Are all the new MLB rules overridable?

[klkitchens]

Assumed most of the nonsensical MLB rules either don't apply to a computer sim OR would be overridable in the league settings. But I saw a video from 8 months ago of a game in play and it showed only WEAK OF/IF shift options, vs. the regular full shifts of old.

Had me wondering if this was fixable in the game? Also broken by MLB are the batter counts for relievers, throw-over counts (may not matter in a sim?), shifts (as noted), pitch clock (again, probably not an issue in a sim), ghost runners/free runners in extra innings?

I know DH is a league setting (and hopefully still is!), so I'm optimistic OOTP designers made these other rule changes optional for those of us that hate them.

Want to buy on the sale for winter simming and fill the void left by not being able to watch real baseball the past two years (since it's no longer played)...

thanks!

[kq76]

IINM, like you suspected, the pickoff attempts (it's called something else actually, starts with a d I think, I forget) and pitch clock aren't in the game, but the others are togglable. You can definitely ban shifts, change the extra innings rule, change the minimum batters faced, and of course to DH or not to DH is still there.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by kq76

IINM, like you suspected, the pickoff attempts (it's called something else actually, starts with a d I think, I forget) and pitch clock aren't in the game, but the others are togglable. You can definitely ban shifts, change the extra innings rule, change the minimum batters faced, and of course to DH or not to DH is still there.

awesome thanks!

off to Steam! (AND JUST IN TIME! Sales ends in 15 minutes!)

[dewelar]

Originally Posted by kq76

(it's called something else actually, starts with a d I think, I forget)

Disengagement

[kq76]

Originally Posted by dewelar

Disengagement

That's it. Thanks.

[Pelican]

IMHO one of the true joys of OOTP is to play a contemporary season with no ghost runners, no infield shifts, no three-batter minimum, and no DH if you wish. You can also create a more competitive league, by forcing teams to spend a minimum and setting a hard salary cap. End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by Pelican

IMHO one of the true joys of OOTP is to play a contemporary season with no ghost runners, no infield shifts, no three-batter minimum, and no DH if you wish. You can also create a more competitive league, by forcing teams to spend a minimum and setting a hard salary cap. End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

why would you override all the other bad rules and leave the no-shift option? That's one of the more ridiculous ones there is. Let the manager put his players wherever he wants. Let the batter learn to adjust his hitting. Seems like a completely unnecessary intrusion by MLB. Why not tell the manager he can only sit on a certain area of the bench while they're at it

I like your other ideas though.

[kq76]

It depends, do you have an appreciation for the defensive skill some players have or not? If you appreciate good defense then the shift sucks. It also depends on if you like to have more action on the bases or not? If you just like strikeouts, walks, and home runs, then the shift is fine. If you want more, then the shift is stifling the entertainment value.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by kq76

It depends, do you have an appreciation for the defensive skill some players have or not? If you appreciate good defense then the shift sucks. It also depends on if you like to have more action on the bases or not? If you just like strikeouts, walks, and home runs, then the shift is fine. If you want more, then the shift is stifling the entertainment value.

The entertainment comes from the game as is. Not from silly rules designed to gin up more "entertainment". And I disagree. Appreciated defense IS appreciating the shift. You're positioning the defense where it can do its job better. In other sports, the defense adapts to the offense, no reason baseball should not as well.

A pitcher's duel is equally as entertaining as a two-sided slugfest.

A lopsided game is the most boring game there can be. Even if your team is winning.

[Brad K]

I don't play out games or watch them so silly game rules don't directly affect me. But I still turn them off.

[OutS|der]

Originally Posted by Pelican

IMHO one of the true joys of OOTP is to play a contemporary season with no ghost runners, no infield shifts, no three-batter minimum, and no DH if you wish. You can also create a more competitive league, by forcing teams to spend a minimum and setting a hard salary cap. End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

How do you set a hard minimum salary cap?

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by Brad K

I don't play out games or watch them so silly game rules don't directly affect me. But I still turn them off.

but they do still affect the game in a bad way

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Pelican

End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

The requirement for 172 days for a year of service has nothing to do with clubs wanting to restrict rookies. The 172-day threshold goes back to the 1950s, a period when the season only lasted 168 days compared to today's 186 days, and appears to be related to U.S. labor laws.

[MathBandit]

Originally Posted by Pelican

End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

I can't remember if we've discussed this before, but to me this would lead to a *lot* more artificial manipulation and suppression of MLB-ready talent in the minors.

I agree with the overall principle though that the beauty of OOTP is in the ability to play your way. I love many of the new rules, but appreciate the ability to dial back some of the playoff changes to put more emphasis on the 162 (as well as turn the DH on in the NL years before the MLB got around to it, though that's moot now).

