Questions from a beginner (Long)

[Army of Nine]

I just started playing BM2007 and have played a couple seasons using the shuffle players, equalize cities, sim mode, and mogul difficulty settings.

I have some questions about how the game runs.

The numbers I put for players like 70/84 means 70=current overall rating and84 is peak expected rating.

1) Why doesn't the auto sort lineup feature put the best player in the lineup? EX: I have 2 3B, one with overall stats of 84 with peak 93 (newbie) and a veteran with overall 69 with peak 73. I manually put in the 84/93 guy but everytime I hit the sort button, the 69/73 guy gets into the roster. Even when I sim games with the 84/93 guy in the roster, the 69/73 guy shows up a LOT. Why is this? The 84/93 guy is already better than the 69/73 ever will be? This is really annoying and something I really dont understand about the game. They are both same position. Only difference I can see is the 69/73 guy is veteran but skills are skills right? The computer even tries to put the 84/93 guy in AA. Need help understanding this.

2) About the same with #1 except with pitchers trying to put what I thought was a more qualified RP into the closer role. They guy I thought was better, having a better fastball, power, movement, and overall/peak numbers, was at best placed behind the closer and set-up guy. Again, being a virtual newbie compared to more veterans.

3) If #1 and #2 is b/c veteran status, what's the point of the rating system since it doesnt show me anywhere (that I can tell) how much emphasis to put on veteran status.

4) Since I choose the equalize cities I was expecting AT LEAST all the computer player cities to be the same in terms of fan loyalty, fan base, etc but this does not seem to be the case. I understand mine being lower than the others due to the mogul difficulty but why are the computers different?

5) Why do players want SOOOO much when their contracts come up? I have a guy that sits the bench currently making like 250K and wants 3M. He gets upset when I offer 1M. I'm quadrupling his salary for warming the pine. This does not make sense. How can you even field a team from year to year with the same players when salaries go off the deep end? I ended signing my 2 pitchers after 1st year of game and they ended up being in the top paid players (when you choose leaderboard) and I tried to negotiate them down. And they were STILL BOTH in the leaderboard. Granted, I thought they were good, but come on.

6) How much does putting money in scouting really help? I saw that some computer players put $0 in thier scouting. How can they tell who the good free agents are if they have no scouts. They just blindly pay what the players want b/c the players think they are worth it? I've always thought (i've played football mogul before) that scouting was worth it since it tells you who to keep and who to get rid of and what people should be worth which, in my opinion, would pay for itself every year.

7) What does increasing the farm system money do? It says in description it gives you more players, but so far the only time i've gotten more players is amateur draft and trading. Where do the "more players" come from? Maybe the farm system makes the new players better faster, is that right?

8) Whats a good number of minor leaguers to keep?

9) I'm also surprised by the "averageness" of everyone. Most players are in the high 70's to mid 80's. A guy with 92 power is a stud but 85 is not so great. Odd.

10) Any other advise would be welcome.

Thanks.

[ohms_law]

Wrong forum. Baseball Mogul Online is a different game.
:)

[ohms_law]

1) Why doesn't the auto sort lineup feature put the best player in the lineup? EX: I have 2 3B, one with overall stats of 84 with peak 93 (newbie) and a veteran with overall 69 with peak 73. I manually put in the 84/93 guy but everytime I hit the sort button, the 69/73 guy gets into the roster. Even when I sim games with the 84/93 guy in the roster, the 69/73 guy shows up a LOT. Why is this? The 84/93 guy is already better than the 69/73 ever will be? This is really annoying and something I really dont understand about the game. They are both same position. Only difference I can see is the 69/73 guy is veteran but skills are skills right? The computer even tries to put the 84/93 guy in AA. Need help understanding this.
There's alot of reasons for things like this. I would need to see the player's cards (feel free to post screenshots) to really be able to say anything specific. One peice of advice that I can give you is that if you see anything like this occuring, you can put the guy that you want into the lineup where you want him and then click the checkbox next to him. With the checkbox checked, the autosort will not move that player.

[ohms_law]

3) If #1 and #2 is b/c veteran status, what's the point of the rating system since it doesnt show me anywhere (that I can tell) how much emphasis to put on veteran status.
It probably does have alot to do with veteran/rookie status (like I said, depending on the players). One of the things that you just need to know about the game is that veterans are simply more reliable. Rookies that are supposed to be .300 hitters or 200 strikeout pitchers, based on thier ratings, are unpredictable. You can expect a player that has actually done something like that to do so again much more reliably. It's just part of the system.

