Choosing a Franchise Team for MLB 14 The Show: NL West

[RaychelSnr]

Choosing which team to pick for your franchise in MLB: The Show can be a daunting task. Do you want to rebuild? What about picking a team loaded with cash, but little talent to show for it? What if you just want to pick a team with all of the tools at your disposal, and your only job is to win a World Series? The fact is, there is a variety of great teams to kick off your franchise with, but you only get to choose one. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we'll be going division by division and team by team to help you make your choice. With our fourth entry, here's the NL West...

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[geisterhome]

What other divisions did you guys already write about?

[BenGerman]

Hey geisterhome, I actually just finished the series up the other day. AL West should be out sometime this week to complete the series. Here are links to the others:

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...w-al-central-/

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...ow-nl-central/

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...-show-al-east/

http://www.operationsports.com/featu...show-nl-east-/

[RangersCruz]

Rockies will keep Tulo trade cargo obviously put Juan in the pen.

[B Easy]

Ben, I've enjoyed all the write ups you've done this year. It's been a challenge for me to find the time to get something started between work and life, but a summer's vacation should give me the freedom to get it sorted out. Thanks for making it easier for me to choose a team to roll with in '14!

[Spanky]

Another category that could added to these write-ups is uniforms, since a lot of people probably choose a team based on the look.

In this division, the Giants have the best unis, but I also like using the Padres 1980s brown and gold duds because they're unique.

[chudy22]

I am from Europe, so not that fammiliar with baseball, but really love the game. Would like to start a franchise, not sure about the team. I would like to have lot of options for trade and some young prospects to work with. Will be glad for any advice. Also would need to explain how the bullpen works and what kind of players should i get there. And for how long do I need to keep players in AA or AAA till I call em up to majors. Also need to know which statistics do I need to track, which are the most important in the game. When to put the player on the bench and how to use the players from the bullpen. How the bullpen works and when should I use this players. But at most really need to help to choose the team. Im looking for a team with many options to work with and want to be competitive, division is not important. Thanks alot for any suggestions

[Bullit]

Quote: Originally Posted by chudy22

I am from Europe, so not that familiar with baseball, but really love the game. Would like to start a franchise, not sure about the team. I would like to have lot of options for trade and some young prospects to work with. Will be glad for any advice. Also would need to explain how the bullpen works and what kind of players should i get there. And for how long do I need to keep players in AA or AAA till I call em up to majors. Also need to know which statistics do I need to track, which are the most important in the game. When to put the player on the bench and how to use the players from the bullpen. How the bullpen works and when should I use this players. But at most really need to help to choose the team. Im looking for a team with many options to work with and want to be competitive, division is not important. Thanks alot for any suggestions

As much as I would like to help you, what you need is a daunting task. I could literally write for days and pages upon pages of info and still not cover everything you are asking to know. There are a couple of nice deep threads around if you search about managing bullpens and game-play stuff.

What I would recommend is to start watching all of the Baseball you can. Pick a high budget team to start, that way you don't have to worry as much about development right away. Maybe the Dodgers or Nationals if you are a National league guy or the Red Sox or Tigers if you like the American league.

Just start playing. Play exhibition games, start a franchise and play all of the Spring Training Games. Take small steps to manage your team. Don't make any changes right away. Baseball is a game of trends so the players that suck or are struggling today could be your next break out player that gives you the push to the Playoffs.

Read as much as you can, watch as much as you can. Baseball is a huge sport. Both in History and Scope. It can be boring in its minutia and then become the most intense and exciting moment of you life the next second, literally. I seem to stand alone in my opinion, except for a few old timers, in that I feel MLB The Show 14 is an amazing portrayal of the sport I love.

Welcome to your new obsession.