Someone help me to find the "thrill" of baseball please II

[eriqjaffe]

Originally Posted by Templer

What GB% stands for?

Ground Ball Percentage - the approximate percentage of balls put in play from a given pitcher that, well, are ground balls. Pitchers with higher GB% are less likely to give up home runs because simply because they don't allow as many fly balls.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by Templer

@ jaxmagicman,

another instructive post.
Another upcoming fact that from my side there will be much to do.

Sirs, please go on giving me lessons.

But please don't throw player names on me.
Beside Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Gary Carter, Reggie Jackson and - of course Bo Jackson I don't know any players.

What GB% stands for?

GB - "Ground Ball" - GB is the number ground balls hit off a pitcher.
Since you seem to be playing iOOTP vs regular the manuals may be different but it should have a glossary.
Out of the Park Baseball Manual

You should go to you local library or go to Amazon.com and get some baseball books. Choose a team and read as many books about that teams and it's players as you can and go on to the next team.
Sandburg is one the few Cubs I hate. I much prefer older 2B like Eddie Collins and i even like Darwin Barney the latest Cubs 2B.

You can learn alot on baseball-reference.com
Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Baseball Statistics and History

Career Leaders &amp Records for Fielding % as 2B - Baseball-Reference.com

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by Templer

Someone help me to find the "thrill" of baseball please II

Originally Posted by Templer

But please don't throw player names on me.

I won't throw a name at you, just a picture. I'm surprised someone hasn't made reference to it yet. Thrill!

Anyway, the thing I most like about baseball is how close the competition is. If you follow a team, I don't care how bad they are, you are going to see them win. If not, there is always tomorrow.

In football, you gotta wait a week. In basketball & hockey, god knows when they'll play again.

The best team ever in baseball (win wise) still lost 30% of their games. Every game, *every one* your team has a decent chance of winning. In other sports, it's likely that you'll a 'clear favorite' that has a very, very high chance of winning. Those games are just not fun for me to watch.

[Templer]

Can you tell me as a beginner advice on what (few) stats should I focus by positions?

[stannis]

I'm not sure what you mean by stats "by position", but if you mean player defensive ratings, then (in OOTP terms):

Catchers have their own skill set; no non-catcher can play this position
First base defensive skills aren't big priorities; almost anyone can play first base and anyone capable of playing another infield position can do so more than capably
Second base needs good Range and ability to Turn Double Plays
Third base needs a good Infield Arm
Shortstop needs good all round infield skills to be competent
Left and right field need average outfield skills, with a stronger premium on Outfield Arm for RF
Centerfield needs good all round outfield skills, and in particular Outfield Range
Of these, the most important are Catcher skills; Turn Double Plays for 2B; good all round Infield skills for SS; and Outfield Range for CF.

If you mean offensive skills, then these aren't determined by position. However, given that C, SS, and CF need good defensive skills, you can justify a weaker batter at these positions. Given 1B and LF require only limited defensive skills, you might want to make sure you're getting the best possible batters into your lineup at these positions.

[Tib]

Among the 44,610 things I love about baseball is this:

In baseball, nobody knows what the play is until it happens. The pitcher is supposed to be able to hit a grape with a 90 mph fastball, but he doesn't know for sure if he can do it. He hopes he can -- but he doesn't know for sure. Even the offensive player has no idea where the ball is going. He hopes -- oh, he hopes -- but he can never know for sure. And because the pitcher and the batter don't know for sure the spectator doesn't know for sure, either.

The ball could go literally anywhere; forward, backward, downward, skyward, slantward, shankward, and every place in between.

And the beautiful thing about baseball -- more beautiful than any touchdown catch or broken tackle or goal or slam dunk -- is that everyone in the stadium finds out at the same time.

This is the fundamental connection between player and spectator. It is made and maintained, reinforced time after time after time on every play. This is what draws us in, pulls us in toward the field and toward each other -- this common experience that happens in an instant, each instant wholly unique and surprising, bringing with it a truly unlimited supply of heroism, folly, comedy, bravery, unimaginable tragedy and unspeakable joy.

Baseball is Life in nine innings. Eight and a half if you're ahead.

[Templer]

@ stannis,

that's what I meant.
Thank you. Your post was quite helpful.

I'm starting to slowly work my way into baseball (sloooooooooowly).

Oddly enough, I find it more instructive and informative, when I watch youth teams via YouTube.

And then there is so much confusion.
On roster of a football team I have my starters.
So I then it's quite clear who my star players are.
And these "stars", are used in the starting o and startin D each game.