[ohms_law]

4) Since I choose the equalize cities I was expecting AT LEAST all the computer player cities to be the same in terms of fan loyalty, fan base, etc but this does not seem to be the case. I understand mine being lower than the others due to the mogul difficulty but why are the computers different?
Equilize cities only adjusts the min/max fan base available to each city. it doesn't effect fan loyalty, or anything like that. You can adjust those sorts of things in the League Editor and the Stadium Editor though, if you wish.

[ohms_law]

5) Why do players want SOOOO much when their contracts come up? I have a guy that sits the bench currently making like 250K and wants 3M. He gets upset when I offer 1M. I'm quadrupling his salary for warming the pine. This does not make sense. How can you even field a team from year to year with the same players when salaries go off the deep end? I ended signing my 2 pitchers after 1st year of game and they ended up being in the top paid players (when you choose leaderboard) and I tried to negotiate them down. And they were STILL BOTH in the leaderboard. Granted, I thought they were good, but come on.
This isn't "salaries going off the deep end". the player is going from not having a contract at all (since he's being forced to play for the team he's on), to asking for a regular contract. You can make this easier on yourself if you want by using Coach or Manager difficulty level. This sort of thing is the one aspect of the game that the difficulty level affects. There are also settings for Player contract amount and length.

[ohms_law]

6) How much does putting money in scouting really help? I saw that some computer players put $0 in thier scouting. How can they tell who the good free agents are if they have no scouts. They just blindly pay what the players want b/c the players think they are worth it? I've always thought (i've played football mogul before) that scouting was worth it since it tells you who to keep and who to get rid of and what people should be worth which, in my opinion, would pay for itself every year.
That depends on you. The computer puts $0 into scouting only when it's in debt. Not spending on scouting makes the ratings that you see unreliable. Each player card will show "ratings are +/- X", with the X varying based on how much you're spending. Since the auto-sort uses the ratings, having good scouting also (generally) helps the auto-sort create better lineups.

[Army of Nine]

This isn't "salaries going off the deep end". the player is going from not having a contract at all (since he's being forced to play for the team he's on), to asking for a regular contract. You can make this easier on yourself if you want by using Coach or Manager difficulty level. This sort of thing is the one aspect of the game that the difficulty level affects. There are also settings for Player contract amount and length.

Ok. So this is the DIFFICULTY RATING. I can understand that. So on Mogul rating, a player might want, say $5M, but on Fan level, the same exact player in same exact situation would want only $1M or something like that. Right?

What other major items (that you know of) are changed via difficulty rating.

Thanks.

[ohms_law]

Ok. So this is the DIFFICULTY RATING. I can understand that. So on Mogul rating, a player might want, say $5M, but on Fan level, the same exact player in same exact situation would want only $1M or something like that. Right?

What other major items (that you know of) are changed via difficulty rating.

Thanks.

correct. that's about all that the difficulty actually effects, is how much players ask for. I think that it also has some effect on fan loyalty (and therefore ticket prices), and TV revenue. Basically, difficulty level effects most of the financial aspects of the game.

[ohms_law]

7) What does increasing the farm system money do? It says in description it gives you more players, but so far the only time i've gotten more players is amateur draft and trading. Where do the "more players" come from? Maybe the farm system makes the new players better faster, is that right?
More money in Farm System causes your players that are in the minors to hit their peak. If you do not have a farm system, most of your minor league players will never reach their peak rating. It doesn't really make them hit their peak faster (although it may have a slight effect on this). The "more players" is the (really) old way that the game used to work. I guess the help file has just never been updated is all.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Ok. So this is the DIFFICULTY RATING. I can understand that. So on Mogul rating, a player might want, say $5M, but on Fan level, the same exact player in same exact situation would want only $1M or something like that. Right?

What other major items (that you know of) are changed via difficulty rating.

Thanks.

Time & Expenses changes kicking in (the lower the "difficulty" the quicker the expenses kick in ,not enormusly but it does happen)

[ohms_law]

Time & Expenses changes kicking in (the lower the "difficulty" the quicker the expenses kick in ,not enormusly but it does happen)

what? that's not true...

[boomboom]

I just started playing BM2007 and have played a couple seasons using the shuffle players, equalize cities, sim mode, and mogul difficulty settings.

I have some questions about how the game runs.

The numbers I put for players like 70/84 means 70=current overall rating and84 is peak expected rating.

