Big Six wrote:
> Yeah, the Babe hasn't developed nearly
> as well, or as quickly, as might have been
> expected.
Don't know if you're "managing" the Sox or not, but one thing to keep in mind - players don't really "develop" in OOTP in the minors. The pretty much need to be on the MLB roster _and_ getting playing time. There are times when they can be really medicore in MLB for half a season, but at some point they turn into "themselves".
I think I've read some people still seeing this in version 6. I know I see it all the time in version 5. It's really annoying to see a Rusty Greer come right up and smoke the league while the A-Rod the I'm trying to nurse in the minors past his first mediocre season (1995) then come up and blow in 1996 when he really destroyed the league. My experience has been to get them up on the roster and get them 200-250 PA or so the season *before* I expect them to break through, then open up the full time spot for them the next season. The 200-250 PA season usually is mediocre... though sometimes they come on late in that season. The following year they may still take lumps early, but by the end of the year they tend to look like the real player.
My point is that don't waste time "developing" Babe down in the minors. Get him up in 1918 and force him into the line-up in either LF or RF (he played a almost as much in LF in his career as in RF, but no one ever seems to mention it). He got 380 PA in 1918, which given the shortened season (126 games played by the Sox) was just shy of the 391 needed to qualify for the percentage titles (compared to 502 for a 162 game season). He may take his lumps early, but we're talking about a .300/.411/.555 hitter in a .254/.319/.322 being wasted if you don't get him past his baby steps.
Read that again:
A .300/.411/.555 hitter in a .254/.319/.322.
The SLG would be #1 in the AL, the OBP would be #2, the BA would be #8, his OPS would be #1 over Cobb.
I guess one chalks up that his early career as a pitch is gone, which is a bit sad - it's one of those little "extra" things that pushes Babe away from others in the Greatest of All-Time race. But he's 23 in 1918. Time to get him on the road to being The Babe, which would be a really nifty compliment to the Life of Patrick O'Farrell and the Speaker & O'Farrell combo in the heart of the Sox order.
John