4 newbie questions

[daniwen]

So I got four long yet basic questions. Sorry it's so long but confused about some parts of game. Also know I don't know baseball that well(I am learning though!). I did full season just as GM got 94 wins almost won play offs. I bring that up because it matters later

1. I did some searching and seen I could change my service time limits in game. How do I actually change that in game (playing 18)? I looked all through the menus and couldn't find it.

2. My simmed season with me only as GM and was one game shy of the World Series. I want to actually be manager in my "real game" PROBLEM is I am losing with exact same line up I simmed. I really don't have patience to do pitch by pitch.

I was just using "pitch" and started using "pitch around" which helped and did lower my ERA. Basic method with pitching is take Reds with weak line up. Pitch around Votto, sometimes pitch around players such as Hamilton. This sometimes ends up going 4 balls no strikes though.

Hitting I just swing away. This leads to Rizzo/Bryant taking awful pitches (OBP is way lower) and Schwarber is .090 though hitting .400+ when put him back down to triple A, and hit .270 in my simmed year.

I am doing well to break .500 on weak starting schedule with exact same line up I simmed. Line ups I think I got pretty good handle on. I think its actual in game play throwing me off.

Can you play the games as manager and win with doing one pitch/one hit selection only by and large? (I do switch to pitch to pitch when I need but it's rare. I just don't have patience to do it every time 3 of my batters are up)

3. Dumb baseball rule I just don't know. When my simulation of 2017 ended I signed Yu Darvish it effected my draft picks some how negatively. I don't know enough about baseball to know rules of drafting and how signing free agents effects it. Could someone shed some light or direct me to where I can learn more in terms of how it will effect me in this game? I notice some rules are different in this game than in RL.

4. The A.I. I notice in terms of pitching could careless about pitcher health. I've seen pitchers go 110-120 pitches until they finally get "tired". Sometimes they will be 60 pitches in 3rd inning down by 8 and keep the guy in. Then that same pitcher do great 4th/5th/6th inning sometimes beyond.

What throws me off further is I am not going to let anyone go 120 pitches, and if I am down by 8 at end of 3rd I am going to the bullpen. Is this a mistake or fluke? Should I let my starters stay in even if they are having a horrible day? I have been pulling them regardless if they are doing great by 90-100 mark.

Sorry for such long write up. I am really into this game just these 4 aspects confused me lol.

[NoOne]

1)

depends on which part you speak of... comissioner mode player editor can change individual player service time...

limts per league will be League Settings -> Rules tab. must select league from drop-down box in top-right area to change from your ML-level league. this would be more for minor leauge requirements per level.

and what you likely wanted: League Settings-> Finances tab? you have a few choices, i think with a second effort you can find it. use manual for help on simple stuff.

whether you do pitch by pitch or '1-click' mode, it won't matter much. you'd want to avoid the 1-click option if oyu want to do somethign in an order that would be precluded, otherwise. E.G. if you want to swing at first pitch,then try to steal after the first or 2nd pitch is thrown, you obviously don't want to use the 1-click option first.

2)

do you want a simulation to run the same way each time? this would be a fundamental problem with any simulation if true..

rest assured, even if exactly the same day-to-day ratings and other factors, results will differ each time you play it over again. the %'s applied will be the same, but they just didn't turn out the same "this time".

don't use "pitch around" blindly. it is for a specific situation, not general use. google for strategies and help, search ootp forum etc.

as an example, for pitch around to be mathematically viable, the next batter needs to be exceedingly worse than the current player... i believ ethe example i read was who followed barry bonds in his huge year(s) was about the break-even point. so, if a steroid monster is followed by a human being AND runner in scoring position, it is a good point to use it.

there's a slight gimmick in ootp... you can overuse "take a pitch" to tire out the opposing pitching staff... basically cheating.

so, just read up on the various options you have... google will help. when to do this, how often to do that, what contexts etc etc.

3)

FA compensation rules -- League Settings -> Finances? search manual.

you can turn this off, or there is a 2nd historical option that works slightly differently too. if tehy are a 'better' veteran, then it will likely cost you a draft pick... 1-10 is protected, in that situation you lose a 2nd round pick. sign a 2nd similar FA type and you lose your next pick etc.

the team that lost that FA gets a supplementary pick mashed between 1st and second rounds.

