Historical Replay Addiction!

MightyVotto · 05-03-2012, 09:42 AM

I started playing OOTP sometime in the early 2000's. I can't remember which version. I never really got addicted to it. I'd get the itch to play some baseball in the Spring and would sim current major league seasons for about a month before moving on to another distraction.

OOTP12's release last year and the inclusion of real historical transactions and lineups has hooked me, though, into experiencing past seasons and old-time players beyond just staring at their stats sheets on Baseball Reference. I'm completely addicted to this method of playing.

Currently, I have a league going where I started in 1901, complete recalc with real transactions and lineups. I've simmed up to 1936 and have been playing out the '36 season with the Yankees. I've learned so much about not only the game and the players but the historical context involved in the times. Each season I'll go to Wikipedia and look up that year to see what was going on both in baseball and in the world. It's crazy to think that in the season that I'm experiencing, they're in the midst of the Great Depression and Hitler is starting to ramp up his war machine. At the same time, Gherig is only 3 years away from having to retire suddenly due to ALS and only five years away from his death. I also just witnessed the first night game in history on 6/11 in Cincinnati. I'm on 6/17. The Yankees just traded away Ben Chapman, who was leading the league in steals. I was happy to see him go when I learned that he was an unabashed racist who would become known as one of the strongest opponents to integration and Jackie Robinson joining the league.

If you're into Historical Replay as well, what do you like about it?

tayloraj · 05-03-2012, 10:49 AM

I started playing the game with OOTPX, and although I play MLB quickstart and fictional, the historical game has always been what brings me back...I must have simmed through the history of baseball dozens of times (though, strangely, never ALL the way through...I tend to get bored with a game by the time the 90s roll around and the furthest I've ever made it through history is 2002).
Usually, I play with real transactions and recalc off, and use either the Spritze or Gambo databases to add in Negro League players to create a kind of idealized history. With recalc off and development on, you can get some awfully wacky results (I had a game in OOTP12 where Ron Fairly ended up hitting like 660HRs and winning 11 MVP awards. In my current game, Negro Leaguer Mule Suttles has been rediculously overpowered, winning the Triple Crown literally every season he's been healthy, and he's 38 years old now, batting .389/.440/.675 for his career.) I've tried to decrease the talent change randomness factor lately, I'm still trying to see what effect that has on the game.
Although I'm relatively well-versed on the game's history, plaything through was a great way to learn about so many more players than I had ever heard of before I started...I generally have a group of guys I always make sure to have on my team (as a Red Sox fan, I always have Speaker, and Yastrzemski, Fisk, and a few others: I'll trade whatever is necessary to get them from whoever drafts them), and finding out how they perform against real life is one of my greatest joys. Oh, and not going 86 years in between championships. That's nice, too.

scott1964 · 05-03-2012, 12:33 PM

Mine is that what if other players had the chance to make it big. I started in 1871 and am currently in 1918. Cy Young did not win 517 games. Just who are Park Swartzel, Bill Wise, Bill Vinton, and so on and so forth. Christy Mathewson currently leads with over 460 wins. You never know who will make it big and who will bust.

slic1149 · 05-03-2012, 03:45 PM

For the past couple of years I have enjoyed replaying some of my favorite and most interesting players careers, and seeing how they do in my fictional world with me as the general manager. Watching Ted Williams have a more spectacular fictional career than Babe Ruth's real life career. Will George Brett get to 3,000 hits? Why in the world did Stan Musial retire at 38 while he was still a dominant player? Will Tom Seaver win as many games as a Royal as he did when he was a Met. I really do love this game.

Thelkin · 05-03-2012, 07:57 PM

My first serious sim (as in I did not abandon it after a week) is my historical. Currently in 1955 managing the Milwaukee Braves.

As an Aussie, and one that did not have much of an exposure to baseball until my son started playing tee-ball, I also have enjoyed jumping into wikipedia, and also basball-reference for further info and stats.

My enjoyment has been from learning of the things that have happened in real life to the players I manange in the sim. I have posted before on some of the interesting "team-mates" I have had and what actually happened between them.

