Thrift Training Matrix

[Syd Thrift]

One of the things that I miss about v6 and earlier was the idea, anyway, that you could train different players to concentrate on different things in spring training. In practice, spring training was booooooring and it's not in the new version; however, it seems to me that it's turned into not a whole lot more than a chance to try out different lineup combinations. This is an attempt to bring the training back to the spring.

So here's the way it works:

1. Each coach on your team chooses one player to work with. No coach or player can be used more than once during spring. Each coach chooses one and exactly one "spell" (I can't think of a better term for this right now... somebody help me out!) to "cast" on the player.

Each "spell" can only be used once on a player in his lifetime, and there are certain additional restrictions as well. Consult the individual spell.

2. Add together the following numbers:

a. Train hitting, fielding, or pitching for a given coach
b. Train veterans, players, and rookies for a given coach
c. The applicable player skill for the spell in question

The sum total corresponds with a letter grade that in turn affects the chances that the "spell" will work:

540 or more: Grade A
420-539: Grade B
300-419: Grade C
101-299: Grade D
100 or less: Grade F

3. Roll a d100 (or make a RAND table in an Excel or OpenOffice spreadsheet (or go to http://random.org/integers/) that creates a number between 1 and 100) and consult the following table:

Outcome   A     B     C     D     F
Bust      01-04 01-05 01-07 01-09 01-15
Failure   05-15 06-18 08-20 10-30 16-40
Ignore    16-30 19-38 21-45 31-55 41-60
Good      31-60 39-65 46-75 56-85 61-95
Excels    61-90 66-92 76-93 86-96 96-99
GREAT     91-00 93-00 94-00 97-00 00

4. Consult the spell for the exact results. Here's a general idea of what they mean, as well as the morale hits for each. Yes, morale hits. I have it on good authority that the latest patch is going to allow you to edit moral directly from the player editor, and this just makes sense: nobody likes to be told how to do something they've been doing all of their lives. If you can convince somebody it's for the best, great. More to the point, if you can *make* them better, their morale will jump back up as they start racking up superior stats and making their team win more games.

Bust: Something goes seriously wrong with the "spell". At worst, a bust result might end a marginal player's career. At best, it might turn a decent player into a marginal one. -250 to Player Performance and that player cannot have a spell cast on him by that coach ever again.
Failure: The spell for some reason didn't take. -150 to Player Performance.
Ignore: The player halfheartedly tries to do what the coach asked him to do but when he's not looking the player goes right back to his old habits. -100 to Player Performance.
Good: The player does what he is told to do, no more, no less. -50 to Player Performance, but the increase in benefit to your team will probably make up for that, right?
Excels: The player takes what you gave him and puts a bit more effort into it than you expected. Don't you love players like that? No effect on Player Performance.
GREAT: The player synergizes everything the coach said and what he's already learned about the game and becomes a disciple of the coach's way of thinking. +100 Player Performance.

OPTIONAL: You can also use these tables during the regular season... one time per coach per player. A coach hired during the middle of the season cannot instruct a player.

Personality Traits
-----------------
A side effort of the TTM was to make the personality traits into something that more directly affect gameplay. Oh, I know, that Greed rating can be a real kicker come salary time, and Leadership grants a hidden bonus to everybody... but with the TTM, personality comes into play any time you want to take extra time to improve a player. As one could guess, different traits come into play when casting different spells.

Leadership: How well the player leads by example. I haven't actually thought of anything in here to base on leadership, but if anybody wanted to add something...
Desire for Winner: The higher this level is, the more risks a player will take to win games. Simply put, it's a measure of the player's unscrupulousness. Comes into play when you ask a player to cork his bat, steal signs, or do anything else that is or looks illegal or unethical.
Loyalty: Sometimes when a player is asked to do something it doesn't take a lot of extra work but does take a good bit of faith in one's leaders. A natural sense of loyalty is essential for these "spells".
Greed: A good manager is also a master of psychology. Therefore, he knows that sometimes you can entice a greedy player to do things he otherwise wouldn't do with the promise of an eventual reward.
Work Ethic: Probably the most-used of all the player personality traits because most of the "spells" listed require the player to take some extra time in the batting cage or fielding fungoes or spending extra time in the bullpen between starts.
Intelligence: The 2nd-most used trait, this one is especially necessary if you're trying to develop a pitcher who relies on deception to prevent runs.

Hitting "Spells"
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Choke Up
Swing For The Fences
Take Two And Hit To Right
Patience Is The Key
Be Aggressive
Chop At The Ball
Uppercut Swing
Open Stance
Closed Stance
Square Stance
Switch Hitter
Walk Year
Cork It Up

Pitching "Spells"
---------------
Remove Pitch*
Add Pitch*
Convert Reliever Into Starter
Is That A Pickoff Or Is That A Balk?

Fielding "Spells" (note: I've taken the liberty of making managers with good "teach fielding" skills also good at teaching all of the mental aspects of the game.)
---------------
Learn OF
Learn SS
Learn 2B
Learn 1B
Learn 3B
Baserunning Fundamentals
Bunting Practice
Sign Stealing 101

*Can be learned more than once in a lifetime (but only once per pitch!)

The "spell books" are yet to come. If y'all can think of a good "spell" I haven't added, let me know!

[bababui]

Rather than a spell I prefer using Magic Dust. Its track record is much better than magic. Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa swear by the dust.

