Fielding stats

Acuna Matata · 09-15-2018, 07:35 AM

Ive been reading up on fielding stats such as Range Factor and Zone Rating recently and just wanted to know how useful other OOTP players find these stats when making decisions on your teams players.
I know its a generalisation to say but everythng ive read so far seems to indicate the positions of Catcher, Second base, Shortstop and Centre Field are where you want your defensive strengths. The other positions seem to be about offensive production first and defense as an afterthought.
Firstly, id like to know if this viewpoint is in general successful when applied in OOTP and if so, how much lower could say an elite defensive centre fielder or shortstops production be before it would be a problem for the team as a whole.

Dyzalot · 09-17-2018, 06:03 AM

It is all about balance. I've done fine with average defensive shortstops like a Bogaerts type who can give you an .800+ OPS. And I've done well with the guys who give you elite defense at the position but struggle to give you a .700 OPS. This game is basically a puzzle. You have a set amount of money to spend on players that can increase your run production and decrease the amount of runs allowed. You basically want to create the largest run differential for the least amount of money spent possible. Figuring out the way to do that is the key.

Brad K · 09-18-2018, 11:35 PM

There's a report - I don't know the exact name and don't have the game running - that gives a team fielding report. Its called league fielding or something like that.

Anyway, if your team number is plus and say at least a quarter of the way between zero to the leader, don't worry about your fielding. Even if you have some below average rated fielders up the middle.

If you select players basically on offensive skill with a minimum position rating of 45ish on 1 - 100 you'll probably end up with some 50s and 60s and an above average fielding team.

Brad K · 09-18-2018, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyzalot

...You basically want to create the largest run differential for the least amount of money spent possible. Figuring out the way to do that is the key.

A puzzle with an infinite number of solutions.

Acuna Matata · 09-21-2018, 06:24 PM

My newest focus is to match my defense to my pitchers as with my groundball staff i’ve traded for a premium infield who can also hit.
Some of the zone ratings in expanded fielding stats for my 2B and SS are eye popping.
This involved trading a ‘cornerstone of the franchise’ to make it happen but im hoping it’ll all be worthwhile.
Really anxious to see if these plans will bear fruit as one of the things that drives me on with this game is being able to find a genuine truth i can feel secure with after wading through all those stats and variables.
As you’ve already said though with the infinite possibilities of approach to the game then its all about finding the truth that relates to your particular game reality

Sharkn20 · 09-21-2018, 07:51 PM

Let us know how it went!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acuna Matata

My newest focus is to match my defense to my pitchers as with my groundball staff i’ve traded for a premium infield who can also hit.
Some of the zone ratings in expanded fielding stats for my 2B and SS are eye popping.
This involved trading a ‘cornerstone of the franchise’ to make it happen but im hoping it’ll all be worthwhile.
Really anxious to see if these plans will bear fruit as one of the things that drives me on with this game is being able to find a genuine truth i can feel secure with after wading through all those stats and variables.
As you’ve already said though with the infinite possibilities of approach to the game then its all about finding the truth that relates to your particular game reality

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Brad K · 09-26-2018, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acuna Matata

My newest focus is to match my defense to my pitchers as with my groundball staff i’ve traded for a premium infield who can also hit.
....

How many MLB teams in your game?

Acuna Matata · 10-05-2018, 02:10 PM

Overall i would rate my infield and pitching staff matching to be a success as we went from a sub .500 team to one that came within a whisker of winning the world series.
For some reason everytime i sign any player with promising looking fielding range and stats they dont seem to be able to quite replicate it for me.
In addition to the upturn because of my pitchers and infielders i really drilled down on the bunt/stolen base area to try and minimise wasted outs.
By keeping team strategy to no hit and run or bunts at all it felt like we gave ourselves more of a chance throughout the season to not beat ourselves.
With reference to the maths of it all, the decreased percentages (at least from a sabermetric standpoint) that incurring an extra out brings about do not justify the reward of advancing the runner.
Also i was able to maintain a healthy number of stolen bases by restricting steal attempts to only those players who consistently demonstrated above a 75% success rate.
With reference to the question about mlb teams then i have the same format as standard which mirrors the current MLB.

NoOne · 10-05-2018, 04:59 PM

my team strats are similar...

i found that "hold runners" is huge to bump up above 1/2.. haven't tried further.

