Management Tips

Zedwardson · 07-28-2019, 11:00 PM

I must admit, while I love OOTP baseball, I actually know very little about baseball.

I have avoided the management side of the game for my entire ownership since I do not know what to do, but is there a guide for basic management of a baseball team?

old fat bald guy · 07-29-2019, 09:52 AM

I think the most important thing to understand is how the arbitration and free-agency systems work. In general, players are going to be on minimum salary until they have three years of major-league service (or a little less), and they can't be free agents until they have six. This might change during your save game depending on your league evolution settings.

So don't pay a lot for players who don't have the service time to demand a lot, unless they're signing on for years beyond that six-year threshold.

I try to build around guys who have good ratings for durability and are willing to sign long-term deals that sacrifice potential salary for security. You'll have to pay them even if they're hurt, so I bet heavily on guys who are deemed less likely to be hurt.

Another key thing to understand in OOTP is the "budget for free agents"/"budget for extensions" thing. This baffled me when I first started playing. Think of it as "this year's budget"/"next year's budget." And ... in OOTP, next year's budget includes the arbitration estimate for all players who are eligible for arbitration, as well as various other contracts that you can choose to terminate. If you see a $5 million arbitration estimate for a player you don't really want, you can expect to free up $5 million for next year when you decline to offer arbitration.

A trap I've fallen into is trading for a player whose contract expires after the current season, so I think I'm only spending "budget for free agents" and not touching "budget for extensions," but he's already signed an extension with his previous team and I'm stuck with that. You have to dig into the "contract" tab on his profile to check that.

There is a hell of a lot involved, really, and I understand why some people find it overwhelming.

pgjocki · 07-29-2019, 10:29 AM

There are lots of little tips but honestly if you go back and read Orcin's Louisville Cardinals report from a few years ago he lays out all the major decision points and how to build a team.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Zedwardson · 07-29-2019, 10:26 PM

I must of not been clear.

I have GMed a season or two, and that is not the issue.

When I say management I am speaking of making the batting order, selecting pinch hitters and so on as a manager, as I have never done so and I always just hired a AI manager to run the team.

Drstrangelove · 07-30-2019, 11:44 AM

Not sure if this is where you're going, but...

There are many theories on batting orders, and tbh, people have often taken the position that it doesn't often matter or if it does, it doesn't matter much. (Bill James concluded as such about 25 years ago and I defer to him on such issues...)

However, hypocritical as it is, I still like to make up my own lineups, since it's a game and no one's wealth is on the line.

I sort players using OPS+ and wRC+ based upon LH or RH pitching and I create my lineup to place the top 5 in the first 5 spots, with the higher OBP players at front, higher ISO in the rear, with faster players in front of slower players. (It isn't as complicated as it sounds with just 5 guys, and as James wrote, it hardly matters if you have the best guys hitting anyways.)

The last 4 lineups spots are spread so the fastest are at the end, and the highest ISO in the front.

Many, many other ways of doing it and I doubt it matters much over the course of the season so long as your best players are there.

What you don't have here is defense. It rarely makes sense to put a catcher at SS, or in center field, even if he does hit a lot better than the current guy, but some catchers (Bench, Berra) have played LF and 3B; many more have played 1B.

So there's the rub: the balancing act takes lots of understanding about where you can "get away" with a low-defense, high offense player. OOTP helps by giving you signals (red is bad) for using a player in a position. The balancing act comes in knowing that a player will cost you defensively but make up for it offensively, or vice versa. The most important defensive positions (SS, CF, C, 2B), can get away with mediocre offense and great defense, while the least important (DH, 1B, LF) should have good offense. (RF, 3B, over baseball history have supported both types of players.)

Zedwardson · 07-30-2019, 01:51 PM

Thank you, I do not know which baseball spots were needing good defense outside of shortstop and I have no ideas on pinch hitting and so on.

I was thinking of setting up a league were I start off as a minor league manager and try to work my way up to the majors. But before I can do that I need to know basic stuff in baseball such as that.

ThePretender · 07-31-2019, 10:30 AM

At the same time, I'd be perfectly happy using a defensively poor, offensively strong SS/C/CF. The goal is that the player produces value, whether it's by providing more offence than his glove costs his team, or saving more runs with his glove than his bat costs, accounting for position. My SS was on pace for -4.8 UZR, so I wouldn't call him strong defensively. But his bat was so good, he was worth 8 WAR for me. I'll live with slightly below average defence from my SS when it comes with a 167 wRC+. Some people have a preference for defence up the middle, but focusing on that requirement has you missing out on elite players who are below average defensively but carry monster bats for the position.

Ideally, sure, C/SS/CF are great defenders, but if they have fantastic bats and are better than -10 UZR, you're not in a bad position. And to be honest, I like to be strong everywhere, but I'll make an exception at any position if the offence is worthwhile.

Batting order:

1/2/4 are your best hitters. One has the best OBP of the three, 2 is better slugging than 1 but less than 4, four has most power of the three. From there your best hitters are arguably 5/3/6/7/8/9. I'd put the better HR hitter third of the last group.

Some people will argue batting order doesn't matter, and maybe over the full season it might not have a significant impact. But your #2 hitter comes up in some of the highest leverage spots in the game, so I wouldn't want to waste that with a weaker bat.

Pinch hitting - generally do it for weaker hitters, or when you lose the platoon advantage (LHP comes up vs LHH, bring in RH hitter).

