Converting IF Players to OF and vice-versa

Aaron's Aron · 02-20-2015, 01:52 PM

So I have been wondering for a while now, can you have an infield player learn to play an outfield position, or an outfielder learn to be an infielder?

I know there are obviously certain players this would work with better than others. To start, there are the players that already play both, like Ben Zobrist. He has good ratings in both the infield and outfield, so I could tell just by looking that he could play both.

However, I am more wondering about the players that don't have good ratings, or even ratings at all in one of the two sections of the field. There are players that have no ratings in the infield, but some have very poor (but still ratings) ratings. Would the players with poor ratings have a better chance to learn the new positions? I know if they played in the new positions their experience would go up and they would maybe get a very low rating for it, but would their Arm, Error, etc. go up as well since they are learning? Or would they stay at the very low ratings and they wouldn't really be able to play the new positions?

This isn't something that is super important, but I have just been wondering it for a while but have been to lazy to test. If none of you guys know I might try and test it though. For a real life example, Billy Hamilton moved from SS to CF a few years ago. I was just wondering if I could try the same. OOTP never lets me down with its little quirks.

Thanks guys. :]

EDIT: When I say ratings, I mean the actual ratings like Arm, Error, Range, etc., not the individual position ratings. Obviously players would have poor position ratings if they haven't played the position much before.

jpeters1734 · 02-20-2015, 02:20 PM

You will not see drastic changes in defensive ratings just by playing him there. a player with a 2 in OF arm will likely always keep his 2. The position ratings are based off experience and defensive ratings. so If you play a player with great IF ratings but no SS rating at SS, As he gains experience, his SS rating will improve.

Intelligence and the position difficulty has an effect on how fast the player can gain experience.

Aaron's Aron · 02-20-2015, 02:36 PM

I know that he will gain experience at the position and gain a rating there too, but I meant would his actual ratings improve. I would understand if a guy was a bad infielder in general that he wouldn't gain great Arm, Range, etc. ratings in the outfield, but I feel like he would have to gain some ratings. I would think this would be especially true if the player is a great infielder.

For example, I took a random average defender at LF and set his experience at 1B to 200. He still has a 0 (on 1-100 scale) position rating at 1B because he has 0 ratings on all of the infield ratings. That makes sense because I just went in and changed it from 0 to 200 all at once. However, I feel like if he actually played enough games for his experience to go from 0 to 200 that he would have some defensive ratings in the infield. A guy doesn't play 200 or 250 games and have no infield ratings, even if it isn't their natural position. Do you get what I'm asking then? I know for some players they might be able to learn better than others, and I am not saying every player could go from having 0 in all his defensive ratings to 70 or 80, but I feel like it should be possible. At least for some. Again, Billy Hamilton moved to the outfield from shortstop and played great defense there. While not every player does it, some certainly do.

jpeters1734 · 02-20-2015, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron's Aron

I know that he will gain experience at the position and gain a rating there too, but I meant would his actual ratings improve. I would understand if a guy was a bad infielder in general that he wouldn't gain great Arm, Range, etc. ratings in the outfield, but I feel like he would have to gain some ratings. I would think this would be especially true if the player is a great infielder.

For example, I took a random average defender at LF and set his experience at 1B to 200. He still has a 0 (on 1-100 scale) position rating at 1B because he has 0 ratings on all of the infield ratings. That makes sense because I just went in and changed it from 0 to 200 all at once. However, I feel like if he actually played enough games for his experience to go from 0 to 200 that he would have some defensive ratings in the infield. A guy doesn't play 200 or 250 games and have no infield ratings, even if it isn't their natural position. Do you get what I'm asking then? I know for some players they might be able to learn better than others, and I am not saying every player could go from have 0 in all his defensive ratings to 70 or 80, but I feel like it should be possible. At least for some. Again, Billy Hamilton moved to the outfield from shortstop and played great defense there. While not every player does it, some certainly do.

if he gains any improvements to his IF ratings, they would be minimal and still make him a crap 1B. The only thing that will make his position rating change is his experience.

The best way to look at it is if a player has crappy OF ratings, he will always have a crappy OF position ratings no matter how much experience he gets out there.

Aaron's Aron · 02-20-2015, 02:46 PM

Well I know they won't really improve their defensive ratings at their actual positions, but I was thought maybe players could at least improve a little at the other positions. So you are sure that players can't improve in the IF or OF like in real life? I can't even move an outfielder to first base? Dang... OOTP you let me down here.

Bluenoser · 02-20-2015, 03:02 PM

You can move an OF to 1B, say a LF which is the usual switch. He may or may not learn that position, but it's possible in OOTP.