Elysian Fields · 05-03-2012, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyVotto

I started playing OOTP sometime in the early 2000's. I can't remember which version. I never really got addicted to it. I'd get the itch to play some baseball in the Spring and would sim current major league seasons for about a month before moving on to another distraction.

OOTP12's release last year and the inclusion of real historical transactions and lineups has hooked me, though, into experiencing past seasons and old-time players beyond just staring at their stats sheets on Baseball Reference. I'm completely addicted to this method of playing.

Currently, I have a league going where I started in 1901, complete recalc with real transactions and lineups. I've simmed up to 1936 and have been playing out the '36 season with the Yankees. I've learned so much about not only the game and the players but the historical context involved in the times. Each season I'll go to Wikipedia and look up that year to see what was going on both in baseball and in the world. It's crazy to think that in the season that I'm experiencing, they're in the midst of the Great Depression and Hitler is starting to ramp up his war machine. At the same time, Gherig is only 3 years away from having to retire suddenly due to ALS and only five years away from his death. I also just witnessed the first night game in history on 6/11 in Cincinnati. I'm on 6/17. The Yankees just traded away Ben Chapman, who was leading the league in steals. I was happy to see him go when I learned that he was an unabashed racist who would become known as one of the strongest opponents to integration and Jackie Robinson joining the league.

If you're into Historical Replay as well, what do you like about it?

I like everything about it. I especially like the modified databases that allow you to play Negro Leaguers alongside their major league contemporaries and see how they pan out.

Elysian Fields · 05-03-2012, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott1964

Mine is that what if other players had the chance to make it big. I started in 1871 and am currently in 1918. Cy Young did not win 517 games. Just who are Park Swartzel, Bill Wise, Bill Vinton, and so on and so forth. Christy Mathewson currently leads with over 460 wins. You never know who will make it big and who will bust.

How did you play the leagues since 1871? Did you go with the default auto expansion or did you edit the leagues to fit your own ideas of what could have been? Like did you try a longer schedule in the 19th century that what they played?

scott1964 · 05-03-2012, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian Fields

How did you play the leagues since 1871? Did you go with the default auto expansion or did you edit the leagues to fit your own ideas of what could have been? Like did you try a longer schedule in the 19th century that what they played?

Played everything by default with a initial inaugural draft. And default auto expansion in 1882. I did not have the usual players retire according to history. Used 3 yr recalc.

Carlton · 05-25-2012, 12:56 PM

Right now I am in 1914 (Babe Ruth in da house)

and it's nice to see who's career is cut short

Nap Rucker was dominant for two time World Series champs Brooklyn and then blew out his arm. He is the all time leader in ERA at 1.67. A record I am sure will last forever

George Mullin came off his best season in 1906 then ruptured a disc and became a pitching coach

Fred Clarke also had a CEI in 1906 and the Pirates were never the same and he lost his job after a 7th place finish in 1913 and is now the bench coach for Detroit

I also seen some surprises, Tim Jordan has 83 HRs as of 1914 and is the only man to hit 3 in a game, way back in 1903

Addie Joss was sent to the bullpen in 1913 for some reason and tied Patsy Flahertys save record with 19 and then went back to the rotation for the World Series and pitched a 1 hit SHO

Mordecai Brown had 5 years of dominace but bone chips has made him a reliever. he still holds the modern record with 38 wins in a season

Tully Spark conversely whi is still in the league at 39 has the most losses with 30for the 1904 Phillies and 3 years later won 28 for them

Vic Willis and not Eddie Plank is the consistent winning machine in deadball as he has gone from the Beaneaters to the Pirates to the Cardinals to the A's and finally the Naps...where he won the deciding game 4 and made the initial 1913 All Star game roster while bouncing back at age 37 to win 24 games putting him at 283

Christy Mattewson has been great for Bad Giants teams and is 242-209 for his career but he might be only the 2nd player behind Cy Young to get 3,000 strikouts as he stands at 2,578