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Pelican

IMHO one of the true joys of OOTP is to play a contemporary season with no ghost runners, no infield shifts, no three-batter minimum, and no DH if you wish. You can also create a more competitive league, by forcing teams to spend a minimum and setting a hard salary cap. End the manipulation of service time, by determining that 32 days on the active roster is a service year, instead of 172 or whatever variable period might be applied to hold back a star rookie.

I have been stroooooooongly considering adding the ghost runner to my fictional set-in-1972 league because it is f'ing annoying as crap to see games go 19 freaking innings because neither team can string together 3 hits at a time. I've decided not to because this is a one-year dip but man, if I'd chosen to take over the league in the early 60s instead of '69...

To each their own of course. I don't know what difference the pitch clock makes in a baseball sim either way; I will say that in the real game, it made it around 20 times easier to watch this year. I often will have games from <season I'm in> playing on YouTube when I'm OOTPing; one very, very underrated thing that happened between oh, around the mid-90s and 2022 was that everyone started taking absolutely forever to get ready to pitch and hit and the umps just kind of allowed all of it. Back in the olden days I believe it was Rick Manning who was nicknamed The Human Rain Delay because he... basically acted like everyone acted circa 2022 with batter timeouts, etc.

I also have to say, the shift rules struck me as dumb but relatively inconsequential when they came out and I was partially wrong on that. They were pretty inconsequential - I thought they'd cause like a 10 point bump in BABIP and that's pretty much what happened - but all that "bump" seems to have happened to benefit left-handed pull hitters, which was a neat side effect. Can't wait to see how that's modeled in next year's version.

The 3-throws rule is an interesting one to me because althought it's teeeeeechnically new I specifically remember Bill James grousing about the running game slowly leaving and how a 3-throws rule could revitalize it in one of the Abstracts. So... like the mid 80s. This isn't a new idea anymore.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by kq76

It depends, do you have an appreciation for the defensive skill some players have or not? If you appreciate good defense then the shift sucks. It also depends on if you like to have more action on the bases or not? If you just like strikeouts, walks, and home runs, then the shift is fine. If you want more, then the shift is stifling the entertainment value.

I don’t like the idea of banning the shift because I’m a purist for one, but there really isn’t any boundary there…it’s completely made up. Why doesn’t exist in the outfield then? There’s just no real or visible boundaries and therefore it’s like when you were a kid in the backyard saying “pretend there is a fence there, or pretend this and pretend that. It’s a pretend line!!

[Will_L]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Back in the olden days I believe it was Rick Manning who was nicknamed The Human Rain Delay because he... basically acted like everyone acted circa 2022 with batter timeouts, etc.

That was Mike Hargrove, I remember either groaning, going to the bathroom or to the kitchen for a snack or soda whenever he came up to bat and not missing a single pitch.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I don’t like the idea of banning the shift because I’m a purist for one, but there really isn’t any boundary there…it’s completely made up. Why doesn’t exist in the outfield then? There’s just no real or visible boundaries and therefore it’s like when you were a kid in the backyard saying “pretend there is a fence there, or pretend this and pretend that. It’s a pretend line!!

Oh, there are lines. Feet on the infield grass or dirt. But you say, all fields are different? Yup. It used to not matter... but here's Jayson Stark explaining the infield shift bounds as only he can...

https://theathletic.com/3596022/2022...rt-shift-rule/

A fun read from a Philly guy, no less.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

I have been stroooooooongly considering adding the ghost runner to my fictional set-in-1972 league because it is f'ing annoying as crap to see games go 19 freaking innings because neither team can string together 3 hits at a time. I've decided not to because this is a one-year dip but man, if I'd chosen to take over the league in the early 60s instead of '69...

those 19 inning games are all part of the beauty of real baseball.

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

To each their own of course. I don't know what difference the pitch clock makes in a baseball sim either way; I will say that in the real game, it made it around 20 times easier to watch this year. I often will have games from <season I'm in> playing on YouTube when I'm OOTPing; one very, very underrated thing that happened between oh, around the mid-90s and 2022 was that everyone started taking absolutely forever to get ready to pitch and hit and the umps just kind of allowed all of it. Back in the olden days I believe it was Rick Manning who was nicknamed The Human Rain Delay because he... basically acted like everyone acted circa 2022 with batter timeouts, etc.

Well, it fixed a fan's impatience, but didn't fix anything in the game.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I don’t like the idea of banning the shift because I’m a purist for one, but there really isn’t any boundary there…it’s completely made up. Why doesn’t exist in the outfield then? There’s just no real or visible boundaries and therefore it’s like when you were a kid in the backyard saying “pretend there is a fence there, or pretend this and pretend that. It’s a pretend line!!

Exactly. If the manager wants to put everyone in left center, let him. His call. He wouldn't last long, but it should be up to him.

If you know that 99.99999% of the time Bonds will hit to right side, move the infield over to reduce the number of holes. It's logical, unlike the shift-banning.