Out Of the Park X, the 10th iteration of the baseball management simulation series, is nearing its own personal Opening Day. And while games such as MLB: The Show or MLB Power Pros have risen in recent times to dominate the baseball gaming landscape, OOTP has been hitting it out of the park for a decade now.

Created and developed by Markus Heinsohn, OOTP is a baseball junkie's dream. In fact, OOTP’s best asset is that it allows players to take various roles in the baseball universe. For the "dream land" gamer, OOTP lets you become an overseer of your own baseball universe, which can have its own convoluted or simple rule-set. For those who have read the book Universal Baseball Association, it is like a modern-day version of that premise -- hopefully minus the dead player or mental breakdown.

Additionally, for the "future MLB general manager" gamer, OOTP also allows you to take control of an MLB team during the current MLB season and beyond. Think you can perform better than real bench bosses or general managers? Well, now you can find out.

Finally, for the historians in all of us, OOTP lets gamers simulate decades of MLB history so that anyone can attempt to -- to borrow a phrase from the Legends of Wrestlemania game -- relive, rewrite and redefine that history.

So what if Ruth was never traded? What if the strike of '94 never occurred and that Expos roster stayed intact? These are the types of questions that you can explore. In the end, you are only limited by your imagination.

But whatever role you choose, OOTP has always excelled because of the open-ended features, solid gameplay mechanics and complex simulation engine. These combined factors have made it easy for players to have a fun, addicting and statistically accurate playing experience, and it has been that way since the first OOTP was released in May of 1999. (I have been a fan of the series since OOTP 3.)

Since May of '99, the series has been through some ups and downs, but in today's gaming landscape the OOTP series has become one of the best sports-management series available today.

So what does OOTP X have in store for us? Let’s have a look and find out.

What’s New?

OOTP X comes complete with real 2009 rosters that range from the MLB all the way down to the lowest minor league levels. But this game is not simply a roster update. Underneath that roster update, I have observed an underlying theme that describes many of the new features in OOTP X.

That underlying theme is improvement. And this improvement is a comprehensive term pertaining to many areas of OOTP X.

Specifically, we have been promised improved in-game/player evaluation AI, improved in-game play-by-play, improved ratings editor -- just plug in player stats and the editor will do the rest -- improved inaugural drafts (complete with team budgets), improved news stories and an improvement in the simulation of historical play.

And while those sound nice, one improvement that excites me is the in-game presentation. I am excited about the presentation improvements because there will be "widgets" available in OOTP X. Personally, I’m hoping that the in-game UI in OOTP X is something akin to a spruced-up version of MLB.com Gameday because I feel that it would help engage the user -- especially since OOTP is devoid of other graphical features.

However, these are just some of the smaller changes in OOTP X. There are other new elements that could potentially change the way we approach the game.

The Pitching

No doubt, the biggest new feature in OOTP X is the complete revamping of the pitching system. The most obvious change is that every type of pitch in a pitcher’s arsenal will now be rated. This goes along with the three standard attributes (stuff/movement/control) that have traditionally measured a pitcher’s current and potential ability. Additionally, other factors such as a pitcher’s pitch velocity, endurance and ground-ball percentage have also been revamped.

So a pitcher could have overwhelming stuff and still struggle because he only has one average pitch (e.g. a fastball) and no decent off-speed "out" pitches. Likewise, you will see that a superstar pitcher like Santana will have a number of quality pitches at his disposal. Hopefully, these changes will allow each pitcher to come into his own in unique ways, which will allow users to judge them accordingly. Additionally, I hope that the revamp will enable players to further separate the great from the good and the good from the mediocre. And I also hope it will be a way to judge whether a pitcher is cut out for the rotation or the bullpen.

Needless to say, the intricate complexity of the changes to the pitching system and OOTP game engine are above my level of understanding. But despite this fact, I am hopeful that these revisions will add to OOTP’s overall framework while still ensuring realism and accurate statistical output.

Closing in on Reality

OOTP has always been about replicating what it would be like to manage a baseball club, particularly the MLB variety -- although this does not represent how all OOTP users play the game. So it is not surprising that some new additions in OOTP X are designed to further enhance some real aspects of the MLB, particularly in the areas of arbitration/free agent compensation and injuries/minor league disabled lists.

In regards to arbitration/free agent compensation, the game will now allow the user to follow real MLB rules. So you, as the assumed GM, will now offer arbitration-eligible players whatever amount of money you feel is necessary, while a virtual arbiter will resolve the case. Also, players eligible for free agency can now also be offered arbitration. And if that player declines your offer -- essentially a salary decided upon by a virtual arbiter -- and decides to become a free agent, your team will receive a compensatory draft pick in the supplemental draft, which is another new feature in OOTP X. And if that player is a Type A or Type B free agent, your team will land another first-round or second-round pick from the player's new team.

Another new feature in OOTP X is the inclusion of minor league disabled lists. This is an important addition because now each team will have its own DL. I realize some people might think this is a minor feature, but in previous OOTP games, every team in an organizational structure -- from the MLB down to rookie ball -- shared a disabled list. This caused some problems when attempting to manage the minor league squads, so hopefully this addition will improve the quality/intelligence of that management.

Also promised is an improvement to the OOTP injury system. This year the injury system will be revised so the frequency and duration of player injuries match up more closely with reality.

All these features, no matter how extensive or minute, aim to further enhance OOTP and bring the series that much closer to reality.

But at this point, there is still room for skepticism.

Questions

I am eagerly anticipating OOTP X, but I am still skeptical about a few things.

For instance -- and I have been pondering this since I first set eyes on the feature list -- is that really it in terms of new features? Not to seem overly negative -- that is not my intention -- but the feature set seems sort of underwhelming. Perhaps I am just expecting too much because this is the 10th version, but I wanted something grand and momentous. Perhaps there are some super-secret-awesome features still kept under wraps? Maybe not, but hopefully there are some extra things we are still not aware of yet.

Another question is, how effective will the various promised improvements be? Needless to say, promises to improve various areas of the game, such as the in-game management or player development, have been made for years now. So until I actually see some solid improvements in these areas, I will have to remain skeptical.

Finally, I wonder if OOTP X will be solid, playable and bug-free when it is released. I certainly hope it will be ready, but I would not be surprised if gamers had to wait until a patch or two was available post-release. As always, we will just have to wait and see.

Will X Mark the Spot?

Overall, when looking at what OOTP X has to offer, I appreciate the fact that some of the new features could have a major impact on the way gamers approach OOTP. And I am optimistic that some of the other improvements, such as the arbitration rules and the new presentational elements, will add some more positive elements to the series.

However, I must admit that I cannot help but feel a bit underwhelmed by the overall feature set at this point. Nevertheless, at the very minimum, I hope that OOTP X improves and builds upon the solid foundation put forth by OOTP 9, which was by far my favorite OOTP game since OOTP 6.5.

As stated earlier, OOTP is set for release any week now and will be available for purchase and (eventually) download here. And for any further information, please check out www.ootpdevelopments.com or the OOTP forums.