OOTP New Feature Pitch: “The Whacky Rules Era”

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Because baseball was never afraid to get weird before it got right.

Foreword:

So in my blissful baseball ignorance and naïve curiosity, I recently asked ChatGPT if MLB had ever flirted with any truly whacky rule changes.
And—woah, oh boy. Turns out this game has seen more experiments than a high-school chemistry lab with no adult supervision.
Naturally, I couldn’t stop thinking: “Why can’t OOTP let us try these out?”

🧪 MODULE OVERVIEW

Activate “The Whacky Rules Era” under League Settings → Optional Chaos to relive baseball’s strangest experiments — the kind that made umpires sweat and historians shake their heads.
⚙️ OPTION MENU (Rated for Chaos)

ToggleDescriptionSide Effects☑ Batter’s Choice Pitch Height (1871)Hitters can call for a “High” or “Low” ball before each pitch.Pitchers develop existential dread. Walks triple.☑ Nine-Ball WalksBecause patience is a virtue — and endurance a necessity.Games last five hours, and fans don’t care.☑ Four-Strike StrikeoutsEarly-era mercy rule for hitters.Pitchers demand hazard pay.☑ No Foul-Strike RuleFouls don’t count as strikes. Endless battles of willpower.Games last until next week.☑ Bounce-Into-Stands = TripleA one-hop over the wall? Call it three bases, not four.Deadball purists rejoice. Modern outfielders weep.☑ Two Balls in Play ModeOccasionally, a second ball enters play “to speed things up.”Chaos, laughter, and managerial heartburn.☑ Designated Fielder RuleA player who only fields — no bat required.Lineup cards now require flowcharts.☑ Ghost Runner x Ghost CatcherFor symmetry, every runner gets a ghost counterpart.Pitchers start seeing things. Fans start believing them.☑ 1950s Robo-Ump SettingAn “electronic” strike zone powered by vacuum tubes. Occasionally smokes.Accuracy varies by weather.☑ Time-Travel Exhibition GamesOne random series per year reverts to 19th-century rules.Players forced to wear handlebar moustaches.

📊 LEAGUE IMPACT SUMMARY

CategoryEffectLeague Batting AVGUp about 40 points, give or take an era.Game LengthYes.Fan Attendance+15% — folks love the spectacle.Umpire Sanity Index-100.AI Logic“Coach, you sure about this?”Historical AccuracyNone whatsoever. Entertainment value: sky-high.

🧢 ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED

AchievementRequirement“Are You Not Entertained?”Win a game with two balls in play.“Zen and the Art of Foul Tips”Foul off 25 pitches in a single at-bat.“The Gentleman’s Request”Hit a home run after calling for a “High Ball.”“Double Feature”Score two runs at the same time on different balls.“Markus, What Have You Done?”Crash the sim using the Designated Fielder rule.

🗣 COMMUNITY NOTE

“Y’know, the beauty of baseball is that for every rule that stuck, there were a dozen that didn’t — and half of those might’ve made the game even more entertaining.
OOTP already gives us the power to rewrite baseball history. Why not let us try out the bad ideas, too? That’s real immersion.”


Thoughts? I know these would probably have novelty value in many respects, but hey...if we have to put up with funky AI doing the ole sign-release-sign-release dance...then why not introduce some real whackiness by intent!


I love this game, more than should probably be allowed.. I can't believe it took my 14 years and however many iterations to fall in love with it. Despite its obvious flaws, man its got some soul.

[LansdowneSt]

My first thought was a also dice rolls for foul balls being caught (and thus an out) and back flips in the end-game animation. If your suggested changes were possible, you could Banana-ball it and get a cheap but effective promotion/license with the Savanah Bananas. That kind of Banana-marketing hook ties it to hopefully game sales vs. niche cool stuff for us diehards. Some of those look easier to implement than the stuff OOTP has to do to keep up with some of Manfred's and Collective Bargaining's more subtle changes.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

My first thought was a also dice rolls for foul balls being caught (and thus an out) and back flips in the end-game animation. If your suggested changes were possible, you could Banana-ball it and get a cheap but effective promotion/license with the Savanah Bananas. That kind of Banana-marketing hook ties it to hopefully game sales vs. niche cool stuff for us diehards. Some of those look easier to implement than the stuff OOTP has to do to keep up with some of Manfred's and Collective Bargaining's more subtle changes.

Ah I only just saw something about the Savannah Banana's on one of the sports streaming channels recently; in Australia I'd not heard of this before.


And yes I love the potential tie in.anything that helps keep developers minds on still dedicated to building on and improving the core faithful baseball simulation.