Yet Another Letdown

OldFatGuy · 05-12-2017, 08:46 PM

I play out every AB of every game, always have. And over the versions OOTP8 to 18 I've played well over a hundred seasons this way. Usually when a new version comes out, I do a lot of testing and tinkering before I set up my "real" league, and to keep my baseball fix going I usually pick an older version to play a season or two on for nostalgia purposes. It keeps me reminded of how the game has progressed. This time it's OOTP 11 and tonight was yet another let down.

And don't get me wrong, no hitters are fun. I've been involved in probably nearly 50 of them over all of those games I've played. And even still my heart pounds and the excitement builds and tonight I let out a big "Yeah!" because it has actually been awhile since I've had one. (I don't know the exact count, but I am sure that I've been on the pitching side of the no-hitter quite a few more times than the hitting side... which is more fun.

)

But the letdown is that in ALL of those literally tens of thousands of games I've played and all of those no hitters and all of these real life years (since 2007) of playing OOTP I still, to this day, have not EVER.... EVER.... had a perfect game... either for me or against me. Not one. And it didn't happen here either. Two walks. Seems amazing to me.... it's gotta be pushing the odds.

The cool story about this kid Miguel Farias was he started the season in my rotation but I got so sick of his control problems and ineffectiveness I had to send him back down to AAA. He pitched 6 games to start the season, and was 1-5 with a 9.84 ERA and he had walked 27 batters and struck out 27 batters. Surely I could find someone better.

Well... not really. I picked Tampa Bay in this because they had the lowest budget and the worst record over the 3 years I simmed prior to taking over. And believe me, pickin's were slim, especially on the pitching side. So after trying another to replace Farias and yet another to replace an injury, I was not having any success, so I thought I'd call Mr. Farias back up.

Tonight was the 6th game he's pitched since coming back up and you can see the good the trip down did. In these 6 games he is 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA, 18 walks and 36 strikeouts... and a no-hitter. It's little stories like this that makes me love this game so much...

And if you want more... I took over these Rays after finishing dead last in an 8 team division the last three years straight. My first priority was to improve pitching (always is.. always will be) and so I went after THE STUD in free agency. This kid was just 26, 5 stars, and a long future ahead of him. So I went after him. And paid dearly. And I do mean dearly. I busted my budget completely. He must have said "yours is the best offer" only to come back later and inform me of a higher bid at least 5 times, maybe more. But I wanted him, and got him. He's 13-7 with a 2.49 ERA.

But these Rays sucked remember? By the end of May I was over a dozen games under .500 and in last place 9 games back. And then a funny thing started happening. All of these hitters that couldn't hit their way out of a wet paper bag started hitting the ball all over the field. I won 3 in a row for the first time in late May. June rolled in and I won 8 out 11. Then in late June another 6-2 run had me catching up to .500.

And now it's August, and these Tampa Bay Rays are in second place two games back. Like I said, I love this game.

ADDED: Oh, BTW, don't let the 1904 date fool you. I start all of my leagues around the 1800's and sim to start out in 1900 or 1901 (or sometimes I mess up and start in 1899 lol). But it's modern day settings. And offense. The only thing different from modern day settings is I bump up pitcher stamina because I liked the 60's and 70's where pitcher finished what they started.

DFyvie · 05-13-2017, 02:48 AM

Nice to see someone else play out all their games.. I've been doing it for about 5 versions now. I've had about 5 no-hitters and they are all wonderful (almost cried when Rafael Montero came up for a spot start from the minors for my Mets and threw a no-hitter a few years ago in my game) but I haven't even been close to a perfect game.
None of my studs have ever thrown a no-hitter.. it always seems to be the farm-hand, journeyman, Bartolo Colon. Reading your post reminds me why I love this game so much.

smiller · 05-13-2017, 09:03 AM

I'm curious. In real time, how long does it take you to play a season.

OldFatGuy · 05-13-2017, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smiller

I'm curious. In real time, how long does it take you to play a season.

