How do you manage personnel for your entire organization?

bigd51 · 08-14-2022, 07:17 PM

I'm not well-versed in the inner workings of baseball decisions and I know there isn't a perfect science behind it, but I still want to get a good picture of how to maximize my MLB and MiLB production and player progression.

I'm not looking to have a perfect system in place or anything. I just want to know what's best to look for in order to make educated decisions when handling my team personnel.

If you can give as much detail as possible, that'd be great to help me understand more about it.

FWIW, I play as a GM only. I let my manager and MiLB managers handle lineups, depth charts, and pitching staff while I handle the rest.

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When starting a new league, do you bring in your own guys from the jump or do you start w/ your team's default personnel and reevaluate after the first season?
What are the most important traits to look at when hiring for each position?
Do you look for the same traits at every level? (i.e. Do you look for the same traits in a AAA manager, hitting, or pitching coach as you do for your Rookie league team?)
How often do you make changes to coaching personnel?
When do you know it's time to fire a specific coach/manager? (i.e. If you're struggling in any given area, how do you know when it's a coach/manager problem or a talent problem?)
What do you usually look for in their replacement?
When filling an empty spot, how do you know when it's best to promote from within or sign a free agent?

BBGiovanni · 08-15-2022, 12:05 PM

I play all my games manually so I don't have as long a view as many here. I can say that when I take over a new team, I will fire the trainer immediately if he/she isn't the best available. I usually live with whatever coaches are there, and try to push the worst ones down the ladder as much as possible (this may be harder in v.23 or impossible, I haven't done it as much yet). Some of this is a budget question, if you have a cheapskate owner you'll need every dollar and firing a coach isn't the best use of money.

As to hiring coaches, I tend to be sentimental at the lower levels as most coaches willing to go to the complex league or whatever tend to be young/fungible. I also turn retired players into coaches a lot to then hire them.

My other note is dumb, but: be careful when you fire your scout, I think I did it right before the draft one time and didn't have a new guy in place in time

mytreds · 08-16-2022, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigd51

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When starting a new league, do you bring in your own guys from the jump or do you start w/ your team's default personnel and reevaluate after the first season?

I keep the personnel I am given and slowly replace them as their existing contracts expire. I keep the ones I like and hire new guys when I don't like someone. The exception is the trainer- I find a good one and hire him immediately.

Quote:

What are the most important traits to look at when hiring for each position?

Manager- someone with experience and can create a good atmosphere for the club. You don't want controlling guys here. Player development can be a plus, but I always hire the best rated coach for my manager.

Bench coach- someone I think can replace my manager one day.

Pitching- I favor either groundballer or finesse focus guys. This is a personal preference. Choose someone who will fit your club, i.e. if you like power pitchers, get a power guy.

Hitting- similar to pitching, personal preference. I like contact coaches.

Scout- best experience, favors ability is slightly better than tools.

Trainer- I try to get the best guy who can prevent and heal arms. Arm is the best area to protect in baseball. No one is losing their career from a back or toe injury.

Minors- managers I like are controlling, since they would develop your youngsters the best. Pitching and hitting are in line with my majors philosophy, so my youngsters are ready when they hit the big leagues.

Quote:

Do you look for the same traits at every level? (i.e. Do you look for the same traits in a AAA manager, hitting, or pitching coach as you do for your Rookie league team?)

Yes

Quote:

How often do you make changes to coaching personnel?

I sign coaches to max contracts if they want. Saves money plus builds consistency within the organization. Championships can be bought, but dynasties are built.

Quote:

When do you know it's time to fire a specific coach/manager? (i.e. If you're struggling in any given area, how do you know when it's a coach/manager problem or a talent problem?)

My recipe is usually successful. That doesn't mean I'm winning the championship every year. It means I consistently turning my prospects into decent players that either make the bigs or are trade chips. If someone is really bad, my hook is quick. Otherwise, mediocrity is fine until the contract runs out.

Quote:

What do you usually look for in their replacement?

See above

Quote:

When filling an empty spot, how do you know when it's best to promote from within or sign a free agent?

I always promote from within first, then look to fill gaps. Again, staying consistent within the organization builds is what I prefer.

Pelican · 08-16-2022, 03:50 PM

I agree for the most part with the foregoing.

