Defense in ballparks?? Topic

Hello,

I have a question regarding defense in ballparks. When you select your home ballpark, WIS shows the difference between being a hitter’s ballpark (Coors, Baker Bowl, and Hilltop) and a pitcher’s ballpark (Petco, Colt, and Dodger Stadium). There is no mention on the effects of defense. For example, is the infielder’s range more or less important for a ballpark if there is turf or natural grass(since a groundball is a lot faster on turf, less time to react, less time to field the ball)? Outfields that have large gaps like Hilltop Park and Huntington Ave Park. Would a “B” graded range outfielder have worse success in a ballpark like Hilltop Park and Huntington Ave Park compared to a normal dimension ballpark like U.S Cellular Field?
11/2/2012 9:13 AM
This is a very complicated topic. Some basics first:

-the surface of the park (turf/grass) doesn't matter at all
-the size of the park doesn't matter at all

The only thing that matters is the overall rating for each type of hit. So a park like this: Busch Stadium (II) (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:-2 2B:-1 3B:-1)

Will have a -3 impact on HRs. What does -3 mean, exactly? Well, more than -2. The -3 is actually rounded off, so it could be anywhere from 2.51 to 3.49. 

My gut feeling is that each integer means about 10%. That may not be true, or accurate, but it's the assumption I use. So Busch 2 would suppress HRs by approximately 30%. 

Theoretically, a low-range OF would be better suited to a park like Yankee III where there will be less extra-base hits. Putting together an outfield of C range guys and putting them into Hilltop might lead to a few more XBH allowed.
11/2/2012 9:39 AM
Thanks for the info jfranco77!!!

I am suprised that out of the 12 turf ballparks that there was only 1 ballpark that had a + rating in the singles department. I assumed that a decent number of groundballs would because base hits compared to a grass ballpark. So for a 1B rating, does IF range help in giving up less singles?
11/2/2012 10:26 AM
Posted by jporro on 11/2/2012 10:26:00 AM (view original):
Thanks for the info jfranco77!!!

I am suprised that out of the 12 turf ballparks that there was only 1 ballpark that had a + rating in the singles department. I assumed that a decent number of groundballs would because base hits compared to a grass ballpark. So for a 1B rating, does IF range help in giving up less singles?
Yes. Good IF range will result in + plays which almost always means fewer hits in the infield. 
11/2/2012 1:26 PM
jfranco has given you sound advice. However, I wouldn't get too caught up in the "range" of your fielders, because at the end of the day, I believe this game is pretty much about hitting and pitching, and if you have good hitters and pitchers, you can get away with lesser range fielders.
11/4/2012 10:18 AM
And in the playoffs, its all about the pitching!!
11/4/2012 10:19 AM
I mostly agree with jfranco.  i have one small quibble tho.  In the WIS decission tree, a plus play is determined prior to where the ball is hit.  Range reduces hits and most importantly XBH, but I am unsure if it matters if it is IF or OF range.
11/4/2012 2:32 PM
I read in the forums, before the last big update, that A++ range would garner more plus plays in larger parks, such as the Palace of the Fans. This was posited for outfielders playing in those parks, players like '73 Billy North, et al. I tried it once, and did get a ton of plus plays. The team overall didn't do that well, so I never tried it again. Generally, I would say that D is over priced, and we obtain better value by looking more at offensive abnormalities that may play well in such a park.
11/11/2012 11:53 AM
Posted by pfattkatt on 11/11/2012 11:53:00 AM (view original):
I read in the forums, before the last big update, that A++ range would garner more plus plays in larger parks, such as the Palace of the Fans. This was posited for outfielders playing in those parks, players like '73 Billy North, et al. I tried it once, and did get a ton of plus plays. The team overall didn't do that well, so I never tried it again. Generally, I would say that D is over priced, and we obtain better value by looking more at offensive abnormalities that may play well in such a park.
Exactly!!!! Range is way overpriced. 
11/12/2012 10:28 AM
Defense in ballparks?? Topic

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