OOTP Managerial Tutorial

OOTP Managerial Tutorial

NOTE: This Tutorial is reprinted and used by the Oldtimers League with the permission of Eric Wedge of the Computer Baseball League. Thanks Eric!

Basic Managing Necessities

OOTP League Managers need to do the following:

1) Set Lineups vs RHP, LHP, RHP(DH) & LHP(DH)

2) Set Pitching rotations and roles - I would suggest using a 5 man rotation to keep your bullpen fresh, as well as using a spot starter (setting him at 1% if you don't want him to steal starts - see depth charts for more info). By setting the spot starter, this gives the computer manager a guy to choose should one of your regular starters get injured. If you don't have this an injury can wreak havoc in your rotation (Because of poor lineup AI) for a few games until you get the chance to fix it.

3) Set Depth Charts (optional) - Depth Charts allow you to select a main starter, defensive replacement, and utility players at each position for RHP, LHP, RHP(DH), & LHP(DH). The starter you select should be the guy you selected in your everyday lineup for that position (#1 above). The power of the Depth Chart section is in the defensive replacement and utility players section. A defensive replacement is just that, but the utility players allow you to start a different player at that position a certain % of the time. So, if you want to split playing time at 2B vs RHP between 2 guys, you would set one as the starter in your lineup and in the Depth Chart section, and the other guy as the utility player in the Depth Chart section, and assign him a % of 50. He would then start half the games vs RHP at 2B.

4) Assign managing tendencies

Stealing - Hit & Run - Sac Bunting - Pitch Around
-   Normal
-   Not Often
-   Often
-   Very Often
-   Almost Never

Hook (yanking starter)
-   Normal
-   Slow
-   Very Slow
-   Very Quick
-   Quick
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Player Position Eligibilities

Each offensive player will be rated A, B, C, D, or E at his main position, with a rating of A being the best defensive range. Each player will also have a specific fielding % on his individual player card. A range A player with the same fielding % as a range E player would actually make more errors (simply because he gets to more balls)...in theory at least... Players may also be rated at other positions, this information being accessible on each individual player's card. Players may also gain additional ratings at other positions during the season by playing at that position repeatedly. For example, a SS playing 2B would generally get his 2B rating after 25 games or so. There is a chance that he would never get a rating there, this chance further increased by the further "out of position" the player is. It is much easier for a SS moving to 2B, or a LF moving to RF to get a rating than it is for a CF moving to C, etc. While OOTP does penalize players playing out of position in the game, it is still possible to win fielding an entirely out of position team. This being unrealistic, it must be noted that you cannot train a player for a new position in the minors, so we want to allow for some position training in the majors. That said, look for a league rule relating to playing players out of position during the season with some compromise.
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The Pitching Staff

Pitching Rotations may be set at 3, 4, or 5 man rotations. Be wary of setting your rotation at less than 5, as pitchers tire during games based on a combination of their duration (whether as a starter or reliever) as well as how recently they have thrown, and how many pitches they made that day. In a pitcher's individual card you will see a listing of the number of pitches made on each of the last 5 days. Here is the breakdown of pitching duration ratings, taken from the manual :
Duration Starter/Reliever A-E - How long do they last before getting tired.

Starters one day/in a five day span :
A - about 130/240 pitches
B - about 120/220 pitches
C - about 110/200 pitches
D - about 100/180 pitches
E - about 90/160 pitches

Relievers one day/in a five game span :
A - about 75/110 pitches
B - about 60/90 pitches
C - about 50/80 pitches
D - about 40/70 pitches
E - about 35/60 pitches
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Pitching Staff Eligibilities

There are 3 Pitching positions, SP, MR, & CL. Furthermore, MR and CL may also have duration ratings as SP. From my experience, there is perhaps only a negligible negative impact of using a SP as a MR or a MR as a CL, etc. The one exception is using a MR or CL who does not have a duration as a SP in the SP role. Since he only has a relief duration, he will tire out more quickly than a normal SP and you will use your bullpen alot. I have not yet seen a MR or CL with no duration as a SP ever get a SP duration from repeated use in the role.
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Ratings vs Talent

A player's ratings are the measure of his current ability to produce at the major league level. A player's talent levels are an indication of his ability to increase (or decrease) his ratings over time. Player ratings are shown on the draft lists. Player talents can only be viewed on individual player cards. Player talents tend to decrease if A) the player is getting old, or B) the player is playing too low or too high in the minors for his ability level. More on minors in the next section...

One of the really cool things is that ratings can change at any time. They may go up or down during the season...you may not even notice it unless you look at your player cards frequently. This is especially true with young players, as their ratings tend to go up, sometimes significantly (if they have high talent levels). Something to watch for :)

Batter ratings max at 10 for Batting Average, and 20 for other hitting categories. Pitcher ratings max at 10 for ERA, 2B, HR, BB and 20 for K. Ratings may change at any time.

Talent is measured as Poor, Fair, Average, Good, or Brilliant. Average is generally around a rating level of 5. Player talents may increase or decrease over time, and these changes are reflected in your Team News section.
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The Minor Leagues

Ahh, the joy of building your minor leagues...where to start? Everyone wants to have that next rookie of the year candidate, talent and youth are a desired combination. The key is to manage that youth successfully to mentor your youngsters and maximize their ability to succeed in the majors. OOTP has 3 minor league levels, A, AA, and AAA. Each level has room for 25 players, but, I strongly recommend keeping only 1 player per position at each level (5 SP, no more than 7 or 8 MR/CL). If you have 2 RF in AAA, for example, they will conflict for playing time and you cannot control who gets the AB's, and AB's are key for development. So you need to pick the better one, and move the other guy to another minor league level, or release him. The question is, how do we pick who is better?

The key with youngsters is to basically ignore ratings and go by talent levels. The ratings are generally indicative of what level of minor league ball they are playing, but if you have a guy with Brilliant talent levels, he's on the path to superstardom (you hope). So, you have a potential superstar...what level ball should he be playing?

OOTP provides a Minor League Report which will suggest the appropriate level of minor league ball for your youngster(s) to be playing at (if they are in the wrong place). The exception is if they are in AAA and are ready for the majors - you will get no notification of this, you have to figure it out by yourself based on their ratings and minor league stats. Basically, I find if a AAA player's ratings are catching up to his talent levels, he is ready for his shot at the big leagues. I've noticed that pitchers seem to develop a bit faster than hitters.

The big possible hurdle is getting 2 guys at the same position, who are both good, and are both at the same level of minor league ball. One will get the playing time, and you will then probably want to move the other one to a lower minor league level (and OOTP will tell you it is too low for him) or trade him.
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