Beginner Advice?

[BDMarvel]

I picked up OOTP 11 about a year ago (it was $0.99) and dabbled with it, but found the interface very clunky (especially since I still have a lot to learn about baseball in general). I was planning to pick up OOTP 14 this year while it's on sale, but decided to preorder OOTP 15 instead largely due to what seems to be a much improved interface (that reminds me of Football Manager, a good thing). So now I'm excited to get started, but also a bit curious. I really don't know too much about the strategies or tactics that go into baseball. I'm hoping that OOTP will give me a deeper understanding of the game, much like Football Manager did for my understanding of soccer.

Anyway, preamble aside, what advice (for OOTP, or baseball management in general) do you have for getting started? Once I have my league set up and am in control of my team, I'm not really sure what I should be doing or looking for. Are there any pitfalls I should be wary of? I'm sure I'll pick it up in time, but was wondering if anyone has a "quick-start" guide, or at least some basic starting advice for a new player.

[Doc_Brown]

First of, welcome to the forums and OOTP.


I'm not sure if there is a 'quick start' to playing guide, I'll have a look if there is I'll post it here if there isn't I'm sure some of the guys on here more knowledgeable on this subject and will be more than willing to assist you.

[JCarter93]

Originally Posted by Doc_Brown

First of, welcome to the forums and OOTP.


I'm not sure if there is a 'quick start' to playing guide, I'll have a look if there is I'll post it here if there isn't I'm sure some of the guys on here more knowledgeable on this subject and will be more than willing to assist you.

There are a lot of articles in the forum that can help you. Look up topics (I find googling them with "ootp" in the search works best) on player development, trading, and the inaugural draft for GM advice. Some things I've learned:

1. Don't just go by the ratings, look at a player's stats. Right now in baseball there is something of a controversy over which stats are important, but I tend to favor batters with a good On Base Percentage (OBP 320+ at least) and good On Base Plus Slugging (OPS .750ish).

2. Remember to check your player's fielding ratings as well, especially at catcher, shortstop and center field. I would weigh fielding and defense to be slightly more important than offense at those three positions.

3. Tactics in baseball are kind of going through a lot of changes now. The "Moneyball" guys, i.e. the ones who recently revolutionized the way we look at stats, say the following:

1. Don't steal
2. Don't sacrifice bunt.
3. Favor OBP over Batting Average.
4. Platoon your players (lefty batters vs righty pitchers and vice versa, and put righty pitchers against righty (and lefty vs lefty) batters when you can.)

Traditionalists agree with (4), but tend to advocate steals, sacrifice bunting, average and slugging over OBP, and speed and power over contact and walks.

Looking up info on real life baseball tactics can help you as well.

Hope that helps.

[jazzrack]

I created a wiki page

OOTP Community Wiki | Beginner Advice

this page in particular could be very useful if community updated

[BDMarvel]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I've bookmarked the wiki as well.

[goalieump413]

To begin with, try managing a lower level minor league team. That way, you can get used to the interface, controls, and concepts without all the player movement and negotation business. It's fun, but if you are venturing into the game for the first time, take it one step at a time, and start a few games so if you make a mistake, you can apply your knowledge to the next game.

[Arquebus]

Originally Posted by JCarter93

4. Platoon your players (lefty batters vs righty pitchers and vice versa, and put righty pitchers against righty (and lefty vs lefty) batters when you can.)

I have two questions somewhat related to this. These questions are based less on a lack of experience with OOTP and more on a lack of experience with baseball in general. (I enjoy sports sims. I don't watch sports. I'm strange that way.)

First the more general question. As I understand it, the rule of thumb is to stack your batting lineup so that the better hitters are near the top of the lineup and your worse hitters are at the bottom. Why? Since the lineup cycles through 1 through 9 and then back to 1, and doesn't reset at the top of an inning, how do you gain anything by doing this and not, for example, lacing your good and bad players together? Somewhere along the way in a game (frequently) you're likely to end up starting your half of the inning batting from position 5. That pretty much guarantees a crappy inning.

Second, the question related to the quote above. Since you can't adjust the lineup during a game except through substitutions, is that what you're suggesting with "platooning"? Because you're not going to know ahead of time what pitchers you're dealing with, especially if they get substituted more than once or twice. (I simmed a game where the opposing team felt the urgent need to cycle through three pitchers in a single inning.) Or are you suggesting more that you adjust your lineup before the game based on what you estimate your opponent's pitchers to be? (That is, you know the starting pitcher, and can vaguely guess who their relievers, closer, etc. might be.)

