# We have an opening in our Out of The Park Baseball League. Anyone want to play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578 "2005-05-05T19:18:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/1 "2005-05-05T19:18:34Z")
The [Unofficial SDMB OOTP Baseball League](http://ootp.izev.com) currently has an opening and we’re looking for an owner to fill it. For those who don’t know, OOTP stands for Out of the Park. It is a baseball simulation game that puts you in the general manager’s seat. Their website is here. In short, you have your 25 man roster, plus three levels of minor leagues (AAA, AA, A). You draft and develop players, sign free agents, offer and negotiate trades, set promotion dates, manage your team’s finances, etc. The game is available through the website. We operate in a two six-team leagues. The franchise that is currently available is the California franchise. Unfortuantely, the California Blue Sox have become the victim of neglect. As a result, they are currently tied for last place in the Zotti League with a 35-59 record. Your job (if you choose to accept it) is to take this team and turn it around, returning it to it’s glory days when it once (back in the 2003 season) made it as far as the Cecil Cup playoffs. What have you got to work with? A good core of a starting rotation and a few good position players - along with a few prospects. Among the high points of the team are: **Major League Roster** SS [Lincoln Rossetti](http://ootp.izev.com/p225.html) is a young (26-year old) shortstop with excellent range, a decent bat with some pop, and a great pair of legs. He’s currently hitting .281 with 10HRs and 38RBIs. He’s also currently leading the Zotti League with 32 stolen bases. C [Waylon Blassingame](http://ootp.izev.com/p495.html) who is projected to me a major star for years to come. Blassingame is currently in his second season in the bigs. He’s in a bit of a spohomore slump at the moment, hitting only .248, but don’t give up on him so quick. He’s bound to hit closer to last year’s .326 in years to come. LF [Paul Champine](http://ootp.izev.com/p32.html) is having a career year for California, hitting .267 with 13HR just past the halfway mark. Paul is currently in the last year of his contract, and a decision must be made on whether or not to resign him. SP [Bill Clark](http://ootp.izev.com/p130.html) is a two-time All Star with a 65-48 lifetime record. After winning 18 games in 2004 and 2005, he’s currently 6-9 this year (we’re in the middle of the 2006 season), but pitching with a 3.01 ERA. He’s a workhorse, leading the league in innings pitched for the last three years and recording over 200 strikeouts in the last two (and 110 Ks this year so far). He comes with a hefty price tag ($10 million per year for the next four years) but he’s worth it. SP [Peter Bird](http://ootp.izev.com/p157.html) is a better pitcher than his 21-21 lifetime record would have you believe. He’s got a great K:BB ratio (112:36) and has a 3.54 ERA (despite the 5-10 record). He’s currently finishing up a four year contract at the bargain-basement price of $2.4 million per year - but you can bet he’s going to get more than that next year. SP [Bill Siple](http://ootp.izev.com/p244.html) is currently 9-8 with a 2.60 ERA. Lifetime, he’s 60-46 and has amazing control. He’s currently signed at $5 million per year for another year. Even if you don’t want him, I’m sure most of the owners in our league would love to get their hands on him at that price. \*\* Prospects: \*\* 19-year old SP [Isidiro Frau](http://ootp.izev.com/p926.html) was California’s first pick in the amateur draft in 2006 and is projected to be a great player. 19-year old SS [John “Sabertooth” Hukill](http://ootp.izev.com/p778.html) was California’s first pick in the 2005 draft. After hitting .257, 12HR, 46 RBI and 13SB last year in A ball, he’s currently showing improvement by surpassing those numbers already while still only at the halfway mark. That’s the basics of the team. If you like, you can check out the team’s roster online at [the team’s page](http://ootp.izev.com/team7.html). After the season, you will be able to “relocate” and rename your team. The basic parameters are: Fictional players Modern-style play No salary cap No designated hitter All we ask is that if you join that you participate actively. We simulate two week’s worth of games each Tuesday night. The game is avaialble for download at [Out of the Park Baseball](http://www.ootpdevelopments.com). The cost to use the game is $19.95. Version 6 is the most current version available, but we are using version 5. If anyone has any questions about the game, feel free to post them and I (or other OOTPing Dopers) will answer them. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/2 "2005-05-05T20:40:35Z")
Interested, but stll unsure how this works. How do the fictional players get generated? Is there and initial draft? It looks like each team has a revenue base, but how doesthis work with no salary cap? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/3 "2005-05-05T20:44:25Z")
> [@cards](#): > > Interested, but stll unsure how this works. How do the fictional players get generated? Is there and initial draft? It looks like each team has a revenue base, but how doesthis work with no salary cap? There’s no initial draft. There was one about three years ago when we first started. Now, you’d be taking over an existing franchise. Every “spring” the computer generates new players and “retires” old ones. The new ones are distributed to the teams in the annual amateur draft (which usually lasts 7 or 8 rounds). Each team generates revenue based on market size and team popularity. I’m not quite sure how the market size is determined, but I know that your team’s performance affects your popularity. In addition, you also set ticket prices, which affects attendance and revenue as well. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Zev ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/4 "2005-05-06T03:20:40Z")