But my favorite standout is Bill Lange.
A great 19th century player, Lange had no success with the Tigers in 1903 and 1904 and was sent packing to the American Association. He retires in 1905 and comes out of retirement in 1911 to play in the PCL for Sacremento, where he wins the Triple Crown and best player award at age 41

I've only had 3 six hit games and 6 cycles hit and 1 perfect game by a fictional player called Carlton Francis who was a PCL legend, did well for the White Sox for 2 years and they traded him to the Browns for Burt Shotton and the Browns traded him back to the PCL for some reason

Rube Waddell and Doc White have 2 no hitters

Teammates Nap Lajoie (1901) and Ty Cobb (1911) have the only triple crowns and they are 1-2 in hitting streak records as Cobb has the all time streak with 35 and Lajoie has 33 both in 1912 and Armando Marsans of the Reds beat Honus Wganers NL streak in 1912 with 31

thehef · 05-25-2012, 06:21 PM

Quote:

But my favorite standout is Bill Lange...

I had to lookup the real Bill Lange after reading Carlton's report of the OOTP one...

Lange's real-life story is quite interesting, retiring in his prime in order to get married (to a bride's whose father forbade her to marry a baseball player), refusing offers to return to the game after the marriage failed, and subsequent business successes both related and unrelated to baseball... Check it out: Bill Lange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now I am anxious to see how Lange will do in my historical league...

05-03-2012, 09:42 AM	#1
MightyVotto Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 123	Historical Replay Addiction! I started playing OOTP sometime in the early 2000's. I can't remember which version. I never really got addicted to it. I'd get the itch to play some baseball in the Spring and would sim current major league seasons for about a month before moving on to another distraction. OOTP12's release last year and the inclusion of real historical transactions and lineups has hooked me, though, into experiencing past seasons and old-time players beyond just staring at their stats sheets on Baseball Reference. I'm completely addicted to this method of playing. Currently, I have a league going where I started in 1901, complete recalc with real transactions and lineups. I've simmed up to 1936 and have been playing out the '36 season with the Yankees. I've learned so much about not only the game and the players but the historical context involved in the times. Each season I'll go to Wikipedia and look up that year to see what was going on both in baseball and in the world. It's crazy to think that in the season that I'm experiencing, they're in the midst of the Great Depression and Hitler is starting to ramp up his war machine. At the same time, Gherig is only 3 years away from having to retire suddenly due to ALS and only five years away from his death. I also just witnessed the first night game in history on 6/11 in Cincinnati. I'm on 6/17. The Yankees just traded away Ben Chapman, who was leading the league in steals. I was happy to see him go when I learned that he was an unabashed racist who would become known as one of the strongest opponents to integration and Jackie Robinson joining the league. If you're into Historical Replay as well, what do you like about it?

05-03-2012, 12:33 PM	#3
scott1964 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Denver Posts: 5,561 Blog Entries: 19	Mine is that what if other players had the chance to make it big. I started in 1871 and am currently in 1918. Cy Young did not win 517 games. Just who are Park Swartzel, Bill Wise, Bill Vinton, and so on and so forth. Christy Mathewson currently leads with over 460 wins. You never know who will make it big and who will bust. __________________ This just feels more like waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. PETA.....People Eating Tasty Animals.

