AI brought in a pitcher as a defensive replacement

hefalumps · 07-05-2003, 02:40 PM

I posted this on the main comments board... thought I'd duplicate here since it may be a bug and goes against the "PITCHER'S CAN'T..." sticky on this board...

1991 Orioles vs. Angels. In a crucial situation, California pinch hits for their SS Dave Anderson with Chili Davis in the bottom of the 7th trailing by 2. Smart move, but Davis grounds out w/ the bases loaded to end the threat.

Now, Chili can't play SS. So they take him out. But they put a PITCHER in at SS instead.

Now, at first I thought this might be because they just didn't have any other infielders available (I've seen AI teams play guys WAY out of position on occasion because injuries have decimated their teams), but a young SS by the name of Gary Disarcina was sitting on the bench twiddling his thumbs.

I've seen a lot of different threads about pinch hitting for pitchers and using position players as pitchers, but why on earth would the computer AI do this? I just upgraded to 5.12 in the middle of this 1991 season. Could this be a new bug in the patch? Has anyone else seen this rarity?

What's even funnier... the pitcher they chose to play at SS is left-handed. In fact, it's his ONLY hand! That's right, the computer put Jim Abbott in at SS. Imagine my surprise.... Thankfully he never got a chance at SS or had to bat.

cooper_gd · 07-05-2003, 02:52 PM

Oh... Oh... man... ok, will 5.13 be able to deignate if a guy has both limbs available?

I think that is a definate issue... unless Disarcina was the only position player left and the manager was taking a chance with a P at SS so he would have a pinch hitter avail'. I don't know... probably a bug.

hefalumps · 07-05-2003, 02:59 PM

Negative... Abbott at SS was the first substitution they made besides Davis as a PH. They still had Disarcina, 3B Pete Coachman, and C Ron Tingley on the bench. No idea.

And Abbott's slated to start (at pitcher, thankfully) in their next game.

Very weird. I briefly checked box scores from other games that day and didn't see any other occurences. I'm hoping the developers have an idea. I'll be happy to post box scores, game conditions, etc.

07-05-2003, 02:40 PM	#1
hefalumps All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,392	AI brought in a pitcher as a defensive replacement I posted this on the main comments board... thought I'd duplicate here since it may be a bug and goes against the "PITCHER'S CAN'T..." sticky on this board... 1991 Orioles vs. Angels. In a crucial situation, California pinch hits for their SS Dave Anderson with Chili Davis in the bottom of the 7th trailing by 2. Smart move, but Davis grounds out w/ the bases loaded to end the threat. Now, Chili can't play SS. So they take him out. But they put a PITCHER in at SS instead. Now, at first I thought this might be because they just didn't have any other infielders available (I've seen AI teams play guys WAY out of position on occasion because injuries have decimated their teams), but a young SS by the name of Gary Disarcina was sitting on the bench twiddling his thumbs. I've seen a lot of different threads about pinch hitting for pitchers and using position players as pitchers, but why on earth would the computer AI do this? I just upgraded to 5.12 in the middle of this 1991 season. Could this be a new bug in the patch? Has anyone else seen this rarity? What's even funnier... the pitcher they chose to play at SS is left-handed. In fact, it's his ONLY hand! That's right, the computer put Jim Abbott in at SS. Imagine my surprise.... Thankfully he never got a chance at SS or had to bat.

07-05-2003, 02:52 PM	#2
cooper_gd All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: PopBunker.net Posts: 1,011	Oh... Oh... man... ok, will 5.13 be able to deignate if a guy has both limbs available? I think that is a definate issue... unless Disarcina was the only position player left and the manager was taking a chance with a P at SS so he would have a pinch hitter avail'. I don't know... probably a bug. __________________

07-05-2003, 02:59 PM	#3
hefalumps All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,392	Negative... Abbott at SS was the first substitution they made besides Davis as a PH. They still had Disarcina, 3B Pete Coachman, and C Ron Tingley on the bench. No idea. And Abbott's slated to start (at pitcher, thankfully) in their next game. Very weird. I briefly checked box scores from other games that day and didn't see any other occurences. I'm hoping the developers have an idea. I'll be happy to post box scores, game conditions, etc.