Players

I was looking around the league checking out stats and what-not when I ran into a couple surprising statistics. So maybe a couple little helpful tidbits is warranted, especially after the draft review I gave. The first of which is player positions.

To change a players position or add positions to a player, it is done through the GM's Office - Edit Rosters screen. If you want to check out what position a player is best suited for, click on his position. It will give you a screen that shows his current/projected ratings and a list of the ML standards by position. At the bottom it will give you a drop down where you can select his primary position and check boxes for any secondary positions you would like him to be able to play. You can even click on Show Recs and the system will do it for you. The Show Recs is not always a good idea as it will select positions that are sometimes very marginal at best.

*Note: DO NOT assign an infield position to a player that throws left handed except 1B.

I was checking out defense at certain positions, primarily 3B, but also applies to 2B and CF. I was surprised to see that most 3B can't really play the position. Thus I saw a lot of errors and minus plays. For instance the defensive stats of an adequate 3B is:

Range: 65
Glove: 70
Arm St: 75
Arm ACC: 70

I am not saying the these exact stats will produce no errors or minus plays. But 1 point below in any category and they will happen more often. Where as points above will cause increased defense. My ideal 3B is:

Range: 70+
Glove: 75+
Arm St: 75
Arm ACC: 75

In simple terms, it is a player too strong for COF and too weak for another position. Most generally I use a near SS, like Hideki Huang. He was originally picked up as a SS, but after careful consideration, he is too weak for the position and I needed his skills at the ML level. His skills dictated that I could play him at 3B while he developed into his primary 2B position at the ML level. He also allows me to use him as a floater, resting other players while maintaining defensive continuity.

What else does the right defensive position players help? The pitchers of course, fewer errors, less pitches and more innings and better stats which can equate to wins. More games are lost due to errors than most acknowledge. However, there must be a good mix between defense and offense that it could lead to a trade off. I know, in another world I had the best defense that led to the 6th best pitching staff, but my offense was horrible. Though, I think it was more of an under-performing offense more than anything.

A players hitting and pitching are about as elusive as catching a greased pig. It isn't as easy as defensive stats. To me it sometimes just depends on how the sim is feeling that day. I wonder if there is an attitude readjustment button they push to make things seem unreal every once in a while.