No hitters in my A ball league

Radsmats · 06-11-2021, 04:47 PM

I dove into '22 by starting at the very bottom of a four-tier promotion / demotion league ... the worst-ranked A-ball team. I built the league using a mix of random-era MLB players to stock the top tier and fictional and minor league players all enabled, and independent MLB / AAA / AA / A leagues, one at each level. League rankings are 10/7/4/1; start year / financials set for 1961.

Everything worked great until I started playing the game. The A-ball teams are stocked almost exclusively w/ starters earning three stars (compared to A-ball standards), bench guys 2-2.5 stars, reserve list 1 or 1.5. Pitching staffs get similar scouting scores (although there were a bunch of extra RP and no FA hitters after the initial league setup). But then I started playing the games (CPU controls on-field decisions, I speed-watch using RISP). I'm a third of the way into season one, and there's exactly one team with a team BA over .200. Guys are hitting a fair number of HR, but my starting catcher is hitting .044, having taken over from a guy who went hitless through the first 15 games. My No. 3 hitter is my 2B, and he's hovering right around .180, and my CF platoon are both hitting in the .110s. If the phrase "Pitcher with power" describes any hitters to you, you have exactly the right idea. Half the team has the snowflake icon.

I just did the first amateur draft and the top pick was a college SS with three stars, four potential, which seems just about right for an A-ball draft??

The computer manager seems to know something is wrong ... it pinch-hits even for my cleanup hitter fairly regularly, and close games are often a string of pulling one awful hitter after another for even worse ones off the bench to gain a platoon advantage or sit a guy with 3Ks in 3AB. Every team is more or less the same (except the one with the "juiced" bats and the showy two-hundred something team BA), and even they suck. I'm currently fourth overall in a twelve-team league, so it's not just me. Is there a setting I need to seriously tweak, or something I overlooked in setting up the game?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Elipticon · 06-14-2021, 09:40 PM

This might just be some growing pains of the league, if you're in the first season. In my leagues my starting pitchers almost always post the best seasons at the start before a lot of the better hitters develop.

Radsmats · 06-15-2021, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elipticon

This might just be some growing pains of the league, if you're in the first season. In my leagues my starting pitchers almost always post the best seasons at the start before a lot of the better hitters develop.

Yeah, I thought that might be it ... put it on fast play and went through a season and a half ... at which point the league was hitting a collective .178. I've moved on for now: Life's too short to watch computer sprites fail constantly.

06-11-2021, 04:47 PM	#1
Radsmats Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Wellville Posts: 183	No hitters in my A ball league I dove into '22 by starting at the very bottom of a four-tier promotion / demotion league ... the worst-ranked A-ball team. I built the league using a mix of random-era MLB players to stock the top tier and fictional and minor league players all enabled, and independent MLB / AAA / AA / A leagues, one at each level. League rankings are 10/7/4/1; start year / financials set for 1961. Everything worked great until I started playing the game. The A-ball teams are stocked almost exclusively w/ starters earning three stars (compared to A-ball standards), bench guys 2-2.5 stars, reserve list 1 or 1.5. Pitching staffs get similar scouting scores (although there were a bunch of extra RP and no FA hitters after the initial league setup). But then I started playing the games (CPU controls on-field decisions, I speed-watch using RISP). I'm a third of the way into season one, and there's exactly one team with a team BA over .200. Guys are hitting a fair number of HR, but my starting catcher is hitting .044, having taken over from a guy who went hitless through the first 15 games. My No. 3 hitter is my 2B, and he's hovering right around .180, and my CF platoon are both hitting in the .110s. If the phrase "Pitcher with power" describes any hitters to you, you have exactly the right idea. Half the team has the snowflake icon. I just did the first amateur draft and the top pick was a college SS with three stars, four potential, which seems just about right for an A-ball draft?? The computer manager seems to know something is wrong ... it pinch-hits even for my cleanup hitter fairly regularly, and close games are often a string of pulling one awful hitter after another for even worse ones off the bench to gain a platoon advantage or sit a guy with 3Ks in 3AB. Every team is more or less the same (except the one with the "juiced" bats and the showy two-hundred something team BA), and even they suck. I'm currently fourth overall in a twelve-team league, so it's not just me. Is there a setting I need to seriously tweak, or something I overlooked in setting up the game? Thanks in advance for any tips.

06-14-2021, 09:40 PM	#2
Elipticon Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 45	This might just be some growing pains of the league, if you're in the first season. In my leagues my starting pitchers almost always post the best seasons at the start before a lot of the better hitters develop.