One of the most addictive games I've played in a long time. Metacritic's 2nd-most popular game of all time. :b: It's half price during the off season. :)
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/index.php
It's not so much a baseball-qua-baseball game. For the most part, you play the General Manager of a major league baseball team. You can add in playing as bench manager (which I have) and/or as the Commissioner of the League (which I have not). The graphics are terrible, but that's okay because the heart of your job is looking at statistics, shoring up your weaknesses, preserving your strengths, and so you're looking at a lot of charts.
The game is remarkably flexible. You can play with last season's teams...or with any historical teams going back into the...er...1870's? I went another way, creating my own fictitious league, which stretches from Anchorage, Alaska to Perth, Australia; from Vladivostok, Russia to Suva, Figi. There's two sub-leagues: Northern and Southern, each with four divisions. I run the Cebu Saboteurs, which has two farm clubs: the Tagbilaran Terrors and the Jagna Jaguars.
After the opening draft of players (I chose the first 24 players for the Saboteurs, and then let the computer choose the 25th and also choose all the players for my farm teams...which I let the computer manage), I stomped in Spring training. :chili: However, I emerged with my two top starting pitchers and my best hitter on the disabled list. :( The regular season had a rocky start. My team sank down to third of the four teams of my division, and I was probably about 2/3 of the way down the list off all teams. My team owner was not at all happy with me, and I think I was on the verge of being fired. :scared: All season, I have been plagued with injuries, at one point having my two best starters, my first & third relievers and my two best hitters out with injuries. :( But then I started winning...10 straight games at one point! I went from being 3 games down in my division, to being 8 games up, and had the 5th best winning record of the 32 teams. :carrot: My fortunes have fallen lately. My recent road trip to New Zealand was a disaster; I was swept first by Christchurch and then by Wellington. :crying:
How the individual games are played is also very flexible. I usually play as Quill18 does in the above video: with just the last pitch to each batter showing. A game this way takes about an hour. You can also do pitch-by-pitch, which I think would be boring. Occasionally, I let the AI play the game, coming back to me either at the end of the half-inning or when a running is in scoring position. I've been known to let the AI play entire games. And, if you want, you can let the AI play the entire season.
We're just past the player draft and all-star game. Because I was about fifth in the entire league, my picks were far back. I didn't get any stars and I sent my picks to my AAA farm team (I'm still negotiating with one). During the season, I've managed to hire better hitting coaches for all three of my teams, and just hired a better bench coach for the Saboteurs [the bench coach helps the players improve their skills].
I'm already looking forward to next season. :nod: I'm going to add in a fifth team to all divisions, which will expand the league from 32 to 40 teams. I have some potentially great players in my AAA farm team, and I'm anxious to see how they develop. :excited: My best hitter is on the disabled list with a career-ending skull fracture, and when he retires at the end of the season, that'll free up $1.8 million a year for me to play with. The contract of my second best hitter will be expiring, and so I must decide whether to renew his contract ($2M+) or to trade him away.
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/index.php
It's not so much a baseball-qua-baseball game. For the most part, you play the General Manager of a major league baseball team. You can add in playing as bench manager (which I have) and/or as the Commissioner of the League (which I have not). The graphics are terrible, but that's okay because the heart of your job is looking at statistics, shoring up your weaknesses, preserving your strengths, and so you're looking at a lot of charts.
The game is remarkably flexible. You can play with last season's teams...or with any historical teams going back into the...er...1870's? I went another way, creating my own fictitious league, which stretches from Anchorage, Alaska to Perth, Australia; from Vladivostok, Russia to Suva, Figi. There's two sub-leagues: Northern and Southern, each with four divisions. I run the Cebu Saboteurs, which has two farm clubs: the Tagbilaran Terrors and the Jagna Jaguars.
After the opening draft of players (I chose the first 24 players for the Saboteurs, and then let the computer choose the 25th and also choose all the players for my farm teams...which I let the computer manage), I stomped in Spring training. :chili: However, I emerged with my two top starting pitchers and my best hitter on the disabled list. :( The regular season had a rocky start. My team sank down to third of the four teams of my division, and I was probably about 2/3 of the way down the list off all teams. My team owner was not at all happy with me, and I think I was on the verge of being fired. :scared: All season, I have been plagued with injuries, at one point having my two best starters, my first & third relievers and my two best hitters out with injuries. :( But then I started winning...10 straight games at one point! I went from being 3 games down in my division, to being 8 games up, and had the 5th best winning record of the 32 teams. :carrot: My fortunes have fallen lately. My recent road trip to New Zealand was a disaster; I was swept first by Christchurch and then by Wellington. :crying:
How the individual games are played is also very flexible. I usually play as Quill18 does in the above video: with just the last pitch to each batter showing. A game this way takes about an hour. You can also do pitch-by-pitch, which I think would be boring. Occasionally, I let the AI play the game, coming back to me either at the end of the half-inning or when a running is in scoring position. I've been known to let the AI play entire games. And, if you want, you can let the AI play the entire season.
We're just past the player draft and all-star game. Because I was about fifth in the entire league, my picks were far back. I didn't get any stars and I sent my picks to my AAA farm team (I'm still negotiating with one). During the season, I've managed to hire better hitting coaches for all three of my teams, and just hired a better bench coach for the Saboteurs [the bench coach helps the players improve their skills].
I'm already looking forward to next season. :nod: I'm going to add in a fifth team to all divisions, which will expand the league from 32 to 40 teams. I have some potentially great players in my AAA farm team, and I'm anxious to see how they develop. :excited: My best hitter is on the disabled list with a career-ending skull fracture, and when he retires at the end of the season, that'll free up $1.8 million a year for me to play with. The contract of my second best hitter will be expiring, and so I must decide whether to renew his contract ($2M+) or to trade him away.