***The Official OOTP Thread***

[mcoll86]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

how complete are each years rosters that you start with?

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

How is everyone's time with 23 going?


Just got to the playoffs as the 1st overall wildcard with my Braves. We are facing the Phillies. My offense just died the last 6 months of the season and my team limped to the end with a 16-16 record to end the year, but it seems a few days off helped the team as they took game 1 easily 8-2.


Max Fried pitched a gem and was player of the game. Michael Harris II had a good postseason debut hitting a 2-run HR in his first AB and then followed it up with an RBI single two innings later. I've got Charlie Morton going against Wheeler in game 2. Hopefully my team can get the quick 2-game sweep and head to Los Angeles, but last time Wheeler faced my team he threw 9 innings and got a no decision as my team eventually won 2-1 in the 10th. I'd like this coming game to more resemble game 1 of the series.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

And of course the next two games played out like the last 30+ did. My Braves scored 4 runs on 19 hits and Jansen blew a save in game 3 and we had a first round exit. I have no idea what happened to the offense to end the year. They just went ice cold. Michael Harris got series MVP despite the loss, though.

[KSUowls]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Had a lot of fun with the game this year. I didn't think I was going to get it this year, but Steam had it half off during their summer sale. It's been fun setting the "correct" rules for baseball lol.

Overall it feels very similar to last year. I can definitely tell that some things seem improved, but nothing groundbreaking.

The 2 areas that do continue to annoy me are

1 - Passed balls. If you do pitch by pitch then you will far exceed what is normal for passed balls/wild pitches. It isn't as bad if you sim though. I've noticed this in prior versions of the game as well. I think the game just doesn't take into account pitchers being a bit more careful with runners on. That's my guess anyway. I also always seem to notice that (even siming) my players have more errors than than similar or even worse rated defenders on other teams. This is even with good coaches and chemistry. This is across a standard and a historical save. I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or this is some kind of player bias.

2 - My number 1 issue with the game is trade logic. There is just no way to get a balanced system, even with the sliders. Elite prospects are ridiculously over valued by the AI unless you turn the slider all the way to value veterans, but that often creates even more issues (even then it might still treat a 20 overall/80 potential player like he's already Mike Trout). I've had many instances where if I try to trade a 60 or 65 rated guy (20/80 scale) rated guy for a 70 potential low level minor league, then it will want my player plus one of my own top prospects. It's like the exact opposite of real life. It does make it harder to cheese the system, but it also makes it difficult to play "realistically". It's definitely better than years past. I don't get trade offers from the AI asking for Acuna while they offer some 4th outfielder in a straight up trade.


Been having fun though. In my historic franchise I took over the 1996 Braves and I was playing every at bat. It was kind of fun seeing the action play out in real time. It was a huge time sink to play that way. Just getting through 1 season was an absolute chore.

My standard game I made a big trade (Max Fried plus 1 or 2 prospects) to pull in Shane Bieber to be my ace, he's had a 4+ ERA every season since he joined the team, but I have won 2 out of 4 World Series. And while not quite a worst to first scenario. 1 season I was trailing the Phillies by like 9 games to start September, came back and won the division which was very exciting.


edit - One final annoyance. I don't understand why "adjust to league averages" option is not set on as default for minor leagues. Without it, you often see guys with insanely high ERAs. Turning it on makes the stats more realistic. I don't understand why it isn't part of the default options package for a standard game.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Traded away Fried?! At least you won the WS. He won the Cy Young in my 2022 year and has been lights out so fat to start 2023 off with a 1.75 era in his first 3 or 4 starts.

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[KSUowls]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

He really fell off after I traded him. He too has had high ERA every season in Cleveland, but at least they got a couple of prospects out of it.

Acuna went off in my first 2 seasons, winning back to back mvps. My most recent season he only hit like 18 HR though which is rather concerning for a guy still in his 20s.

I've regretted letting dansby walk after the first year. I just have not found any offense at SS since then. He wanted a lot of money though and I just couldnt afford that.



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[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

I was able to get Dansby signed to an extension before the end of the 2022 season. It was I think 7 years. $130 million. More than I wanted to pay, but I was worried about what you said you're having issues with.

I've got an extension offer out on Strider right now, so if he signs that I'll have a huge chunk of the roster wrapped up for years to come. Soroka is my next target if he continues to pitch as well as he has so far.

He got off the IL in September last season for me and I just kept him down the entire rest of the year. Now in 2023 through 4 starts he has a 2.2 era and is pitching extremely well. My whole staff is. My team ERA through the first 18 games is a 2.3 and I'm 12-6. My offense has been inconsistent at best.

With how the offense fell off to end the year, plus their performance this first month of the year, and the fact that Seitzer struggles to get along with anyone on staff or the roster, I'm likely letting him go mid-season.

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[KSUowls]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

So, I think this is the best player that I have ever seen in any of my OOTP play throughs ever.

The Yankees let Judge walk at the end of the 2022 season but they signed this guy who was posted. He has 47 home runs as of July 10. I do believe that his projected season total would be a record.

[Ringmaster Blaze]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Does anyone know how to assign custom ballparks to teams?

I downloaded a few AAA parks I want to install and in previous years there was a customize ballpark button in team settings, but I don't see it in this years'.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

I am going to jinx it by posting about it, but my 2024 Braves are 63-24 and on pace for the most wins in a season. Win percentage would be less than the 1906 Cubs, though.

I've never had a team play this well, but I've had some good luck with nearly every move I've made so far. Only thing that has slowed me down is the vast amount of injuries, but my team has continued to chug along.

