"Fantasy" League

joeswell · 07-07-2006, 12:45 AM

My friends and I want to create a "fantasy" league using real MLB players from 1900-2006. For example, One team could draft Babe Ruth, another team would take Willie Mays, another team would take Barry Bonds, another team would take "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. We want to be to pick our home fields from a list of real ballparks of the past or present. For example I want my team to play in the Polo Grounds. Another guy wants Griffith Stadium, etc.

We want 40 man rosters - 25 active players - 15 on a "taxi" squad in case some player is injured.

Another thing we like about OOTP is that we can easily create managers that manage the way we want them to manage.

So my question is... How do I set this up? Can I create a league like this with OOTP 2006? We are not interested in using fictional players.

We have had a APBA league in the past, but it seems that OOTP offers a lot more flexibility than APBA... except there's so many screens and menus, I can't seem to figure it out.

Any help would be appreciated.

Nukester · 07-08-2006, 09:55 AM

You can sort of do this, but the problem is with the players you want to use. In order to use players from different era's, you would have to import them player by player into the game from the Lahman database. The only batch import the game does (unless it changed with patch 2) is to import all of the players from a given year (all players from 1905 or 1955, or 1995). You can not easily mix and match years.

I believe it is GForce that is creating a roster set with "Team All-Stars". In other words the Yankees will have Ruth, Mantle, Jeter, etc...That would probably give you enough guys to do the league. With patch 2, you may be able to import his older league setup like that into the game, but Im not entirely sure about that. Unfortunately it could be awhile before we see the newest version of that league set completed (its been started and partially completed, but these roster creations take FOREVER to complete).

As for the stadiums, this can be done. The game comes with a boatload of stadiums that you can assign any team to play in. It also has a ballpark editor so you can create or edit your own fields.

Hope that helps alittle

joeswell · 07-08-2006, 11:29 PM

Yes, your response helps a lot. I figured you had to import the players individually. That's OK.

Where do I locate the Lehman Database? Is that better than the Arod23Garlon database that is recommended to use with OOTP2006? I downloaded the Arod23Garlon2006 database and can't figure out how to locate the players and years I want. Are the instructions in one of the .pdf manuals? When I used this Arod23Garlon, there are many files. Which one would I select? Are there instructions? The "Read Me" file seems to only list improvements to the previous version.

I am very interested in buying the game, but unless I can get an idea of how it works, I'm going to hold off buying. OOTP is not for the casual gamer.

Nukester · 07-09-2006, 12:15 PM

The ARod/Garlon DB helps fix some statistical errors that can pop up when using the original DB, like missing SB and CS data for the early years of baseball, so in that respect it is better. However, the that database changes around a players debut year to the year they had a significant amount of MLB AB's (the original DB will bring a player into the game in the first year they had at least one AB. Because of of that, the player may get imported with ratings that are actually to good for the player (if a player went 5-10 in RL, the game could import him as a career .500 hitter).

Finding players in either DB shouldnt be hard. Look in the "Master" table and it will tell each players debut year, or in the BAtting or Pitching table, you can see each players stats for each year they played. The game will ask for a playerID and a year you want to import.

MorseMoose · 07-09-2006, 02:05 PM

You can also use www.baseballreference.com . That will have the debut years and you will also be able to find the playerID too (it is a part of the URL, usually something like ruthba01, puckeki01 or aaronha01 (the first five letters of the last name and first two of the first name). Some players with common names have 02, 03, 04, etc.

Nukester · 07-09-2006, 03:52 PM

If you use the Arod/Garlon DB, I believe they incluse a txt file with all of the new debut years on it.

joeswell · 07-10-2006, 12:38 AM

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I started creating the rosters from historical players like I wanted. All I have to do is import the players, one by one, like I did APBA.

Now my next step will be to assign the ballparks we wanted. Each team could pick any ballpark they wanted, from any era. I always liked the Polo Grounds in 1951. My friend liked Griffith Stadium from the 50's. Another guy wanted the LA Colosseum from 1959, etc.

The responses I received were terrific! It is really helpful to get good advice and encouragement from other folks who are more familiar with game.

BTW, OOTP has one steep learning curve! Wow!

Nukester · 07-10-2006, 10:44 AM

Glad I could help. Yes this version is deep deep deep, and sometimes things arent exactly clear as to what to do.

