OOTP 9 Newsletter: Historicals!

[burnstuff]

Tell me players now play in their historically correct positions as often as in 6.5 and I'm sold.

[Exodor]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

The park factors will import properly when you advance to the next season

Awesome!

Ignore Kelric - he's a Red Sox fan. Or as I call them "the new Yankee fans".

[Charlie Hough]

I've never been impressed by the neutralized stats. I've never seen a really significant difference when reviewing the neutralized stats of players. And while it might be nice to use a neutral environment based on 162 games and a certain number of runs, this does not provide a proper measurement of how a player's stats were affected by playing in a particular home ballpark.

For example, Mickey Vernon was an excellent power hitter for the Washington Senators in the 1940s and 1950s, but his home run totals were minimal because he played in Griffith Stadium, one of the toughest places to hit homers. During that era, there was no tougher park in MLB for a left-handed hitter to hit home runs.

I would love to see a system that would allow OOTP to change player ratings based on the ballparks where players posted their real life statistics. Then, if you were running a historical league and Mickey Vernon ended up in Tiger Stadium or another park that was power friendly for left-handed hitters, he would be able to post great home run numbers. Unfortunately, without this kind of system in OOTP, Vernon can't hit for power no matter where he plays.

[adion]

Will I be able to import and/or play historical leagues that I have going in OOTP8 without having to start the season all over?

[Kelric]

Originally Posted by adion

Will I be able to import and/or play historical leagues that I have going in OOTP8 without having to start the season all over?

You don't want to import any version of the game into any other during a season. The best time is on the offseason at some point. When, exactly, I don't know. Others are better able to answer that.

[Garlon]

Hough -

The neutralized stats are both park-neutral and run-neutral.

This is the same method proposed by Bill James. It is also the exact same method used by baseball-reference.

You can read all about the neutralization process here:

Neutralized and Converted Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

It doesn't give you all of the math involved for hitters, but it explains some of the process. The formula and example for the pitchers have a couple of typos too, but you'll get a better idea after reading it.

The neutralized stats in OOTP are the best representation of player abilities you are going to see.

As for the Senators ballpark from 1939-1955, it was a pitcher's park virtualy every season, but perhaps not as extreme as you might think it was. Although Vernon was playing for other teams from 1956-1960, Griffith Stadium was not really a bad HR park...at least in those years.

With 1.000 being average, here are the HR factors for Griffith Stadium 1956-1960:

1956: 1.131
1957: 1.072
1958: 0.995
1959: 0.998
1960: 1.005

[adion]

You were able to continue playing seasons started in OOTP 2007 in OOTP 8. I realize that ootp 8 basically just an up-dated version of 2007 but I thought there may be a possibility of doing the same with OOTP 9.

[Kelric]

Originally Posted by adion

You were able to continue playing seasons started in OOTP 2007 in OOTP 8. I realize that ootp 8 basically just an up-dated version of 2007 but I thought there may be a possibility of doing the same with OOTP 9.

I would guess that it is possible, but I don't think I'd recommend it based on past versions with everything the official OOTP guys have had to say about importing from one version to the next.

[bailey]

Will it be possible to play a fictional historical league using the real players but with their names changed?

[drprestwood]

Question about the "streaks" screenshot:

Does the asterisk mean "active" streak? It doesn't indicate so. Either way, would it be possible to maybe replace the asterisk with something less obstructive, like bolding or italicizing the number? Or even putting the asterisk ahead of the number so that at least the numbers are all in line?

[tysok]

Originally Posted by Exodor

Awesome!

Ignore Kelric - he's a Red Sox fan. Or as I call them "the new Yankee fans".

You're a Royals fan, yet your Avatar shows the proof that they shouldn't have won in 1985?!? Preposterous! I believe it was the result of a vast conspiracy initiated by the Cardinals fans to make it appear that way!

That or I can believe that this picture is true... Orta got there so fast that he was safe by a wide margin, he came all the way back and tried to beat it out a second time just for fun.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Garlon

The neutralized stats are both park-neutral and run-neutral.

This is the same method proposed by Bill James. It is also the exact same method used by baseball-reference.

You can read all about the neutralization process here:

Neutralized and Converted Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com

Is it also period-neutral (or should I have read about the neutralization process)?

[swampdragon]

Pre-1901 support was a principal factor in my decision to preorder, and I'm trying to plan my project (as opposed to making dozens of posts in the Argh! thread). What adjustments were made to league structure and franchise history in order to provide 19th century support?

[mikev]

So, does this mean that for Online Leagues personnel are signed like free agents are, and they don't just accept the first offer that comes to them?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by swampdragon

What adjustments were made to league structure and franchise history in order to provide 19th century support?

OOTP can't as yet handle contraction or teams folding in historical leagues. And in the pre-1901 period there was lots of cases where leagues contracted in size as teams folded or left the league. So, for the seasons prior to 1901, the two subleague approach seen from 1901 onwards has to be maintained. That, naturally, forces some departures from strict reality in terms of the teams and league alignments.

Hopefully for OOTP 10 the pre-1901 period the issues around team and league changes can be handled more in accordance with the historical reality.

[swampdragon]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

OOTP can't as yet handle contraction or teams folding in historical leagues. And in the pre-1901 period there was lots of cases where leagues contracted in size as teams folded or left the league. So, for the seasons prior to 1901, the two subleague approach seen from 1901 onwards has to be maintained. That, naturally, forces some departures from strict reality in terms of the teams and league alignments.

So prior to 1882, the National League/Association would be divided into two subleagues, as it would from 1892-1900. Does the game keep the 16 team format the whole time?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by swampdragon

So prior to 1882, the National League/Association would be divided into two subleagues, as it would from 1892-1900. Does the game keep the 16 team format the whole time?

Two subleagues are needed, but it doesn't have to be 16 teams all the way back to 1871. Leagues can start smaller and expand; that's not a problem. Given the lower number of players available in the earliest years, less than eight teams in each subleague is pretty much a necessity near the start.

There are a couple of differnent ideas as to what exactly the pre-1901 league sizes and team distribution should be. I'm not sure what the final one selected will be.

But for whichever version gets chosen, there will be schedule files that reasonably mimic the schedules used in the real years.

[swampdragon]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

But for whichever version gets chosen, there will be schedule files that reasonably mimic the schedules used in the real years.

I'd expect nothing less.

Since you can't contract, I think I'd have 8 teams through 1881 and go to 12 in 1882. You could stay at 12 all the way through to 1901 at that point. Combine rosters from the revolving door AA teams like Indianapolis and Toledo, or just make them free agents. If you go to 16 teams in 1882, then you'll have a player shortage by the end of the 1890s. I'd rather have a level of minors with excess major league players than have ro use fictional players to fill out my rosters,

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by swampdragon

If you go to 16 teams in 1882, then you'll have a player shortage by the end of the 1890s.

One way to help there is to use historical player limits. The 25-man active limit didn't start until 1910; in 1899-1900 the active limit was 18, and in 1892 it was just 15. Before then it was even lower (though that was dictated by economics rather than league rule).

[chimanbj]

Contraction is a manual process. It CAN be done in the game. There just isn't a slick interface like there is for expansion. You just have to alter the league structure and rebuild the schedule.