Strategic Decision-Making on Foul Fly Balls with a Runner on 3rd

[heroes21v]

I encountered a frustrating situation during gameplay that I believe needs a logical improvement in the AI's situational awareness.

The Situation:
1. 1 Out, 1-run lead, runner on 3rd base.
2. The batter hits a fly ball deep into foul territory in the outfield.
3. The outfielder catches the ball, but the runner on 3rd tags up and scores, tying the game.

The Problem:
In a real-world scenario, a high-IQ outfielder (or one instructed by the bench) would intentionally let that foul ball drop. By not catching it, the ball remains foul, the runner cannot tag up, and the lead is preserved. However, in OOTP, the AI fielders seem to catch every fly ball regardless of the strategic context.

My Question to the Community & Devs:
Is it difficult to implement a logic where fielders skip catching a foul fly ball if it directly leads to a game-tying or go-ahead tag-up? I would love to see players' Fielding Intelligence or Experience influence these kinds of high-stakes decisions. Is there any way to improve this, or perhaps a setting I might have missed?

[Todd R]

The game engine created a foul fly where the runner thought he could score and the fielder thought he could throw the runner out. The runner won the dice roll.

The depth of the fly shown in the animation is not data. Physics is not part of the game engine.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Todd R

The game engine created a foul fly where the runner thought he could score and the fielder thought he could throw the runner out. The runner won the dice roll.

The depth of the fly shown in the animation is not data. Physics is not part of the game engine.

Not what the guy is talking about.

[seven]

Todd R's main point can be taken to be that the game engine does not always fit what is seen on the field. The play described in the original post can be interpreted as a situation in which it's hard to tell whether the fly ball will go foul, so the fielder catches it just in case. There are plenty of instances in which such flies are left to go foul by the fielder.

[Todd R]

Originally Posted by seven

Todd R's main point can be taken to be that the game engine does not always fit what is seen on the field. The play described in the original post can be interpreted as a situation in which it's hard to tell whether the fly ball will go foul, so the fielder catches it just in case. There are plenty of instances in which such flies are left to go foul by the fielder.

Your explanation is better than mine since OP didn't mention the OFer making a throw. I was thinking of a situation where the OFer made a throw when I posted.

Something else is that after the game engine determines the outcome of the play the Statcast simulation will create EV and distance. And since its on ratings not the play it seems the numbers will be higher for a power hitter than a single hitter.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by Todd R

Your explanation is better than mine since OP didn't mention the OFer making a throw. I was thinking of a situation where the OFer made a throw when I posted.

Something else is that after the game engine determines the outcome of the play the Statcast simulation will create EV and distance. And since its on ratings not the play it seems the numbers will be higher for a power hitter than a single hitter.

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