Just to give it a friendly bump… Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/5 "2005-05-06T03:30:54Z")
What’s the general time committment for this sort of thing? Sounds interesting, but I’d not want to start something I can’t finish, you know? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/6 "2005-05-06T03:43:36Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > What’s the general time committment for this sort of thing? > > Sounds interesting, but I’d not want to start something I can’t finish, you know? It’s not something that has to take over your life. At some point during the week, you download the league file, make your roster changes and upload your changes via FTP to the league website (it’s handled via the game interface - you don’t have to know how to set up an FTP connection). Beyond that, it’s communicating with other owners to trade players and emailing me if you want to release a player or sign a free agent during the season. If you want to have fun, send out an occassional “press release” about your team when you pull off a trade or make a roster move. Here’s an example of one that was written by the owner of the Seattle franchise this year: > [@](#): > > Seattle Monarchs Kick Off Trading Season With Two Major Deals > > The trading season started early this year as the Seattle Monarchs, rebounding from their humiliating sweep in the Cecil Cup last year, shook things up with two major deals. > > In the first move of the day, Seattle sent long-time second baseman Rigoberto Villines to the Hickory Huskers. “It’s a tough day here in Seattle to move someone as important to our success as ‘Rigs’ has been,” said Seattle general manager [owner’s name - _deleted by Zev_]. “But, he wanted more playing > time and we felt we owed it to him to find him a good fit. We wish him nothing > but the best.” > > Villines has been named to the last three All-Star Games, but was platooning > this year. “I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the fans in Seattle, but I feel I still have a lot to contribute as an every day player. Besides, that jerk Philip [Preciado] has been spitting in my shoes ever since he got here,” Villines said, referring to the free-agent second baseman Seattle signed in the off-season. Preciado has struggled since joining the team, hitting a meager .208 with just one home run, and fans had been calling for Villines to get his every-day starting spot back. > > Seattle included reliever James Wafer in the deal and received in return Hickory’s closer, Edward Beliveau. “We think Eddie will be an outstanding middle and long reliever for us. It’s a big plus that his salary is locked in for the next couple of seasons. Wafer is going to be a free agent and we just hadn’t been able to find common ground with his agent on an extension,” explained [owner’s name]. > > “Is that what [owner’s name] said? That lying piece of s\*\*\*! They barely even > talked to us,” seethed Wafer. “I’ve never been a me-first kind of guy. I would have been reasonable. Now, I can’t wait to pitch against Seattle and if I meet [owner’s name] again I’ll shove that baseball right where the sun don’t shine.” > > In the second deal, which was announced a few hours later, Seattle obtained > star outfielder Patrick Welch from the Walla Walla Federal Duck. Welch, an > All-Star all four years of the league’s history, carries a .342 career batting average, highest in league history. “I’m really excited to add Pat to our line-up,” enthused Seattle manager Alvin Davis. “He’s a real pro’s pro and will fit nicely in the top of our order.” > > Welch said he was looking forward to the move. “I’m going to be crossing the Cascades to join a contending team. I’ve had nothing but great experiences in Walla Walla, but there’s only so many times you can go cow-tipping before it gets a little dull.” > > Seattle also added infielder Lee Chaparro, who may see time at both second and third base. Both Chaparro and Welch are free agents at the end of the year. [owner’s name] gave no indications as to whether he intended to resign either > or both of them. > > In exchange, Seattle gave up two very promising prospects, third baseman Angelo Vega and starting pitcher Fernando Estrada. “You hate to give up two > good kids like that,” said [owner’s name]. “But you’ve got to give up something to get something and we feel we got something really special.” Vega, rated by > some as the number three prospect in the Seattle system, was beginning > to develop his skills and had seven home runs so far in AA. Estrada was one of > the “Young Guns,” which Seattle’s five promising starters in A ball had dubbed themselves. He had a 3-1 record with a 3.47 ERA for the A-ball Kent Kings. > > [owner’s name] would not state whether or not Seattle was done dealing. > “You’re always keeping your ears open for something that will improve the ball > club. If you ever stop working in this business, you might as well give up > and go fishing. Or even better, manage an NHL team. I hear that’s a pretty > relaxing gig right now.” Of course, you don’t have to issue press releases if you don’t want to. The game is as much fun as you want it to be. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/7 "2005-05-06T03:47:55Z")