In baseball this is confusing.
There have 13 pitchers on the active roster. (Yes, there are starter, reliever and closer. I also know how they are used).
But with the pitchers, not at every game the same player (pitcher) is set as starter.

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by Templer

There have 13 pitchers on the active roster. (Yes, there are starter, reliever and closer. I also know how they are used).
But with the pitchers, not at every game the same player (pitcher) is set as starter.

Because starters need rest between starts. They can't pitch in every game. Typically (in the modern era) pitchers have four days of rest between starts. In a five man rotation, the fifth starter (generally the least reliable among the staff) will often get skipped or have their start delayed if there's an off day in between the #1 starter's turn and his own. That's the short of it, although it can get more tricky.

The good news is that the game will handle this for you. What you want to do is order your starters from best to worst, then select either "start highest rested" or "occasionally start highest rested" (the latter of which is more reflective of the way pitching staffs are currently handled in real life) and the game will automatically insert the best starting option for a given game.

Edit: Oh, and by the way, it's actually more typical to have 12 pitchers on a staff, not 13. Sometimes AL teams will only carry 11, but that happens less now that wearing out pitchers by working the count is becoming a standard strategy.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

Edit: Oh, and by the way, it's actually more typical to have 12 pitchers on a staff, not 13. Sometimes AL teams will only carry 11, but that happens less now that wearing out pitchers by working the count is becoming a standard strategy.

Sure you didn't mean NL? I don't know any AL team recently who has used 11 except temporarily. In the NL it's more probable.

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by RchW

Sure you didn't mean NL? I don't know any AL team recently who has used 11 except temporarily. In the NL it's more probable.

I might be going back a few years in terms of the AL, then. But other than situationally (like starting the season with only four starters due to the way the off days line up) I don't recall NL teams carrying 11 pitchers.

[ussoldier2002]

I have been thinking about your post for over an hour now because you really got me thinking about why I love baseball so much. My love for baseball started at an early age. I still remember watching my first Cubs game with my dad. I remember when my dad asked me if I wanted to play little league. I remember my first hit. It was a double off of a kid I went to school with named Matt. I remember the first catch I ever made. I remember going to my first Major League game at 10 years old hoping to catch a foul ball and never doing it. Still going to games 20 years later and having the same excitement as I did when I was little of maybe this time I will catch a foul ball. But that is not all.

Baseball is America's game, America's pastime. Baseball is America. Baseball is not perfect. Black people were not allowed to play our game until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the 40's. While a shame, still, it is America. People consider Babe Ruth the greatest of all time. Other people say "how can you consider Babe Ruth the greatest when he did not play against black people?"
Baseball can lend itself to so many conversations and debates and you can never prove who is right and who is wrong and the next day you can have the same conversation with different results. It is simply amazing.

My friend once told me Nolan Ryan is by far the most over rated player to ever play the game. I asked him how he can say that seeing how he had over 5000 strike outs not to mention 7 no hitters. He had a valid point. Nolan Ryan's career Win Loss record was barely over .500. To some that doesn't matter. You can not have those kinds of conversations with people with any other sport.

My biggest thrill now however is watching a kid make his Major League debut. Wondering to myself will he be around for the next 15 years or so or will this be the last time I ever see him.

I will end this for now. I do hope you get into baseball and enjoy it, no, love it as much as the rest of us do.

"You are never to old to play the game of baseball until you die... or your knees give out, which ever comes first."

-Bill Washburn

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I might be going back a few years in terms of the AL, then. But other than situationally (like starting the season with only four starters due to the way the off days line up) I don't recall NL teams carrying 11 pitchers.

Typically NL teams carry less pitchers because they need extra bats on the bench for pinch hitting.

[TGH-Adfabre]

I am a bigger football fan then baseball fan, kind of.

This is how I see it. 10 baseball games = one football game.This changes the pace of the thrill considerably. With the bulk of the NFLbeing played on one day, in 6 hours, it is easier to get excited about most games.The way that football ebbs and flows during games and also between games is easier to get ramped up for. Thrs game is a teaser, Sunday is NFL church and Monday is a chaser. Because the action is compacted the pace and speed of the thrill is different.

I do not watch a lot of regular season baseball. I LOVE going to the games but 3 young kids and an entertainment budget does not permit it very often.

If you give me the highlights of my team for 10 games,Cardinals, and stack that reel up against my favorite football team, Texans, it is a push. The excitement is equal. The difficult part for me is that theTexans take 3 hours and the Cards take 30.

The pace of the ride is different. Baseball is more like going cruising and catching an occasional traffic light ¼ mile drag race.Football is more like NASCAR, I am just as enthralled by the 10 car pileup on the 30 yard line as I am the finish line.