4)

impossible to know in the moment... in baseball, there's a concept of 'protecting your starter' ... like you said you won't let a SP get hammered for 8runs early in the game.

in my opinion: the main thing to avoid is too many pitches in 1 inning. as long as tehy are not tired or hurt, all should be well... expect them to pitch as well as they are rated... bad games happen. flip a coin enough times and you will see it flip heads 10 times in a row... doesn't mean anythign is wrong with the coin.

after that it is more about your personal preferences on certain things, and the current state of your bullpen.

i like to protect my SP when i can from being crushed.. this is more aobut ego and end of year stats in a video game. However, if my bullpen is taxed, that guy is being left out there for the good of the next X-games over the next Y-days.

as far as perfoming better later on in the game... as long as the pitcher isn't tired or hurt, the %'s are ~similar as far as what the pitcher's ratings directly control. he simply had a bad stretch earlier...

take some weak hitter... he hits 2 hr his first two at bats... does that increase teh likelihood of him hitting a 3rd homerun or did the weak guy just get lucky and it's still the same low % chance of occuring? so, pitching poorly early doesn't have much to do with how they are pitching later..

is there some unseen "confidence" meter that helps sway results? maybe... but it's a minor factor at best relative to quality of players invovled during an AB.

law of independent resutls still applies, regardless. a very simple concept once you get it.

[TGH-Adfabre]

1) You must be in commissioner mode to change league settings. I recommend creating a manager profile that does not have a job and make them the GM. You can use that profile to make league changes.
2) You can win managing in game. I do not use that option but there a re many customers here who use in game management and win. I would need a lot more information to give an intelligent answer to why your results differ.
3) There is compensation for some Free Agents. When a player chooses free agency they are offered (sometimes) a 1 year contract with their old team. If they refuse it and another team signs them the new signing team has to give a draft pick to the old team.
From the manual:
http://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com/...ge=free_agency
4) There are a lot of factors that are included in a pitching change (unless you are in the AL). If you want a simple guide to start learning from then keep starters in until 100~ish pitches will be a decent place to start. Then you can build from there. Like, if you starter has given up 8 runs by the third inning and your relievers are all well rested then pulling him makes sense. But, if your relievers have had to pitch a lot in the last 5 days the starter may stay in and bite the bullet to let the relievers rest so they can come in after 100-120 pitches. Even if it means the starter get hammered.

Good luck,
Tom (LP)

[daniwen]

Thanks for the replies it was very helpful. I am not using pitch around nearly as much. Far as doing so poor I think what happen more than anything was just bad luck (flip a coin). I got 5 game win streak and few other good wins and nearing .600 which im very happy with. I did also find service time limits! I had hard time with it but I am glad I posted asking I don't know if I would found it lol.

I got follow up question though. I went changed my service time.

I actually used your old post about service time NoOne and I think I screwed it up somehow.

"Rookie - 2 teams per MLB
1 year service time max, so 2 playable years. (22 age max, optional)
Real-sim results: ~30-40 average per team, no shortages of a position etc

Short A - 1 team per MLB
3 year service time max, 4 years playable (23 age max, optional)
Results: ~30-50players... a bit clumpy here, but you need to go by the minimum # on any particular team.. potentially not enough of each position etc). i could probably drop this to 2 / 3 playable years and will test it out.

A-Ball - 2 teams per MLB
4 year service time max, 5 years playable (24 age max - start to use something a good idea, base on college kid ~age for A-ball - ie i give 2-3 years - not all are "22" etc, they can remain their while "24" too)
Results: ~30 per team

AA - 1 team per MLB
6 years service max, 7 years playable (26 age max, based on an 18 y.o. this time)
Results: 30-40 players per team

AAA - 1 per mlb
none/none
Results ~35-40 per team."


Using this guideline I ended up with my NWL A- team with like 75 players, 30 in both DSL, but zero players in AZL. I didn't save the game and just went back to defaults. Am I setting it up wrong perhaps? AZL is just rookie league like DSL correct?

Also is this an issue because we haven't hit the draft yet? Problem would be even if we hit the draft 75 in NWL A- would be wayyy too high. I screwed up somewhere.

Anyone have any idea where? tbh short A I assumed was NWL, AZL was rookie... So could be wrong on that.

[NoOne]

heh, that's an ever-evolving thing.. i have vastly differentn ideas on that now. i will give my current setup below for MiL Rules:

just make sure the math adds up -> # of rounds per year Vs. your Rookie restrictions etc. there's all sorts of ways to do this, but certain things must add up for it to be viable.

general concept to remember when deviating:
each level after Rookie gets less predictable, but the bulk of draftees are junk and will simply be pushed along by your rules. more is better!! supply more than just "25" players so that the 5-10 better prospects per year can move along with free will and not because the team needs a 3b, because he is the only option that can play there due to the rules. 30, closer to 35 is safe. robust #'s for injuries is good, not bad.

This setup will be great for 2 rookie leagues, 1 S A's, 2 A's, 1aa, 1aaa. 35-40rounds (x) should do it. make x+5 rounds worth of players.

i use 39 rounds and allow 2 years at rookies. That results in 30-35 players per rookie team. if you have 1 rookie team i'd shoot for 35-40. I typically have 60-70 players in org's 2 rookie teams (totaled). This is very important to get ~similar results and allow for ~10 players to go anywhere beyond rookie that first year.

