Total Noob

[tellville]

I've been playing a small MLB league with eight of my favourite teams - 4 in each division. All other leagues and teams have been deleted. I've started learning a lot of different players names so that has been good.

But I am wondering what I should start doing so as to eventually be able to play the game with all the teams and leagues etc. I just feel so overwhelmed from my lack of baseball knowledge! Any suggestions?

[kq76]

Originally Posted by tellville

I've been playing a small MLB league with eight of my favourite teams - 4 in each division. All other leagues and teams have been deleted. I've started learning a lot of different players names so that has been good.

But I am wondering what I should start doing so as to eventually be able to play the game with all the teams and leagues etc. I just feel so overwhelmed from my lack of baseball knowledge! Any suggestions?

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you get to know all the starters of 8 teams you probably know just as many players as many of us do in real life. If anything, I'd recommend going to the player list page and sorting by overall rating and then just try to get a feel for as many of the best players as you can. Maybe try to follow the league news, especially the player of the weeks, etc, as that should point out the best players a lot and eventually it should sink in.

Regardless, it's got to be easier than what us fictional league fans have to get used to. Somehow we usually end up managing. And on top of that I'm using Scandinavian name files so I can't even pronounce half the names, not alone remember them!

[tellville]

Originally Posted by kq76

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you get to know all the starters of 8 teams you probably know just as many players as many of us do in real life. If anything, I'd recommend going to the player list page and sorting by overall rating and then just try to get a feel for as many of the best players as you can. Maybe try to follow the league news, especially the player of the weeks, etc, as that should point out the best players a lot and eventually it should sink in.

Regardless, it's got to be easier than what us fictional league fans have to get used to. Somehow we usually end up managing. And on top of that I'm using Scandinavian name files so I can't even pronounce half the names, not alone remember them!

What's a good way to ease into learning what makes a good ballplayer a good ball player? Should I just focus on one or two statistics for a while? Just continue to immerse myself into baseball?

[spec138]

Hi KGrob, I'm a newbie to OOPTX as well, however, I think I know baseball very well seeing as I have been a fan from the womb I figure I'll try to help you out even though I have seen some good posts here. I'll assume you know nothing about baseball and go from there if you don't mind .

1st Base- As said earlier, this is generallly a decent athlete on the slower side. This position hits for POWER! (Home runs and doubles and such) Some 1B (1B = First Basemen) have really good defensive skills such as Mark Teixeira and also have the tools at the plate and can be extremely valuable when infielders make bad throws or when a hard ball is hit at them.

2nd Base- Most second basemen as said earlier played as shortstops earlier in their careers but didn't have the skills to make it to the bigs in that position (or in the case of Kelly Johnson, the Atlanta Braves' 2nd baseman, was an outfielder). They are generally average to above average in their ability to field as opposed to 1B who are their for their power. 2B generally don't hit for too many homeruns however their are exceptions such as the Philadelphia Phillies' 2B Chase Utley.

SS (Shortstop)- These men are your best infielders. They usually have great arms and are very speedy. They usually hit for a high average and some power such ad the New York Yankees' SS Derek Jeter. As said before Ozzie Smith was probably the best of all time.

3rd Base- They are usually solid fielders with strong arms and can hit for pretty good power and average as well, but not always. Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves is one of the premier 3rd basemen in the NL as is the New York Mets' David Wright.

Left Field- Not the quickest or best fielder in the outfield, they are generally there because their offense outweighs their lacking defense, although with any position their are exceptions.

Right Field- Another power position and they generally have good arms such as Ichiro or Jeff Francoeur.

Center Field- Best glove in the outfield, and generally very fast. Look for these guys to get on base alot on offense and to steal many bases.

Catcher- DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE!!! A great defensive catcher will find his way into the starting lineup any day of the week. Many catchers hit for a lower average/higher power kind of stats. Many catchers are also saddled with the duty of calling what pitches to throw in certain situations, and can be an integral part of a pitcher's success.

Now some things that might not be so apparent to newbies to baseball.

Stealing- Stealing is when a runner advances a base without the benefit of a hit or walk. A steal can make all the difference in a game by getting into scoring position (Scoring position = 2nd or 3rd base) and being driven in by a hitter behind them.

Sacrifice- A sacrifice occurs when a player bunts a runner over, giving himself up basically, or when a player tries and succedes in hitting a fly ball deep into the outfield to allow a tagging runner to score.

Tagging Up- When a fly ball is hit, a runner may not advance until the ball is caught. (Unless the ball is not caught in the air, in which case a runner may move at any time) If a runner leaves the base before the ball is caught in the air, the fielder may throw to the base he left from, and if the ball arrives before the runner is able to get back, he is out.

Hit and Run- A hit and run is basically a steal, except the batter tries his hardest to put the ball in play. This is useful when a runner is on first or second. If a hit and run is succesful it may be possible for the runner to advance an extra base since he is moving before the ball is in play.

Force Out- Any time a runner on base has someone directly behind him on the basepaths, or if he is on first, then he is "forced" to run. If the ball reaches the next bag before a runner in this position, he is deemed out.

Double Play- The most common form of this is when a ground ball is hit with a runner on first. In the most common instance, a fielder throws the ball to second and it is relayed to first, getting both runners out via a "force out".

This is really all I can think of now, but if you would like more I definately know more, just let me know! I hope this helps someone.

[Siv]

KG
One thing to understand about baseball is that each of us have their own managing style. This really comes from which baseball you watched and the managers of their favorite teams. Some people like "small ball" (bunting and moving runners around the bases to score runs). Others like the three run homer to win games. Still others are pitching defense and just make the offense happen someway. I will give you a few things to chew on.