05-25-2012, 12:56 PM	#9
Carlton Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3,765	Right now I am in 1914 (Babe Ruth in da house) and it's nice to see who's career is cut short Nap Rucker was dominant for two time World Series champs Brooklyn and then blew out his arm. He is the all time leader in ERA at 1.67. A record I am sure will last forever George Mullin came off his best season in 1906 then ruptured a disc and became a pitching coach Fred Clarke also had a CEI in 1906 and the Pirates were never the same and he lost his job after a 7th place finish in 1913 and is now the bench coach for Detroit I also seen some surprises, Tim Jordan has 83 HRs as of 1914 and is the only man to hit 3 in a game, way back in 1903 Addie Joss was sent to the bullpen in 1913 for some reason and tied Patsy Flahertys save record with 19 and then went back to the rotation for the World Series and pitched a 1 hit SHO Mordecai Brown had 5 years of dominace but bone chips has made him a reliever. he still holds the modern record with 38 wins in a season Tully Spark conversely whi is still in the league at 39 has the most losses with 30for the 1904 Phillies and 3 years later won 28 for them Vic Willis and not Eddie Plank is the consistent winning machine in deadball as he has gone from the Beaneaters to the Pirates to the Cardinals to the A's and finally the Naps...where he won the deciding game 4 and made the initial 1913 All Star game roster while bouncing back at age 37 to win 24 games putting him at 283 Christy Mattewson has been great for Bad Giants teams and is 242-209 for his career but he might be only the 2nd player behind Cy Young to get 3,000 strikouts as he stands at 2,578 But my favorite standout is Bill Lange. A great 19th century player, Lange had no success with the Tigers in 1903 and 1904 and was sent packing to the American Association. He retires in 1905 and comes out of retirement in 1911 to play in the PCL for Sacremento, where he wins the Triple Crown and best player award at age 41 I've only had 3 six hit games and 6 cycles hit and 1 perfect game by a fictional player called Carlton Francis who was a PCL legend, did well for the White Sox for 2 years and they traded him to the Browns for Burt Shotton and the Browns traded him back to the PCL for some reason Rube Waddell and Doc White have 2 no hitters Teammates Nap Lajoie (1901) and Ty Cobb (1911) have the only triple crowns and they are 1-2 in hitting streak records as Cobb has the all time streak with 35 and Lajoie has 33 both in 1912 and Armando Marsans of the Reds beat Honus Wganers NL streak in 1912 with 31 __________________ "I am at that stage of my life where I keep myself out of arguments. I am 100% self sufficient spiritually, emotionally & financially. Even if you say 1+1=5, you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. Enjoy!"

05-03-2012, 10:49 AM	#2
tayloraj Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 162	I started playing the game with OOTPX, and although I play MLB quickstart and fictional, the historical game has always been what brings me back...I must have simmed through the history of baseball dozens of times (though, strangely, never ALL the way through...I tend to get bored with a game by the time the 90s roll around and the furthest I've ever made it through history is 2002). Usually, I play with real transactions and recalc off, and use either the Spritze or Gambo databases to add in Negro League players to create a kind of idealized history. With recalc off and development on, you can get some awfully wacky results (I had a game in OOTP12 where Ron Fairly ended up hitting like 660HRs and winning 11 MVP awards. In my current game, Negro Leaguer Mule Suttles has been rediculously overpowered, winning the Triple Crown literally every season he's been healthy, and he's 38 years old now, batting .389/.440/.675 for his career.) I've tried to decrease the talent change randomness factor lately, I'm still trying to see what effect that has on the game. Although I'm relatively well-versed on the game's history, plaything through was a great way to learn about so many more players than I had ever heard of before I started...I generally have a group of guys I always make sure to have on my team (as a Red Sox fan, I always have Speaker, and Yastrzemski, Fisk, and a few others: I'll trade whatever is necessary to get them from whoever drafts them), and finding out how they perform against real life is one of my greatest joys. Oh, and not going 86 years in between championships. That's nice, too.

05-03-2012, 03:45 PM	#4
slic1149 Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 343	For the past couple of years I have enjoyed replaying some of my favorite and most interesting players careers, and seeing how they do in my fictional world with me as the general manager. Watching Ted Williams have a more spectacular fictional career than Babe Ruth's real life career. Will George Brett get to 3,000 hits? Why in the world did Stan Musial retire at 38 while he was still a dominant player? Will Tom Seaver win as many games as a Royal as he did when he was a Met. I really do love this game.

05-03-2012, 07:57 PM	#5
Thelkin Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 78	My first serious sim (as in I did not abandon it after a week) is my historical. Currently in 1955 managing the Milwaukee Braves. As an Aussie, and one that did not have much of an exposure to baseball until my son started playing tee-ball, I also have enjoyed jumping into wikipedia, and also basball-reference for further info and stats. My enjoyment has been from learning of the things that have happened in real life to the players I manange in the sim. I have posted before on some of the interesting "team-mates" I have had and what actually happened between them.