[Goliathus]

Originally Posted by Cheesehead1964

"Getting back on topic..." LOL! I've gotten off my own topic! This thread is an interesting read though...

I've created a lot of teams that hit for high average (near leading the league) but can't score runs.

My Negro League theme team is a good example. Always hit for average. Never score runs.

I'm clueless on how to set up individual strategies, but I'm sure it would pay off. Tips? Or what global strategy should I use? I've tried both small ball and Sabermetric but haven't seen huge improvement from switching....

This sounds stupid to ask cuz I think you would have done it already but...have you tried ordering the batting order around? I have tried some wacky batting orders that goes against the traditional like 4 pairs of "base stealer to high average" and the leftover at 9th. I am banking of any of base stealers hitting a single or goes base by ball and then stealing second for the high average dude to hit him home. Just grinding it 1 point at a time.

Originally Posted by justpatrick

I like any thread I get to bring up old players having unfair defensive ratings.

Despite your lack of scoring, the Negro Leaguers seem to have done quite okay. My problem is I like my guys so much I hate to upgrade. I still have Bill Terry at first (yes, another guy who gets the shaft defensively), and really I should have a hairy-backed power hitter there. Sentimentality gets you nowhere.

Global strategy I am very ignorant on aside from the basics. Honestly, the modern game has passed me by for sure. But for individual strategy, I simply set steal ratings higher for guys with over 80 ratings. For Tim Raines it´s all the way to the end, other guys just past the middle and so on, depending on the rating.
The same goes for baserunning. I think this one is really important and can give you an edge in scoring if you use it properly. Guys like Boggs don´t touch, you don´t want them running any more than is necessary, but the better baserunners can be set to more aggressive. What I don´t understand is how Speed affects things.
And then guys who have good contact and don´t strikeout so much I let hit and run more often. I don´t use this with power hitters though (like I have any).

You need to be careful of hyperaggression on stealing and baserunning. Sometime, setting the Tim Raines and the like all the way to the right might not be right(pun intended). As they are already confident in their stealing ability, they will steal even with the bar at the left, just more carefully. The bar sets to right mean they will be crazy stealer and sometime they would have ridiculously high CS as a result of that. My vision is to always keep the ratio high instead of the actual SB number(unless you are shooting for achievements, then go ahead). Like I would take 40:5 over 55:15. Also, it's important to monitor the baserunning performance every season cuz they are always different. I think it has something to do with the different catchers and pitchers(hold runner) they face every season.

Speed is important because it is the primary stat. From my observation, someone with 50 speed 80 basestealing is just an overconfident idiot who think he's legit when he's not -- kind of like the dude in your pickup team that said he can hit the three ball and he always disappoint. Like I have seen dudes like that get caught a lot, and their 80 basestealing is asking the sim to let them steal but their 50 speed tells the sim they will fail -- so they tried and failed. All in all, they are a disaster and free out for the opponent. I tend to pull the bars of these fellows to the left so they don't go crazy when not needed. Same goes for baserunning. A good speedster should have close to 1:1:1 on all three speed stats, or you have to adjust the sliders accordingly.

Also, I have seen massive difference between a 70 speed guy and a 90 speed guy when it comes to running performance. Speed is a legit stat.