[bababui]

As part of financials, GM's should be allowed to allocate some of their budget to improve training facilities and hire special skill coaches. Like the idea of specialized training.

[PerfectMisnomer]

You don't need a d100. Just head on over to:

http://random.org/integers/

[Syd Thrift]

Choke Up
-----------
Description: Instructs the hitter to move his hands up the bat, creating a shorter, quicker swing.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: None

Bust: Well, he got the "choke" part right, at least. AK +5, POW -25, GAP -25
Failure: Choking up causes the player to hit weak grounders instead of long hits. AK +10, POW -15, GAP -15
Ignore: Any time the coach lays off, the player's hands sneak farther and farther down the bat. AK +10, POW -5, GAP -5
Good: Congratulations! You have a Ty Cobb in the making. AK +25, POW -10, GAP -10
Excels: The player separates his hands so that he can choke up any time it's needed but still only loses a small portion of his power. AK +35, POW -5, GAP -5
GREAT: The player's bat control has improved so much when choking up that he can now drive pitches to practically any part of the park at will. AK +50, BABIP +10

Swing For The Fences
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Description: Chicks dig the longball. Appeal to your guy to get more homeruns and ribeyes at the expense of singles and occasionally looking like a fool on a big swing.
Player Skill: Greed
Limitations: Cannot be used after "Choke Up" has been called for a player.

Bust: All that swinging, so little contact. EYE -10, AK -50
Failure: The player has been spotted in a local bookstore reading Dave Kingman's autobiography. POW +5, AK -40
Ignore: Try as he might, the player just can't get the longball. Or maybe he just doesn't dig chicks? POW +10, AK - 20
Good: Digging the longball has made the player a little more selective. It's much harder to hit a wild pitch out of the park. POW +20, EYE +10, AK -30, Hitter Type: Pull
Excels: Word gets around the league rather quickly about the player's new homerun swing and he begins to see a lot of stuff that's not over the plate. POW +30, EYE +15, AK -20, Hitter Type: Pull
GREAT: The player becomes a weekly feature on "Baseball Tonight." And he owes it all to you. POW +40, EYE +25, AK -10, Hitter Type: Pull


Take Two And Hit To Right
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Description: The classic advice given to a player in a slump. Here you're trying to jump-start a player's game by advising him to take the first two pitches he sees, no matter how good they look, and then look to hit what he finally does swing at to the opposite field. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Player Skill: Loyalty (it's a basic idea that doesn't require a lot of extra BP, but it can also blow up in your face so you need to have a guy who will agree with anything your coach says)
Limitations: Can only be used on a player in a slump (ice symbol).

Bust: The player loses what little confidence he had left. AK -40, BABIP -20, POW -20
Failure: The player mishears the coach and begins taking three and hitting the showers. AK -35, BABIP -10, POW -10
Ignore: "I'm slumping and you want me to watch even more strikes go by? Are you kidding me?" EYE+10, AK -25
Good: There is a silver lining to every cloud. EYE +20, BABIP +10, AK -15, Hitter type: Spray
Excels: "Wow, coach! I never knew how many of those tasty-looking pitchers were out of the strike zone!" EYE +30, BABIP +15, AK -5, Hitter type: Spray
GREAT: Player releases an instructional video called "How To Hit And Run In Today's Game". EYE +40, BABIP +20, Hitter type: Spray

Patience Is The Key
-----------
Description: Some managers love hitters who look for a pitch in one part of the strike zone and don't swing at anything outside of it. This "spell" introduces that philosophy to your hitter.
Player Skill: Loyalty
Limitations: Not compatible with "Be Aggressive." Any coach who teaches "Patience Is The Key" loses all rating adds/drops for that ability.

Bust: "What do you mean I still have to swing every now and then?" BABIP -20, AK -35
Failure: Mighty Casey has struck out. This guy too on any given day. EYE +5, BABIP -10, AK -20
Ignore: Bases-loaded strikeouts lose ballgames. EYE +10, BABIP -5, AK -10
Good: Three run homeruns win ballgames. EYE +20, POW +10, BABIP -10, AK -20
Excels: Give this guy a silly name like "Camera Eye" or "Helper Cat". EYE +30, POW +15, BABIP -5, AK -10
GREAT: The funny thing is, what this guy does makes *you* look like a genius. And he's doing everything! EYE +40, POW +20, AK -5


Be Aggressive
-----------
Description: Studies have shown that batting average on the first pitch is really, really high. Those studies that disagree with this statement were composed by people who live in their mom's basement.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Not compatible with "Patience Is The Key." Any coach who teaches "Be Aggressive" loses all rating adds/drops for that ability.

Bust: Player turns into a real bad-ball hitter. Of course, most of those bad balls are popped up or turn into double-play ground balls. AK +5, BABIP -20, GAP -10, EYE -30
Failure: At least he's not striking out so much! AK +10, BABIP -10, EYE -20
Ignore: Aggressiveness is in the eye of the beholder. AK +10, EYE -10
Good: I would say that you could call this man the "Gay Slapper" but that would be copyright infringement. AK +25, BABIP +10, EYE -15
Excels: Before Bill Buckner was known for ruining the 1986 World Series, he was known for his bat control. AK +35, BABIP +15, GAP +10, EYE -5
GREAT: B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E! AK +45, BABIP +20, GAP +25

Chop At The Ball
-----------
Description: Great for speedy hitters. This "spell" tells the hitter to swing downward at the ball, creating more grounders that the hitter can beat out. The downside is that Baltimore chops rarely turn into homeruns.
Player Skill: Speed or Loyalty, whichever is lower
Limitations: Cannot be applied to a player with a Speed of less than 120. Incompatible with "Uppercut Swing". If a player is instructed to Chop At The Ball, he loses any gains/losses originally picked up by the first "spell".