# of Rounds needed:
(Rounds - 10)*2 = enough to fill 2 teams over 2 years (change "2" to # of years you allow at rookie level) +++ Free Will for AI and you too.

(2) Rookies - "1" year service time max, no age limit. (2 playable years) *** don't use an age max here, unless high. e.g. at least 1 full year beyond oldest draftee you've ever seen. those later rounders, even aged ones, are junk. they need somewhere to go.

(1) Short A - "2" max service years, which gives 3 playable years. age? upto you. i use "23". i want this level for more advanced draftees, not the ones lingering. "23" is as much about limiting #s at this level as development concerns. this keeps the advanced draftees there, but moves them along quickly to A-ball. lingering, aged draftees won't have the chance muck it up.

(2) A-Ball - "4" years serivce max (5 playable), max age 24. a 24 year old can stay until they turn 25. unless injured i think they can even stay on that roster if you don't touch them. i want the older players with lagging ability to be sliced out. 18 yo have 5 seasons to make it to AA. there will not be many 24 year olds, fear not. 25 is definiteyl way too old, but if 1-2 exists by accident, it's worth it for the 24's to be there.

(1) AA - "5" years (6 playable), 25 max age. if they can't make it to AAA after that long or that age, they likely can't devleop much more, even if potential is there. 24-25-26 starts getting real sketchy as far as reaching untapped potential. what was once a gold prospect turns into a AAA-lifer or possibly cut/retires. potential lops off to current ability OR remains an eye-sore etc etc.

(1)AAA - nothing -- i **think** age/service time restrictions don't affect rehabs now?? if so, go ahead and use some... be very liberal. at least 30 or 31 max age, 10 years etc. i'd probably stick with just age.

*notice 2 A's down to 1 AA. only 1 year there difference in service time max (relates back to # of rounds per year, not 1:1 though). if you have 2 AA, this would be a potential problem. at the least it would be cutting it close to sufficiently providing ~60 players to AA each year.
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What it amounts to per team and no error messages:

AAA (1) - 30-40ish
AA (1) - 30-40
A (2) - ~60-70 for 2 teams (30-35ish per)
SA(1) - ~30
R(2) - ~70 (~35ish per)

depth for injuries and the ebb/flow of # of players per year that stick around to AAA. i don't see many "max" age at sa/a/aa. better prospects can move freely without any regard to MiL team need at a position.

If you only have 1 rookie, 1 etc.. ~25 rounds will inevitably have similar results. you could probably shave some rounds off that, if you saw ~50+ on too many rookie teams, but it's more important that not even 1 drops below ~30 any year.

Test any changes or a new system with a quick 10-year sim (turn off asthetics etc), then look over each team (rosters and transaction can be set up to see each mil team at once with # of players easily seen). you can easily double check anythign you want to do before implementing it in a league. (a wise choice some might say)

follow the basic math, leave room for 'better' prospects and all will go well no matter what you choose to do.
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Short A working well for "advanced" draftees was just pure luck. that's what i see as a result as opposed to initial intention. the older, crappier draftees player a year or 2 in rookie and leave open space in S A.

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Okay to the follow-ups -- if they apply to the new system above:

Make sure to check during an MiL season... during offseaosn it will look a bit scant. come opening day the ai moves things around. A/AA/AA looks good, but the lower levels in some cases may look a bit scant until the draft. after the draft you can assess entire MiL system as far as suitable # of players. if testing, sim to day 1 of your rookie/SA seasons before checking results.

old system -- Yeah, i remeber that happeing.. a pooling at S-A, but he rest worked well. pooling looks worse than it is, thought... better to have more than too few.

shouldn't see that with new suggestion.. i may go re-work that section sometime soon.

nwl and at least 1 other are S-A level. can double check via dropdowns all over the place.

whether it works for you is mostly dependent on # of Rookie level teams. as long as it's not 3 rookie teams for any 1 team, it will work well.

RL MiL system sucks for OotP for this reason.. yankees and dodgers and ??? have 3+ rookie teams... if rookie level allows for 2 years and you only have a 40-round draft, that's 80 players for 3 teams. there's a good chance a team runs low in that situation eventually... not enough of "somthing" being the problem.

there's no good option for an uneven # of MiL teams between MLB orgs. you must plan for the largest system and pretend not to see the smaller systems with 40-70+ players at a particular level.

the #'s i gave above is from an MiL system with even # of rookie-AAA teams per MLB team... therefore i get very even results between teams... i can safely get them to 30-35 and not worry about 1 team with 15+ less or 15+ more.

[daniwen]

Thanks for replies everyone. Was very helpful and I finally won myself a world series lol.just was newbie mistakes.