How do you deal with a home-run park?

kaosfere · 04-15-2008, 09:33 PM

I'm having a terrible time keeping a winning average in my home park in my current league. It's a fairly strong home-run park (1.018 overall, 1.125 for lefties).

My starting pitchers Movements are all in the green, they mostly tend to the ground ball, and yet I'm still 5 and 9 in my new season, and was something on the order of .400 last year.

What gives?

Edit: I should mention that, inspite of this, I'm keeping well above a .500. Finished last season .560-some overall, and over .600 so far this year, so my players are decent. It's just that I'm in a tough conference and would be in the playoffs every year if I were in the *other* one, *or* winning the bulk of my home games, so it's annoying me.

Kelric · 04-16-2008, 03:25 PM

Well, 5-9 is a small sample size. The .400 winning percentage last year isn't.

I would just try to make the most of it with groundball pitchers and guys who don't give up homeruns, as you are. Other than that, I'd try to load up with lefty power hitters and hope I can just outhit other teams at home.

kaosfere · 04-17-2008, 12:06 PM

Yeah, as it turns out, I tweaked my batting order a bit. I figured I'd been focusing on speed too much on a home-run park, and re-prioritized to get some more big bats out, traded away a few inferior hitters, and I ended up winning the pennant for that season.

Lesson learned: It's important to tune your hitters to your home park as well. Makes sense, in retrospect.

ctorg · 04-17-2008, 12:36 PM

I've always been of the opinion that having a home park that favors offense gives a team a disadvantage. It many be a very slight one, but it makes sense to me. What it comes down to is pitchers. It forces more pitches to be thrown, so your pitchers aren't as well rested as they would have been if they'd been in a less hitter-friendly place.

That said, I'm not sure what the best solution is. In real life, it's probably going for guys who are groundball pitchers and strike out a lot of guys. That seems like a rare combo, though, and I'm not sure it translates to OOTP. Certainly in a homer park you want to look for some sluggers for the lineup, too.

Kelric · 04-17-2008, 02:18 PM

I didn't mention it the first time, though I should have, but I'd look for control pitchers. Strikeouts wouldn't be high on my list, but control and the lack of homeruns would be. Fewer walks mean fewer baserunners.

I tend to prefer having a pitcher's park as home, as ctorg does. First, it makes my pitchers look better than they really are if I want to trade them. If I get good pitchers, they'll look very good at home. Secondly, I'd trust more to a gap hitting speed team in a pitcher's park for my home games, knowing that the same sort of team should do alright on the road as well.

kaosfere · 04-17-2008, 03:42 PM

Very good points, guys, thanks. As it is, I prefer to build a gap-hitting speed team by default. (And then crank the AI's base-running aggression way up.) Intersperse with a few sluggers, and it can bring in some big games in a hitter-friendly park, from what little I've seen.

I'll try my next franchise in a pitchers park and see how it plays differently.

04-15-2008, 09:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
kaosfere Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 43	How do you deal with a home-run park? I'm having a terrible time keeping a winning average in my home park in my current league. It's a fairly strong home-run park (1.018 overall, 1.125 for lefties). My starting pitchers Movements are all in the green, they mostly tend to the ground ball, and yet I'm still 5 and 9 in my new season, and was something on the order of .400 last year. What gives? Edit: I should mention that, inspite of this, I'm keeping well above a .500. Finished last season .560-some overall, and over .600 so far this year, so my players are decent. It's just that I'm in a tough conference and would be in the playoffs every year if I were in the other one, or winning the bulk of my home games, so it's annoying me. Last edited by kaosfere : 04-15-2008 at 09:35 PM.

04-16-2008, 03:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,085	Well, 5-9 is a small sample size. The .400 winning percentage last year isn't. I would just try to make the most of it with groundball pitchers and guys who don't give up homeruns, as you are. Other than that, I'd try to load up with lefty power hitters and hope I can just outhit other teams at home. __________________ Co-Commish of the Overlords Baseball League (1930-40). Owner of the Boston Red Sox, 1029-665, .607% (1930-40). 1930-34, '36-40, American League Eastern Division Champions (10/11). 1936, 1937, 1939. 1940 American League Champions (4/10). 1936, 1937 World Series victors (2/4). 138-104, .570% vs. the New York Yankees.

04-17-2008, 12:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
ctorg Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 9,422	I've always been of the opinion that having a home park that favors offense gives a team a disadvantage. It many be a very slight one, but it makes sense to me. What it comes down to is pitchers. It forces more pitches to be thrown, so your pitchers aren't as well rested as they would have been if they'd been in a less hitter-friendly place. That said, I'm not sure what the best solution is. In real life, it's probably going for guys who are groundball pitchers and strike out a lot of guys. That seems like a rare combo, though, and I'm not sure it translates to OOTP. Certainly in a homer park you want to look for some sluggers for the lineup, too. __________________ THE VERY US ARTISTS - A project for musicians and visual artists My music Currently reading: Thirteen by Richard Morgan "When the trees blow back and forth, that's what makes the wind." - Steven Wright Fjord emena pancreas thorax fornicate marmalade morpheme proteolysis smaxa cabana offal srue vitriol grope hallelujah lentils

04-17-2008, 02:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,085	I didn't mention it the first time, though I should have, but I'd look for control pitchers. Strikeouts wouldn't be high on my list, but control and the lack of homeruns would be. Fewer walks mean fewer baserunners. I tend to prefer having a pitcher's park as home, as ctorg does. First, it makes my pitchers look better than they really are if I want to trade them. If I get good pitchers, they'll look very good at home. Secondly, I'd trust more to a gap hitting speed team in a pitcher's park for my home games, knowing that the same sort of team should do alright on the road as well. __________________ Co-Commish of the Overlords Baseball League (1930-40). Owner of the Boston Red Sox, 1029-665, .607% (1930-40). 1930-34, '36-40, American League Eastern Division Champions (10/11). 1936, 1937, 1939. 1940 American League Champions (4/10). 1936, 1937 World Series victors (2/4). 138-104, .570% vs. the New York Yankees.

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04-17-2008, 12:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
kaosfere Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 43	Yeah, as it turns out, I tweaked my batting order a bit. I figured I'd been focusing on speed too much on a home-run park, and re-prioritized to get some more big bats out, traded away a few inferior hitters, and I ended up winning the pennant for that season. Lesson learned: It's important to tune your hitters to your home park as well. Makes sense, in retrospect.

04-17-2008, 03:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
kaosfere Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 43	Very good points, guys, thanks. As it is, I prefer to build a gap-hitting speed team by default. (And then crank the AI's base-running aggression way up.) Intersperse with a few sluggers, and it can bring in some big games in a hitter-friendly park, from what little I've seen. I'll try my next franchise in a pitchers park and see how it plays differently.