I have played a season in a week before (but that was a lot of playing) but usually a season takes about 3 weeks or so.

ADDED: It only takes about 5 minutes per game, leisurely. (lol). Seriously though, if I "try" and rush it (which is what I do in spring training games) it only takes about 2 minutes. But playing my "normal" speed, it takes 5 minutes, at most. I have short pbp, very fast text, and don't use the 3D at all. 3 to 5 minutes and I get to know and experience my players on a level I just can't do simming. Like Miguel Farias in this thread. I suffered every play of all of those horrible starts he had to begin the season. And with a heavy heart sent him down. But then the euphoria of seeing him do better and THEN the no-hitter, the teeth gnashing and heart pounding press of the left mouse button... priceless. And those walk off wins are as awesome here as they are watching my real Nationals do it. Just the other day I was down 2 in the ninth, men on first and third, two outs, and my batter was not someone with a lot of power. I was just hoping for something to extend the game when.....BOOOM... the words HOME RUN came up and literally let out a yell!!! I play this game because I like the GAME OF BASEBALL, not just the results.

BBGiovanni · 05-13-2017, 12:12 PM

If it helps anyone, I usually sim half-innings until the 6-7 inning, usually as long as the starter is in the game. It speeds things up but I still get to enjoy each game.

Of course, if the starter gets knocked out and we're getting bombed I let the stupid computer lose the game by itself

NoOne · 05-13-2017, 12:59 PM

not looking for a response, but what kind of league e.r.a. is "normal" for your league.

e.g. if it's 4.30-4.50ish, it's going to be quite a bit harder than 4.00-4.20ish.

in the past versions, i usually kept my league callibrated for 3.90-4.30 / 3.80-4.20 etc... that vicinity. they are quite rare, but definitely happen with enough years.

whether it happens for your pitcher is more about random luck... heck, i've seen some really crappy pitchers in ootp have no-hitters... i'm sure one's had a perfect game, too. talk about winning the lottery, though.

OldFatGuy · 05-13-2017, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoOne

not looking for a response, but what kind of league e.r.a. is "normal" for your league.

e.g. if it's 4.30-4.50ish, it's going to be quite a bit harder than 4.00-4.20ish.

in the past versions, i usually kept my league callibrated for 3.90-4.30 / 3.80-4.20 etc... that vicinity. they are quite rare, but definitely happen with enough years.

whether it happens for your pitcher is more about random luck... heck, i've seen some really crappy pitchers in ootp have no-hitters... i'm sure one's had a perfect game, too. talk about winning the lottery, though.

I'll post a screenshot of the league history (I simmed from 1870 something to 1900 in this league and then deleted all history and then simmed 3 years before taking over Tampa Bay. But I did look at the league history before I deleted it and it was all very similar to these numbers. )

