The Dilemma of Coaching in the Minors

[MimesisBTG]

I often like to play OOTPBB as a minor league manager. I love not having any responsibilities apart from coaching games, and I also like to see players that I have coached go on to have success in the majors.

One dilemma that undoubtedly arises as a minor league coach though is the issue of who gets the playing time: the players who give you the best chance to win or the players who are the best prospects and need the playing time to develop. I am always torn between wanting to win games so that I don't get canned and the feeling of guilt when I bench a legitimate prospect who is still very raw and hurts my offense.

Do other people who play as minor league mangers run into this problem too? If so, I would love to hear how you handle the situation.

[SMFXR01]

I play the best team most of the time but I do try to give everyone a chance to develop.
Have you ever played in the Majors but set the AI to look after everything apart from the lineups/depthcharts/pitching?

[MimesisBTG]

Originally Posted by SMFXR01

I play the best team most of the time but I do try to give everyone a chance to develop.
Have you ever played in the Majors but set the AI to look after everything apart from the lineups/depthcharts/pitching?

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I have tried that as well. For some reason though, I like to run the whole show when I'm at the major league level. Managing games is just more fun in the minors for me.

Honestly, I usually end up starting the guys who can win as well, but the guilt of sitting guys who could really help the organization down the road sometimes gets to me .

[SMFXR01]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that it's not so much the playing time that develops a player (although a bit doesn't hurt) but that they are at the right level.
Nothing hurts a player more than being at Single-A when they should be at Triple-A (and vica-versa).

[landru]

I have the exact same issue. My additional issue is that I have a prospect who has the tools to make a great shortstop/center fielder etc., but doesn't have the experience yet to get a good rating. Obviously it is in the best interests of the organization to play him at the inexperienced position - but meanwhile, I could lose a ****load of games and maybe my job!

But if it is just a case of getting the prospect general experience, I usually time share him with the better player. Trying to get the prospect playing time by setting him to play every third day or so, and even more when playing against a poorer team.

[greengold01]

Back in my AAA days I would put the best team on the field to start but would frequently sub in players. It felt weird making a defensive replacement with a player who isn't as good defensively (or offensively, for that matter) but I would keep it limited to my high caliber prospects.

I gave up on my minor league assignment when my general manager decided that five first basemen and only 2 outfielders were enough for me. None of the first basemen could play outfield, mine you, and it resigned

Oh well, now I can start my own league

[MimesisBTG]

Originally Posted by greengold01

I gave up on my minor league assignment when my general manager decided that five first basemen and only 2 outfielders were enough for me. None of the first basemen could play outfield, mine you, and it resigned

Unbalanced rosters in the minors have been a problem in OOTPBB for a while now, although the AI has improved now to point where it only tends to occur in the lowest level of minors. I try to look at it as a challenge, but right now I have an A-ball team that has far too few pitchers. So I may have to get really creative to make it work out...