Bust: BABIP -20, GAP -25, POW -25
Failure: GAP -10, POW -10
Ignore: BABIP +10, GAP -5, POW -5
Good: BABIP +20, GAP -10, POW -10
Excels: BABIP +30, GAP -5, POW -5
GREAT: BABIP +45 (he's become so effective at the chop that infields routinely move in on him, allowing him to slap doubles and inside-the-park HRs past them)

Uppercut Swing
-----------
Description: "Don't you know dem fielders can ketch dem high vuns?" - Chris Von Der Ahe, early owner of the St. Louis Cardinals
Player Skill: Work Ethic or Greed, whichever is higher
Limitations: Not compatible with "Chop At The Ball." Any coach who teaches "Uppercut Swing" loses all rating adds/drops for that ability.

Bust: POW -10, GAP -20, BABIP -25
Failure: BABIP -15, GAP -10
Ignore: BABIP -5
Good: POW +10, GAP +5, BABIP -10
Excels: POW +20, GAP +10
GREAT: POW +30, GAP +30

Open Stance
-----------
Description: Open up a hitter's stance so that he's facing the pitcher when he's at bat. Allows a player to see the ball more clearly but is known to backfire.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: Not compatible with "Closed Stance" or "Square Stance". Any coach who teaches "Be Aggressive" loses all rating adds/drops for those abilities. Only one stance change can be taught per calendar year. That is, if you instruct a player on this stance on September 30 of 1999, you won't be able to instruct them on another stance until September 30 of 2000.

Bust: -15 BABIP -30 POW, -20 GAP, -10 HBP
Failure: -10 BABIP, -25 POW, -10 HBP
Ignore: -10 BABIP, -5 HBP (one downside of seeing the ball better is that you can get out of the way of pitches more easily)
Good: +20 EYE
Excels: +25 EYE
GREAT: +30 EYE

Closed Stance
-----------
Description: Close up a hitter's stance so that his back is to the pitcher when he's at bat. Allows a pull
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: Not compatible with "Open Stance" or "Square Stance". Any coach who teaches "Be Aggressive" loses all rating adds/drops for those abilities. Only one stance change can be taught per calendar year. That is, if you instruct a player on this stance on September 30 of 1999, you won't be able to instruct them on another stance until September 30 of 2000.

Bust: -30 EYE -30 POW, -20 BABIP
Failure: -25 EYE, -10 POW
Ignore: -20 EYE, -5 POW (HRs down the line become deep fly balls into the alleys)
Good: +10 BABIP, +5 GAP
Excels: +15 BABIP, +5 GAP
GREAT: +20 BABIP, +5 GAP

Squared Stance
-----------
Description: This spell is only taught in order to counteract the damage done by an earlier failed Open or Closed Stance attempt. Real chance of failure here is low but there's basically no chance of it improving a player's skills.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: Not compatible with "Closed Stance" or "Open Stance". Any coach who teaches "Be Aggressive" loses all rating adds/drops for those abilities. Only one stance change can be taught per calendar year. That is, if you instruct a player on this stance on September 30 of 1999, you won't be able to instruct them on another stance until September 30 of 2000. Cannot be invoked unless the hitter in question already has learned "Closed Stance" or "Open Stance".

Bust: -25 BABIP, -25 POW, -5 HBP
Failure: -5 BABIP, -5 POW
Ignore: No ratings changes
Good: No ratings changes
Excels: No ratings changes
GREAT: +10 BABIP

Switch Hitter
-----------
Description: Be the next Whitey Herzog and impart the miracle of hitting from both sides of the plate.
Player Skill: Loyalty (another one of these skills that requires a player who is in lockstep with management)
Limitations: Cannot be used on a player who is already a switch hitter.

Bust: -20 BABIP, -20 POW, -20 EYE, -20 GAP, -20 AK (the old UL Washington effect)
Failure: -10 BABIP, -10 POW, -10 EYE, -10 GAP, -10 AK
Ignore: No effect (except, of course, that the player turns into a switch-hitter)
Good: Raise all hitter's skills (BABIP, AK, POW, GAP, and EYE) on his less skilled side so that they are within 15 points of his more skilled side. If they are already within 10 points, leave them unchanged.
Excels: Raise all hitter's skills (BABIP, AK, POW, GAP, and EYE) on his less skilled side so that they are within 10 points of his more skilled side. If they are already within 10 points, leave them unchanged.
GREAT: Raise all hitter's skills on non-dominant side so that they equal dominant side.

Walk Year
-----------
Description: Appeal to a player's greed or desire to get traded to a winning team so that he plays harder in the last year of his contract. See: Beltre, Adrian; Dawson, Andre.
Player Skill: Greed or Play For Winning Team, whichever is higher (Play For Winning Team cannot be used unless the team the player is currently on had a record of .500 or less last season)
Limitations: Only usable in leagues with free agency. All ratings gained from this ability are lost the second the player signs a new contract or a contract extension.