Some players just won't ever learn a position no matter how much you play them there. Some will. There are other factors to consider. Player age - if he's still relatively young, he may have a better chance vs an older player.

There's no guarantee, like anything else, but it is possible for them to learn.

Aaron's Aron · 02-20-2015, 03:06 PM

O, okay. I know that same players won't learn new positions, and that's just the way it is, and I accept that. I know age and personality matters too. He made it sound like they can't convert though, which I didn't think was right. But I'm glad they can! Thanks bluenoser.

02-20-2015, 01:52 PM	#1
Aaron's Aron Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 70	Converting IF Players to OF and vice-versa So I have been wondering for a while now, can you have an infield player learn to play an outfield position, or an outfielder learn to be an infielder? I know there are obviously certain players this would work with better than others. To start, there are the players that already play both, like Ben Zobrist. He has good ratings in both the infield and outfield, so I could tell just by looking that he could play both. However, I am more wondering about the players that don't have good ratings, or even ratings at all in one of the two sections of the field. There are players that have no ratings in the infield, but some have very poor (but still ratings) ratings. Would the players with poor ratings have a better chance to learn the new positions? I know if they played in the new positions their experience would go up and they would maybe get a very low rating for it, but would their Arm, Error, etc. go up as well since they are learning? Or would they stay at the very low ratings and they wouldn't really be able to play the new positions? This isn't something that is super important, but I have just been wondering it for a while but have been to lazy to test. If none of you guys know I might try and test it though. For a real life example, Billy Hamilton moved from SS to CF a few years ago. I was just wondering if I could try the same. OOTP never lets me down with its little quirks. Thanks guys. :] EDIT: When I say ratings, I mean the actual ratings like Arm, Error, Range, etc., not the individual position ratings. Obviously players would have poor position ratings if they haven't played the position much before. Last edited by Aaron's Aron; 02-20-2015 at 02:00 PM.

02-20-2015, 02:20 PM	#2
jpeters1734 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Juust a bit outside... Posts: 5,619	You will not see drastic changes in defensive ratings just by playing him there. a player with a 2 in OF arm will likely always keep his 2. The position ratings are based off experience and defensive ratings. so If you play a player with great IF ratings but no SS rating at SS, As he gains experience, his SS rating will improve. Intelligence and the position difficulty has an effect on how fast the player can gain experience. __________________ "Cannonball Coming!" Go Bucs!! Founder and League Caretaker of the Professional Baseball Circuit, www.probaseballcircuit.com An Un-Official Guide to Minor League Management in OOTP 21 Ratings Scale Conversion Cross-Reference Cheat Sheet

02-20-2015, 02:36 PM	#3
Aaron's Aron Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 70	I know that he will gain experience at the position and gain a rating there too, but I meant would his actual ratings improve. I would understand if a guy was a bad infielder in general that he wouldn't gain great Arm, Range, etc. ratings in the outfield, but I feel like he would have to gain some ratings. I would think this would be especially true if the player is a great infielder. For example, I took a random average defender at LF and set his experience at 1B to 200. He still has a 0 (on 1-100 scale) position rating at 1B because he has 0 ratings on all of the infield ratings. That makes sense because I just went in and changed it from 0 to 200 all at once. However, I feel like if he actually played enough games for his experience to go from 0 to 200 that he would have some defensive ratings in the infield. A guy doesn't play 200 or 250 games and have no infield ratings, even if it isn't their natural position. Do you get what I'm asking then? I know for some players they might be able to learn better than others, and I am not saying every player could go from having 0 in all his defensive ratings to 70 or 80, but I feel like it should be possible. At least for some. Again, Billy Hamilton moved to the outfield from shortstop and played great defense there. While not every player does it, some certainly do. Last edited by Aaron's Aron; 02-20-2015 at 02:43 PM.

02-20-2015, 02:46 PM	#5
Aaron's Aron Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 70	Well I know they won't really improve their defensive ratings at their actual positions, but I was thought maybe players could at least improve a little at the other positions. So you are sure that players can't improve in the IF or OF like in real life? I can't even move an outfielder to first base? Dang... OOTP you let me down here.

02-20-2015, 03:02 PM	#6
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 13,682	You can move an OF to 1B, say a LF which is the usual switch. He may or may not learn that position, but it's possible in OOTP. Some players just won't ever learn a position no matter how much you play them there. Some will. There are other factors to consider. Player age - if he's still relatively young, he may have a better chance vs an older player. There's no guarantee, like anything else, but it is possible for them to learn.

02-20-2015, 03:06 PM	#7
Aaron's Aron Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 70	O, okay. I know that same players won't learn new positions, and that's just the way it is, and I accept that. I know age and personality matters too. He made it sound like they can't convert though, which I didn't think was right. But I'm glad they can! Thanks bluenoser.