Hit and run- Used when you have a fast runner on first or first and third. The batter should have good contact and the runner takes off with the pitch and the hitter tries to make contact. With the runner going and the ball in play it tends to make some confusion giving a better chance for a hit and advancing the runner. Also if it bleeds through for a hit the runner usually makes it to third base.

[sbr]

Something else that could be very helpful would be tips on how to construct a batting order. I know the RL basics but am new to OOTP and am curious how you all relate the game rating to batting postions.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by sbr

Something else that could be very helpful would be tips on how to construct a batting order. I know the RL basics but am new to OOTP and am curious how you all relate the game rating to batting postions.

First , let's agree on the RL basics. These are how I view them:

Lineup Procedure
Pos Characteristics
1 Best combination of speed and eye
2 Best combination of contact and eye
3 Best combination of contact, power, and eye
4 Best power
5 Next best power
6 Next best power
7 Next best contact
8 Next best contact
9 Weakest hitter of all

Platooning
Platoon lefty and righty if both are approximately equal in the field, equal in power, and show offsetting strengths and weaknesses vs. right-handed and left-handed pitching.

So, what I do is arrange my lineup screen to show the current ratings for all these aspects: contact, power, eye/discipline, avoid k's, speed, steal, baserunning. Then I choose the lineups on the best fits for each slot.

(Shortcut: let your AI manager do it and try to figure out why it did what it did. It's not a bad way to start; you can always make changes.)

[Kelric]

Originally Posted by sbr

Something else that could be very helpful would be tips on how to construct a batting order. I know the RL basics but am new to OOTP and am curious how you all relate the game rating to batting postions.

A lot of that depends on what team I am playing as and how my roster is constructed. I prefer a combo of speed/OBP guys in the top two spots, but if my roster has no speed I'm fine with guys who just get on base. I also tend to prefer the basic left/right/left/right format when putting together a lineup if at all possible. Right now I'm playing out a season as the 2009 Kansas City Royals. All ratings are 1-10 and this is my generic lineup verse righties. It changes if facing a lefty or if I want to get someone else more ABs.

1. Coco Crisp (S - Switch hitter) - 6/7/4/6/6 - Decent contact hitter, draws a few walks, not really a big OBP guy. Has lots of speed.
2. David DeJesus (L) - 6/7/4/6/7 - Same as Crisp but with less speed.
3. Billy Butler (R) - 7/8/6/6/8 - Crushes lefties, is good against righties. The closest thing I have to a slugger. Slow runner.
4. Mike Jacobs (L) - 6/8/8/6/5 - Hits righties well. Provides some pop. Slow. This spot was for Alex Gordon but Jacobs has been hot early in my season.
5. Mike Aviles (R) - 6/8/5/4/7 - Not my usual 5 guy, but Jose Guillen has been struggling and Aviles is hitting .353 for me.
6. Alex Gordon (L) - 6/8/7/7/4 - Hasn't been hitting well. Will probably end the season as my cleanup hitter once he gets going.
7. Jose Guillen (R) - 6/8/6/3/6 - Ugh. Stuck with him at $12M through 2010. I need to find a way to dump him.
8. John Buck (R) - 5/7/6/6/4 - Nothing special. Just my catcher.
9. Alberto Callaspo (S) - 6/7/2/6/9 - Switches spots with DeJesus when I face lefties.

This isn't a terribly good lineup, but Butler and Jacobs have been driving my team. I much prefer a group of guys who 'keep the line moving' as the Red Sox like to say. Solid hitters, draw walks, don't strike out much. My power hitters always fill the 3-5 roles if I can find some, but I don't like guys who strikeout a ton.

[sbr]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

First , let's agree on the RL basics. These are how I view them:


So, what I do is arrange my lineup screen to show the current ratings for all these aspects: contact, power, eye/discipline, avoid k's, speed, steal, baserunning. Then I choose the lineups on the best fits for each slot.

(Shortcut: let your AI manager do it and try to figure out why it did what it did. It's not a bad way to start; you can always make changes.)

That looks very similar to what I would want to do. I wasn't sure how much weight experienced players put into Gap Power or Avoid K's when constructing a line-up.

I would use Avoid K's as a tie-breaker towards the top of the line-up but otherwise I don't put much thought into that or Gap Power.

[VaCubbie]

Originally Posted by Siv

KG
Hit and run- Used when you have a fast runner on first or first and third. The batter should have good contact and the runner takes off with the pitch and the hitter tries to make contact. With the runner going and the ball in play it tends to make some confusion giving a better chance for a hit and advancing the runner. Also if it bleeds through for a hit the runner usually makes it to third base.

This reminds me of a question. Is there any kind of difference between 'Hit and Run' and 'Send Forced'? If so, what is an example of a time you would 'Send Forced' as opposed to 'Hit and Run'? Presumably, the main idea is to stay out of the DP, but hmmmm...oh well

[VaCubbie]

Nevermind, think I've answered my own question:

If the situation is runners on 1st and 3rd: Hit and run would start both runners, while send forced would send only the guy on 1st to avoid the DP, while the runner on 3rd would hold back and wait and see...sound right?

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by sbr

That looks very similar to what I would want to do. I wasn't sure how much weight experienced players put into Gap Power or Avoid K's when constructing a line-up.

I would use Avoid K's as a tie-breaker towards the top of the line-up but otherwise I don't put much thought into that or Gap Power.

Yes, but don't ignore them altogether. I have found that Gap Power is associated with high RBI production and Avoid K's tends to enhance Contact and Power.

[sbr]

Is there no bunting rating?