Don’t underestimate the value of hiring recently retired players, preferably from the organization, to coach in the minor leagues. I admit I have as Commissioner retired some aging players who no longer had a place on my roster, out of minor league options, unlikely trade bait, and immediately hired them as coaches. (You have to add them to the personnel list, which is easy.). They will be unproven of course, but likely have loyalty to the team.

Not surprisingly, I look for good teaching skills at the lower levels of the minor league system. By AAA and even AA the teaching/learning days should be behind them. If you play historical seasons, the staffing in the minors is minimal. I tend to add a coach or two per team for player development purposes. It’s a minuscule amount to add to the budget.

I figure a pitching coach should be a finesse guy, since that is something that can be taught. You can’t teach a guy to throw 100 mph if he doesn’t have the arm.

I want a hitting coach to favor contact. Again, tools determine who can hit the ball a mile with exit velocity and lift. Also important to teach prospects the strike zone.

I manage at athe MLB level, so I like a bench coach to second guess me on strategy, set the IF and OF. In the minor league system, patience and teaching are more important at the lower levels, with more strategy at AA and AAA. Winning is a habit that can be taught, too.

One personal peeve is that I don’t set pitch limits. It’s just one of many variables available, and not the most important or telling. I trust my minor league managers to know when a pitcher is done. I don’t want my young SP to be limited in IP and batters faced, so that they can’t survive five innings at the MLB level. It has been shown that there is no correlation between pitch counts and injuries.

I wouldn’t be reluctant to fire underperforming coaches, or at least move them around within the system. But do remember that your team may be losing because of lack of talent - not poor managing or coaching.

bigd51 · 08-16-2022, 10:14 PM

Really appreciate the detailed explanations given by you all.

I feel my personnel decisions have largely been random in the past, so it's going to be a great starting point for me when filling out my organizational staff.

Thanks for the time!

mytreds · 08-17-2022, 02:55 AM

It pays to micro manage your minors, from personnel, to depth charts, call ups, etc. I find it’s the more fun part of this simulator.

billyray1984 · 08-17-2022, 09:30 AM

At the major league level, trainer and scout I'll fire immediately if they are subpar. After that, I will not fire them until their contract is up afterwards though, so I get what I get. Same thing with base coaches and bench coach. If my team slumps on offense or pitching, I'll replace the picthing or hitting coach, but rarely. It's not clear how much effect the coaches have at the major league level, but the AI doesn't seem to replace or fire guys in place that are just bad, so I try not to game the system too much.

For the minor leagues, I used to micromanage each year but I don't anymore. I'll simply replace coaches who retire or get poached. Only caveat is I'll fire any manager or coach who has a bad relationship with my top prospects if it makes them unhappy. Again, it's not clear how much the AI tries to optimize its minor league personnel, so I try to not game the system too much there either.

08-14-2022, 07:17 PM	#1
bigd51 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 277	How do you manage personnel for your entire organization? I'm not well-versed in the inner workings of baseball decisions and I know there isn't a perfect science behind it, but I still want to get a good picture of how to maximize my MLB and MiLB production and player progression. I'm not looking to have a perfect system in place or anything. I just want to know what's best to look for in order to make educated decisions when handling my team personnel. If you can give as much detail as possible, that'd be great to help me understand more about it. FWIW, I play as a GM only. I let my manager and MiLB managers handle lineups, depth charts, and pitching staff while I handle the rest. ------ When starting a new league, do you bring in your own guys from the jump or do you start w/ your team's default personnel and reevaluate after the first season? What are the most important traits to look at when hiring for each position? Do you look for the same traits at every level? (i.e. Do you look for the same traits in a AAA manager, hitting, or pitching coach as you do for your Rookie league team?) How often do you make changes to coaching personnel? When do you know it's time to fire a specific coach/manager? (i.e. If you're struggling in any given area, how do you know when it's a coach/manager problem or a talent problem?) What do you usually look for in their replacement? When filling an empty spot, how do you know when it's best to promote from within or sign a free agent?

