How much does OOTP educate you?

[Calvert98]

Originally Posted by BoomerSoonerAMH

I feel like there is a fair amount you can learn from the game alone, although for me the biggest thing it has done is spark my interest in tracking down other resources to advance my understanding of the game. I actually read almost all of the CBA as I became more aware of various components of the game. That is just me, but I’m sure some will find the statistical analysis aspect of the game more interesting, while others love the history, and others the business management angle.

This has happened to me as well...I downloaded the Draft CBA and read it. I also have more books on baseball than I ever did. For me, it's sort of "all the above".

[r0nster]

I learned a lot from this game (when I first got it in 2000 or 2001) as to what the real GMs have to deal with in trying to find that winning formula. Much like in Detroit fans wanted to keep Verlander and I cheered that he left as I understood why they got so little in return. Having this perspective does open ones eyes to a few things a traditional fan doesn't usually allow.

[Calvert98]

Originally Posted by r0nster

I learned a lot from this game (when I first got it in 2000 or 2001) as to what the real GMs have to deal with in trying to find that winning formula. Much like in Detroit fans wanted to keep Verlander and I cheered that he left as I understood why they got so little in return. Having this perspective does open ones eyes to a few things a traditional fan doesn't usually allow.

Agreed. It's one of those "subtle" ways that something like a good game or books can increase your appreciation of certain areas of a subject, like art or history, etc....; in this case, Baseball.

[Lolos]

Originally Posted by rastyk

A few years back, I created a league with a bunch of teams that won the World Series in various years, and the 1986 Mets did rather well. In real life, it was "amazing" that such a group of personalities didn't self-destruct. Boy that was a fun team to watch, hot feet (matches stuck in shoes and lit on fire), "rally caps"(baseball caps turned upside down with a ball placed in the bill, etc. Here's a nice clip on those days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_-abunAhDY

to OP (Lolos) the old book, Baseball Hacks, describes some interesting ways to use R. I'm looking at maybe MySQL, it seems some have posted about this in the past.

You know how long ago or who?

[IanIachimoe]

learned more about the business side of baseball in 4 years of playing OOTP than I have in a lifetime of following/reading/watching it.

[stealofhome]

Having seen a tiny part of the baseball statistician world myself, I can offer a few points that may help. First, read all of the advanced baseball sites you can - Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus, Beyond the Boxscore, etc. The articles will help you understand what tools are used for analytics and what questions are being asked. R and SQL are commonly used for statistical analysis and database management.

OOTP does have some stats export stuff that you can use to sharpen up on your analysis but there are also plenty of real-life baseball stats that you can download and play with as well. One thing that may help you get started is to download the Baseball Databank (http://www.baseball-databank.org/) and then calculate wOBA (http://basql.wikidot.com/woba).

You can also follow a bunch of the baseball database experts on Twitter and may even find some of those currently working for real MLB teams. They're pretty active there (or at least were a few years ago).

Mike Fast, Colin Wyers, Daren Willman, Christopher Long, Tom Tango, Alan Nathan, etc. are all people that helped me or have incredible resources online.

[5-4-3]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

I still have trouble believing Spike Owen’s given name was Spike.

I have a nephew named Spike.

[Lolos]

Thanks all for helping. Grest community!

[italyprof]

Originally Posted by Lolos

So it can be more realistic?

A lot of that difference can be eliminated by going to team settings (any team), Edit park and then the drop down arrow for actions select "give neutral factors to all ballparks".

Babe Ruth played in Yankee Stadium. His career stats already incorporate Yankee Stadium park effects. So put OOTP Babe in the Stadium and you are dounling the right field porch's effect. He could easily hit 78 homers. So neutralize the parks and you get closer to real life stats.

[5-4-3]

OOTP taught me a lot of acronyms.

[italyprof]

Originally Posted by 5-4-3

I have a nephew named Spike.

I always assumed that they named the character on Buffy after Spike Owen !

[texasmame]

Not so much on the rules of the game, but on player history - specifically Hall of Famers.

Pretty sure I have EVERY HOF in my game (fictional league with real players and their stats are based on their career averages).

Sometimes I'll hear of an obscure, old-timey HOF and go, "Oh, I know that guy - he's starting at short for Hoboken!"