Just switching on the lights and unpacking some info here on my new roster thread as I have finally made the move to the PS5. Obviously, a bit late to the party, but better late than never.
First of all, after only a few days of exploring MLB 23 I am blown away by the stadium creator feature as it is indeed a game changer. Like many classic roster creators, there is no escaping the reality that MLB 20 is the gold standard for classic roster variety. However, I now see that even though the number of rosters will probably never be matched on these next-gen MLB titles, the quality will certainly be much richer.
My first project will be a more in-depth sequel of my Sensational 70s all-decade set. Due to the time it takes to make a quality roster, it is certainly understandable that classic seasons or specialty rosters are lacking. My thinking moving forward is to simply create one or two rosters for each title. I favor the all-decade sets because you get a good variety of players, and all teams are reasonably competitive. I thought I'd have to build a few stadiums, but the selection in the stadium vault is incredible. Aside from the odd tweaks here and there, not much work will have to be done. If anyone knows who consistently does quality work on stadiums, please feel free to share their ID here.
I always have people ask how I go about creating a roster, so I'll briefly share my process. I use JTommy67s' RBU (Roster Building Utility) to rate all my players. He has a thread on here if anyone is interested in exploring this fantastic tool. It works bang on for position players in my opinion. It is effective for the pitchers as well, but I find I have to add 10-15 points in the HR, K, BB categories to boost overall ratings. The other necessity for me is The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers. If you aren't familiar with this book, it is a terrific resource for pitching repertoires. For any pitchers I can't find in the book, I simply speculate or search the web, but over 80% of the pitchers on my spreadsheet below were found in this book.
I will give updates here as I move along and offer info on my plans for rebranding. It's great to be back in the game!
Sensational 70s -Rebranding Info
Orioles
Red Sox
Yankees (Rebrand as Blue Jays)
Rays (Rebrand as Yankees)
Blue Jays (Rebrand as Brewers)
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
Twins
Angels
A's
Mariners
Rangers
Astros (Rebrand is users choice)
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Mets
Phillies
Cubs
Reds
Brewers (Rebrand is users choice)
Pirates
Cardinals
Diamondbacks (Rebrand as Astros)
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
Notes on roster:
The Sensational 70s decade roster is a 30 man collection of the best players for each franchise throughout the 1970s. Player ratings reflect their best statistical season during the decade and likenesses and equipment should be reasonably accurate making for an enjoyable walk down memory lane. I didn’t alter pitcher hitting as these were made with the universal DH in mind.
The minors are smattered with fringe players and guys who may have been drafted by teams but didn’t necessarily play in the majors in the 70s. Some of these extra players have not been completely adjusted because I didn’t feel it was warranted with this being a “one-and-done” season roster. I didn’t spend much time on batting stances and pitching motions as I make any necessary adjustments during gameplay. A few players have no flap helmets, but most do not. For me, that’s not a major gamebreaker as it would have led to more work than I wanted to bother with. The retired number workaround is now gone which was a bummer, but I just go to a different number that a player may have worn during their career, and that usually works. When two players wore the same number with a certain team, I used seniority and/or career success as factors for which player gets the number in question. Unfortunately, you’ll still have to reassign some of the numbers again when you start a franchise which is annoying.
Two of the four non-era franchises need rebranding. You could use any teams you want here, and I elected to go with the Seattle Pilots for the AL Astros slot and the Chicago Hitmen for the NL Brewers slot. I left Miami and Colorado alone. I filled these four squads with an assortment of fringe/bench players and journeymen who may have dropped into the big leagues for a quick cup of coffee during the decade. Rebranding is also needed in the AL East for Milwaukee (Toronto slot), New York Yankees (Tampa Bay slot), and the Toronto Blue Jays (New York slot) to avoid losing a lot of retired numbers in the Yankee franchise slot and to return the Brewers to the American League. I did further rebranding for the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, and the Cleveland Indians to fit them with proper 70s-era uniforms. I prepared a few logo sets for some of these teams and put them in the vault. Any feedback is welcome. Enjoy!