Bust: -25 BABIP, -25 POW, -25 GAP (the player is REALLY pressing)
Failure: -10 BABIP, -10 POW (the player is pressing)
Ignore: +10 POW, +20 GAP
Good: +10 BABIP, +20 POW, +25 GAP
Excels: +20 BABIP, +25 POW, +30 GAP
GREAT: +35 BABIP, + 35 POW, +50 GAP

Cork It Up
-----------
Description: Mister Commissioner Sir, I do not know how Smith's bat became hollowed out and filled with bouncy balls. I blame the Yankees.
Player Skill: Play For Winning Team (ideally, you want a guy so concerned with glory that he'll do anything to achieve it)
Limitations: None

Bust: -10 BABIP, -10 AK, -10 GAP. 50 games from now the player is caught corking his bat and is encouraged to continue (the rating changes are permanent).
Failure: No effect; 50 games from now the player is suspended for 10 games.
Ignore: +10 BABIP, +10 AK; 50 games from now the player is suspended for 10 games.
Good: +10 BABIP, +10 GAP, +10 AK for the next month
Excels: +20 BABIP, +20 GAP, +20 AK for the rest of the season
GREAT: +30 BABIP, +30 GAP, +30 AK for the next 2 seasons

[Syd Thrift]

Important: Automatic Effects of Adding/Removing Additional Pitches
--------------------------------------------
The more pitches a man throws, the more likely it is that he'll last the third or fourth time through the lineup. In addition, a man with 5 pitches can survive very well on 4 if one isn't working, whereas a man with 2 is pretty much screwed if he's down to 1. For that reason, the more pitches a pitcher knows, the better his endurance.

How to read this: Look at how many pitches your man has right now and assign the difference between his new pitch number and his old one. IOW, a pitcher going from 4 pitches to 5 gains 10. 5 to 6 gains you 15. 1 to 2 gains you 30 (although why are you at 1 in the first place).

1 -80
2 -50
3 -10
4 0
5 +10
6 +25
7 +40
8 +50
9+ +60

The special exception here is the knuckleball. Knuckleball pitchers not generated by the game always only throw the knuckleball and a fastball. Their endurance is generated by the Add Knuckleball pitch matrix.

Add Pitch

Each pitch has its own blend of special effects. It goes without saying that if a pitcher already knows how to throw something he can't very well add it again.

Add Fastball
-----------
Description: Who doesn't know how to throw a fastball? This is actually the "rising" fastball of the variety Sandy Koufax or Randy Johnson throw. Blasts by a hitter but since it appears to rise through the strike zone it's "light" and can go a long way if spotted well.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Must have Velocity of 90 mph or more.

Bust: -25 CON
Failure: -10 CON
Ignore: +5 STF, -5 CON
Good: +1 level VEL, +10 STF, -10 CON, -5 GB%
Excels: +2 levels VEL, +10 STF, -5 CON, -5 GB%
GREAT: +3 levels VEL, +15 STF, -10 GB%

Add Change-Up
-----------
Description: This is the straight change, a fastball thrown with the same arm speed as the heater but with just enough taken off of it that it messes up the batter's timing. Requires a crafty player.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: None.

Bust: -25 STF
Failure: -10 STF
Ignore: +5 MOV, +5 CON, -10 STF
Good: +10 MOV, +10 CON, -10 STF
Excels: +15 MOV, +10 CON, -10 STF
GREAT: +20 MOV, +15 CON

Add Curve Ball
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Description: Good old Uncle Charlie. Depending on how the pitcher sets up, it can be a Tommy John-style 12 to 6 curve or a knee-buckler of the variety Mike Boddicker used to throw. The only problem is, if you hang one you are asking for the ball to be hit out of the park. Not the easiest pitch on the arm.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: None.

Bust: +20 STF (+25 to like-handed batters), -5 CON, -5 MOV. Some time in the next 2d20 outings he will suffer a Tommy John injury and miss 18 months (540 days).
Failure: -10 CON, -10 MOV, +40 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 STF, -5 CON, +20 Arm Proneness
Good: +20 STF (+25 to like-handed batters), -5 CON, -5 MOV, +10 Arm Proneness
Excels: +25 (+35 to like-handed batters) STF, -5 MOV
GREAT: +35 (+45 to like-handed batters) STF

Learn Slider
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Description: It might have been invented some time in the 1950s or it might have been the "nickel curve" the old-timers claimed it was. Whatever the case may be, it doesn't break as hard as a curve but it's faster. Not a pitch used by slopballers. Marginally harder on the arm than the curve.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Must have Velocity of 90 mph or more.

Bust: -20 CON, -20 MOV, +60 Arm Proneness
Failure: -15 CON, -10 MOV, +40 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 STF, -5 CON, +25 Arm Proneness
Good: +20 STF, -5 CON +15 Arm Proneness
Excels: +25 STF, -5 MOV
GREAT: +35 STF

Learn Sinker
-----------
Description: The good old two-seam fastball. Induces grounders, which lead to the good old "pitcher's best friend": the double play. Since the ball breaks downward, it's "heavier" and therefore harder to hit out of the park.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Must have Velocity of 90 mph or more.

Bust: -2 velocity levels, -10 STF, +25 Arm Proneness
Failure: -2 velocity levels, +10 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 MOV, -1 velocity level
Good: +5 STF, +10 MOV, -10 CON, +5 GB%
Excels: +5 STF, +20 MOV, -5 CON, +5 GB%
GREAT: +10 STF, +25 MOV, +10 GB%

Learn Splitter
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Description: Invented by Roger Craig in the 1970s and then utilized to great effect by Bruce Sutter, the split-fingered "fastball" breaks deeper than a standard 2-seamer but isn't as fast. Supposedly it's not that hard on an arm but there have been a lot of guys who throw the splitter a lot who have left their arm on the operating table (Sutter himself for example).
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: None.