I have not done the math but what I have read is between 120 and 140 snaps per NFL game. Looking at this

http://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/plays-per-game

it seems right.

Using the 10:1 ratio I tend to think of an inning in baseball as a play in the NFL. The math is not even close to perfect but it is remotely similar. Lol

To stay engaged and excited I then have to get into all oft he details that make those innings so exciting.

What’s the pitcher throwing next, what are his pitches, how is the defense set up (if I can see it), do I think the manager is telling thebatter to swing away, does the runner have a green light (should he?) etc.

With OOTP I do not manage each game because of time. I would rather sim 10 and see the results than manage 1. Just a personal preference.

It’s late, hope it helps. Good luck this game is tremendousif you take the time to learn and invest in it.

Tom

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by RchW

Typically NL teams carry less pitchers because they need extra bats on the bench for pinch hitting.

It's kind of moot since everyone carries 12 pitchers these days, but I don't think you're right about this. NL teams do need the extra bats, but they also need an equivalent number of arms to replace those pinch hitters, not to mention late-game match-ups and such. AL teams could carry one less pitcher because a reliever can be left in until he's spent rather than having to worry about his spot in the batting order, and the extra bat accounts for the DH spot while still leaving enough subs on the bench to do whatever they need to.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

It's kind of moot since everyone carries 12 pitchers these days, but I don't think you're right about this. NL teams do need the extra bats, but they also need an equivalent number of arms to replace those pinch hitters, not to mention late-game match-ups and such. AL teams could carry one less pitcher because a reliever can be left in until he's spent rather than having to worry about his spot in the batting order, and the extra bat accounts for the DH spot while still leaving enough subs on the bench to do whatever they need to.

Some AL teams have 13 pitchers. AFAIK no NL teams have 13 pitchers. From that I suggest my point is valid.

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by RchW

Some AL teams have 13 pitchers. AFAIK no NL teams have 13 pitchers. From that I suggest my point is valid.

Like I said earlier, my viewpoint might be outdated.

That's interesting about AL teams carrying 13 pitchers. Are they teams that have no confidence in their starters' ability to eat innings?

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

Like I said earlier, my viewpoint might be outdated.

That's interesting about AL teams carrying 13 pitchers. Are they teams that have no confidence in their starters' ability to eat innings?

It seems to be a value proposition exercise. What's of more value, a bat sitting on the bench who may only get used when an injury occurs or an arm that can be used whenever a game is out of reach or in extra extra innings instead of a pitcher who may be needed the next day.

In some cases (Blue Jays) he is a placeholder until a bat (Brett Lawrie) comes off the DL.

[ihatenames]

Originally Posted by Erik W.

It's kind of moot since everyone carries 12 pitchers these days, but I don't think you're right about this. NL teams do need the extra bats, but they also need an equivalent number of arms to replace those pinch hitters, not to mention late-game match-ups and such. AL teams could carry one less pitcher because a reliever can be left in until he's spent rather than having to worry about his spot in the batting order, and the extra bat accounts for the DH spot while still leaving enough subs on the bench to do whatever they need to.

That was my thinking as well. I've never done a count across the league but I would think carrying more pitchers would be to the NL's advantage due to the need to pinch hit for them earlier then may have needed due to pitch count etc. I know i've seen plenty of NL starters get pulled for a pinch hitter due to a mid to late inning offensive situation. If they were in the AL they would have likely stayed out another inning.

If I were running an NL team I would not carry less than 12 pitchers regardless of if they have/had in real life. If I had an AL team I might risk it depending on the reliability of my relievers. Again I don't have stats to back up what's done in real life, that's just my opinion about what I would do.

[Templer]

I'm confused again.

For me, professional sports means, physical and mental performance at the highest level.

Such required maximum power, a person can accomplish relatively few years.
But in professional baseball, you'll find players active 20 years and more (i. e. Pete Rose).

We arrive at the idea, that baseball is no strenuous, no competitive sport?

[Erik W.]

Originally Posted by Templer

I'm confused again.

For me, professional sports means, physical and mental performance at the highest level.

Such required maximum power, a person can accomplish relatively few years.
But in professional baseball, you'll find players active 20 years and more (i. e. Pete Rose).

We arrive at the idea, that baseball is no strenuous, no competitive sport?

Gordie Howe: 32 seasons (in the no-helmet era)
Warren Moon: Played until he was 44.
Robert Parrish: 21 seasons

You can find ageless wonders in every sport. I'm not sure how pointing out that Pete Rose played a long time proves anything at all about a sport.