Adjustments needed to the original roster file in vault:
Orioles > Brooks Robinson is listed as a switch hitter. Should be right-handed only
Reds > Ken Griffey is listed as throwing right. Should be left
Dodgers > Bill Buckner is listed as throwing right. Should be left
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/py0JebTU2yg?si=QJe0p4qEDpaLIcmD" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Electrifying 80s - Rebranding Info
Orioles
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays (Rebrand as Brewers)
Blue Jays
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
Twins
Angels
A's
Mariners
Rangers
Astros (Rebrand is users choice)
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Mets
Phillies
Cubs
Reds
Brewers (Rebrand is users choice)
Pirates
Cardinals
Diamondbacks (Rebrand as Astros)
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
Notes on roster:
The Electrifying 80s decade roster is a 30 man collection of the best players for each franchise throughout the 1980s. Again, as with my Sensational 70s set, I didn’t alter pitcher hitting as this set was made with the universal DH in mind. Also, players' ratings are based on their best statistical season of the decade.
Like the 70s decade set, the 4 non-era teams are filled with fringe players from the decade. Now that the retired number fix has been uncovered, you should be able to get each players' proper numbers after you start up your franchise. Just make sure you have 30 team control and give the player his proper number. Then export the player. Once you come back to the original roster, that player's number will have changed to their rightful number.
Even though this is a 30 man set, many of the other players on the rosters have had their ratings adjusted. The farm systems aren't robust as this is a "one and done" franchise experience. It could be built for the long haul if anyone wants to put the extra work into it, but its current construction suits me just fine. Make sure you rebrand Tampa Bay to Milwaukee and Arizona to Houston. The other two slots can be configured as you see fit. Enjoy!
Link to Electrifying 80's trailer:
Classic Franchise Teams V.1
AL East
1970 Orioles
2018 Red Sox
1943 Homestead Grays (Yankees slot - rebranding)
1961 Yankees (Blue Jays slot - rebranding)
1927 Yankees (Rays slot - rebranding)
AL Central
2005 White Sox
1996 Indians (rebranding)
1985 Royals
1987 Twins
1968 Tigers
AL West
1997 Mariners
2022 Astros
1973 A's
1989 A's (Rangers slot - rebranding)
1940 Kansas City Monarchs (Angels slot - rebranding)
First of all, after only a few days of exploring MLB 23 I am blown away by the stadium creator feature as it is indeed a game changer. Like many classic roster creators, there is no escaping the reality that MLB 20 is the gold standard for classic roster variety. However, I now see that even though the number of rosters will probably never be matched on these next-gen MLB titles, the quality will certainly be much richer.
My first project will be a more in-depth sequel of my Sensational 70s all-decade set. Due to the time it takes to make a quality roster, it is certainly understandable that classic seasons or specialty rosters are lacking. My thinking moving forward is to simply create one or two rosters for each title. I favor the all-decade sets because you get a good variety of players, and all teams are reasonably competitive. I thought I'd have to build a few stadiums, but the selection in the stadium vault is incredible. Aside from the odd tweaks here and there, not much work will have to be done. If anyone knows who consistently does quality work on stadiums, please feel free to share their ID here.
I always have people ask how I go about creating a roster, so I'll briefly share my process. I use JTommy67s' RBU (Roster Building Utility) to rate all my players. He has a thread on here if anyone is interested in exploring this fantastic tool. It works bang on for position players in my opinion. It is effective for the pitchers as well, but I find I have to add 10-15 points in the HR, K, BB categories to boost overall ratings. The other necessity for me is The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers. If you aren't familiar with this book, it is a terrific resource for pitching repertoires. For any pitchers I can't find in the book, I simply speculate or search the web, but over 80% of the pitchers on my spreadsheet below were found in this book.
I will give updates here as I move along and offer info on my plans for rebranding. It's great to be back in the game!
Sensational 70s -Rebranding Info
Orioles
Red Sox
Yankees (Rebrand as Blue Jays)
Rays (Rebrand as Yankees)
Blue Jays (Rebrand as Brewers)
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
Twins
Angels
A's
Mariners
Rangers
Astros (Rebrand is users choice)
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Mets
Phillies
Cubs
Reds
Brewers (Rebrand is users choice)
Pirates
Cardinals
Diamondbacks (Rebrand as Astros)
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
Notes on roster:
The Sensational 70s decade roster is a 30 man collection of the best players for each franchise throughout the 1970s. Player ratings reflect their best statistical season during the decade and likenesses and equipment should be reasonably accurate making for an enjoyable walk down memory lane. I didn’t alter pitcher hitting as these were made with the universal DH in mind.