I took over in the middle of the current real life 2023 season with a live start and the team went 64-39 under my watch. They finished the year with 99 wins, an NL East title, but fell to the Brewers in 4 games in the NLDS in true Braves fashion.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Ended up with 106 wins. Injuries were too much in the 2nd half. Constantly had 3-4 key guys out all 2nd half plus I lost Cobb, Olson, and Severino all for the season soon after the ASB. Glad to get 106 wins. I expect to get eliminated in the NLDS as is tradition.

Edit: Lol, the 85-win Cardinals win the NLDS in 5 games. Most predictable thing on earth.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Quick(doubt) 2024 Recap

Atlanta Braves 106-56 NL East Champions
Lost the NLDS in 5 games to the Cardinals
Orioles go on to win the WS over the Brewers in 5 games

Matt Olson had a quicker than expected recovery and was healthy.... 1 day after game 5 of the NLDS. Could have really used him.

Alex Cobb will have his fractured elbow healed before December, so he will be back healthy for the 2025 season. I'd love to see him be as successful in 2025 as he was in 2024 before the injury, but I won't hold my breath. He was 7-0 with a 2.76 ERA in his 11 starts before the injury. Was a true Cy Young contender. His contract is expiring, but I will work to get him on a 1-year deal.

Luis Severino likely won't be healthy by the start of the 2025 season, but hopefully he will be back before June if there are no setbacks in his recovery. In his 19 starts he went 11-4 with a 3.31 ERA and was a key piece in the rotation. He has a $6.2 million option that I already picked up.

It's just business, but Orlando Arcia, Travis d'Arnaud, and Marcell Ozuna are likely to be allowed to hit free agency. Arcia slashed .273/.326/.417 and had a 2.9 WAR year despite battling injuries, but he is just asking for too much money. With Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake both being on the MLB club all year and seeing good success, .299/.347/.442 and .274/.354/.356 respectively, losing Arcia should not sting as much.

I love d'Arnaud, but his skills really began to fall off over the course of the year and he eventually became a DH only towards the end of the year as he battled some health issues plus Tyler Tolve saw a lot of success when he was called up and he remain called up most of the 2nd half posting a .284/.319/.485 year in 40 games. His performance earned him the backup catching spot behind Murphy going into the 2025 season.

I may try to sign Ozuna in free agency if he is cheap enough, like very cheap, but I was never picking up his $16 million option. He regressed big time from the 2023 season and posted a weak .221/.289/.385 year in 340 AB, but he was forced to play more than needed because of the injury issues throughout the year.

A contract extension was reached with Max Fried keeping him in Atlanta for another 6 years.

Unfortunately, Mike Soroka has not been able to recover from the injuries. After giving him a chance in 2023, he never made it back to the MLB club during the 2024 season, and now he is going to hit free agency. Hopefully a team takes a chance on him and he can find some success.

The club is also letting Michael Tonkin and Tyler Matzek hit free agency as well, but will be going to arbitration with Casey Mize, Kyle Wright, Nick Anderson, Hauscar Ynoa, and Nick Solak.

In the biggest news of the offseason, Brian Snitker decided to retire. The club has decided to go with a riskier hire in 34 year old Anthony Phillips from Oakland's minor league system. He was signed to a 3-year deal. He is described as a tactician with a very quick hook who will play the L/R matchups frequently and his teams are to be very aggressive on the bases.

After dealing with some of Snitker's stubbornness, I wanted someone to go with someone who was quicker to take guys out when they were struggling on the mound, and I really had to have someone that was aggressive on the bases and had guys stealing at a high frequency as both Acuna and Harris II each had 50+ steals and were 1 and 2 in the MLB in 2024 in stolen bases. I'm a big believer in aggression on the basepath and making the defense make a play, and I love stolen bases, so that was a must have for any potential manager. Out of the candidate pool that had those qualities, Phillips had the best relationship with the current players and also had some sample lineups that I was a big fan of. Too often Snitker was structuring the lineup in some weird way I never agreed with.

The team is in a really good place from a talent perspective, so there are not too many holes on the roster. LF. The team is top 10 in nearly every single position except for LF, so that will once again be the focus. After that, there isn't much that can be realistically done to improve the team elsewhere without overspending. I'll look at adding 1 more quality arm to the staff, either in the pen or the rotation, but my free agent budget isn't too large, so LF will be the top priority in free agency while I hope I can continue to grow some arms in the minor league system.

Lastly, speaking of the minor league system, my 1st draft pick in 2023, Jake Gelof from UVA, is looking ready to make his debut already. I never called him up last year because I wanted him to maximize his AB's in the minors, but in 350 PA's in AA he was .310/.422/.572 and once promoted to the AAA club he only went .356/.440/.636 in 316 PA's. The guy is 22 and according to my scouts and development reports he is already a 50/80 and looking ready for the MLB level. Finding him a spot on the MLB club is the tough part as he is a 3B primarily, but maybe he is potentially who I roll with in LF if he's able to rake at the MLB level like he did in the minors last year. I've yet to decide what I will do with him, but based off last year, his time in the minors should be near the end, so I need to figure something out soon.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

Never had a prospect just blossom like this overnight, but my 14th round pick from two drafts ago is looking real nice and is a top 10 prospect overnight.

[canes21]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

I guess Chronowski inspired another late round draft pick of mine. This guy I took in the 16th round of the 2023 draft.

[artoodeetoo]

Re: ***The Official OOTP Thread***

What is your TCR (talent change randomness) set to?