Option to send runners?

[mkirshenbaum]

Hi -- I'm managing games and I don't understand why sometimes I'm given the option of advancing a runner and other times I'm not. It seems that about half the time a box pops up and asks if I want to send them and gives info on the speed of the runner, the arm of the fielder, etc. Any rhyme or reason as to why I'm given the option sometimes but not others? And is there a setting or any other way to control runners? Thanks!

[Cynical]

Based on my experience, if it's an "obvious" go or an "obvious" don't-go, the game won't give you the popup box; it'll just go or don't-go.

[ablobj]

Cynical is right...it would get awfully annoying to be prompted EVERY time, at least in my opinion.

[CBeisbol]

Plus, there's no real way to know how likely you are to make it

A competing game I used to play would tell you the probability of success. That could probably be improved on, but it was something

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

Plus, there's no real way to know how likely you are to make it

A competing game I used to play would tell you the probability of success. That could probably be improved on, but it was something

My gaming background is largely with tabletop sports simulations like Strat-O-Matic, Replay, etc. And I have played the computer versions of these games. With games like these, which are basically translations of dice and cards games where the game engine is transparent, you will often know something like, if you send this runner you have a 1-17 chance of being safe out of 1-20. Fine. That's how those games work and so it makes sense to have that information.

Does that mirror real-life very well? Not in my opinion. In OOTP I am told how deep the ball was hit, how good of an arm the fielder has, and how good a runner my guy is. That seems about right. If I am a real-life base coach do I know that the play has a 45% chance of success, or a 60% chance, or 80%? Nope. But I do know those three things above, and I'm going to factor them all into a decision (as well as, likely, what I know about the catchers defense if the play will be at the plate).

For my money, this is another way that OOTP gets it right!

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

My gaming background is largely with tabletop sports simulations like Strat-O-Matic, Replay, etc. And I have played the computer versions of these games. With games like these, which are basically translations of dice and cards games where the game engine is transparent, you will often know something like, if you send this runner you have a 1-17 chance of being safe out of 1-20. Fine. That's how those games work and so it makes sense to have that information.

Does that mirror real-life very well? Not in my opinion. In OOTP I am told how deep the ball was hit, how good of an arm the fielder has, and how good a runner my guy is. That seems about right. If I am a real-life base coach do I know that the play has a 45% chance of success, or a 60% chance, or 80%? Nope. But I do know those three things above, and I'm going to factor them all into a decision (as well as, likely, what I know about the catchers defense if the play will be at the plate).

For my money, this is another way that OOTP gets it right!

To be clear, I'm not saying that OOTP should tell you there is a 78.3% chance of being successful. That's not realistic at all.

But, the above information is meaningless, on it's own, in telling you how likely a runner is to be safe.

[ablobj]

In reality, the decision to advance or not advance is made by the base coaches and the runners. The manager in the dugout has no real control over it, except to fire base coaches and chew out runners...does OOTP even have base coaches?

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

To be clear, I'm not saying that OOTP should tell you there is a 78.3% chance of being successful. That's not realistic at all.

But, the above information is meaningless, on it's own, in telling you how likely a runner is to be safe.

Hmm. Okay.
I guess I'm not following you.
What kinds of information would be more helpful then how deep the ball has been hit, how strong/accurate an arm the outfielder possesses, and how fast/savvy your base-runner is?

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by ablobj

In reality, the decision to advance or not advance is made by the base coaches and the runners. The manager in the dugout has no real control over it, except to fire base coaches and chew out runners...does OOTP even have base coaches?

Well, yes, obviously.
It is a game and therefore uses a bit of an impressionistic approach to these things. In other words, the game paints a broad brush stroke for actions that are performed by a large team of people in real life and this is certainly not the only area in which that happens. (You only have one scout, for goodness sake! )
Would I like it if the game also included base coaches? Sure. But for now the point is that the manager role encompasses those tasks as well.

(And your point about the decision to advance being made by the base coaches and (italics mine) the runners is very relevant to the OP's question. There are simply plays where advancement or lack thereof is not really in question and the role of the base coach is minimal. OOTP base running pop ups capture plays where there would be a real decision point in real life.)