Factors in choosing a team

[BZito75]

Just curious how everyone picks a team. Do you go favorite? Tough for me cause I hate making moves my team doesn't. Do you go for a contend now and suffer later team or vise versa. Right now I'm using the dodgers, they were my grandfathers favorite team when they were in Brooklyn, but might use the mets since he loved them before he passed away. Thanks in advance for responding, happy gaming everyone.

[KingV2k3]

I play one starters games and sim the rest so, the first thing I'm looking for is that starter...

I prefer lefties who are either developing young players or aging junkballers (BZito, for instance was a LOT of fun a couple years ago)...

Once I find a couple / few pitcher choices, I lean towards teams that are rebuilds or sleepers...

Esp. teams I never used before...

I do a temporary franchise with OSFM, while waiting for the Hybrid Roster w Pitch Edits to do a second franchise with...

This year:

SD is my NL / OSFM choice

CWS will be my AL / Hybrid Roster choice

[WaitTilNextYear]

Good question and this process has become a very nuanced thing for me.

First of all, I need uniforms and a stadium I don't mind looking at game after game. The nice thing is that the graphical advances and coloring/shading have progressed to a point where most of the colors actually look pretty good. For instance, the Pirates and Orioles were always teams that I had interest in using, but their yellows and oranges never really looked right (I am on PS4 now btw). The whole color wheel is popping now. As far as stadiums, I can't play in a dome and the Miami park is hideous imo, so that narrows things down.

I also tend to shy away from my fave team, the Cubs, just because following them IRL and chising with them actually leads to burnout on the sport. Also, it's hard to reconcile the differences between real life and chise stats for a sim gamer like me.

I also don't use very powerful teams like the Yankees, Red Sox etc...and I try to stay away from teams I've had long dynasties with in the recent past (Astros, White Sox, Tigers, A's, Dodgers).

I usually run with an AL team also, because although I like NL baseball better IRL, actually hitting with the pitcher (and getting those cheesy extra Ks against the cpu pitcher) is a bit of a drag. I tend to keep the AL/NL duality going, although I could turn on DH for both leagues if I really wanted to use an NL club. But, then again, realism issues.

That initial process usually leaves me with 8-10 teams to pick from and what I'll do is play a few exhibition games (home and away) pitting the teams against each other to really see if one team catches my eye more than the others. At this stage I usually factor in what contending/rebuilding options are for these teams (do I have some nice trade pieces? nice prospects?) as well as if they are in a division that I recently played in or not (points for a new division).

One final thing that I did with MLB 14 was to check the coaching staffs. Most of the coaching staffs have some real coaches and others have fake coaches. In fact, the only teams that have a completely accurate coaching staff in game (manager, pitching coach, hitting coach, 1st base coach, 3rd base coach) are Milwaukee, Boston, Minnesota, and one other team that I am forgetting. Cleveland is pretty close too, but I think the 1st or 3rd base coach is a fictional person. Some teams have none of the real coaches (Mariners, Tigers, and Cubs come to mind) although I'm not sure why some coaches were easier to get.

So, a nuanced answer to your simple question that really just shows that I am more than a little ocd when it comes to picking a team to run with long term.

[BZito75]

Dude that answer was PERFECT! I'm the same way.... After I posted this I said to myself "do I really want to be the dodgers?" So I looked at stadiums and uniforms and did a small tournament and let the CPU play it out

One bracket was 4 sleeper or rebuild teams (royals, mets, Rockies, blue jays)
Other bracket had 4 powerhouse, win now teams (dodgers, nats, a's, rays)

The winner of each bracket played in a 2 out of 3 series.... The finals were royals and nats..... Royals won in a sweep.... Actually the team didn't lose through the entire thing!

So here I am, 3 games into a royals chise and couldn't be happier.... So many realistic options to play through.... Gaming OCD is brutal lol

[KBLover]

I usually:

-Play an AL team I like. This year, it's the Red Sox (last year was the Rays). I don't worry about mimicking moves - franchise is fantasy from pitch one, imo. I'm not going to pitch exactly like Buchholz or hit exactly like Papi, Longoria hit .362 in his first year last year, Myers is hitting .410+ with power when I left MLB13 - stuff happens. Thrown in fictional draftees and...yeah.

-Play an NL team I like. This year, it's the Marlins. I haven't played them in a game since the Kevin Brown days. I usually go with the Nats since they've been in existence, but this year, it's the Marlins. Same thing - don't worry about doing exactly what the Marlins do (or would do - after all, I'm trying to win, not lose, and I won't be having a fire sale if I win a WS lol).

-Pick another team I like at random and not one of the above and do a fantasy draft franchise. Partly gives me experience with other players (which helps me hone my sliders as well as I'm dealing with and facing different talent profiles), and gives me something to keep the game more fresh.

[CaseIH]

Quote: Originally Posted by BZito75

Just curious how everyone picks a team. Do you go favorite? Tough for me cause I hate making moves my team doesn't. Do you go for a contend now and suffer later team or vise versa. Right now I'm using the dodgers, they were my grandfathers favorite team when they were in Brooklyn, but might use the mets since he loved them before he passed away. Thanks in advance for responding, happy gaming everyone.

Ive been a Reds fan since birth, so its the only team I will ever use. I only make the moves that happen IRL anyway. I follow the MLB transactions and injuries and thats how I play my 1st season anyway. I typically wont finish a season before the real season is over anyway, so its works out good, cause I wont start a franchise until the Opening day set of rosters with pitch edits and stuff is out along with waiting for SCEA to patch the game.

[hitstreak13]

I typically play with teams who have yet to win a world series. Since we are able to transfer saves from year to year, I chose the Texas Rangers. Nice stadium, solid players, etc. A fun team to play with.

[cusefan74]

I play with my favorite team (Mets), and it's my own world. I don't worry about what is happening with the real Mets, my franchise is my franchise. I make my own moves and decisions for what is best for my team. Like for example, Matt Harvey is not playing this season IRL, but he is for me.