Good luck with your league ! Sounds like fun !

(p.s. - The Polo Grounds rule

)

spt72 · 07-12-2006, 09:16 PM

Im one fo the gusy who pre-purchased this and then tried it for a week and quit. I couldnt find out how to do what i wanted to do.

but after readign this, you are doing exactly what i wanted to do... the same thing you can do in every other sports sim... have a fantasy league. I, too, was ok with adding players one by one. My problem was that i couldnt do that until I had went through and erased a fictional draft pool (thousands of player) one by one....

Why fictional? because when I did historical, it wouldnt let me dump all the real players into an inaugural draft.

Can I ask you this --- how are you guys setting up the draft pool on the game itself? Did one of the patches on the game make this possible?

joeswell · 07-13-2006, 01:14 AM

Here's what I did:

1. I created a new game and a fictional league.
2. I created the teams and league structure I wanted.
3. I made all the made up players free agents and released them so they were free agents and then "deleted all free agents"
4. I began to import the players I wanted, one by one, into my game. I have 3 teams done in a 10 team league. This takes a while, but it's not that hard once you start doing it. There's an awful lot of mouse clicks. I wish they would possible to import players in batches instead of one by one.
5. I am creating and editing the managers and coaches into the real names the owners want, modifying park dimensions, photos, etc.
6. I am assigning teams to the ballparks chosen by the owners.
7. I "normalized" all the stats at "1.000"

We had an actual in person draft to choose our players. We could pick any real player from any era and any year. I'm just transferring the picks into OOTP.

We were playing in APBA, but OOTP seemed a step up because we can keep the stats over a period of seasons, and because stats are cumulative and players wear out and retire, we thought it would be more challenging... plus the financial aspects, better strategy, playing over the internet, etc.

I hope this helps. It is possible to create fictional leagues with real players in OOTP, but they don't make it easy for you. Personally, I wouldn't even consider using the game with made up players. That does not appeal to me.

07-07-2006, 12:45 AM	#1
joeswell Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 153	"Fantasy" League My friends and I want to create a "fantasy" league using real MLB players from 1900-2006. For example, One team could draft Babe Ruth, another team would take Willie Mays, another team would take Barry Bonds, another team would take "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. We want to be to pick our home fields from a list of real ballparks of the past or present. For example I want my team to play in the Polo Grounds. Another guy wants Griffith Stadium, etc. We want 40 man rosters - 25 active players - 15 on a "taxi" squad in case some player is injured. Another thing we like about OOTP is that we can easily create managers that manage the way we want them to manage. So my question is... How do I set this up? Can I create a league like this with OOTP 2006? We are not interested in using fictional players. We have had a APBA league in the past, but it seems that OOTP offers a lot more flexibility than APBA... except there's so many screens and menus, I can't seem to figure it out. Any help would be appreciated.

07-08-2006, 09:55 AM	#2
Nukester All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Newburgh, NY Posts: 1,936	You can sort of do this, but the problem is with the players you want to use. In order to use players from different era's, you would have to import them player by player into the game from the Lahman database. The only batch import the game does (unless it changed with patch 2) is to import all of the players from a given year (all players from 1905 or 1955, or 1995). You can not easily mix and match years. I believe it is GForce that is creating a roster set with "Team All-Stars". In other words the Yankees will have Ruth, Mantle, Jeter, etc...That would probably give you enough guys to do the league. With patch 2, you may be able to import his older league setup like that into the game, but Im not entirely sure about that. Unfortunately it could be awhile before we see the newest version of that league set completed (its been started and partially completed, but these roster creations take FOREVER to complete). As for the stadiums, this can be done. The game comes with a boatload of stadiums that you can assign any team to play in. It also has a ballpark editor so you can create or edit your own fields. Hope that helps alittle Last edited by Nukester; 07-08-2006 at 09:57 AM.

07-08-2006, 11:29 PM	#3
joeswell Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 153	Thanks Yes, your response helps a lot. I figured you had to import the players individually. That's OK. Where do I locate the Lehman Database? Is that better than the Arod23Garlon database that is recommended to use with OOTP2006? I downloaded the Arod23Garlon2006 database and can't figure out how to locate the players and years I want. Are the instructions in one of the .pdf manuals? When I used this Arod23Garlon, there are many files. Which one would I select? Are there instructions? The "Read Me" file seems to only list improvements to the previous version. I am very interested in buying the game, but unless I can get an idea of how it works, I'm going to hold off buying. OOTP is not for the casual gamer.