Bust: -10 CON, -10 STF, +40 Arm Proneness
Failure: -10 CON, +30 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 MOV, -1 velocity level, +20 Arm Proneness
Good: +10 STF, +10 MOV, -15 CON, +5 GB%, +10 Arm Proneness
Excels: +10 STF, +25 MOV, -5 CON, +5 GB%, +5 Arm Proneness
GREAT: +20 STF, +25 MOV, +10 GB%

Learn Forkball
-----------
Description: Elroy Face's out pitch, this is a breaking ball thrown with the fingers straddling the baseball. Thrown much, much slower than the splitter (and therefore easier on the arm), it also has a bigger break. It's virtually impossible to hit a good forkball out of the infield let alone out of the park.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: None.

Bust: -10 STF, -10 CON, +25 Arm Proneness
Failure: -20 CON, +15 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 MOV, -10 CON +10 Arm Proneness
Good: +20 MOV, -15 CON, +5 GB%, +5 Arm Proneness
Excels: +5 STF, +25 MOV, -5 CON, +10 GB%
GREAT: +10 STF, +40 MOV, +20 GB%

Learn Cutter
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Description: A relatively new pitch popularized by Mariano Rivera, the cutter is a little like a splitter only instead of breaking downwards it breaks to the left or the right side depending on the pitcher's handedness. Since it confers a bonus to striking out like-handed batters, it's a great pitch for a reliever to learn. Since it's thrown in a similar manner to a fastball it's probably not terribly hard on the arm but it's kind of early to tell.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Velocity of at least 90 MPH.

Bust: -2 velocity levels, -20 STF to opposite-handed batters, +25 Arm Proneness
Failure: -1 velocity level, -10 STF to opposite-handed batters, +20 Arm Proneness
Ignore: -5 STF to opposite-handed batters, +5 STF to like-handed batters, +10 Arm Proneness
Good: +5 STF to opposite-handed batters, +15 to like-handed, -10 CON, +5 Arm Proneness
Excels: +10 STF to opposite-handed batters, +25 to like-handed, -5 CON
GREAT: +20 STF to opposite-handed batters, +40 to like-handed

Learn Knuckle-Curve
-----------
Description: Mike Mussina's favorite pitch. Half knuckler, half-curve. Can also be used to describe the slow, massively breaking curves used by David Fleming (I am sure there are better examples than him but that's all I can think of right now). Because it's thrown so easily, it's easier on the arm than the curve. However, hitters who can track it will tee off on it like it was batting practice.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: None.

Bust: -10 CON, -25 MOV, +30 Arm Proneness
Failure: -5 CON, -10 MOV, +20 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 STF (+10 to like-handed batters), -5 CON, +10 Arm Proneness
Good: +20 STF (+25 to like-handed batters), -5 CON, -10 MOV, +5 Arm Proneness
Excels: +20 (+30 to like-handed batters) STF, -10 MOV
GREAT: +30 (+40 to like-handed batters) STF

Add Circle Change
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Description: Jamie Moyer's out pitch. This ball is all about deception. It's thrown like a fastball but comes in WAY slower. For some reason it's harder for opposite-handed batters to pick up so it confers a reverse platoon split (making it an interesting weapon for right-handed relievers). So slow that when you do time it, you time it a long way if you know what I mean.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: None.

Bust: -35 MOV, -15 STF to like-handed batters
Failure: -20 MOV, -5 STF to like-handed batters
Ignore: +5 STF to opposite-handed batters, +5 CON, -15 MOV
Good: +5 STF (+15 to opposite-handed batters), +10 CON, -10 MOV
Excels: +15 STF (+30 to opposite-handed batters), +10 CON, -10 MOV
GREAT: +20 STF (+40 to opposite-handed batters), +15 CON, -10 MOV

Add Screwball
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Description: Rarely thrown because it's so hard on the arm: you can tell an ex-screwball pitcher by the way his arm hangs the opposite way from where it should hang. Because it's so rare, though, it's just plain deadly, and it conveys an opposite platoon split as well.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: None.

Bust: +20 STF (+30 to opposite-handed batters), -5 CON, -5 MOV. In 2d20 outings, this pitcher will suffer a Tommy John injury and miss 18 months (540 days).
Failure: -5 STF to like-handed batters, -10 MOV, +45 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +5 STF (+15 to opposite-handed batters), -5 CON, +30 Arm Proneness
Good: +20 STF (+30 to opposite-handed batters), -5 CON, -5 MOV, +20 Arm Proneness
Excels: +30 (+45 to like-handed batters) STF, -5 MOV, +10 Arm Proneness
GREAT: +40 (+50 to like-handed batters) STF, +10 Arm Proneness

Add Knuckleball (SPECIAL)
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Description: Because it is so hard to master and also because modern thinking is that it is basically incompatible with every other pitch out there, the knuckleball should only be taught to pitchers who otherwise have no chance to succeed but who have good intangibles. There is a very good chance that an unsuccessful attempt to add a knuckler to a pitcher's repertoire will destroy him. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Player Skill: (Work Ethic + Intelligence) / 2
Limitations: None.

