Spring Training AB's and IP's

markprior22 · 07-01-2014, 08:09 PM

How many at bats and innings pitched are needed in spring training to have players ready for the season?

Does it matter how many innings starters pitch per game in the spring? I.E. If a starter doesn't pitch more than 4 innings in a start but pitches enough spring innings to get rid of rust, is he ready to pitch 7+ innings in the regular season opener?

pgjocki · 07-02-2014, 01:44 PM

Each player is different and this varies from team to team in real life with no set agreement.

I generally just sim the spring training a day at a time and review the box scores. I usually have a good idea who is slotted at each position and I use pitch count limits for a pitchers first four starts of 90-95-100-115 more for my own quirks then anything else.

markprior22 · 07-02-2014, 01:52 PM

Well the reason I ask is that IRL teams have several diamonds, split squads, etc to make sure players get desired playing time. In OOTP we only have a set amount of games to get players AB's/IP's. It would be nice to know if 35 AB's is enough or 60 AB's, etc. That would make a lot of difference in being able to give more at bats to fringe guys vs guys who are locks to make the team already.

RchW · 07-02-2014, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markprior22

Well the reason I ask is that IRL teams have several diamonds, split squads, etc to make sure players get desired playing time. In OOTP we only have a set amount of games to get players AB's/IP's. It would be nice to know if 35 AB's is enough or 60 AB's, etc. That would make a lot of difference in being able to give more at bats to fringe guys vs guys who are locks to make the team already.

I'd say 20AB and 10IP should be a target, but I've had guys get less and be fine. I make it a priority to get second line players PT and don't worry about the vets except I try to get my rotation SP 3-4 starts.

FWIW it's clearly established that most hitters could be ready in 10 days to 2 weeks. The endless drudgery of ST is for the sole purpose of getting pitcher arms ready and to make some money (the Giant's use dynamic pricing in ST

). Many pitchers have said that they could be ready earlier and that ST has too much down time.

markprior22 · 07-02-2014, 04:45 PM

Appreciate the feedback. I had no idea the numbers could be that low. Takes away a lot of problems trying to get vets 50-60 AB's. Will make getting through ST much easier.

captaincoop17 · 07-02-2014, 04:57 PM

There's also an option to make Spring Training anywhere from 1-6 weeks long, so if you make it 6 weeks, you shouldn't have to worry about playing time.

RchW · 07-02-2014, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markprior22

Appreciate the feedback. I had no idea the numbers could be that low. Takes away a lot of problems trying to get vets 50-60 AB's. Will make getting through ST much easier.

Just to clarify; my suggestions were minimum amounts. I play my core team the first two or three games of ST and the same at the end. I try to get multi-position players innings at each position and last but not least pay almost no attention to results.

BusterKing · 07-02-2014, 07:56 PM

I just set the lineups once at the beginning of SP and let the AI handle all the rest. Hate having an advantage over the AI teams in any way. Just isn't realistic to me to win the game easily.

RchW · 07-02-2014, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BusterKing

I just set the lineups once at the beginning of SP and let the AI handle all the rest. Hate having an advantage over the AI teams in any way. Just isn't realistic to me to win the game easily.

I very much doubt if a few AB or IP in ST have any effect on the results of 162 games.

JPL86 · 07-03-2014, 09:36 AM

I use the 7 day lineups for SP. Set it, and forget it... sim through SP. I set it so that every player gets some (an even amount of) playing time. Then for the final 2 games of SP, I will cancel the 7 day lineups, and use my starting lineups.

da commish · 07-03-2014, 11:10 AM

I set ST at 6 weeks primarily to get players time to learn a new position (or improve at a position they have not played much). They end up getting way more ABs than necessary to shake off the rust.

Jupiter · 07-08-2014, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markprior22

How many at bats and innings pitched are needed in spring training to have players ready for the season?

Does it matter how many innings starters pitch per game in the spring? I.E. If a starter doesn't pitch more than 4 innings in a start but pitches enough spring innings to get rid of rust, is he ready to pitch 7+ innings in the regular season opener?

For the league I play most often, I tend not to focus on Spring Training very much, except as a way to get players some time at a new position or to let some youngsters play. For whatever reason, I tend to take this to an extreme. I set Spring Training to one month long and I set my lineups and starting rotation to include the youngest players and minor leagues, plus bench guys and very occasionally an established player who is trying to learn a new position. All of my projected regulars are coming off the bench or out of the bullpen. In my mind, I justify this by assuming that they are getting work somehow "off the books", be it in simulated games or in the batting cages or whatever.

Now, obviously, I don't encourage everybody to play this way. It just works for me. I consider Spring Training to be just another step in the process, something to be simmed through before I get to the real important work of setting the regular rosters on opening day. I know some people love playing out games in Spring Training and more power to them.

But I figured I would mention it here, since you were curious. Even in this admittedly unusual way of playing, with my top starters rarely getting more than 10-20 innings pitched or 20-30 ABs, I have never seen a problem carrying over to the regular season. My starting rotation is still capable of throwing 100 pitches in their first start.

07-01-2014, 08:09 PM	#1
markprior22 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: springfield, illinois Posts: 1,235	Spring Training AB's and IP's How many at bats and innings pitched are needed in spring training to have players ready for the season? Does it matter how many innings starters pitch per game in the spring? I.E. If a starter doesn't pitch more than 4 innings in a start but pitches enough spring innings to get rid of rust, is he ready to pitch 7+ innings in the regular season opener?

07-02-2014, 01:44 PM	#2
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,596	Each player is different and this varies from team to team in real life with no set agreement. I generally just sim the spring training a day at a time and review the box scores. I usually have a good idea who is slotted at each position and I use pitch count limits for a pitchers first four starts of 90-95-100-115 more for my own quirks then anything else. __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

07-02-2014, 01:52 PM	#3
markprior22 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: springfield, illinois Posts: 1,235	Well the reason I ask is that IRL teams have several diamonds, split squads, etc to make sure players get desired playing time. In OOTP we only have a set amount of games to get players AB's/IP's. It would be nice to know if 35 AB's is enough or 60 AB's, etc. That would make a lot of difference in being able to give more at bats to fringe guys vs guys who are locks to make the team already.

07-02-2014, 04:45 PM	#5
markprior22 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: springfield, illinois Posts: 1,235	Appreciate the feedback. I had no idea the numbers could be that low. Takes away a lot of problems trying to get vets 50-60 AB's. Will make getting through ST much easier.

07-02-2014, 04:57 PM	#6
captaincoop17 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 869	There's also an option to make Spring Training anywhere from 1-6 weeks long, so if you make it 6 weeks, you shouldn't have to worry about playing time.

07-02-2014, 07:56 PM	#8
BusterKing Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,422	I just set the lineups once at the beginning of SP and let the AI handle all the rest. Hate having an advantage over the AI teams in any way. Just isn't realistic to me to win the game easily.

07-03-2014, 09:36 AM	#10
JPL86 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 170	I use the 7 day lineups for SP. Set it, and forget it... sim through SP. I set it so that every player gets some (an even amount of) playing time. Then for the final 2 games of SP, I will cancel the 7 day lineups, and use my starting lineups.

07-03-2014, 11:10 AM	#11
da commish All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 549	I set ST at 6 weeks primarily to get players time to learn a new position (or improve at a position they have not played much). They end up getting way more ABs than necessary to shake off the rust.