I’m very interested in joining if the franchise is still open. I have OOTP, but I have OOTP version 6, if my game can still work with your league files then I’d definitely be up for it. Otherwise, not going to buy OOTP 5 to play in a SDMB league ;). If you still have a space and agree to my joining I must mention I won’t be able to really be involved for about a week and a half, after that I can completely promise that I will be heavily involved as I love baseball and play OOTP all the time with friends and solo. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/8 "2005-05-06T03:48:10Z")
Sounds good. How about a length/time-limit? (i.e. does it end when the normal baseball season ends, is it open-ended, etc?) ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/9 "2005-05-06T03:51:46Z")
Hmm…I thought this was just an online/free downloadable deal. Didn’t realize it was a whole program thing. Maybe I’ll buy it and play around for a while to get familiar with it and then get in the next round. It sounds like **Martin Hyde** knows what’s up. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/10 "2005-05-06T04:01:52Z")
Unfortunately, version 6 won’t work with our league. The schedule is not tied to the real major league schedule. We’re currently playing in July 2006. We cover two weeks’ worth of games each week during the season. The off-season usually takes about a month or two in real-time. The net effect is that we cover about two seasons every year. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/11 "2005-05-06T04:05:54Z")
To give you an idea of our pace, we started the league (real time) in January 2003 [(here’s the original thread)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=146610) with the 2002 season. In the two and a half years since then, we’ve covered four and a half seasons. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/12 "2005-05-06T04:08:42Z")
Unfortunately I’m out then, paying $19.95 to play in an online baseball league isn’t out of the question for me, but OOTP 5 had some serious bugs in it (no idea if they were ever corrected) and I had certain problems with the way stats were generated and the way players were rated. After playing the demo I decided against buying it. When OOTP 6 came out it addressed all of those issues and I’ve been happy with it ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/13 "2005-05-06T04:12:44Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Hmm…I thought this was just an online/free downloadable deal. Didn’t realize it was a whole program thing. Maybe I’ll buy it and play around for a while to get familiar with it and then get in the next round. It sounds like **Martin Hyde** knows what’s up. OOTP Developments has demos for all their games I believe. Not trying to interfere at all with zev’s recruiting here but if you’re more interested in the baseball sim itself versus just playing in a league with Dopers I would highly recommend OOTP 6. It’s newer, everything looks a bit better, I find stat generation better vs. when I played OOTP 5, and over all it’s just a fundamentally better game. OOTP tends to support its games heavily, so I’d say some of the bugs I found when OOTP 5 was released are gone now, but I still think 6 is a better game. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/14 "2005-05-06T04:12:51Z")
Ok then, looks like I’m back in the running. When you say you simulate two weeks worth of games every Tuesday, what does that mean? Do I have to be at the computer then, or is that just the deadline for any changes I want to make? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/15 "2005-05-06T04:16:07Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Ok then, looks like I’m back in the running. When you say you simulate two weeks worth of games every Tuesday, what does that mean? Do I have to be at the computer then, or is that just the deadline for any changes I want to make? No, that’s the deadline. Each Tuesday I download your changes, execute any trades or free agent signings and then simulate two weeks’ worth of games. Then I upload the league files to the website. At your convenience, you download the league file, make your changes and then upload to the site for me to grab the following Tuesday. **Martin** , the original version 5 was a bit buggy, but they’ve patched up most of the issues since the original release. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/16 "2005-05-06T04:19:52Z")
Ok, it all sounds good. And apologies for asking so many questions, I’ll download the demo and such later, but I’m at work right now. I think I’d like to give it a shot, unless there’s someone else who REALLY REALLY wants to do it. There’s just the one-time buying-the-game cost, right? ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/17 "2005-05-06T05:40:39Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Ok, it all sounds good. > > And apologies for asking so many questions, I’ll download the demo and such later, but I’m at work right now. > > I think I’d like to give it a shot, unless there’s someone else who REALLY REALLY wants to do it. There’s just the one-time buying-the-game cost, right? Yep. And if they’ve fixed the bugs in OOTP 5 like Zev says then and you’re a baseball sim fan like me the game will pay for itself many times over with hours upon hours of enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-have-an-opening-in-our-out-of-the-park-baseball-league-anyone-want-to-play/302578/18 "2005-05-06T18:46:39Z")
OK, the spot’s been filled. Thanks everyone. Zev Steinhardt