08-15-2022, 12:05 PM	#2
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,910	I play all my games manually so I don't have as long a view as many here. I can say that when I take over a new team, I will fire the trainer immediately if he/she isn't the best available. I usually live with whatever coaches are there, and try to push the worst ones down the ladder as much as possible (this may be harder in v.23 or impossible, I haven't done it as much yet). Some of this is a budget question, if you have a cheapskate owner you'll need every dollar and firing a coach isn't the best use of money. As to hiring coaches, I tend to be sentimental at the lower levels as most coaches willing to go to the complex league or whatever tend to be young/fungible. I also turn retired players into coaches a lot to then hire them. My other note is dumb, but: be careful when you fire your scout, I think I did it right before the draft one time and didn't have a new guy in place in time __________________ Let's Go (San Jose) Giants, Let's Go Mets! Current Project: WBAT/AABBA: Organized Base Ball And the "New Normal" World Baseball Aid Tournament 2023 trophy round underway!

08-16-2022, 03:50 PM	#4
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 3,053	I agree for the most part with the foregoing. Don’t underestimate the value of hiring recently retired players, preferably from the organization, to coach in the minor leagues. I admit I have as Commissioner retired some aging players who no longer had a place on my roster, out of minor league options, unlikely trade bait, and immediately hired them as coaches. (You have to add them to the personnel list, which is easy.). They will be unproven of course, but likely have loyalty to the team. Not surprisingly, I look for good teaching skills at the lower levels of the minor league system. By AAA and even AA the teaching/learning days should be behind them. If you play historical seasons, the staffing in the minors is minimal. I tend to add a coach or two per team for player development purposes. It’s a minuscule amount to add to the budget. I figure a pitching coach should be a finesse guy, since that is something that can be taught. You can’t teach a guy to throw 100 mph if he doesn’t have the arm. I want a hitting coach to favor contact. Again, tools determine who can hit the ball a mile with exit velocity and lift. Also important to teach prospects the strike zone. I manage at athe MLB level, so I like a bench coach to second guess me on strategy, set the IF and OF. In the minor league system, patience and teaching are more important at the lower levels, with more strategy at AA and AAA. Winning is a habit that can be taught, too. One personal peeve is that I don’t set pitch limits. It’s just one of many variables available, and not the most important or telling. I trust my minor league managers to know when a pitcher is done. I don’t want my young SP to be limited in IP and batters faced, so that they can’t survive five innings at the MLB level. It has been shown that there is no correlation between pitch counts and injuries. I wouldn’t be reluctant to fire underperforming coaches, or at least move them around within the system. But do remember that your team may be losing because of lack of talent - not poor managing or coaching. Last edited by Pelican; 08-16-2022 at 03:54 PM.

08-17-2022, 02:55 AM	#6
mytreds All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 1,182	It pays to micro manage your minors, from personnel, to depth charts, call ups, etc. I find it’s the more fun part of this simulator. __________________ “Baseball isn’t statistics; it’s Joe DiMaggio rounding second.” “Once, centuries ago, it was the beloved national pastime of the Americas, Wesley. Abandoned by a society that prized fast food and faster games. Lost to impatience.” “ The term ‘WAR’ should be replaced by ‘WAG’. WAR isn’t an actual measurement; it’s just a wild-ass guess” -Bill James RIP National League 1876-2022 Floreat semper vel invita morte. I make custom ballparks.

08-16-2022, 10:14 PM	#5
bigd51 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 277	Really appreciate the detailed explanations given by you all. I feel my personnel decisions have largely been random in the past, so it's going to be a great starting point for me when filling out my organizational staff. Thanks for the time!

08-17-2022, 09:30 AM	#7
billyray1984 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 216	At the major league level, trainer and scout I'll fire immediately if they are subpar. After that, I will not fire them until their contract is up afterwards though, so I get what I get. Same thing with base coaches and bench coach. If my team slumps on offense or pitching, I'll replace the picthing or hitting coach, but rarely. It's not clear how much effect the coaches have at the major league level, but the AI doesn't seem to replace or fire guys in place that are just bad, so I try not to game the system too much. For the minor leagues, I used to micromanage each year but I don't anymore. I'll simply replace coaches who retire or get poached. Only caveat is I'll fire any manager or coach who has a bad relationship with my top prospects if it makes them unhappy. Again, it's not clear how much the AI tries to optimize its minor league personnel, so I try to not game the system too much there either.