Moving teams
An existing team move to an unoccupied city. Moving into a basic 40,000 seat stadium would cost a team $40 million plus 10% of their current payroll. Further seating would be at the standard cost of $3 million for each block of 1,000 seats, up to 65,000 seating capacity. One advantage to a move would be the opportunity for a team to design its own stadium, although league officials might nix an overly bizarre plan.
You may enter into a renovation project in the off season. Such project must be announced by the beginning of the free agency period. Possiblities include:
$3 million for each block of 1,000 seats, up to 65,000 seating capacity.
$8 million for each block of 1,000 seats, above 65,000 to a limit of 80,000.
$8 million dollars to alter the stadium ratings up to a total of 10 points (could be one rating changed 10 pts, two ratings 5 pts., etc)
$20 million dollars and one level of fan loyalty to alter stadium ratings up to a total of 20 points
$50 million dollars and two levels of fan loyalty to alter stadium ratings up to a total of 30 points
Note that stadium alterations that work against defined team traditions will also cause you to take a hit in fan interest.
You may do renovations no more often than every three years.
Logos and team nicknames
Owners may change team logos and nicknames provided that
- The name is in good taste
- The logo is in good taste
- You provide the logo (Keep in mind that it will appear on the website in two different two sizes: 135 pixels width x 122 pixels height AND 52 pixels width x 47 pixels height)
If you make a change in nickname, you should leave that nickname for at least three seasons. (This restriction is so that we don't get so many changes that teams lose all identity.)
Player Positions
- In order to put a player in your major league depth chart as a catcher, he must be rated as a catcher.
- In order to put a player in your major league depth chart as a second baseman or shortstop, he must be rated at at least one of those two positions.
Otherwise, you may play any player at any position you choose. During spring training, there are no restrictions at all. You may use any size pitching rotation, but be aware that tired players and overused pitchers are much more likely to get injured.
Miscellaneous
- Some teams receive "cheap legendary" coaches. These are handled automatically by the commish. When such vacancies occur, the commish simply signs a
coach very cheaply and then edits the coach's rating(s).
- The commish, at his discretion, may give a cash infusion or other aid to an ownerless team, so as to make the next
owner's position less hopeless.
Tips
- Give some thought to your team's unique advantages and disadvantages. Among other things, always keep in mind what your city's fans expect.
- Especially if you are not as experienced as some of the other owners, be careful about trading. You can quickly do your team
damage that cannot be made up for many seasons.
- The "star" system in OOTP6 is handy, but beware, it can cause a lot of trouble, particularly in two situations: 1)Prospect ratings
may be falsely high when the player is already in his mid-20s and still playing at A or AA. 2)Veteran ratings are very often falsely
low when the player has not been in the major leagues very long. You can easily be cheated in your trades if you don't
understand both of these points.
- Draft picks are valuable. You trade them off at your own risk. Good prospects already producing well at AAA are even more valuable, especially if
they are not yet 26. These guys still have 2 seasons of $300,000 major league baseball in them, plus 3 more seasons you can hold onto them
through arbitration.
- The market value for relief pitchers is usually somewhat low. Beware of trading a position player or starting pitcher for
either a closer or middle reliever. In particular, don't give up too much for a reliever based on his recent performance stats.
- You'll get a lot further in your trading (and avoid angering people) if you avoid the kind of offer where you say, "I
want player X. Make me an offer." Put together an offer which shows about how much you are willing to give for the guy.
- Stadium ratings, city advantages, and organizational plans all have subtle but very real effects. The trick is to get them to add to each other, rather than spread the advantages around thinly. For example, if you have a city advantage for developing shortstops and a park favoring right handed contact hitting, you might draft/sign some extra right handed hitting shortstops, then make your organizational goal "right handed contact hitting" or even "infielders' right handed contact hitting." With a little time and luck, this strategy should leave you will a very good starter plus hopefully guys to trade.
- Conversely, don't waste your advantages by having practically no such players on your roster. I won't name names, but I have applied bonuses some years, only to find that the team's roster is almost empty of any such player.
- Also, do not expect city advantages, player attributes or organizational goals to turn rejects into productive players. The ideal targets are the many, many players who are almost good enough to help a major league team. You can often turn a backup type into a productive starter, but you will rarely turn a 28-year old who cannot compete in AA into a good major league player.
- Don't forget about fielding. The DDB talent pool tends to have a wider range of fielding than does regular OOTP, and it is easy to overlook both this and the effects of fielding range when watching your team.
- Smart traders (and FA signers) seek out abused players. Pitchers who have suffered with weak fielding infielders, hitters underperforming in pitchers' stadiums, left handed hitters who perform much better against righties but have been pushed into the lineup against a lot of lefties, etc.
- Don't underestimate the value of a player with a high rating in "bunting for a hit" -- but remember to utilize this in your team strategies, or it will do you little good.
- Speaking of team strategies, use those settings. Your manager's pitching choices can be greatly affected by a combination of pitch count and hook setting. Similarly, it is unlikely that all your players should be stealing and bunting with the same frequency.
- When comparing average players, don't forget outfield and catcher arm and base running instincts. Outs while baserunning have a pretty good chance of turning a game.
- Consider using the seven day lineups. Among other things, this allows you to 1) decide when to give rest days to starters, 2) adjust your batting order when you give a big hitter the day off, and 3) make sure your best players are in there against your most important opponents.
- OOTP2007 uses noticeably different player development. You will notice that players under the age of 20 get a very high number of talent increases and decreases. More than ever, you want to pick some teenagers with those late draft picks. More than ever, you want to keep an eye on the young players you have in the minors, to see who should get playing time, and who should be replaced.