+83 in 47 years. only 10 of 47 years negative from expected. before i bumped hold runners i was +19 over 68 years with 27 years negative wins from expected.

from 39.7% of years below expected down to ~21.3%.. albeit a small sample? averaging +0.27 upto +1.77 per year.

i don't know if i had better talent and/or league was a bit lower, but i surpassed certain thresholds of wins more often too in that streth, relatively speaking.

lowers risk? anyway, i typically end up finding a strat the results in +2/year eventually. supposedly, the futher away from 'middle' your team is the +/- skews toward middle.. so the crappy teams are more likely to have a positive from expected wins and the elite teams are more likely to have negative from expected wins as calculated by pyt in game or whatever they are using, maybe not.

say it's random.. that's fine.. then random's "even" point is ~+2 and not 0 for my teams year in and year out, lol.

** for top heavy team.. lots of money etc.. if small market and platoon / more bench optiosn i'd sub for position player more often... otherwise i want the "money" playing. that's why they make the big bucks. i noticed the team strat was missing some stuff... this is what i typically use for an AI manager, my namesake I,II,III etc...

heh, glad i posted that.. was testing out a different notch for use of closer... forgot about that! wondered why the guy was getting 5-10 less saves a year. one notch lower works better, if counting saves.

NoOne · 10-06-2018, 02:13 PM

oh i forgot...

it is essential that you hand tailor the individual player strategies too.

if you see a guy attempting 20 sb and only 1/2 are successful, he is hurting your team.. ne need to turn down team SB attempts... leave that as you like it. go drop that bum's stealing to zero.

i basically match color code on running aggressivness per person.. a bit more weight on baseruning ability or stealing ability than 'speed' alone. but for stealing... i watch %-success... if below a threshold i prefer, i zero them out.. (~75% or better is well above break-even.. i think for modern mlb it's calculated at ~72%. that was from a source that did the math not a made up value, but old memory at this point, so could be off a bit)

speed mostly affects quantity, not necessarily % success, at leas with stealing. if they are 100/100 they will by the same %-success as a 80/100 (speed / stealing ability)... they will jsut steal fewer bases due to lack of speed... the opportunities won't exist for them, so the % remains more closely tied to ability than speed, if not drastically different.

not compaing a 10/100 speed to 80/100 speed etc. even so if i see a low speed / ~max stealing, i bump their stealing aggressiveness way up .. dark blue? all the way up? as long as they maintain a high % success.. i'll take 5-10SB from a total clod any day... why not if they can do it without being caught much.

individual strats.. set them.. it wil increase RS and reduce wasted outs... = essential if you want to squeeze all that you can at all times from your team.

09-15-2018, 07:35 AM	#1
Acuna Matata Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 32	Fielding stats Ive been reading up on fielding stats such as Range Factor and Zone Rating recently and just wanted to know how useful other OOTP players find these stats when making decisions on your teams players. I know its a generalisation to say but everythng ive read so far seems to indicate the positions of Catcher, Second base, Shortstop and Centre Field are where you want your defensive strengths. The other positions seem to be about offensive production first and defense as an afterthought. Firstly, id like to know if this viewpoint is in general successful when applied in OOTP and if so, how much lower could say an elite defensive centre fielder or shortstops production be before it would be a problem for the team as a whole.

10-05-2018, 04:59 PM	#9
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	my team strats are similar... i found that "hold runners" is huge to bump up above 1/2.. haven't tried further. +83 in 47 years. only 10 of 47 years negative from expected. before i bumped hold runners i was +19 over 68 years with 27 years negative wins from expected. from 39.7% of years below expected down to ~21.3%.. albeit a small sample? averaging +0.27 upto +1.77 per year. i don't know if i had better talent and/or league was a bit lower, but i surpassed certain thresholds of wins more often too in that streth, relatively speaking. lowers risk? anyway, i typically end up finding a strat the results in +2/year eventually. supposedly, the futher away from 'middle' your team is the +/- skews toward middle.. so the crappy teams are more likely to have a positive from expected wins and the elite teams are more likely to have negative from expected wins as calculated by pyt in game or whatever they are using, maybe not. say it's random.. that's fine.. then random's "even" point is ~+2 and not 0 for my teams year in and year out, lol. ** for top heavy team.. lots of money etc.. if small market and platoon / more bench optiosn i'd sub for position player more often... otherwise i want the "money" playing. that's why they make the big bucks. i noticed the team strat was missing some stuff... this is what i typically use for an AI manager, my namesake I,II,III etc... heh, glad i posted that.. was testing out a different notch for use of closer... forgot about that! wondered why the guy was getting 5-10 less saves a year. one notch lower works better, if counting saves. Attached Images Last edited by NoOne; 10-05-2018 at 05:05 PM.