07-09-2006, 12:15 PM	#4
Nukester All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Newburgh, NY Posts: 1,936	The ARod/Garlon DB helps fix some statistical errors that can pop up when using the original DB, like missing SB and CS data for the early years of baseball, so in that respect it is better. However, the that database changes around a players debut year to the year they had a significant amount of MLB AB's (the original DB will bring a player into the game in the first year they had at least one AB. Because of of that, the player may get imported with ratings that are actually to good for the player (if a player went 5-10 in RL, the game could import him as a career .500 hitter). Finding players in either DB shouldnt be hard. Look in the "Master" table and it will tell each players debut year, or in the BAtting or Pitching table, you can see each players stats for each year they played. The game will ask for a playerID and a year you want to import. Last edited by Nukester; 07-09-2006 at 03:51 PM.

07-10-2006, 12:38 AM	#7
joeswell Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 153	Success!!!??? Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I started creating the rosters from historical players like I wanted. All I have to do is import the players, one by one, like I did APBA. Now my next step will be to assign the ballparks we wanted. Each team could pick any ballpark they wanted, from any era. I always liked the Polo Grounds in 1951. My friend liked Griffith Stadium from the 50's. Another guy wanted the LA Colosseum from 1959, etc. The responses I received were terrific! It is really helpful to get good advice and encouragement from other folks who are more familiar with game. BTW, OOTP has one steep learning curve! Wow!

07-09-2006, 02:05 PM	#5
MorseMoose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 6,023 Blog Entries: 4 Infractions: 1/1 (1)	You can also use www.baseballreference.com . That will have the debut years and you will also be able to find the playerID too (it is a part of the URL, usually something like ruthba01, puckeki01 or aaronha01 (the first five letters of the last name and first two of the first name). Some players with common names have 02, 03, 04, etc.

07-09-2006, 03:52 PM	#6
Nukester All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Newburgh, NY Posts: 1,936	If you use the Arod/Garlon DB, I believe they incluse a txt file with all of the new debut years on it.

07-10-2006, 10:44 AM	#8
Nukester All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Newburgh, NY Posts: 1,936	Glad I could help. Yes this version is deep deep deep, and sometimes things arent exactly clear as to what to do. Good luck with your league ! Sounds like fun ! (p.s. - The Polo Grounds rule )

07-12-2006, 09:16 PM	#9
spt72 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 29	Im one fo the gusy who pre-purchased this and then tried it for a week and quit. I couldnt find out how to do what i wanted to do. but after readign this, you are doing exactly what i wanted to do... the same thing you can do in every other sports sim... have a fantasy league. I, too, was ok with adding players one by one. My problem was that i couldnt do that until I had went through and erased a fictional draft pool (thousands of player) one by one.... Why fictional? because when I did historical, it wouldnt let me dump all the real players into an inaugural draft. Can I ask you this --- how are you guys setting up the draft pool on the game itself? Did one of the patches on the game make this possible?

07-13-2006, 01:14 AM	#10
joeswell Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 153	Fantasy League with real players Here's what I did: 1. I created a new game and a fictional league. 2. I created the teams and league structure I wanted. 3. I made all the made up players free agents and released them so they were free agents and then "deleted all free agents" 4. I began to import the players I wanted, one by one, into my game. I have 3 teams done in a 10 team league. This takes a while, but it's not that hard once you start doing it. There's an awful lot of mouse clicks. I wish they would possible to import players in batches instead of one by one. 5. I am creating and editing the managers and coaches into the real names the owners want, modifying park dimensions, photos, etc. 6. I am assigning teams to the ballparks chosen by the owners. 7. I "normalized" all the stats at "1.000" We had an actual in person draft to choose our players. We could pick any real player from any era and any year. I'm just transferring the picks into OOTP. We were playing in APBA, but OOTP seemed a step up because we can keep the stats over a period of seasons, and because stats are cumulative and players wear out and retire, we thought it would be more challenging... plus the financial aspects, better strategy, playing over the internet, etc. I hope this helps. It is possible to create fictional leagues with real players in OOTP, but they don't make it easy for you. Personally, I wouldn't even consider using the game with made up players. That does not appeal to me.