"Dumb" Intentional Walks

JDOldSchool · 05-18-2005, 03:00 PM

There have been a number of threads in which people complained about "bad AI" intentionally walking people in situations where they never would. The most common of these is putting the tying and/or winning runner on base in the late innings.

Well, I felt the need to defend Markus' programming a bit here. A few days ago, LaRussa walked someone in a game against the Mets. I'm pretty sure he walked the go-ahead run because Cameron was the next batter and he was something like 0-9 with 5 Ks against the pitcher. It worked. Cameron made an out. Cardinals win.

Today the Pirates intentionally walked Corey Patterson with 1 out, runner on 2nd, and a 2-1 lead in the top of the 9th. Bad decision. The Cubs, as I type this, have scored twice already in the inning with 2 outs.

I'm not arguing that it's a smart strategy, but I do think these two examples this week show that it's hardly an unheard of thing.

sebastian0622 · 05-18-2005, 03:06 PM

I haven't had a problem with stupid IW decisions by the AI. Or, none that have struck me as something I wouldn't see in real life. What types of intentional walks have the rest of you seen that have made you scratch your heads?

Gastric ReFlux · 05-18-2005, 03:09 PM

I think in all the games I've played of OOTP, I've issued maybe 5 intentional walks.

congobeast · 05-18-2005, 03:41 PM

I actually saw one that made my eyes damn near pop out of my head. Now, I can understand the rationale, but it seems to be a little bit out of whack to me- I don't think I'd ever see it IRL.

The situation: I was down 4-2 in the bottom of the fifteenth frame. Bases were full with one down. Due to some substitutions I'd made to try to get a speedy guy in to score a run earlier, I had a scrub batter (who was fast, but had something to the effect of 3/1/1/4 in his batting ratings) following Johnny Mize (who is something like 8/8/9/7). The AI handed an IW to Mize, driving in a run to make it 4-3, to get to my schlub.

Sure, my scrub grounded into a 6-4-3 to end the game, but really. Would a real manager score the run to get to him?

jaxmagicman · 05-18-2005, 03:54 PM

I saw Barry Bonds once walked with the bases loaded to get to the next guy.

sebastian0622 · 05-18-2005, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by congobeast

I actually saw one that made my eyes damn near pop out of my head. Now, I can understand the rationale, but it seems to be a little bit out of whack to me- I don't think I'd ever see it IRL.

The situation: I was down 4-2 in the bottom of the fifteenth frame. Bases were full with one down. Due to some substitutions I'd made to try to get a speedy guy in to score a run earlier, I had a scrub batter (who was fast, but had something to the effect of 3/1/1/4 in his batting ratings) following Johnny Mize (who is something like 8/8/9/7). The AI handed an IW to Mize, driving in a run to make it 4-3, to get to my schlub.

Sure, my scrub grounded into a 6-4-3 to end the game, but really. Would a real manager score the run to get to him?

In that extreme situation, yes, I probably would if I were the manager. A base hit is probably going to score two anyway, so scoring the one with the walk is a small price to pay considering that the second guy is half as likely to get on base as the first guy.

I'd walk Ruth or Bonds or Williams or Cobb with the bases loaded and a two run lead to get to Rey Ordonez for sure.

JDOldSchool · 05-18-2005, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian0622

I haven't had a problem with stupid IW decisions by the AI. Or, none that have struck me as something I wouldn't see in real life. What types of intentional walks have the rest of you seen that have made you scratch your heads?

I actually haven't had a problem with it, but many people don't like how the AI IWs the go-ahead run. I think this may have been changed in one of the more recent updates, but I'm not sure. I was just pointing out that it's not as unlikely in real life as some thought.

05-18-2005, 03:00 PM	#1
JDOldSchool Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,023	"Dumb" Intentional Walks There have been a number of threads in which people complained about "bad AI" intentionally walking people in situations where they never would. The most common of these is putting the tying and/or winning runner on base in the late innings. Well, I felt the need to defend Markus' programming a bit here. A few days ago, LaRussa walked someone in a game against the Mets. I'm pretty sure he walked the go-ahead run because Cameron was the next batter and he was something like 0-9 with 5 Ks against the pitcher. It worked. Cameron made an out. Cardinals win. Today the Pirates intentionally walked Corey Patterson with 1 out, runner on 2nd, and a 2-1 lead in the top of the 9th. Bad decision. The Cubs, as I type this, have scored twice already in the inning with 2 outs. I'm not arguing that it's a smart strategy, but I do think these two examples this week show that it's hardly an unheard of thing.

05-18-2005, 03:41 PM	#4
congobeast Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 469	I actually saw one that made my eyes damn near pop out of my head. Now, I can understand the rationale, but it seems to be a little bit out of whack to me- I don't think I'd ever see it IRL. The situation: I was down 4-2 in the bottom of the fifteenth frame. Bases were full with one down. Due to some substitutions I'd made to try to get a speedy guy in to score a run earlier, I had a scrub batter (who was fast, but had something to the effect of 3/1/1/4 in his batting ratings) following Johnny Mize (who is something like 8/8/9/7). The AI handed an IW to Mize, driving in a run to make it 4-3, to get to my schlub. Sure, my scrub grounded into a 6-4-3 to end the game, but really. Would a real manager score the run to get to him? __________________ (The Boys of Summer) Cleveland Indians 1929-?? (All-Forum Baseball Dynasty) Pittsfield Hillies 2000-?? "I would walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball." Pete Rose

05-18-2005, 03:54 PM	#5
jaxmagicman Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Retired defloration-maker living in Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 7,801	I saw Barry Bonds once walked with the bases loaded to get to the next guy. __________________ See ID Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Minor League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with the permission of Minor League Baseball. All rights reserved.

05-18-2005, 03:06 PM	#2
sebastian0622 Banned Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,465	I haven't had a problem with stupid IW decisions by the AI. Or, none that have struck me as something I wouldn't see in real life. What types of intentional walks have the rest of you seen that have made you scratch your heads?

05-18-2005, 03:09 PM	#3
Gastric ReFlux Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Member #3409 Posts: 8,350	I think in all the games I've played of OOTP, I've issued maybe 5 intentional walks.