1) Why doesn't the auto sort lineup feature put the best player in the lineup? EX: I have 2 3B, one with overall stats of 84 with peak 93 (newbie) and a veteran with overall 69 with peak 73. I manually put in the 84/93 guy but everytime I hit the sort button, the 69/73 guy gets into the roster. Even when I sim games with the 84/93 guy in the roster, the 69/73 guy shows up a LOT. Why is this? The 84/93 guy is already better than the 69/73 ever will be? This is really annoying and something I really dont understand about the game. They are both same position. Only difference I can see is the 69/73 guy is veteran but skills are skills right? The computer even tries to put the 84/93 guy in AA. Need help understanding this.


The AI thinks he isn't ready yet...sometimes if you put a player too early, he will stink up the joint...make sure you are spending money in farm so that your players develop better :)
2) About the same with #1 except with pitchers trying to put what I thought was a more qualified RP into the closer role. They guy I thought was better, having a better fastball, power, movement, and overall/peak numbers, was at best placed behind the closer and set-up guy. Again, being a virtual newbie compared to more veterans.


3) If #1 and #2 is b/c veteran status, what's the point of the rating system since it doesnt show me anywhere (that I can tell) how much emphasis to put on veteran status.

The point is to see how well the player is...something to know, Rating system also calcuates health, defense into the equation. So if a player is 87/94, and the veteran is 67-74...will the veteran play better defense? Sometimes you have to override what the AI thinks you should do. Use your judgement when calling a player up...also, any player below 80 shouldnt be in your starting lineup ;)


4) Since I choose the equalize cities I was expecting AT LEAST all the computer player cities to be the same in terms of fan loyalty, fan base, etc but this does not seem to be the case. I understand mine being lower than the others due to the mogul difficulty but why are the computers different?


Difficulty only effects your budget...it also depends on your ticket prices, broadcast wins and losses. (in the first season or two, the difference between 1 and 30 is slim...but if you continue to lose, than the difference will broaden.


5) Why do players want SOOOO much when their contracts come up? I have a guy that sits the bench currently making like 250K and wants 3M. He gets upset when I offer 1M. I'm quadrupling his salary for warming the pine. This does not make sense. How can you even field a team from year to year with the same players when salaries go off the deep end? I ended signing my 2 pitchers after 1st year of game and they ended up being in the top paid players (when you choose leaderboard) and I tried to negotiate them down. And they were STILL BOTH in the leaderboard. Granted, I thought they were good, but come on.


This is something that does need to be fixed...try trading them away..and getting younger talent... that is what some teams in real life do :)


6) How much does putting money in scouting really help? I saw that some computer players put $0 in thier scouting. How can they tell who the good free agents are if they have no scouts. They just blindly pay what the players want b/c the players think they are worth it? I've always thought (i've played football mogul before) that scouting was worth it since it tells you who to keep and who to get rid of and what people should be worth which, in my opinion, would pay for itself every year.

Scouting effects the way you see players...so if you have a 90 rated player, and your scouting is +/- 10, they could be as high as 100, or as low as 80.
But something I always look at is the individual ratings...


7) What does increasing the farm system money do? It says in description it gives you more players, but so far the only time i've gotten more players is amateur draft and trading. Where do the "more players" come from? Maybe the farm system makes the new players better faster, is that right?

This is an old help file...sorry about that. The farm system will help you develop player faster and more closer to the peak. So if you dont spend any money on farm, and you draft a player at 64/98...he might only end up as a 82 rated player when he/she hits their peak.


8) Whats a good number of minor leaguers to keep?

The most you want to do is keep 5 pitchers at every level...and one position player at each level per position.


9) I'm also surprised by the "averageness" of everyone. Most players are in the high 70's to mid 80's. A guy with 92 power is a stud but 85 is not so great. Odd.

You will learn as in the game of baseball, power isn't everything, you will need to stock up on players with high contact, high defense...and a good eye...speed helps too...one or two big power bats...that is all you need. But Defense and pitching is the way to win. (with pitching, never pitch a player with less than 85 movement (if you team sucks than 80)


10) Any other advise would be welcome.

Thanks.

I hope i was helpful, I did it in one post unlike ohms :D (post padder)

to win in either BMO(Baseball Mogul Online) and BM2kx series, you need defense..mainly up the middle, (C, 2b, SS and CF) Range is the key with a strong arm at SS, C and CF. CF needs the most range...dont play players out of position...if you dont have a player at that position, better trade for one.

Also, I really do suggest that you join Baseball Mogul Online, you can get me on AIM if interested. Leagues start at $4.95. The game is played on a server... so your BM2k7 game won't be needed. Playing against 30 human owners and their own egos is the best thing since sliced bread.

