking out local broadcasts from the MLB.TV package) than complaints of games taking too long and other gameplay issues MLB wants to "fix."

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by cheo25

It's pretty clear Rob Manfred and some of his marketing people do not like baseball. To me, baseball's problems have more to do with some of their insane business practices (such as blacking out local broadcasts from the MLB.TV package) than complaints of games taking too long and other gameplay issues MLB wants to "fix."

There is a whole host of things that they are doing that I don't mind although I may not agree. It's the stuff they are doing to change the game itself that matters to me.

Like juicing up the ball and automatically putting runners on base. These cross the line. Automated umpiring, requiring relievers to face three batters, pitch timing; these do not. (Holding up four fingers for an intentional walk is marginal.)

I could search for more examples but I don't want to. Up until recently, the DH and tinkering with the pitcher's mound were the most impactful changes; neither of which really were right in my opinion.

Look, MLB is going to do what it's going to do to make money. Period. That means the basic game is going to change whether we want it to or not.

It sounds silly, but having the option to play baseball virtually with OOTPB, and to play it the way that I wish it could be again, or at least stay the way it is now, means a lot to me.

[cheo25]

Look, MLB is going to do what it's going to do to make money. Period. That means the basic game is going to change whether we want it to or not.

You're spot on. I hate the DH. I hate interleague play. But both were done to try to goose attendance when they were implemented. And MLB's game will continue to change, though most of it will be for the worse for people like me who are longtime fans.

That's the beauty of OOTP. I started a league in 1980, and I expanded in 1993 and '98 like real life. But I've always preferred the 6-team NL divisions from 1969-92. So after the '98 season, I contracted the six latest expansion teams, and I'm still running with just 24 teams in 2003. I have no intention of ever expanding this league again.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by cheo25

I hate interleague play.

Aha! Yes, that's a biggie that should have been on my list of "things that they are doing that I don't mind although I may not agree." The Yankees playing the Mets seven times a season; eh, alright. It's still baseball.

Some of the other things they are thinking about, not so much.

Long live OOTPB!

[low]

Originally Posted by cheo25

It's pretty clear Rob Manfred and some of his marketing people do not like baseball. To me, baseball's problems have more to do with some of their insane business practices (such as blacking out local broadcasts from the MLB.TV package) than complaints of games taking too long and other gameplay issues MLB wants to "fix."

Totally agree. Nobody could convince me anymore that Manfred doesn't hate baseball.

[CBeisbol]

I like OOTB because I can experiment with different strategies

I wish I had more options to change the game even more.

[sdw1000]

Personally, I don't think they even should have a season. It won't be complete and it'll just have an asterisk next to it in the record books. 60 games is kinda like what I would play out in OOTP if I played out every game. lol

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by sdw1000

Personally, I don't think they even should have a season. It won't be complete and it'll just have an asterisk next to it in the record books.

If they don't have a season it should be because of the risks of coronavirus
Not because of the risks of aste

[jimmysthebestcop]

Baseball big fan problem has more to do with no one in the MLB having any kind of personality. As much as fans want competition they also desire entertainment. It suffers from the same problem as the NHL does except the NHL is accustomed to playing the under dog role.

MLB is 3rd behind NFL and NBA. It needs to pick if they want to run the big dogs or play the under dog role.

Besides Harper going to the Phillies it was the only time a MLB jersey popped up on the top charts. It's not just that ESPN and other media usually do polls of top 50 athletes and it's about game not greatness. Usually MLB has 0 players or a handful. While NFL and NBA players are all famous.

Trout is the best player the last decade and most normal people have no idea who he is. Yet my grand mother knows who Tom Brady and LeBron James are.

It's not the rules or anything going on in the diamond. MLB has 30% international players and there a language barrier. That hurts entertainment. NBA has lots of international but they all speak English can't say the same about MLB.

MLB doesn't sell or market their product which is their players. They try to come up with dumb rules no one wants.

[Archelirion]

the designated hitter will be used in both leagues

THIS is how I find out?! I am...

Rob Manfred and your board of philistines, I hope skunks invade your homes and get scent-marking everything that you love.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by jimmysthebestcop

Baseball big fan problem has more to do with no one in the MLB having any kind of personality. As much as fans want competition they also desire entertainment. It suffers from the same problem as the NHL does except the NHL is accustomed to playing the under dog role.

MLB is 3rd behind NFL and NBA. It needs to pick if they want to run the big dogs or play the under dog role.

Besides Harper going to the Phillies it was the only time a MLB jersey popped up on the top charts. It's not just that ESPN and other media usually do polls of top 50 athletes and it's about game not greatness. Usually MLB has 0 players or a handful. While NFL and NBA players are all famous.

Trout is the best player the last decade and most normal people have no idea who he is. Yet my grand mother knows who Tom Brady and LeBron James are.

It's not the rules or anything going on in the diamond. MLB has 30% international players and there a language barrier. That hurts entertainment. NBA has lots of international but they all speak English can't say the same about MLB.

MLB doesn't sell or market their product which is their players. They try to come up with dumb rules no one wants.

Get rid of lineups

Let managers decide who comes to the plate, when

This will create more opportunities for the league's best hitters

[Scipio Africanus]

Everyone always thinks the one or two things that bother them personally about modern baseball are the real reason behind baseball's decline. The sad truth is that there are 20-30 things wrong with baseball right now and they all contribute.

[tejdog1]

All these ridiculously stupid pace of play BS rules shave off like 600 seconds per game and they're like WOW LOOK WHAT WE DID



[the rest of this post is redacted due to vulgarity]