What's The Best Way To Maximize Stolen Bases?

[The Game]

I have a very fast team, only my catchers & starting 3B are slow. I want to try to get multiple players to 50 SB. I had a terrible ratio of SB to CS last season. Normally I play one-pitch mode. I also use Run & Hit vs steal. Is it easier just to switch to pitch-by-pitch mode when wanting to steal and waiting for a stealers count?
Advice?

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by The Game

Advice?

Yes, and it's not going to involve monkeying with League Totals (unless, of course, you want to try that). And I don't see how going with pitch-by-pitch mode is going to help. What exactly is a "stealer's count"? If there is a tendency to run on any count besides 3-2, of course, wouldn't the defense be aware of this?

No, my advice is more basic than this. It's:

• Make sure your base runners are not just fast but know how to steal bases as well. Blue marks in both Speed and Stealing are ideal, but don't bother sending anybody with less than green ratings in one or the other.
• Do you play EVERY inning of EVERY game or do you use the RISP button or auto-play to a certain inning, like the 5th? Because if you do auto-play portions of games, and you want more stolen base attempts, you should go into each player's game strategy settings, override team strategy, and move that Stealing Bases slider over to Frequently. You could do it on the team strategy level, but that applies to everybody and your CS will go up. I would do this just for the jackrabbits.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Yes, and it's not going to involve monkeying with League Totals (unless, of course, you want to try that). And I don't see how going with pitch-by-pitch mode is going to help. What exactly is a "stealer's count"? If there is a tendency to run on any count besides 3-2, of course, wouldn't the defense be aware of this?

No, my advice is more basic than this. It's:

• Make sure your base runners are not just fast but know how to steal bases as well. Blue marks in both Speed and Stealing are ideal, but don't bother sending anybody with less than green ratings in one or the other.
• Do you play EVERY inning of EVERY game or do you use the RISP button or auto-play to a certain inning, like the 5th? Because if you do auto-play portions of games, and you want more stolen base attempts, you should go into each player's game strategy settings, override team strategy, and move that Stealing Bases slider over to Frequently. You could do it on the team strategy level, but that applies to everybody and your CS will go up. I would do this just for the jackrabbits.

All of the guys that can run are 7/7 or better in Speed & Stealing. My starting C is 4 SPE 6 STE, he will run rarely. my 3B is a 4/4 he wont run. I play every inning. I have player strategy set and my mgr strategy already set for those for the few games I will sim or let the AI take over when I need to step away from the game for a bit.
I had read before that people switch to pitch-by-pitch when wanting to steal since teh steal option doesn't seem to work in one pitch.
I used p-b-p for my last game SP had a 5 Hold and C had a 5 arm. My LF 10/10 had 4 SB I used send forced and run & hit. In the top of the 9th they threw over to 1st 4 out of 6 times. I stole 7 bases got caught once.

[JMDurron]

You can stay in one-pitch mode, just use "take pitch" if you don't have the count that you want. I have found that 0-1, 0-2, or 1-2 counts are bad to steal on due to the frequency of AI pitchout calls in that particular count.

If you see a pitcher with a low hold rating, go wild. You sound like you're trying to go wild anyway, but I'd suggest that. I find that I have a higher success rate with "steal" vs "Run and hit" due to the runner getting to choose not to go if they get a bad jump. Forcing the issue will lead to more CS. My general rule in a situation where I choose to steal is to click "steal" on every pitch except 0-1 until there are two strikes, at which point I hit "run and hit" unless the count is 1-2 or 0-2. Those counts are just begging for a pitchout.

I end up getting lots of 1st-to-3rd singles this way as well when the batter gets a 2-strike hit.

So, playing in one pitch mode, here's an example of what I'd do, assuming the runner didn't go in each count.

0-0 "Steal"
0-1 "Take Pitch"
1-1 "Steal"
2-1 "Steal"
2-2 "Run and Hit"

[The Game]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

So, playing in one pitch mode, here's an example of what I'd do, assuming the runner didn't go in each count.

0-0 "Steal"
0-1 "Take Pitch"
1-1 "Steal"
2-1 "Steal"
2-2 "Run and Hit"

Pretty much how I do it but I dont take, I just swing away on 0-1 and i use run & hit vs steal since I want the guy to run not take 3 steps towards 2nd and decide not to go. Seems they never steal when choosing steal vs run & hit.

[rpriske]

You aren't going to get high steal ratings with run & hit.

If you want to steal, switch to pitch by pitch. When you see a runner deciding to not run it is a GOOD THING. That means they would have likely been thrown out. That is why you want smart baserunners. But if you use one pitch they only try once per at bat. No good.

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by The Game

Pretty much how I do it but I dont take, I just swing away on 0-1 and i use run & hit vs steal since I want the guy to run not take 3 steps towards 2nd and decide not to go. Seems they never steal when choosing steal vs run & hit.

