Quote:
Originally Posted by TomVeal
The trouble with making that the AI player usage is that no real-world MLB manager has ever used it. Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees had Babe Ruth both pitch and play in the outfield. The Dodgers occasionally had Don Newcombe pinch hit, but he was otherwise solely a pitcher. Martin Dihigo played both ways but unhappily was never able to enter the Majors. Perhaps Otani will lead to a change in perceptions, but for the moment he is a unicorn, and IMHO the AI ought to treat him (and other players with similar all-arounder possibilities) in accordance with some special algorithm that applies to no one else.
My own prediction is that Otani will wind up as more like Newcombe than Dihigo, i. e., a pitcher who can also hit decently. He ought to have signed with an NL club. (No, no, as a Chicagoan I'm not the tiniest bit bitter.)
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Make it a selectable option like using Starting Pitchers as Relievers.
While it's not accurate for an MLB manager ever to use them two ways, other leagues have and do so it should allow us that option.