I can find a good league for you, if you are ever interested in joining :)

[boomboom]

about closers

The game tries to put the most experience player their...not to often, you will see a rookie closing games (this year in real life doesnt happen too much in real life ;))

[HoustonGM]

I'll expand on what ohms said where necessary



1) Why doesn't the auto sort lineup feature put the best player in the lineup? EX: I have 2 3B, one with overall stats of 84 with peak 93 (newbie) and a veteran with overall 69 with peak 73. I manually put in the 84/93 guy but everytime I hit the sort button, the 69/73 guy gets into the roster. Even when I sim games with the 84/93 guy in the roster, the 69/73 guy shows up a LOT. Why is this? The 84/93 guy is already better than the 69/73 ever will be? This is really annoying and something I really dont understand about the game. They are both same position. Only difference I can see is the 69/73 guy is veteran but skills are skills right? The computer even tries to put the 84/93 guy in AA. Need help understanding this.
The computer tends to value veterans a lot higher than prospects, even if the prospect is clearly better by a long shot than the veteran. In my rosters, I tried everything for the Yankees to start Melky Cabrera (79/93), but it insisted on putting Bernie Williams in left field, who was rated roughly the same, but with horrible defensive stats.


2) About the same with #1 except with pitchers trying to put what I thought was a more qualified RP into the closer role. They guy I thought was better, having a better fastball, power, movement, and overall/peak numbers, was at best placed behind the closer and set-up guy. Again, being a virtual newbie compared to more veterans.
I usually see this type of thing when theres a good reliever with low power, and a bad reliever with high power. The high power guy gets sorted into the closer role. This led the Cardinals in my dynasty to suffer through two years of a closer with 7.00+ ERA because he walked nearly as many guys as he struck out. Your example seems different than that though, and it could very well be the result of the veteran bias in the game.


5) Why do players want SOOOO much when their contracts come up? I have a guy that sits the bench currently making like 250K and wants 3M. He gets upset when I offer 1M. I'm quadrupling his salary for warming the pine. This does not make sense. How can you even field a team from year to year with the same players when salaries go off the deep end? I ended signing my 2 pitchers after 1st year of game and they ended up being in the top paid players (when you choose leaderboard) and I tried to negotiate them down. And they were STILL BOTH in the leaderboard. Granted, I thought they were good, but come on.
For bench players, your best bet is to release them into the free agent market, and sim a little into the offseason, you'll see their asking price go way down. As an example, in my Indians dynasty, I released Bernie Castro after he was asking for $3 million a year. Come February, he was asking for $500K.

As for difficulty level, the level you set it to when you start the game applies to both AI/Financials and Play-by-Play. In the league options, you can set the two difficulties to differing values. The AI/Financials one is the only one that matters if you're purely simming. It controls your ability to make money and the computer trade AI. Salary asking prices fit into "ability to make money", so yes, it does affect that.


also, any player below 80 shouldnt be in your starting lineup
That's not true. A lot of times, there are players above 80 whor eallys houldn't be in your starting lineup. Why? BEcause their 80 overalls are completely a factor of health and defense. They'll bat .180 if you start them daily. I started Doug Mientkiewicz for 2006 or so, rated 77, and he batted something along the lines of .275/.360/.400 for me.


But something I always look at is the individual ratings...

Those are also subject to the +/- value. That's why sometimes you'll see a guy with an overall of 90 but no individual rating above 80! :p

[boomboom]

in a compettive league to win, if you have a player below 80, you will not be successful :)

[HoustonGM]

in a compettive league to win, if you have a player below 80, you will not be successful :)
2006, Doug Mientkiewicz: .287/.380/.403. Rated 77. 98-64, lost in the ALCS to the Yankees.

You can't base things entirely on overall, you need to look at the individual stats. Eye, I've found, is the most important. Doug had a great eye, which allowed him to produce at a level like an 80+ rated player.

[boomboom]

I am talking about in Bm2k7 or BMO...especially BMO...cause you have 30 competent owners...not like the GM in Seattle, Bill Bavaci.

This game is far from accurate...or true to life.

[HoustonGM]

Well, I'm assuming this guy was asking about the CD version of the game, not BMO.

And either way, that .287/.380/.403 is still valuable in BMO.

[ohms_law]

Eye is important because the guy has to be able to decide when to swing in order to actually get the most benefit from his contact or power rating.

the way I understand it (and I vaguely remember asking about this way back with the original mogul, the basics of the game havent changed much since then), the game checks eye and then either power or contact. I obviously don't know the exact specifics, bit hitting certainly seems to use Eye first.