Bust: Pitcher suffers a CEI.
Failure: Pitcher suffers a CEI.
Ignore: Pitcher suffers a CEI.
Good: Pitcher suffers a CEI.
Excels: Delete all the pitcher's current pitches except for: Fastball and Knuckler. His Velocity is now 75-80 MPH. Generate the following stats:

STF 100+1d100 (the VEL is so low, these guys still will probably not become strikeout kings)
CON 50+1d100
MOV 50+1d100
END 80+1d100
Hit Batsmen: 5+1d20
Wild Pitches: 5+1d20

Everything else stays the same.

GREAT: As Excels, only add 25 points to MOV and 20 to END.

Remove Pitch

Removing a pitch works a little bit differently. You'll still want to use the endurance adjuster; for example, a pitcher going from 4 pitches to 3 will lose 10 points of endurance. Here's an important bit: if you are removing a pitch that you previously added, you will lose the effects of any Good, Excel, or GREAT result but anything gained from Ignore, Failure, or Bust stay. The addition of the pitch hurt the pitcher's mechanics and just telling him not to throw it anymore will not get them back.

Each pitch removed falls into one of three categories: fast pitch, breaking ball, or change of pace.

Remove Fast Pitch
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Description: You've got a guy who throws 14 different kinds of fastballs but maybe it's time to cut a few of them out. Your coach is going to be utilizing the "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid) method with this guy.
Player Skill: Loyalty
Pitches Include: Fastball, sinker, cutter, splitter.
Limitations: A pitcher can never have less than one kind of fast pitch. Note that this means that if for some reason you decide to have a guy throw just one pitch, it will be some kind of speedball.

Bust: -30 STF, +20 Arm Proneness (as losing the fastball forces him to throw more breaking pitches)
Failure: -20 STF, +10 Arm Proneness
Ignore: -10 STF, +10 CON
Good: +15 CON, +5 MOV
Excels: +20 CON, +10 MOV
GREAT: +1 level VEL, +25 CON, +10 STF, +10 MOV

Special effects: Losing the (4 seam) Fastball adds 5 to GB%. Losing the sinker or the splitter removes 5% from GB%. Losing the cutter adds 5 to STF for opposite-handed batters and removes 5 STF from like-handed batters.

Remove Breaking Pitch
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Description: Used primarily to save a guy's arm, telling a pitcher to stop throwing his Uncle Charlie can be devastating but it can also save his career.
Player Skill: Loyalty
Pitches Include: Curveball, Slider, Screwball
Limitations: None. Get rid of all of them, if you dare!

Bust: -40 STF
Failure: -30 STF, +5 CON
Ignore: -10 STF, +10 CON, -10 Arm Proneness
Good: +10 CON, +10 MOV, -20 Arm Proneness
Excels: +20 CON, +10 MOV, -40 Arm Proneness
GREAT: +25 CON, +15 MOV, -60 Arm Proneness

Special effects: Losing the Curveball or the Slider adds 5 to like-handed batter STF and removed 5 from opposite-handed batter STF. Losing the Screwball adds 10 to opposite-handed batter STF and adds 10 to like-handed batter STF.

Remove Change of Pace
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Description: Really, the only reason you're probably doing this is that you're converting a guy to relief and you're looking for some talent increases to go along with it. Well, keep in mind that some of the great relievers in baseball history used a slow ball as an out pitch. I've brought up Elroy Face before. The eephus is like a really, really high-arcing circle change so Rip Sewell can be included. Doug Jones played into his 40s due to a nasty, nasty change-up.
Player Skill: Loyalty
Pitches Include: Change Up, Fork Ball, Knuckle Curve, Circle Change
Limitations: None. Get rid of all of them, if you dare!

Bust: -40 CON, +35 Arm Proneness
Failure: -20 CON, +25 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +10 STF, -20 CON, +10 Arm Proneness
Good: +10 STF, -10 CON
Excels: +20 STF, -5 CON
GREAT: +30 STF, +10 MOV

Special effects: Losing the Circle Change adds 10 to opposite-handed batter STF and adds 10 to like-handed batter STF. Losing the Forkball removes 10 from GB%. Losing the Straight Change and the Knuckle Curve have no additional effects.

Remove Knuckleball
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You cannot remove the knuckleball. It's like communist propaganda. Once it gets into your head you can never get it out.

Other Pitcher Spells

Straight Overhand Delivery
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Description: For the purposes of this game, most pitchers are considered to throw the ball at "three quarters"; in other words, about halfway between sidearm and straight overhand. This "spell" involves the coach working with the player so that his arm is parallel to his body when the ball is released. This changes the plane a pitch breaks on from right to left (or left to right) to up and down. It takes a good deal of arm strength to throw this way.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Pitches Allowed: All except Slider and Screwball
Limitations: For all deliveries, if a pitcher is not allowed to throw a pitch, he loses it immediately. Roll on the appropriate Remove Pitch column for each pitch lost and adjust Endurance accordingly as well. Any prior effects due to the invoking of Sidearm or Three-Quarters are negated by invoking this delivery. Once a pitcher loses a pitch, he does not get it back if he later changes his angle of delivery.

Bust: -30 STF, +45 Arm Proneness
Failure: -15 STF, +30 Arm Proneness
Ignore: -5 STF, +10 Arm Proneness
Good: +10 MOV, -5 STF
Excels: +20 MOV, +10 CON, -10 Arm Proneness
GREAT: +25 CON, +15 MOV, -20 Arm Proneness

Special: If a pitcher throws a curve, it becomes the 12-to-6 curve and changes are as follows: +10 to STF vs. opposite-handed batters, +20 MOV, +5 GB%.

