Players recognize their spot in the lineup? (performance)

Mike Lowe · 09-12-2009, 11:50 AM

I know they request spots, but do they actually perform differently in different spots in the order? I had Milton Bradley batting 2nd for the Cubs and he was lights out the MVP of the NL for the first two months. I moved him to 3rd and he totally has dried up. Is this a coincidence or do players actually feel comfortable in certain spots in the lineup?

FYI, Milton wants a spot in the middle of the lineup. If anything, he was probably more unhappy hitting 2nd.

Afino · 09-12-2009, 11:55 AM

I had a similar situation happen recently.

I've been batting a guy leadoff despite the fact he would be most teams' #3 hitter. I moved him to #3 for a couple of weeks due to injuries and he went ice cold to the point he was on the "who's not" cold list.

I don't want to move him from leadoff again because I'm afraid he'd fail......again.

conception · 09-12-2009, 04:13 PM

I've always felt it had an effect. Maybe its just me believing it does, but there are a couple players on my teams that have taken real nosedives when I switched them in the batting order. It could just coincidence, though I thought the game had a slump management thing, where if you change things around for a player who is slumping it will help them break out.

ike121212 · 09-12-2009, 06:44 PM

Other than the morale hit for using him outside of his desired role, i don't think it matters. It's fun to think it does, but baseball stats can lead to all kinds of weakly supported theories.

oppie · 09-12-2009, 07:56 PM

Along these same lines, is there a way to edit a players expected role or is their role automatically assigned according to ratings?

BMW · 09-12-2009, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oppie

Along these same lines, is there a way to edit a players expected role or is their role automatically assigned according to ratings?

Automatically assigned.

PSUColonel · 09-12-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ike121212

Other than the morale hit for using him outside of his desired role, i don't think it matters. It's fun to think it does, but baseball stats can lead to all kinds of weakly supported theories.

well, morale can affect performance according to the manual.

Carplos · 09-12-2009, 09:58 PM

as PSUColonel says, morale will affect how they play and if they're not in a spot they want, they may get unhappy. That said, can't imagine too many guys being upset going from #2 to #3...

PSUColonel · 09-12-2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carplos

as PSUColonel says, morale will affect how they play and if they're not in a spot they want, they may get unhappy. That said, can't imagine too many guys being upset going from #2 to #3...

They usually only say things like: "expects to be in the middle of the lineup"

ike121212 · 09-13-2009, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

well, morale can affect performance according to the manual.

Maybe my wording wasn't great, but agree with you.

StyxNCa · 09-14-2009, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afino

I had a similar situation happen recently.

I've been batting a guy leadoff despite the fact he would be most teams' #3 hitter. I moved him to #3 for a couple of weeks due to injuries and he went ice cold to the point he was on the "who's not" cold list.

I don't want to move him from leadoff again because I'm afraid he'd fail......again.

This is exactly how it is with my leadoff guy. He wants to be middle of the lineup but he is close to being the all time leader in OB% (he is #1), walks (avg of about 100 per year), runs scored, stolen bases (avg of 60 per year) and SB%. He is unquestionably the greatest leadoff hitter in league history....by far.

He is horrid in RBI situations and that didn't change when injuries forced me to move him to the #3 slot. He also was alot more ineffective in his other abilities in the #3 slot. In the #1 slot he is most definitely HOF as long as plays long enough. Why on earth it says he still wants to be middle of the lineup is beyond me.

I turned that feature of the game off since it pretty much forces every team to be a clone of all the others. I had 7 guys who all wanted to be middle of the lineup (3-5) and the ones who weren't were getting more and more upset so I just turned it off since 2 of them were tried in the middle and stunk up the place and the game doesn't recognize that some players stink where they want to be and adjust what they want. It forces you to trade them since they will just play worse and worse if you keep them where you want them to be and where they are actually performing. It isn't like real life where you can have a sit down with a player and iron things out.

satchel · 09-16-2009, 03:51 AM

For every particular combination of players making up a lineup, there is an ideal batting order. This is the result of the interplay of many variables, and one of those variables is the player's slot in the order, relative to the player's currently most-preferred slot.

satchel · 09-16-2009, 03:58 AM

To answer the original question more directly: a player is aware of where he's batting, in the order. Often, but not always, this awareness will affect a player's morale.

09-16-2009, 03:51 AM	#12
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith Ark. USA Posts: 2,681	For every particular combination of players making up a lineup, there is an ideal batting order. This is the result of the interplay of many variables, and one of those variables is the player's slot in the order, relative to the player's currently most-preferred slot. __________________ JL Commish NPBL Rhode Island Reds ’33 ’34 ’35 TCBA San Francisco Railbornes ’74 ’76 ’77 ’78 FL New Orleans Black Sox ’56 ’57 ’58 ’59

09-12-2009, 11:50 AM	#1
Mike Lowe Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,165	Players recognize their spot in the lineup? (performance) I know they request spots, but do they actually perform differently in different spots in the order? I had Milton Bradley batting 2nd for the Cubs and he was lights out the MVP of the NL for the first two months. I moved him to 3rd and he totally has dried up. Is this a coincidence or do players actually feel comfortable in certain spots in the lineup? FYI, Milton wants a spot in the middle of the lineup. If anything, he was probably more unhappy hitting 2nd. __________________ Franchise. Sliders. @MikeLowe47 \| YouTube \| Discord

09-12-2009, 11:55 AM	#2
Afino Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 3,828	I had a similar situation happen recently. I've been batting a guy leadoff despite the fact he would be most teams' #3 hitter. I moved him to #3 for a couple of weeks due to injuries and he went ice cold to the point he was on the "who's not" cold list. I don't want to move him from leadoff again because I'm afraid he'd fail......again. __________________ GUBA: Moscow Enforcers

09-12-2009, 04:13 PM	#3
conception All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,150	I've always felt it had an effect. Maybe its just me believing it does, but there are a couple players on my teams that have taken real nosedives when I switched them in the batting order. It could just coincidence, though I thought the game had a slump management thing, where if you change things around for a player who is slumping it will help them break out.

09-12-2009, 06:44 PM	#4
ike121212 All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 938	Other than the morale hit for using him outside of his desired role, i don't think it matters. It's fun to think it does, but baseball stats can lead to all kinds of weakly supported theories.

09-12-2009, 07:56 PM	#5
oppie Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 29	Along these same lines, is there a way to edit a players expected role or is their role automatically assigned according to ratings?

09-12-2009, 09:58 PM	#8
Carplos Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,847 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	as PSUColonel says, morale will affect how they play and if they're not in a spot they want, they may get unhappy. That said, can't imagine too many guys being upset going from #2 to #3...

09-16-2009, 03:58 AM	#13
satchel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Ft Smith Ark. USA Posts: 2,681	To answer the original question more directly: a player is aware of where he's batting, in the order. Often, but not always, this awareness will affect a player's morale.