Managing the game

[jdolecek49]

When do you know when do shift the infield/outfield? I have looked at a variety of reports and I do not see anything that is specific on this. Is it the fact that power hitters you should shift towards that specific side f the field? for instance, if they are a right handed hitter shift to the left field or if they are a left handed hitter shift towards left field? but then again when do you adjust the outfield to deep?

I'm just really trying to figure out how i should shift my infield and outfield and trying to be a better manager. I'm very new at this game and I'm just trying to figure out how to be a better manager. This game is quite complex and Love the game of baseball so just trying to f9gure out how to excel at the game. I grew up in the 80s being a huge Royals fan and during that time I was a huge fan of George brett and playing with wilson, quizenberry, frank white this takes me back to a time that I loved the game, so any help you can give me to excel at this game would very much be appreciated.....i just love this game. ...Thank you in advance.


Also any tips or suggestions when iy comes to dealing with the minor league system would also be a huge help.

[mytreds]

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

When do you know when do shift the infield/outfield? I have looked at a variety of reports and I do not see anything that is specific on this. Is it the fact that power hitters you should shift towards that specific side f the field? for instance, if they are a right handed hitter shift to the left field or if they are a left handed hitter shift towards left field? but then again when do you adjust the outfield to deep?

I'm just really trying to figure out how i should shift my infield and outfield and trying to be a better manager. I'm very new at this game and I'm just trying to figure out how to be a better manager. This game is quite complex and Love the game of baseball so just trying to f9gure out how to excel at the game. I grew up in the 80s being a huge Royals fan and during that time I was a huge fan of George brett and playing with wilson, quizenberry, frank white this takes me back to a time that I loved the game, so any help you can give me to excel at this game would very much be appreciated.....i just love this game. ...Thank you in advance.

Welcome to OOTP! I let my manager choose defensive setups, so I can't give you help there. I find he typically knows what he is doing. I have enough things to worry about, defensive setup is minimal in my mind. Otherwise you can go crazy trying to second guess yourself.

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

Also any tips or suggestions when iy comes to dealing with the minor league system would also be a huge help.

Here's where I micromanage. I don't let the AI do anything, it's the part of the game I enjoy the most. Finding talent, seeing the busts, watching players blossom or crash. In the macro, I make sure before the season starts, to have 12-14 pitchers and 12-13 hitters on every roster. I promote/demote only for injuries. I use OPS+/ERA+ as general guides to determine how well/poorly a player is doing. I shortlist all my prospects at 50+ potential, to see easier my prospects from my mediocre filler player. Don't worry too much about W/L in the minors. It's a developmental level..

[Sweed]

Players have tendencies on whether they pull the ball, hit it the opposite way, or are spray hitters. This may also depend on if its a FB or a GB as many hitters may pull GB but push FB to the opposite side.

Each batter widget will tell you their ground ball tendency but for whatever reason, room?, they do not show fly ball tendency. However, each player does have a spray chart that can be helpful for the fly balls. If you use the fielder widget (and you should) you can have that display the current batters spray chart. If it's very early in season it may not be reliable (sample size) but later in the year it can be of help.

As far as setting the defense there is an option to have the AI set the initial defense and then you are free to make changes. It is what I use. If the AI shifts the OF you can bet it knows that batter's tendency. However, it will not always shift so if the OF is straight up, as in most cases, you still may want to look at that batter's spray chart.

Just to be clear the spray chart also shows ground balls too. It may give a better idea if you should use an extreme shift or just a normal shift.

In the end the best way IMHO is let the AI set the initial defense. Look at the situation, the batter's tendencies and spray chart, adjust if you think it is necessary.

[BirdWatcher]

I'm a big fan of incrementalism when it comes to learning OOTP.
In other words, I suggest you let someone other than you (and I mean, the AI/other members of your organization) carry the heavy lifting in most areas when getting started. Then you can gradually increase your own involvement as you get more comfortable with the game.

I'm certainly no old pro- still a relative newby compared to so many others around here- but I have been playing this game religiously (sadly not really even an exaggeration) for the past few years. And even now, I don't manage much in game other than to control all substitutions for my team.

As for the minor leagues, I controlled very little of this when I first started playing OOTP. But over time I have become more and more involved and at this point I take a pretty similar approach to mytreds in that regard. These details can be the most enjoyable parts of OOTP.
But the game is over-whelming at first. Which is why I suggest picking your battles at first and only immersing yourself in the aspects of the game you most enjoy. Then, as the learning curve starts to level out a bit, add more and more to your liking.

(Sorry, doesn't actually answer your specific question.)

[jdolecek49]

In the game where exactly do i go to watch the players on my minor league teams? sorry i'm still having trouble figuring everything out within the game. Thank you.

[rink23]

I usually let the AI set my defense. But watch out for corners in, in what seems to be a bunting situation.

It utilizes it way too much, when tor the most part, I only see pitcher' s attempting to bunt.

And too often it will call for corner's in when there is a really good hitter at the plate

[orange6]

After a couple of series into the season I rely on spray charts. There are many instances you will find a hitter is a dead pull hitter on the ground but straight oppo in the air. I’ve done hard shift left INF and shift right OF before.

It’s a little involving, but by the 3rd at bat you will know the hitters that need attention.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

In the game where exactly do i go to watch the players on my minor league teams? sorry i'm still having trouble figuring everything out within the game. Thank you.

Like most things in OOTP, there are likely several ways you could do this.
But generally I will check in through the Rosters and Transactions tab (see screenshot below) and then you can sort things various ways for all your minor league teams.



I play through seasons slowly, playing out every game for my team, so I just check in on the minor leagues periodically and see how things are going for my best prospects, mostly. As you see in this screenshot, you can look at their stats at that level this season or see how their ratings are looking at this point according to your head scout (or the OSA). How their ratings are developing is the most important thing to me, but obviously their stats provide good information too, especially letting me know whether I have them placed at the right level of the system and whether I should promote them yet or not. (It's all a mixture of data and I don't have hard and fast rules about anything, but I tend to be someone who does things by feel, having factored in the data at hand.)

[jdolecek49]

Originally Posted by orange6

After a couple of series into the season I rely on spray charts. There are many instances you will find a hitter is a dead pull hitter on the ground but straight oppo in the air. I’ve done hard shift left INF and shift right OF before.

It’s a little involving, but by the 3rd at bat you will know the hitters that need attention.

how do you access spray charts? I know the one during live play but that does not display the past only a depth chart basically and who's on base so are their others?

[jdolecek49]

So I went to take a look at my farm clubs and AAA only has 4 players and AA had no players. what now?

[orange6]

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

how do you access spray charts? I know the one during live play but that does not display the past only a depth chart basically and who's on base so are their others?

Go to individual player page, open batting stats stats tab, and you will see it there.

[PSUColonel]

It would be nice if the widgets could somehow tell us if a batter if a batter is more of a fly ball vs ground ball hitter

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

So I went to take a look at my farm clubs and AAA only has 4 players and AA had no players. what now?

Just to add a visual to what orange6 told you:



So, as you can see, this player on my team pretty much sprays hits and outs all over the field, though on those rare occasions when he hits homers he usually pulls them to the right field seats.

As for your far too few players in the minor leagues conundrum, well, that's a much bigger kettle of fish. Involving many potential factors- how many rounds in the draft?, age and/or service time limitations for various levels of the minors, etc.- and different approaches and possible solutions, such as using ghost players, etc.
I'm not quite up to trying to work through this right now but if nobody else does soon I will see what I can offer tomorrow.
In the meantime, I would suggest doing some google searching of the forums (here and reddit) to see how this has been answered for others in the past.