Sidearm Delivery
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Description: For the purposes of this game, most pitchers are considered to throw the ball at "three quarters"; in other words, about halfway between sidearm and straight overhand. This "spell" involves the coach working with the player so that his arm is perpendicular to his body upon release. Turn your guy into Dan Quisenberry or Kent Tekulve. This is a throwing motion that is potentially very easy on the arm but it also will increase platoon differentials and is not compatible with many pitches.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Pitches Allowed: Fastball, Change-up, Sinker, Slider
Pitches NOT Allowed: Curve ball, Splitter, Forkball, Cutter, Knuckleball, Knuckle Curve, Screwball
Limitations: For all deliveries, if a pitcher is not allowed to throw a pitch, he loses it immediately. Roll on the appropriate Remove Pitch column for each pitch lost and adjust Endurance accordingly as well. Any prior effects due to the invoking of Straight Overhand or Three-Quarters are negated by invoking this delivery. Once a pitcher loses a pitch, he does not get it back if he later changes his angle of delivery.

Bust: -30 STF (no change to like-handed batters)
Failure: -15 STF (+15 to like-handed batters)
Ignore: +20 STF to like-handed batters, -10 Arm Proneness
Good: +10 STF (+30 to like-handed batters), +5 GB%, -20 Arm Proneness
Excels: +25 STF (+40 to like-handed batters), +10 GB%, -30 Arm Proneness
GREAT: +35 STF (+50 to like-handed batters), +15 GB%, -50 Arm Proneness

Three Quarters Delivery
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Description: For the purposes of this game, most pitchers are considered to throw the ball at "three quarters"; in other words, about halfway between sidearm and straight overhand. For this reason, this spell is a lot like the batting spell "Squared Stance" in that its primary purpose is to right the wrongs of prior spell attempts.
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Pitches Allowed: All
Pitches NOT Allowed: All pitches allowed
Limitations: For all deliveries, if a pitcher is not allowed to throw a pitch, he loses it immediately. Roll on the appropriate Remove Pitch column for each pitch lost and adjust Endurance accordingly as well. Any prior effects due to the invoking of Straight Overhand or Three-Quarters are negated by invoking this delivery. Once a pitcher loses a pitch, he does not get it back if he later changes his angle of delivery. Three Quarters can only be used on a pitcher who formerly had Sidearm or Straight Overhand cast on them.

Bust: -30 STF, +40 Arm Proneness
Failure: -10 STF, +20 Arm Proneness
Ignore: No change
Good: No change
Excels: +10 CON, +10 MOV
GREAT: +20 CON, +10 MOV, -20 Arm Proneness

Special effects: For a pitcher who did throw Straight Overhand and who has a curve ball, it loses its 12-to-6 functionality and becomes a regular old curve again. Effects: -10 to STF vs. opposite-handed batters, -20 MOV, -5 GB%

Backdoor Slider
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Description: Some pitchers like to drop down to sidearm with two strikes and try to fling one by the man at the plate. This is a trick that has been employed to great use by players such as Joaquin Andujar and to not-so-great use by pitchers such as Jeff Weaver. Even though it involves a breaking pitch and an unorthodox delivery, it's used rarely enough that it shouldn't have too big of an effect on the pitcher's arm.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: Not available to pitchers who already throw sidearm.

Bust: -30 STF like-handed batters, -10 to opposite-handed ones, +30 Arm Proneness
Failure: -20 STF to opposite-handed batters, +20 Arm Proneness
Ignore: +10 STF to like-handed batters, -5 STF to opposite-handed ones.
Good: +20 STF to like-handed batters, -10 STF to opposite-handed ones.
Excels: +30 STF to like-handed batters
GREAT: +30 STF to like-handed batters, +10 STF to opposite-handed ones, -10 Arm Proneness

Is That A Pickoff Or Is That A Balk?
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Description: Throughout the course of baseball history, pitchers have experimented with moves to first base that have bordered on the balky. This spell attempts to improve a pitcher's ability to hold runners but it can also increase balk calls. The good news is that it's just about the only pitching spell that doesn't have a chance of hurting a guy's arm.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: None.

Bust: -30 Hold Runner, +10 Balks
Failure: -10 Hold Runner, +7 Balks
Ignore: +10 Hold Runner, +5 Balks
Good: +20 Hold Runner, +3 Balks
Excels: +40 Hold Runner, +1 Balk
GREAT: +60 Hold Runner, -3 Balk

[Qrashman]

If a sim league were to adopt something like this...

what is the effect of manually editing ratings? Will it mess with development?

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Qrashman

If a sim league were to adopt something like this...

what is the effect of manually editing ratings? Will it mess with development?

I'm pretty sure no, except that a. there are, I'm pretty sure, hidden ratings for each player that point to about when he'll plateau, peak, and decline (he'd just do all those at a higher or lower level with this) and b. if you raise a player's actual ratings over his potential ratings I think the actuals are due to decline over time above and beyond the development curve. Which reminds me... if you raise a player's actuals above his potentials, raise his potentials as well.

It's possible for players with lowered actual ratings to recover from some of the negative effects of being busts or failures in this system, which is fine with me. Think of it as a player unlearning all the bad things his manager taught him. I should point out that players fail to reach their potentials in this game very often.

