AI signing contract extensions for 4 catchers

lighthousekeeper · 10-11-2010, 09:57 PM

i'm starting a new league and taking over after 20 years of simming. i've taken over a team at the start of the offseason.

to my disappointment, i realize that the AI has signed 4 catchers to 1-year major league contract extensions. here's a summary of the various bad AI involved:

4 catchers signed to major league extensions (even though the team would probably only carry 2 on the ML roster next year)
1 catcher signed to $1.4M extension after hitting .161 with -8.8 VORP
1 catcher signed to $0.9M extension after hitting .111 with -3 VORP
1 catcher signed to $0.8M extension after only 4 major league games

Markus Heinsohn · 10-12-2010, 05:23 AM

Well, at least a couple of them probably were arbitration eligible and so the team went ahead and signed one-year deals which were cheaper than the arbitration estimates... happens in real life too.

markprior22 · 10-12-2010, 08:30 AM

There seems to be something about this game and catchers in general. I let the computer auto draft the last half of my most recent draft and found that the rookie league team has 5 catchers, 5 OFs and a total of 3 IF's. I'm sure it takes into account the "best player" available but it makes no sense to draft 5 catchers when you don't have enough players at other positions to field a team.

lighthousekeeper · 10-12-2010, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Well, at least a couple of them probably were arbitration eligible and so the team went ahead and signed one-year deals which were cheaper than the arbitration estimates... happens in real life too.

Thanks for the response.

It still would be smarter for the AI to decline offering arbitration to players that (A) are below replacement level players and (B) probably have a <1% chance of making the major league roster. OOTP financial model differs from real life in 2 key ways that make this a bigger mistake in ootp than it would be in real life:

1. in ootp, minor leaguer salaries are $0, making the difference between a small arby contract and a minor league replacement player more pronounced

2. in ootp a far greater share of team revenue goes towards salaries, meaning that each unnecessary contract signing is more detrimental in ootp to the team's overall finances.

hefalumps · 10-13-2010, 01:34 PM

I haven't seen a team do this, but I have definitely seen catchers being somewhat overvalued in my league. Average catchers are receiving well over the amount specified for average player contracts. I'll see if I can post some comparison data from my league when I get home from work.

hefalumps · 10-14-2010, 12:29 PM

OK - here are the top five catchers in my league and their batting stats - I'm in September of 1985 of a historical league I started in 1970:

J. Bench - 4.65M/1 - .210/.255/.409/.664, 21 HR, 66 RBI
K. Moreland - 4.53M/4 - .265/.331/.381/.711, 7 HR, 39 RBI
D. Murphy - 4.5M/3 - .304/.408/.556/.964, 30 HR, 85 RBI
R. Gedman - 4.3M/1 - .266/.313/.367/.680, 6 HR, 48 RBI
L. Parrish - 3M/5 - .248/.305/.432/.737, 13 HR, 54 RBI

All of these contracts were handed out by the AI. Only Murphy seems to be earning his keep.

In comparison, the highest paid batter makes 6.5M. Only five players make over 5M. So these 4M salaries are definitely on the higher side. Bench is the 10th highest paid batter, with Moreland 15th, Murphy 16th, and Gedman 18th.

I hadn't noticed this "phenomenon" of catchers being valued so highly (or making such high salary demands) until OOTP 11. I agree that there is some position scarcity and that it's hard to find decent hitting catchers, but this seems extreme. When I tried signing a C this offseason, I ended up having to throw 2M/2 at a guy who hit .214 with 2 homers and 12 RBIs for me before I traded him along with a prospect for Parrish and his huge contract.

Wondering if maybe there isn't something here that needs to be tweaked for OOTP 12.

10-11-2010, 09:57 PM	#1
lighthousekeeper All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 716	AI signing contract extensions for 4 catchers i'm starting a new league and taking over after 20 years of simming. i've taken over a team at the start of the offseason. to my disappointment, i realize that the AI has signed 4 catchers to 1-year major league contract extensions. here's a summary of the various bad AI involved: 4 catchers signed to major league extensions (even though the team would probably only carry 2 on the ML roster next year) 1 catcher signed to $1.4M extension after hitting .161 with -8.8 VORP 1 catcher signed to $0.9M extension after hitting .111 with -3 VORP 1 catcher signed to $0.8M extension after only 4 major league games __________________ OOTP Companion Utility: dat file reader, Team Rater, Player Dev Tracker, and HOF Analyzer for OOTP10 & 11

10-12-2010, 05:23 AM	#2
Markus Heinsohn Developer OOTP Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 24,803	Well, at least a couple of them probably were arbitration eligible and so the team went ahead and signed one-year deals which were cheaper than the arbitration estimates... happens in real life too. __________________ Buy Out of the Park Baseball 25 now! Download OOTP Go 25 for iOS Download OOTP Go 25 for Android

10-12-2010, 08:30 AM	#3
markprior22 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: springfield, illinois Posts: 1,245	There seems to be something about this game and catchers in general. I let the computer auto draft the last half of my most recent draft and found that the rookie league team has 5 catchers, 5 OFs and a total of 3 IF's. I'm sure it takes into account the "best player" available but it makes no sense to draft 5 catchers when you don't have enough players at other positions to field a team.

10-13-2010, 01:34 PM	#5
hefalumps All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,392	I haven't seen a team do this, but I have definitely seen catchers being somewhat overvalued in my league. Average catchers are receiving well over the amount specified for average player contracts. I'll see if I can post some comparison data from my league when I get home from work.

10-14-2010, 12:29 PM	#6
hefalumps All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,392	OK - here are the top five catchers in my league and their batting stats - I'm in September of 1985 of a historical league I started in 1970: J. Bench - 4.65M/1 - .210/.255/.409/.664, 21 HR, 66 RBI K. Moreland - 4.53M/4 - .265/.331/.381/.711, 7 HR, 39 RBI D. Murphy - 4.5M/3 - .304/.408/.556/.964, 30 HR, 85 RBI R. Gedman - 4.3M/1 - .266/.313/.367/.680, 6 HR, 48 RBI L. Parrish - 3M/5 - .248/.305/.432/.737, 13 HR, 54 RBI All of these contracts were handed out by the AI. Only Murphy seems to be earning his keep. In comparison, the highest paid batter makes 6.5M. Only five players make over 5M. So these 4M salaries are definitely on the higher side. Bench is the 10th highest paid batter, with Moreland 15th, Murphy 16th, and Gedman 18th. I hadn't noticed this "phenomenon" of catchers being valued so highly (or making such high salary demands) until OOTP 11. I agree that there is some position scarcity and that it's hard to find decent hitting catchers, but this seems extreme. When I tried signing a C this offseason, I ended up having to throw 2M/2 at a guy who hit .214 with 2 homers and 12 RBIs for me before I traded him along with a prospect for Parrish and his huge contract. Wondering if maybe there isn't something here that needs to be tweaked for OOTP 12.