The Unofficial SDMB Out of the Park Baseball League currently has an openings for two new owners.
For those of you who don’t know, OOTP is a baseball simulation game that puts you in the owner’s/General Manager’s seat. In short, you have a twenty-five man Major League roster, as well as three levels of minor leagues (AAA, AA and A). You draft and develop players, sign free agents, offer and negotiate trades, manage your team’s finances, set the lineup and pitching rotation, etc. You have to watch out for injuries to players, declining superstars and highly rated prospects that sometimes go bust.
Our league is a steady league that has been ongoing for about a decade (real-time) and has just finished its 19th season. We’re beginning the off-season now and this would be an ideal time for you to take over a team and steer it towards success. Free agents will soon be hitting the market and any of them could certainly help the team you take over.
There are two very different teams currently available – the Saskatoon Amigos and the Danville Dans.
The Saskatoon Amigos are a strong team with some recent successes. They have been in the playoffs for the last five seasons. They are headed by a solid pitching rotation of Ronald Adorno (19-6, 3.78), Jeffrey Brunton (17-7, 3.04), Jeffrey Shuttleworth (16-7, 3.68) and Emilio Romero (12-8, 4.19). Saskatoon also has one of the best young closers in the game in 24 year old Greg Fiala who racked up 50 saves this season.
The Saskatoon lineup is anchored by switch-hitting speedster-slugger Rufus Murray who hit .300 this year with 30 HR, 108 RBI and stole 41 bases and 1B Gregorio Marzano (.314, 31 HR, 120 RBI).
The other team available is the Danville Dans. This is a team that has fallen on hard times in recent years. They finished the last season with a 65-97 record. If you’re looking for the challenge of rebuilding a team from the ground up, this team is for you. Among the pluses that the team has are:
SP Joseph Macaluso (15-15, 3.86) who managed to account for almost a quarter of his teams victories. He certainly pitched better than his record would indicate and could be a solid veteran anchor for years to come.
SS Rick Bryant (.310, 20 HR, 89 RBI). Rick is only 25 years old and just completed his first season and may yet walk away with the Outstanding Rookie Award. He could be a cornerstone of your offense for several years – and he’ll be under your control for at least the next five years.
SP Jim Walton. Walton was the teams 2nd round draft pick this past year. Pitching in AA, he threw two shutouts while putting up a BB/K ratio of 42/110. He is one of the top prospects in the game and could easily be ready to step into your rotation this year or next.
CF Ray McJannett. McJannett is a speedy outfielder with lots of pop in his bat. In his college career, he blew away the competition, putting up an OPS of 1.296 or better (!) every year. He was the Dans’ first round selection (number 2 overall) this year and, despite having a bit of trouble adjusting to the pros, still managed o put up a good season. He is currently rated as the #3 prospect in the league and all the scouts project a long, good career for this young man.
In addition, the Dans have the number two draft pick in this year’s upcoming amateur draft.
Your job will be to take this team, rebuild it (faster, better, stronger), and make it a success.
Whichever team you take, all we ask is that you actively participate. We sim games once a week. So, every week you’ll download the latest game updates, make any changes to your roster that you feel are necessary and upload those changes to the game server (all done via the game interface).
Since we’re in the off-season, you’ll have the opportunity to relocate/rename your franchise before the start of the next season.
There is no fee to join the league, although you do need to own the latest version (13) of Out of the Park baseball. You can purchase the game directly from the publisher.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I (or one of the other league members) will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Zev Steinhardt