Which attributes are important for each position?

[bigd51]

One thing I've been trying my best to figure out is how to know which position a player will be best at per his attributes, but my results have been inconsistent at best.

I see guys in the Majors like Gattis who can play LF and Catcher, but with The Show's ratings being so condensed and basic, there's not much for me to go by as someone who's not familiar with baseball all that much.

I've recently moved a LF to 3B blindly without a hit to his overall, but I have no idea why that is, so I was wondering if anyone could tell me. Also when it comes to pitchers, too, such as what separates a Closer from a Set Up guy from a Mid Relief. And if a players physical attributes (height, weight, etc.) play a part too.

Thanks in advance.

[kizzy1206]

Speed is important in the OF but more importantly, your RF should have a good arm to throw from RF to third base. The left side of the infield needs a good arm to get it to first whereas the 2nd baseman basically just needs to get it 40ft or less.

In regards to your bullpen, your late inning guys should always have either good Velocity or Good Movement on their pitches with a high K and High BB rating because they're more likely to be put in tough situations and need to be able to get 3 outs. Your closer needs to be equally good against righties and lefties because he'll pitch the ninth in a game separated by 3 or less runs. Middle relief guys are usually specialists as you hope to never have to use them (aim for your SP to get at least 6 innings and 3 or less runs allowed for a Quality start). For instance, the Indians use Gorzelanny LHP strictly against lefties because it's much tougher to hit Leftie on Leftie but he never pitches against righties unless absolutely necessary.

[KBLover]

Here's how I look at it - listed in order of most important to me on down and the top three ratings I look at:

C - Blocking, Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy

1B - Fielding, Reaction, Arm Strength (for relay throws if they are the cutoff man)

2B - Reaction, Speed (for ranging into the hole and up the middle), Fielding

3B - Reaction, Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy

SS - Reaction, Arm Strength, Speed (for ranging into the hold and up the middle)

LF - Reaction, Arm Accuracy, Fielding or Speed (depending on home ballpark dimensions)

CF - Reaction, Speed, Arm Strength

RF - Reaction, Arm Strength, Fielding or Speed (depending on home ballpark dimensions)



Basically, I like high Reaction at every position. The only positions where a quick first step, accurate routes, and good reads are less important are C and 1B, imo. Every other spot really benefits from it and at 1B even it can benefit if you get a lot of hard hit balls towards the lines (consider your pitching staff and approach).

I like quick fielders so Speed is the second half of my "range equation". The faster the player reacts plus the faster he can accelerate and move once he reacts, the more ground he can cover. Then those faster reactions can help him take better routes to the ball, further increasing the efficiency of his movement.

Only at the corners do I maybe slack on speed. 3B, being the "hot corner" and often playing in to cut of drag bunts, needs more Reaction than speed. He doesn't have a ton of ground to cover, and quick first steps can let him move to cut slower hit balls off in front of the SS.

LF/RF, if I'm in a small park or that part of the outfield has a compact configuration (like Fenway's LF), then Speed can slide down. I'll take it if I can get it, but I'll be more lenient. However, in a spacious configuration (like Fenway's or Marlin Park's RF), Speed is a must.


For relievers:

CL: K/9, Clutch, H/9
SU: Clutch, H/9, K/9
MR: H/9, BB/9, STA
LR: STA, H/9, BB/9

Closers, I prefer strikeout stuff and high ability to handle clutch situations (since that exists in the game, debatable irl).

Setup - usually my absolute best arm/ratings in general. For example, Chapman is my Setup, not closer. I want him in the 7th/8th. In theory, I probably just should go "no closer" but I do try to save Familia for saves...and plus I don't think I want him going more than one inning with no one on base. With runners on to start and maybe 1 inning and change total, I want Chapman.

So I guess for me Setup vs Closer is if I can answer yes to both of these:

-Do I want him coming on with RISP/runners on in general with less than 2 outs?
-Do I want him coming on to finish an inning (say 7th) then staying on for the next (say 8th)?

If I say yes to both...Setup for you. If I say no to one, Closer for you if strikeout stuff, otherwise likely a heavily used MR. If I say no to both, MR (or off my damn team) for you.