07-28-2019, 11:00 PM	#1
Zedwardson Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 252	Management Tips I must admit, while I love OOTP baseball, I actually know very little about baseball. I have avoided the management side of the game for my entire ownership since I do not know what to do, but is there a guide for basic management of a baseball team?

07-29-2019, 10:29 AM	#3
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,483	There are lots of little tips but honestly if you go back and read Orcin's Louisville Cardinals report from a few years ago he lays out all the major decision points and how to build a team. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

07-30-2019, 11:44 AM	#5
Drstrangelove Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 346	Not sure if this is where you're going, but... There are many theories on batting orders, and tbh, people have often taken the position that it doesn't often matter or if it does, it doesn't matter much. (Bill James concluded as such about 25 years ago and I defer to him on such issues...) However, hypocritical as it is, I still like to make up my own lineups, since it's a game and no one's wealth is on the line. I sort players using OPS+ and wRC+ based upon LH or RH pitching and I create my lineup to place the top 5 in the first 5 spots, with the higher OBP players at front, higher ISO in the rear, with faster players in front of slower players. (It isn't as complicated as it sounds with just 5 guys, and as James wrote, it hardly matters if you have the best guys hitting anyways.) The last 4 lineups spots are spread so the fastest are at the end, and the highest ISO in the front. Many, many other ways of doing it and I doubt it matters much over the course of the season so long as your best players are there. What you don't have here is defense. It rarely makes sense to put a catcher at SS, or in center field, even if he does hit a lot better than the current guy, but some catchers (Bench, Berra) have played LF and 3B; many more have played 1B. So there's the rub: the balancing act takes lots of understanding about where you can "get away" with a low-defense, high offense player. OOTP helps by giving you signals (red is bad) for using a player in a position. The balancing act comes in knowing that a player will cost you defensively but make up for it offensively, or vice versa. The most important defensive positions (SS, CF, C, 2B), can get away with mediocre offense and great defense, while the least important (DH, 1B, LF) should have good offense. (RF, 3B, over baseball history have supported both types of players.) Last edited by Drstrangelove; 07-30-2019 at 11:53 AM.

07-29-2019, 09:52 AM	#2
old fat bald guy Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 220	I think the most important thing to understand is how the arbitration and free-agency systems work. In general, players are going to be on minimum salary until they have three years of major-league service (or a little less), and they can't be free agents until they have six. This might change during your save game depending on your league evolution settings. So don't pay a lot for players who don't have the service time to demand a lot, unless they're signing on for years beyond that six-year threshold. I try to build around guys who have good ratings for durability and are willing to sign long-term deals that sacrifice potential salary for security. You'll have to pay them even if they're hurt, so I bet heavily on guys who are deemed less likely to be hurt. Another key thing to understand in OOTP is the "budget for free agents"/"budget for extensions" thing. This baffled me when I first started playing. Think of it as "this year's budget"/"next year's budget." And ... in OOTP, next year's budget includes the arbitration estimate for all players who are eligible for arbitration, as well as various other contracts that you can choose to terminate. If you see a $5 million arbitration estimate for a player you don't really want, you can expect to free up $5 million for next year when you decline to offer arbitration. A trap I've fallen into is trading for a player whose contract expires after the current season, so I think I'm only spending "budget for free agents" and not touching "budget for extensions," but he's already signed an extension with his previous team and I'm stuck with that. You have to dig into the "contract" tab on his profile to check that. There is a hell of a lot involved, really, and I understand why some people find it overwhelming. Last edited by old fat bald guy; 07-29-2019 at 09:57 AM.

07-29-2019, 10:26 PM	#4
Zedwardson Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 252	I must of not been clear. I have GMed a season or two, and that is not the issue. When I say management I am speaking of making the batting order, selecting pinch hitters and so on as a manager, as I have never done so and I always just hired a AI manager to run the team.

07-30-2019, 01:51 PM	#6
Zedwardson Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 252	Thank you, I do not know which baseball spots were needing good defense outside of shortstop and I have no ideas on pinch hitting and so on. I was thinking of setting up a league were I start off as a minor league manager and try to work my way up to the majors. But before I can do that I need to know basic stuff in baseball such as that.

07-31-2019, 10:30 AM	#7
ThePretender All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,303	At the same time, I'd be perfectly happy using a defensively poor, offensively strong SS/C/CF. The goal is that the player produces value, whether it's by providing more offence than his glove costs his team, or saving more runs with his glove than his bat costs, accounting for position. My SS was on pace for -4.8 UZR, so I wouldn't call him strong defensively. But his bat was so good, he was worth 8 WAR for me. I'll live with slightly below average defence from my SS when it comes with a 167 wRC+. Some people have a preference for defence up the middle, but focusing on that requirement has you missing out on elite players who are below average defensively but carry monster bats for the position. Ideally, sure, C/SS/CF are great defenders, but if they have fantastic bats and are better than -10 UZR, you're not in a bad position. And to be honest, I like to be strong everywhere, but I'll make an exception at any position if the offence is worthwhile. Batting order: 1/2/4 are your best hitters. One has the best OBP of the three, 2 is better slugging than 1 but less than 4, four has most power of the three. From there your best hitters are arguably 5/3/6/7/8/9. I'd put the better HR hitter third of the last group. Some people will argue batting order doesn't matter, and maybe over the full season it might not have a significant impact. But your #2 hitter comes up in some of the highest leverage spots in the game, so I wouldn't want to waste that with a weaker bat. Pinch hitting - generally do it for weaker hitters, or when you lose the platoon advantage (LHP comes up vs LHH, bring in RH hitter).