Yup, I'm familiar with how Spritze set up his NeL imported players to use Major League Equivalents (MLEs) but alas, I must confess that I've never run a game off his database or imported individuals from it - though I know many people have. Overall, I think MLE's are tricky. I've looked at some and while I've posted this link before, I will again in case new folks come across this thread. These MLEs are the one's I'm most familiar with:
https://horsehidedragnet.wordpress.com/negro-leagues/
I consider myself a practical fellow but admit my MLE aversion is uncharacteristically traditional. It's not that I'm not open to it and it's possible that that is how it will end up for the betterment of gameplay. I reckon I'd be okay with that under-the-hood adjustment if, as you say, the Seamhead stats still populated the history page. Overall though, I think that I'd first like a run at seeing how well those updated Seamhead stats would inform the player abilities rather than the outdated stats.
If there are a few players on the extremes post-SH stat update, that might be okay in the end. Afterall, no one feels the need to do an MLE for Ross Barnes or Old Hoss despite the fact the rules of baseball back then - as this fun site shows (
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rulechng.shtml) - were so different from our conception of the game. So much so, MLB - unlike bRef and OOTP - doesn't even recognize the NA as a major league. So, if I can live with player abilities coming from MLB-credited underhand pitching and 9 balls, I can live with a few odd stat ratios from NeL'ers in the game. That said, some allowance will need to be made from missing stats including ones you mentioned like pitcher HR/9 or batter K's, etc. where the stats are incomplete, can't just be left missing and so will need stand-ins. But maybe the game does that some for the 19th century players as it is and there's a process for it already.
Thinking aloud a bit myself and being practical about the order of future events, if the Seamhead stats are needed if only for the history tab, they'll need to be gotten either way. All the more reason to let them run, informing the players before turning to the work of MLEs. Esp. as one considers that Spritze's MLE's at the moment are based off the current in-game NeL stats and would also need to be updated to reflect current research/numbers.
Anyway, I understand the appeal an MLE approach has, even if I take the other side for now.
Well, I'm back from work and time to check the 1903-2000 sim that ran while I was out. Color line dropped - this time 5-year recalc instead of my default 3-, and DHs enabled for an additional offensive slot in both leagues...