Although I love OOTP, I still feel like Scientist Dog ("I have no idea what I'm doing") whenever I tweak lineups, etc. I tend to rely on the AI manager/bench coach to get that stuff done for me, though, which seems a waste, since apart from that I'm not really doing anything at all...

[goalieump413]

Originally Posted by Arquebus

...First the more general question. As I understand it, the rule of thumb is to stack your batting lineup so that the better hitters are near the top of the lineup and your worse hitters are at the bottom. Why? Since the lineup cycles through 1 through 9 and then back to 1, and doesn't reset at the top of an inning, how do you gain anything by doing this and not, for example, lacing your good and bad players together? Somewhere along the way in a game (frequently) you're likely to end up starting your half of the inning batting from position 5. That pretty much guarantees a crappy inning.

Second, the question related to the quote above. Since you can't adjust the lineup during a game except through substitutions, is that what you're suggesting with "platooning"? Because you're not going to know ahead of time what pitchers you're dealing with, especially if they get substituted more than once or twice. (I simmed a game where the opposing team felt the urgent need to cycle through three pitchers in a single inning.) Or are you suggesting more that you adjust your lineup before the game based on what you estimate your opponent's pitchers to be? (That is, you know the starting pitcher, and can vaguely guess who their relievers, closer, etc. might be.)...

First, about setting lineups, a good place to learn this information is from sabermetrics sources is reading "Baseball: Between the Numbers" or "The Book". Both, or other titles, will help demonstrate how to set lineups for better results.

Second, the lineup can, for maximum expected results, be adjusted prior to your game to build the best platoon advantage for your team, but do this carefully. Check your hitter's splits to see if there is a greater advantage to benching a better hitter, just because he's R/R or L/L.

[EternallyOptimisticCubFan]

Originally Posted by JCarter93

There are a lot of articles in the forum that can help you. Look up topics (I find googling them with "ootp" in the search works best) on player development, trading, and the inaugural draft for GM advice. Some things I've learned:

1. Don't just go by the ratings, look at a player's stats. Right now in baseball there is something of a controversy over which stats are important, but I tend to favor batters with a good On Base Percentage (OBP 320+ at least) and good On Base Plus Slugging (OPS .750ish).

2. Remember to check your player's fielding ratings as well, especially at catcher, shortstop and center field. I would weigh fielding and defense to be slightly more important than offense at those three positions.

3. Tactics in baseball are kind of going through a lot of changes now. The "Moneyball" guys, i.e. the ones who recently revolutionized the way we look at stats, say the following:

1. Don't steal
2. Don't sacrifice bunt.
3. Favor OBP over Batting Average.
4. Platoon your players (lefty batters vs righty pitchers and vice versa, and put righty pitchers against righty (and lefty vs lefty) batters when you can.)

Traditionalists agree with (4), but tend to advocate steals, sacrifice bunting, average and slugging over OBP, and speed and power over contact and walks.

Looking up info on real life baseball tactics can help you as well.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the advice, it helped a lot! I just started a game and chose a "job" and I have been assigned as manager of the Oakland (DSL) Athletics. Anyways if I want to simulate a game I assume I need to set the "overall strategy" currently it won't let me generate one by asking my bench coach because it says it I don't have any!

I saw that I can import a strategy, since Billy Beane is my GM does anyone happen to have a generic .str "moneyball" strategy file I can start off with?

[TGH-Adfabre]

First the more general question. As I understand it, the rule of thumb is to
stack your batting lineup so that the better hitters are near the top of the
lineup and your worse hitters are at the bottom. Why? Since the lineup cycles
through 1 through 9 and then back to 1, and doesn't reset at the top of an
inning, how do you gain anything by doing this and not, for example, lacing your
good and bad players together? Somewhere along the way in a game (frequently)
you're likely to end up starting your half of the inning batting from position
5. That pretty much guarantees a crappy inning.

1) Over the course of 162 games the top 3-4 hitters in the line up will get more Plate Appearances. This will increase the likely-hood of them getting on base and hitting in the same inning to score.
2) Threading would undermine that likely-hood over the length of the season.
3) The bottom half of the order does not guarantee a poor inning but it does increase the likely-hood of it.
4) The thing I associate it with is odds. I want my most talented hitters to get the most opportunities as I can give. I also want them to get those opportunities in close proximity.