For LR/MR, I probably will want to use them for 1+ to 2 innings. If they have to come in, my SP is out early or the rest of the pen needs some break time, so they'll have to share the load. So I want STA to be solid. LR, of course, stamina is paramount, but I do want them to try to keep the team in the game. It's already in dire shape if the SP is out (either due to early injury or he got crushed), so don't make it worse, pls, kthx.

[bigd51]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

Here's how I look at it - listed in order of most important to me on down and the top three ratings I look at: C - Blocking, Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy 1B - Fielding, Reaction, Arm Strength (for relay throws if they are the cutoff man) 2B - Reaction, Speed (for ranging into the hole and up the middle), Fielding 3B - Reaction, Arm Strength, Arm Accuracy SS - Reaction, Arm Strength, Speed (for ranging into the hold and up the middle) LF - Reaction, Arm Accuracy, Fielding or Speed (depending on home ballpark dimensions) CF - Reaction, Speed, Arm Strength RF - Reaction, Arm Strength, Fielding or Speed (depending on home ballpark dimensions) For relievers: CL: K/9, Clutch, H/9 SU: Clutch, H/9, K/9 MR: H/9, BB/9, STA LR: STA, H/9, BB/9

This is awesome.

[RogueHominid]

I believe heavily in KB's emphasis on Reaction. That's what determines jumps, it seems, so it seems to have an overall effect on your fielder's range, combined with his speed.

I'm REALLY about reaction in CF and at SS/3B/2B, in that order.

[bigd51]

Do you guys know if these would translate over to OOTP? I just recently bought OOTP for the first time, so I'm hoping I can use this info in a more realistic simulation.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigd51

Do you guys know if these would translate over to OOTP? I just recently bought OOTP for the first time, so I'm hoping I can use this info in a more realistic simulation.

I think so. I love good defense in OOTP as well.

Reaction = IF/OF Range
Fielding = IF/OF Error
Arm Strength/Accuracy = IF/OF Arm
Blocking = Catcher Ability

The one that has no equivalent is Turn DP. Obviously 2B/SS need it, but I always wondered if 1B/3B need it too for giving good feed throws to the bag at 2nd.

My OOTP philopshy is pretty much the same as in The Show. I just replace the rating names as appropriate.

I don't think speed matters too much for defense in OOTP. I think Range is an abstract for "defensive quickness" in that game. On the plus side, that means you can focus on just Range, Arm, and Error. Just make sure you give guys a chance to learn the position if you're moving them. Unlike The Show, guys can learn new positions with exposure, but in the early going, their ratings might play down until they gain experience. Spring Training is great for this for established players.

If they have the skills for the new position, their position rating will rapidly increase since experience was the only limiting factor. In fact, that's a way to gauge it. If he plays there and barely gains anything, he probably isn't suited for it, skills-wise. If the rating is growing by leaps and bounds, he'll at least be decent, probably better, at max experience.

[bigd51]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

I think so. I love good defense in OOTP as well. Reaction = IF/OF Range Fielding = IF/OF Error Arm Strength/Accuracy = IF/OF Arm Blocking = Catcher Ability The one that has no equivalent is Turn DP. Obviously 2B/SS need it, but I always wondered if 1B/3B need it too for giving good feed throws to the bag at 2nd. My OOTP philopshy is pretty much the same as in The Show. I just replace the rating names as appropriate. I don't think speed matters too much for defense in OOTP. I think Range is an abstract for "defensive quickness" in that game. On the plus side, that means you can focus on just Range, Arm, and Error. Just make sure you give guys a chance to learn the position if you're moving them. Unlike The Show, guys can learn new positions with exposure, but in the early going, their ratings might play down until they gain experience. Spring Training is great for this for established players. If they have the skills for the new position, their position rating will rapidly increase since experience was the only limiting factor. In fact, that's a way to gauge it. If he plays there and barely gains anything, he probably isn't suited for it, skills-wise. If the rating is growing by leaps and bounds, he'll at least be decent, probably better, at max experience.

Preciate the in-depth detail, KB, as always.