Coaches should specialize by the skill they teach rather than the type of player

[Anyone]

Got this thought while posting in this thread: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post4052001

Right now, from what we know anyway, a hitting coach who specializes in power simply works best with power hitters, etc..

Instead of that, why not have the coaches specialize in what they teach best. There could still be the same types (which may have to be reworded a bit if this suggestion is used), coaches specializing on offense in power, contact, or patience, and with pitchers on power pitching (aka stuff), finesse (control) and groundballs (GB%,movement)...but instead of working best with their type of player, a power-focused hitting coach would help his players develop power more than with the other skills, etc..

I think that's probably more how it works in real life than specializing in a type of player. Think of a patience-oriented hitting coach: He'd be emphasizing to everyone on the team the importance of laying off bad pitches. That doesn't mean he'd always succeed by any means, but instead of specifically working better with guys who are already patient, he'd help the players on the team develop patience a bit more than he helped with the other skills.

That's even in some of the descriptions. I've seen one for power-oriented hitting coaches something like "He won't end a batting practice with a player until the player has cleared the fence at least once. He wants everyone on the team to hit with some power." I'm pretty sure that's not at all how it works in OOTP, though. If, by chance, it is, then that should be made clearer.

[hillm2ca]

Originally Posted by Anyone

Got this thought while posting in this thread: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post4052001

Right now, from what we know anyway, a hitting coach who specializes in power simply works best with power hitters, etc..

Instead of that, why not have the coaches specialize in what they teach best. There could still be the same types (which may have to be reworded a bit if this suggestion is used), coaches specializing on offense in power, contact, or patience, and with pitchers on power pitching (aka stuff), finesse (control) and groundballs (GB%,movement)...but instead of working best with their type of player, a power-focused hitting coach would help his players develop power more than with the other skills, etc..

I think that's probably more how it works in real life than specializing in a type of player. Think of a patience-oriented hitting coach: He'd be emphasizing to everyone on the team the importance of laying off bad pitches. That doesn't mean he'd always succeed by any means, but instead of specifically working better with guys who are already patient, he'd help the players on the team develop patience a bit more than he helped with the other skills.

That's even in some of the descriptions. I've seen one for power-oriented hitting coaches something like "He won't end a batting practice with a player until the player has cleared the fence at least once. He wants everyone on the team to hit with some power." I'm pretty sure that's not at all how it works in OOTP, though. If, by chance, it is, then that should be made clearer.

I agree that this would be a great idea and it would make the coaching game more interesting and engaging. I, too, think this would work better than the current option provided where we decide to hire a coach to work with particular players who have a certain skill set (power pitchers, finesse pitchers, etc.). While I think this is a good and sensible system, the particular ways it effects player development I agree is a bit unclear. I also agree that this would mirror more accurately what coaches are already doing in real life.

I'm a Detroit Tigers fan and their hitting coach is Wally Joyner who, while hitting with some power in his career, was one of the best contact hitters in the game in the 1980s, at least early in his career. I imagine his coaching philosophy would be about developing better contact hitting for all players on the team, not just those who are good contact hitters period. Right now, it appears - and I could be wrong - the current game coding suggests that, in the case of Joyner, he would have more influence on contact hitters rather than power hitters, etc. But it would make sense, in real life, his "coaching style" would involve trying to develop this focus for everyone.

When I watch baseball, I often hear announcers say that "[Coach X] is trying to working with [Player Y] on driving the ball....being more patient...hitting the ball to the opposite field...developing new pitches...throwing different pitches in counts..." etc. I think this suggestion is in the ballpark.

In short, great idea and I imagine others will feel the same once they hear of it.

[Matt Arnold]

It actually worked more this way in 16, and 17 it was slightly tweaked.

As it stands now, a power-focused hitting coach will tend to help everyone's power more, but he will also have a slightly better effect on power hitters overall. Doing it how we do it now though is nice how it has parallels with the coach specialty as well as the team needs specifiers, as well as reacts a bit better with the chemistry and relationships angles.

[Anyone]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

It actually worked more this way in 16, and 17 it was slightly tweaked.

As it stands now, a power-focused hitting coach will tend to help everyone's power more, but he will also have a slightly better effect on power hitters overall. Doing it how we do it now though is nice how it has parallels with the coach specialty as well as the team needs specifiers, as well as reacts a bit better with the chemistry and relationships angles.

Okay, so we still can improve a team's power by hiring a power-focused hitting coach (or whatever we want to improve). In the thread that inspired this, someone playing historical had a just-drafted Dwight Gooden, who was struggling with control, and ended up deciding to try hiring a finesse-oriented pitching coach for his minor league team to try to improve his control.

I'm fine with the hybrid, as long as in a case like that poster and Gooden, the finesse pitching coach will improve Gooden's control better than a power pitching focused coach would (the bonus to control from being finesse-oriented being bigger than the generic bonus of a power pitcher coach working with a power pitcher). The power pitcher coach might do better overall with Gooden, but if the goal is to improve his control, the finesse coach should do that better.

[hillm2ca]

That clarifies things a bit and I appreciate the help provided by Matt and Anyone for seeking, and ultimately providing, an explanation. I have a better idea what to do going forward.