New Position Question

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by Biggio509

Just curious. Being an Astros fan I have seen the team turn minor leagues from fielders to pitchers and pitchers to fielders. A couple of examples Brandon Backe went from SS to MR to SP with mixed results because his bat was weak and Brian Bogusevic went from a SP to an OF. The Cards also did that with Ankiel very successfully. Can a pitcher learn a fielding position or a fielder pitch if you play them as the new position?

The Reds had a ss who couldn't hit much, so they let him go and he turned out to be a fairly decent closer for someone else......

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by Biggio509

Just curious. Being an Astros fan I have seen the team turn minor leagues from fielders to pitchers and pitchers to fielders. A couple of examples Brandon Backe went from SS to MR to SP with mixed results because his bat was weak and Brian Bogusevic went from a SP to an OF. The Cards also did that with Ankiel very successfully. Can a pitcher learn a fielding position or a fielder pitch if you play them as the new position?

i converted a pitcher to a first baseman. After one season in rookie league his position rating is 3 out of 10. Unless, he gets some development boosts he won't be much in the majors, assuming he makes it. Right now, he's a very slow singles hitter.

But he did hit .391 with a 31 game hitting streak in his first season.

[Cryomaniac]

Pitchers don't automatically develop as hitters. I have no idea why, but this has always been an OOTP thing.

[Who Killed Kenny?]

Originally Posted by Biggio509

Just curious. Being an Astros fan I have seen the team turn minor leagues from fielders to pitchers and pitchers to fielders. A couple of examples Brandon Backe went from SS to MR to SP with mixed results because his bat was weak and Brian Bogusevic went from a SP to an OF. The Cards also did that with Ankiel very successfully. Can a pitcher learn a fielding position or a fielder pitch if you play them as the new position?

Carlos Marmol and Randy Wells of the Cubs were converted from catchers into pretty decent pitchers. Brooks Kieschnick went from a mediocre outfielder with the Cubs to a mediocre pitcher who could hit with the Brewers.

Unfortunately I've never seen it happen in OOTP. The only 2 ways you'll ever see it is if you do it yourself or if you play historical and you see Babe Ruth and others convert. At least OOTP handles historicals correctly in that manner.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Nutlaw

Actually, unless it was changed very recently, I'm fairly sure that it goes by games played, unfortunately.

Through version 9, this was my experience. Players rack up 1 experience per game played at a position, 3 per game in spring training.

Originally Posted by Biggio509

Just curious. Being an Astros fan I have seen the team turn minor leagues from fielders to pitchers and pitchers to fielders. Can a pitcher learn a fielding position or a fielder pitch if you play them as the new position?

This interests me, too. In my 1962 historical I have a 38 year old first baseman with an 88 mph fastball….

[oman19]

Originally Posted by Curtis

Through version 9, this was my experience. Players rack up 1 experience per game played at a position, 3 per game in spring training.

Nice, I had no clue there was anything like a points system....do you know ABOUT how many points it takes to learn the position? Does it go by the defensive spectrum?Do the points reset if you haven't played them at that position in a long time?

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by oman19

Do you know ABOUT how many points it takes to learn the position? Does it go by the defensive spectrum?Do the points reset if you haven't played them at that position in a long time?

It does not go by the defensive spectrum. Every point makes you a little better, up to a maximum of 200 points at any one position. When I try my outfielders at different outfield positions, I see their defense rise by a point — sometimes two — a game during S.T (1-100 scale).

I have not observed experience dropping after not playing a position for a long time, but that's mostly because I play v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Based on things I have deduced, which may not be correct, it takes about three years for a player to lose all his experience at a position.

Note that there is a very gamey aspect to the experience system, at least through Version 9. If you play even one inning (or one out) at a position, you get the point (or three points). This means that, for example, if you play a guy one inning each at every position during a spring training game, he'll rack up three experience at every position. I really, really wish Markus would go to a one-point-per-twenty-seven-outs system instead, but he may think that's unfair to players who are primarily defensive substitutes.

[Cryomaniac]

Originally Posted by Curtis

I really, really wish Markus would go to a one-point-per-twenty-seven-outs system instead, but he may think that's unfair to players who are primarily defensive substitutes.

Making the experience system out of 1000 instead of 200 might be a partial answer to that.