10-06-2018, 02:13 PM	#10
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	oh i forgot... it is essential that you hand tailor the individual player strategies too. if you see a guy attempting 20 sb and only 1/2 are successful, he is hurting your team.. ne need to turn down team SB attempts... leave that as you like it. go drop that bum's stealing to zero. i basically match color code on running aggressivness per person.. a bit more weight on baseruning ability or stealing ability than 'speed' alone. but for stealing... i watch %-success... if below a threshold i prefer, i zero them out.. (~75% or better is well above break-even.. i think for modern mlb it's calculated at ~72%. that was from a source that did the math not a made up value, but old memory at this point, so could be off a bit) speed mostly affects quantity, not necessarily % success, at leas with stealing. if they are 100/100 they will by the same %-success as a 80/100 (speed / stealing ability)... they will jsut steal fewer bases due to lack of speed... the opportunities won't exist for them, so the % remains more closely tied to ability than speed, if not drastically different. not compaing a 10/100 speed to 80/100 speed etc. even so if i see a low speed / ~max stealing, i bump their stealing aggressiveness way up .. dark blue? all the way up? as long as they maintain a high % success.. i'll take 5-10SB from a total clod any day... why not if they can do it without being caught much. individual strats.. set them.. it wil increase RS and reduce wasted outs... = essential if you want to squeeze all that you can at all times from your team. Last edited by NoOne; 10-06-2018 at 02:14 PM.

09-17-2018, 06:03 AM	#2
Dyzalot All Star Starter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,735	It is all about balance. I've done fine with average defensive shortstops like a Bogaerts type who can give you an .800+ OPS. And I've done well with the guys who give you elite defense at the position but struggle to give you a .700 OPS. This game is basically a puzzle. You have a set amount of money to spend on players that can increase your run production and decrease the amount of runs allowed. You basically want to create the largest run differential for the least amount of money spent possible. Figuring out the way to do that is the key.

09-18-2018, 11:35 PM	#3
Brad K Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 5,423	There's a report - I don't know the exact name and don't have the game running - that gives a team fielding report. Its called league fielding or something like that. Anyway, if your team number is plus and say at least a quarter of the way between zero to the leader, don't worry about your fielding. Even if you have some below average rated fielders up the middle. If you select players basically on offensive skill with a minimum position rating of 45ish on 1 - 100 you'll probably end up with some 50s and 60s and an above average fielding team.

09-21-2018, 06:24 PM	#5
Acuna Matata Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 32	My newest focus is to match my defense to my pitchers as with my groundball staff i’ve traded for a premium infield who can also hit. Some of the zone ratings in expanded fielding stats for my 2B and SS are eye popping. This involved trading a ‘cornerstone of the franchise’ to make it happen but im hoping it’ll all be worthwhile. Really anxious to see if these plans will bear fruit as one of the things that drives me on with this game is being able to find a genuine truth i can feel secure with after wading through all those stats and variables. As you’ve already said though with the infinite possibilities of approach to the game then its all about finding the truth that relates to your particular game reality

10-05-2018, 02:10 PM	#8
Acuna Matata Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 32	Overall i would rate my infield and pitching staff matching to be a success as we went from a sub .500 team to one that came within a whisker of winning the world series. For some reason everytime i sign any player with promising looking fielding range and stats they dont seem to be able to quite replicate it for me. In addition to the upturn because of my pitchers and infielders i really drilled down on the bunt/stolen base area to try and minimise wasted outs. By keeping team strategy to no hit and run or bunts at all it felt like we gave ourselves more of a chance throughout the season to not beat ourselves. With reference to the maths of it all, the decreased percentages (at least from a sabermetric standpoint) that incurring an extra out brings about do not justify the reward of advancing the runner. Also i was able to maintain a healthy number of stolen bases by restricting steal attempts to only those players who consistently demonstrated above a 75% success rate. With reference to the question about mlb teams then i have the same format as standard which mirrors the current MLB.