Ok, but I hope you enjoy lousy SB/CS ratios, because that's what forcing the issue will do to you. Keep in mind that each CS also has a negative cascading effect on your ability to get that same runner (or another runner further down the order) a SB opportunity. Outs are precious, don't waste them.

If you want to get really high totals of any offensive stats, preserving outs is the way to do that. It's better to have a runner NOT go and NOT get thrown out and have another opportunity 1 plate appearance sooner as the lineup turns over than it is to get CS. I try to get "clean sweep" #1 ratings on my team's home page, and getting SBs is a real struggle (HRs and EFF are worse, but I digress) because it requires the combination of fast/smart basestealers, who get on base, and an entire lineup that turns over fast enough often enough to get them up to the plate (and hopefully on base) over and over and over again.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

Ok, but I hope you enjoy lousy SB/CS ratios, because that's what forcing the issue will do to you. Keep in mind that each CS also has a negative cascading effect on your ability to get that same runner (or another runner further down the order) a SB opportunity. Outs are precious, don't waste them.

If you want to get really high totals of any offensive stats, preserving outs is the way to do that. It's better to have a runner NOT go and NOT get thrown out and have another opportunity 1 plate appearance sooner as the lineup turns over than it is to get CS. I try to get "clean sweep" #1 ratings on my team's home page, and getting SBs is a real struggle (HRs and EFF are worse, but I digress) because it requires the combination of fast/smart basestealers, who get on base, and an entire lineup that turns over fast enough often enough to get them up to the plate (and hopefully on base) over and over and over again.

So far I am 16 for 22 thru 13 games.

[D-BacksJosh]

I wonder if it helps to have someone at the plate with a good eye rating for hit and run or run and hit situations.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by D-BacksJosh

I wonder if it helps to have someone at the plate with a good eye rating for hit and run or run and hit situations.

Probably and I do have that for my 1st 3 hitters. and my last 2. my 4 & 5 guys will probably strike out 110 times this year if not more.

[D-BacksJosh]

Originally Posted by The Game

Probably and I do have that for my 1st 3 hitters. and my last 2. my 4 & 5 guys will probably strike out 110 times this year if not more.

I know it would make contact more successful, but have you noticed a better success rate for a stolen base in a hit and run or run and hit situation with that setup?

[The Game]

Originally Posted by D-BacksJosh

I know it would make contact more successful, but have you noticed a better success rate for a stolen base in a hit and run or run and hit situation with that setup?

My lead is a clone of rickey henderson with 1989 stats edited in, so he is a 10/10 speed guy, My #2 vs RHP is a clone of Mark Grace, non-edited stats so his eye i believe is 7, my other #2 vs LHP is a 8 eye guy and my #3 has 10 eye. I do not use hit & run since It seems that option should be called GIDP Now option. With run & hit it seems 50-60% of the time the batter will take while thr runner goes. 25-30 % of the time my runner will be on 2B and my hitter would have grounded out to 2B. the rest he struck out or popped out.
I am all about advancing runners. I'll keep track of it and update in this thread.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by D-BacksJosh

I wonder if it helps to have someone at the plate with a good eye rating for hit and run or run and hit situations.

Wouldn't you want a good contact hitter much more than good eye, someone who rarely strikes out and usually puts the ball in play? For hit and run, and run and hit, I would think the key word for the batter is "hit", not "take".

When I build around speed and plan on stealing a lot, I always make sure my #2 is good at contact and avoid K's. I never really think about "eye" much in those situations.

[D-BacksJosh]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Wouldn't you want a good contact hitter much more than good eye, someone who rarely strikes out and usually puts the ball in play? For hit and run, and run and hit, I would think the key word for the batter is "hit", not "take".

When I build around speed and plan on stealing a lot, I always make sure my #2 is good at contact and avoid K's. I never really think about "eye" much in those situations.

Indeed, contact for executing the play successfully as designed. But what about stealing a base in those situations? IRL during a run and hit wouldn't a batter with a good eye have some room for choosing which pitch to swing at, and which pitch might be a good pitch to take that might end up in a successful stolen base? Or would eye rating only apply to balls and strikes.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by D-BacksJosh

Indeed, contact for executing the play successfully as designed. But what about stealing a base in those situations? IRL during a run and hit wouldn't a batter with a good eye have some room for choosing which pitch to swing at, and which pitch might be a good pitch to take that might end up in a successful stolen base? Or would eye rating only apply to balls and strikes.

I believe yes it would, but to the best of my knowledge when the manager calls for hit and run or run and hit, he's counting on the batter making contact. I've seen it called (irl) and batters will swing at pitches clearly outside the strike zone because he knows he's supposed to make contact on that play.

I think eye is still important, I just don't think it's the most important attribute in that type of situation.