The minors are smattered with fringe players and guys who may have been drafted by teams but didn’t necessarily play in the majors in the 70s. Some of these extra players have not been completely adjusted because I didn’t feel it was warranted with this being a “one-and-done” season roster. I didn’t spend much time on batting stances and pitching motions as I make any necessary adjustments during gameplay. A few players have no flap helmets, but most do not. For me, that’s not a major gamebreaker as it would have led to more work than I wanted to bother with. The retired number workaround is now gone which was a bummer, but I just go to a different number that a player may have worn during their career, and that usually works. When two players wore the same number with a certain team, I used seniority and/or career success as factors for which player gets the number in question. Unfortunately, you’ll still have to reassign some of the numbers again when you start a franchise which is annoying.
Two of the four non-era franchises need rebranding. You could use any teams you want here, and I elected to go with the Seattle Pilots for the AL Astros slot and the Chicago Hitmen for the NL Brewers slot. I left Miami and Colorado alone. I filled these four squads with an assortment of fringe/bench players and journeymen who may have dropped into the big leagues for a quick cup of coffee during the decade. Rebranding is also needed in the AL East for Milwaukee (Toronto slot), New York Yankees (Tampa Bay slot), and the Toronto Blue Jays (New York slot) to avoid losing a lot of retired numbers in the Yankee franchise slot and to return the Brewers to the American League. I did further rebranding for the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, and the Cleveland Indians to fit them with proper 70s-era uniforms. I prepared a few logo sets for some of these teams and put them in the vault. Any feedback is welcome. Enjoy!
Adjustments needed to the original roster file in vault:
Orioles > Brooks Robinson is listed as a switch hitter. Should be right-handed only
Reds > Ken Griffey is listed as throwing right. Should be left
Dodgers > Bill Buckner is listed as throwing right. Should be left
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/py0JebTU2yg?si=QJe0p4qEDpaLIcmD" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Electrifying 80s - Rebranding Info
Orioles
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays (Rebrand as Brewers)
Blue Jays
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
Twins
Angels
A's
Mariners
Rangers
Astros (Rebrand is users choice)
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Mets
Phillies
Cubs
Reds
Brewers (Rebrand is users choice)
Pirates
Cardinals
Diamondbacks (Rebrand as Astros)
Rockies
Dodgers
Padres
Giants
Notes on roster:
The Electrifying 80s decade roster is a 30 man collection of the best players for each franchise throughout the 1980s. Again, as with my Sensational 70s set, I didn’t alter pitcher hitting as this set was made with the universal DH in mind. Also, players' ratings are based on their best statistical season of the decade.
Like the 70s decade set, the 4 non-era teams are filled with fringe players from the decade. Now that the retired number fix has been uncovered, you should be able to get each players' proper numbers after you start up your franchise. Just make sure you have 30 team control and give the player his proper number. Then export the player. Once you come back to the original roster, that player's number will have changed to their rightful number.
Even though this is a 30 man set, many of the other players on the rosters have had their ratings adjusted. The farm systems aren't robust as this is a "one and done" franchise experience. It could be built for the long haul if anyone wants to put the extra work into it, but its current construction suits me just fine. Make sure you rebrand Tampa Bay to Milwaukee and Arizona to Houston. The other two slots can be configured as you see fit. Enjoy!
Link to Electrifying 80's trailer:
Classic Franchise Teams V.1
AL East
1970 Orioles
2018 Red Sox
1943 Homestead Grays (Yankees slot - rebranding)
1961 Yankees (Blue Jays slot - rebranding)
1927 Yankees (Rays slot - rebranding)
AL Central
2005 White Sox
1996 Indians (rebranding)
1985 Royals
1987 Twins
1968 Tigers
AL West
1997 Mariners
2022 Astros
1973 A's
1989 A's (Rangers slot - rebranding)
1940 Kansas City Monarchs (Angels slot - rebranding)
I was born in 1966 so the 70s is when I truly became a baseball fan. The only reason I lean to the 60s is that I watched some of those decade stars as youngster. I'll just take care of the 70s first and see what happens but I like the thought of an 80s set also.
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