Good luck,
Tom

[EternallyOptimisticCubFan]

Welp, I am starting out as the Oakland (DSL) Athletics and am 0 for 3 in my first three games against the Atlanta (DSL) Braves.

I am just learning the different commands for actually playing real time but it looks like I still have lots of work to do

[gRaider2001]

Kelric does an excellent job explaining the importance of each position in baseball. The link is below:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post2714341

Majesty95 does an excellent job of explaining overall baseball strategy in the link below:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post1163976

[RchW]

Originally Posted by EternallyOptimisticCubFan

Welp, I am starting out as the Oakland (DSL) Athletics and am 0 for 3 in my first three games against the Atlanta (DSL) Braves.

I am just learning the different commands for actually playing real time but it looks like I still have lots of work to do

Stick with it. The learning curve is steep and it can be frustrating but once you get comfortable you will enjoy this as much as any game you have played.

[Arquebus]

Originally Posted by TGH-Adfabre

1) Over the course of 162 games the top 3-4 hitters in the line up will get more Plate Appearances. This will increase the likely-hood of them getting on base and hitting in the same inning to score.

So really the lineup is meant for long-term strategy, not single-game tactics? Managers don't generally change the lineup from game to game?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by Arquebus

So really the lineup is meant for long-term strategy, not single-game tactics? Managers don't generally change the lineup from game to game?

Yes, the lineup is generally long-term. Managers don't usually change the lineup from game to game. They might minor changes to favor batter/pitcher matchups or give a player an occasional rest. They may move somebody down in the lineup (e.g. move him from batting 5th to 8th) if he's in a slump.

[TGH-Adfabre]

Originally Posted by Arquebus

So really the lineup is meant for long-term strategy, not single-game tactics? Managers don't generally change the lineup from game to game?

It is for both. The top OBP and Average hitters are usually stronger at their weakness than an inferior hitter. In the game you can look at the players ratings to see if a less talented (overall) player has a strength, like hitting left handed pitchers, that is substantially better than your regular starter. You can then "platoon" them. Starting one player vs Righties and another vs lefties. This can produce superior results.


This happens frequently with defense. A starter may not be the best defender at his position but his hitting is so much better than his back up he starts and his offense evens out his hitting.
Late in games with a decent/big lead the superior defender will be substituted based on the situation.

[Cinnamon J. Scudworth]

Originally Posted by Arquebus

So really the lineup is meant for long-term strategy, not single-game tactics? Managers don't generally change the lineup from game to game?

No, it's both. To put it simply, the reason why the top half of the lineup gets more plate appearances over the course of a season is because they tend to get more plate appearances in each game. You want them hitting more often.

[Jamz58]

Originally Posted by Arquebus

So really the lineup is meant for long-term strategy, not single-game tactics? Managers don't generally change the lineup from game to game?

As already stated the top of the order usually gets 1 more plate appearance then the bottom does. That's about 150 more plate appearances a year so cluster your best hitters at the top.

Lineup advice by batting order. There are no hard and fast rules but I use this as a general guideline:
1 - High OBP with speed (usually your best base stealer)
2 - High OBP and good contact hitter with speed. Guys who strike out a lot or hit into a lot of double plays will kill you in this spot)
3 - Best pure hitter (i.e. high OBP and BA (usually has power also))
4 - Best slugger (i.e.Homerun hitter with Highest SLG). This position (4) is known as the "clean up hitter" because he has the best hitters in front of him and therefor has the most opportunities to drive in runs (RBIs)
5 - Second best Slugger
6 - Best remaining hitter with some power (SLG)
7 - Best remaining hitter
8 - Best remaining hitter
9 - Worst hitter hopefully with some speed. Its best to keep the speed together if you can. Slow guys plug up the bases.

As stated elsewhere, for batting stats primarily pay attention to OBP, SLG and OPS (On base plus slugging). Also note that your lineup versus lefties or righties may be the same or dramatically different. It's also best to separate your lefties and righties in the line up if you can (i.e if you have 4 lefties in a row that's the perfect opportunity for the opposing manager to bring in his lefty reliever late in the game).

Note: I am brand new to OOP but am a long time baseball fanatic.