05-12-2017, 08:46 PM	#1
OldFatGuy All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern Va., Loudoun County Posts: 1,867	Yet Another Letdown I play out every AB of every game, always have. And over the versions OOTP8 to 18 I've played well over a hundred seasons this way. Usually when a new version comes out, I do a lot of testing and tinkering before I set up my "real" league, and to keep my baseball fix going I usually pick an older version to play a season or two on for nostalgia purposes. It keeps me reminded of how the game has progressed. This time it's OOTP 11 and tonight was yet another let down. And don't get me wrong, no hitters are fun. I've been involved in probably nearly 50 of them over all of those games I've played. And even still my heart pounds and the excitement builds and tonight I let out a big "Yeah!" because it has actually been awhile since I've had one. (I don't know the exact count, but I am sure that I've been on the pitching side of the no-hitter quite a few more times than the hitting side... which is more fun.) But the letdown is that in ALL of those literally tens of thousands of games I've played and all of those no hitters and all of these real life years (since 2007) of playing OOTP I still, to this day, have not EVER.... EVER.... had a perfect game... either for me or against me. Not one. And it didn't happen here either. Two walks. Seems amazing to me.... it's gotta be pushing the odds. The cool story about this kid Miguel Farias was he started the season in my rotation but I got so sick of his control problems and ineffectiveness I had to send him back down to AAA. He pitched 6 games to start the season, and was 1-5 with a 9.84 ERA and he had walked 27 batters and struck out 27 batters. Surely I could find someone better. Well... not really. I picked Tampa Bay in this because they had the lowest budget and the worst record over the 3 years I simmed prior to taking over. And believe me, pickin's were slim, especially on the pitching side. So after trying another to replace Farias and yet another to replace an injury, I was not having any success, so I thought I'd call Mr. Farias back up. Tonight was the 6th game he's pitched since coming back up and you can see the good the trip down did. In these 6 games he is 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA, 18 walks and 36 strikeouts... and a no-hitter. It's little stories like this that makes me love this game so much... And if you want more... I took over these Rays after finishing dead last in an 8 team division the last three years straight. My first priority was to improve pitching (always is.. always will be) and so I went after THE STUD in free agency. This kid was just 26, 5 stars, and a long future ahead of him. So I went after him. And paid dearly. And I do mean dearly. I busted my budget completely. He must have said "yours is the best offer" only to come back later and inform me of a higher bid at least 5 times, maybe more. But I wanted him, and got him. He's 13-7 with a 2.49 ERA. But these Rays sucked remember? By the end of May I was over a dozen games under .500 and in last place 9 games back. And then a funny thing started happening. All of these hitters that couldn't hit their way out of a wet paper bag started hitting the ball all over the field. I won 3 in a row for the first time in late May. June rolled in and I won 8 out 11. Then in late June another 6-2 run had me catching up to .500. And now it's August, and these Tampa Bay Rays are in second place two games back. Like I said, I love this game. ADDED: Oh, BTW, don't let the 1904 date fool you. I start all of my leagues around the 1800's and sim to start out in 1900 or 1901 (or sometimes I mess up and start in 1899 lol). But it's modern day settings. And offense. The only thing different from modern day settings is I bump up pitcher stamina because I liked the 60's and 70's where pitcher finished what they started. Attached Images __________________ I believed in drug testing a long time ago. In the 60's I tested everything. - Bill Lee Last edited by OldFatGuy; 05-13-2017 at 08:03 PM.

05-13-2017, 02:48 AM	#2
DFyvie Major Leagues Join Date: May 2014 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 371 Blog Entries: 2	Nice to see someone else play out all their games.. I've been doing it for about 5 versions now. I've had about 5 no-hitters and they are all wonderful (almost cried when Rafael Montero came up for a spot start from the minors for my Mets and threw a no-hitter a few years ago in my game) but I haven't even been close to a perfect game. None of my studs have ever thrown a no-hitter.. it always seems to be the farm-hand, journeyman, Bartolo Colon. Reading your post reminds me why I love this game so much.

05-13-2017, 09:03 AM	#3
smiller Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Pittsboro NC Posts: 424	I'm curious. In real time, how long does it take you to play a season.

05-13-2017, 12:12 PM	#5
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,850	If it helps anyone, I usually sim half-innings until the 6-7 inning, usually as long as the starter is in the game. It speeds things up but I still get to enjoy each game. Of course, if the starter gets knocked out and we're getting bombed I let the stupid computer lose the game by itself

05-13-2017, 12:59 PM	#6
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	not looking for a response, but what kind of league e.r.a. is "normal" for your league. e.g. if it's 4.30-4.50ish, it's going to be quite a bit harder than 4.00-4.20ish. in the past versions, i usually kept my league callibrated for 3.90-4.30 / 3.80-4.20 etc... that vicinity. they are quite rare, but definitely happen with enough years. whether it happens for your pitcher is more about random luck... heck, i've seen some really crappy pitchers in ootp have no-hitters... i'm sure one's had a perfect game, too. talk about winning the lottery, though.