[Syd Thrift]

bump to note that Remove Pitches and other pitcher spells have been added.

[Nutlaw]

Very creative and well thought out, Syd.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Nutlaw

Very creative and well thought out, Syd.

Thanks! Like I said, if you or anybody else can think of anything else to add, I am all ears.

Originally Posted by PerfectMisnomer

http://random.org/integers/

Thanks for the tip!

[Nutlaw]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Thanks! Like I said, if you or anybody else can think of anything else to add, I am all ears.

Maybe "sessions" instead of "spells"?

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Nutlaw

Maybe "sessions" instead of "spells"?

That's good. Heck, anything is better than "spells", except maybe "bolts of plywood", which would only be as bad.

BTW, more explanations included in the "sessions" so if you've read through it before, read again!

[Qrashman]

Description: Throughout the course of baseball history, pitchers have experimented with moves to first base that have bordered on the balky. This spell attempts to improve a pitcher's ability to hold runners but it can also increase balk calls. The good news is that it's just about the only pitching spell that doesn't have a chance of hurting a guy's arm.
Player Skill: Intelligence
Limitations: None.

I'm a little confused as to what the "Player Skill" means in this whole scenario?

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Qrashman

I'm a little confused as to what the "Player Skill" means in this whole scenario?

2. Add together the following numbers:

a. Train hitting, fielding, or pitching for a given coach
b. Train veterans, players, and rookies for a given coach
c. The applicable player skill for the spell in question

In this scenario, if your pitching coach is teaching the move to first to an 8-year veteran, the 3 attributes you add up are the Teach Pitching and Handle Players attributes for the coach and the Intelligence personality rating for the player. Then you consult the applicable chart and roll against it.

Once I get all this stuff written down, the next step is using my meager Python "skills" to make a program that does all that stuff for you.

[Qrashman]

aaah ok thanks.

[Syd Thrift]

Learn OF
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Description: Center field is, according to the good old defensive spectrum, the toughest OF position to play and the 2nd toughest overall. As such, do not expect it to be easy. RF and LF are learnable.
Player Skill: Work Ethic or Speed, whichever is lower
Limitations: Only applies to infielders, since OOTP does not currently give most of these types any ratings in the OF at all. If you want to teach a LF or a RF to play CF, play him in center field. You must choose one of the three OF positions to learn; that will be the position where your experience is added.

EDIT: If you want to teach an OFer another position and you have a good coach, run the tables but ignore everything except the experience and the batting ratings changes if you go bust.

Bust: No ratings changes in the OF, -20 AK, -10 POW, -10 GAP
Failure: +25 OF experience, OF range = IF range -40, OF error = IF error - 75, OF arm = IF arm - 100
Ignore: +50 OF experience, OF range = IF range - 20, OF error = IF error - 40, OF arm = IF arm -75
Good: +100 OF experience, OF range = IF range, OF error = IF error - 20, OF Arm = IF Arm - 50
Excels: +150 OF experience, OF range = IF range +20, OF error = IF error, OF Arm = IF Arm - 25
GREAT: +200 OF experience, OF range = IF range +40, OF error = IF error +20, OF Arm = IF Arm

Learn IF (as OF)
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Description: OOTP doesn't generate IF ratings for OFers, so this is necessary. For the most part you are going to need a Gold-Glove quality OFer with strong range, hands, and arm to play an infield position at all. I've found that if you're going to hide anybody at one of these positions, hide them at second base. This is especially true during the dead ball era if you've properly adjusted double plays; the pivot rating comes into play so rarely that you can make it into a real offensive position pretty easily (this, by the way, is what they did with the position IRL until the 20s - this is why 2 of the top 3 2B of all time played a good chunk of their career during this period).
Player Skill: Work Ethic
Limitations: Only applies to outfielders, since OOTP does not currently give most of these types any ratings in the IF at all. If you want to teach an IF to play 3B, play him at 3B (preferably in the minors). Catchers will have a separate skill to learn 3B for you Charlie Moore wannabes out there. Applies to the positions 3B, SS, and 2B. EDIT: And 1B.

EDIT: If you want to teach an IFer another position and you have a good coach, run the tables but ignore everything except the experience and the batting ratings changes if you go bust.

Bust: No ratings changes in the OF, -20 AK, -10 POW, -10 GAP
Failure: +25 IF experience, IF range = OF range -60, IF error = OF error - 60, IF arm = OF arm - 80, Turn DPs = 20
Ignore: +50 IF experience, IF range = OF range - 40, IF error = OF error - 50, IF arm = OF arm -60, Turn DPs = 35
Good: +100 IF experience, IF range = OF range -30, IF error = OF error - 30, IF Arm = OF Arm - 50, Turn DPs = 50
Excels: +150 IF experience, IF range = OF range -10, IF error = OF error -10, IF Arm = OF Arm - 25, Turn DPs = 75
GREAT: +200 OF experience, IF range = OF range +10, IF error = OF error +10, IF Arm = OF Arm, Turn DPs = 100

[Syd Thrift]

For those who are curious to see how this works in action, I'm using these rules with my dynasty, Thriftlon Reports:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...11#post2343811

[darkcloud4579]

Fantastic work indeed.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Fantastic work indeed.

I'll say, and a very interesting idea. I'm coming back when I have more time to consolidate the posts into one document and review it all; see if I want to try it out. Thanks, Syd.