Okay, well back to game questions now.

I've got 4 teams and have completed all or some part of 8 seasons. 7 of those seasons in 3 worlds, playing in 2 pitchers' parks and a neutral park, have gone as well as I expected or better.

My one season in Madison, however, was a nightmare.

Madison plays 2-3-2-3-4, and my pitching just died. My offense was good, but couldn't keep up with the pounding my pitching staff took.

I took on a hitters' park with this team as a challenge/learning experience, and the world has a 3-seasons-before-you-move rule, so I'm stuck here for a while.

So, heading into S2 with the club, I am completely open to suggestions on how to build a good ballclub in a heavy hitters' park. I am throwing out all of my preconceptions about it and just soliciting ideas from the community.

Thanks in advance.

Hitting - Target high power/batting eye guys who may have lower than average splits. These guys will be cheaper than the elite guys and will likely not be targetted by other owners. Try and get good defensive guys but don't worry too much if you can't get good defence right away.

Pitching - The money you save on your hitting should be spent here. Preventing as many runs as possible is the goal so look for high control/GB guys. The fewer base runners you give away and the more you take away via the double play the better. Everyone is going to score runs in a hitters park so preventing big innings is key. Stay away from low GB pitchers.

Defence - Defence isn't the most important thing in a hitters park but don't ignore the importance of not giving away outs. Middle infield defence should be the focus if you are going to gather GB pitchers. I always like to have above average defensive ratings SS's with power. They make good 8/9 hitters and come relatively cheap.

I'd put a lot more emphasis on velocity and GB/FB for pitchers. The goal should be to have as few fly balls in play as possible (when you're not at the plate, of course). After that, yeah, just bulk up on power guys. Lower splits are more acceptable because what would normally be fly balls will sail over the fence at your park. The crux of your defense should be your infielders, since you're focusing on ground ball pitchers, so go out and get the best SS and 2B you can get your hands on. With your outfielders, just get the best hitters you can and don't worry too much about fielding since you won't need as much range in such a small ballpark.

Make sure you have lots of pitching bodies.

Many people will not look at pitchers outside of narrow guidelines of durability and stamina. Some of those 30-40 durability 30-40 stamina guys can be acquired cheaply and give you good production on the mound.

In Madison, a team of lesbian communists is likely to be popular.

I can only tell you how NOT to build a team in Madison.

Quote: Originally Posted By prezuiwf on 4/09/2010I'd put a lot more emphasis on velocity and GB/FB for pitchers. The goal should be to have as few fly balls in play as possible (when you're not at the plate, of course). After that, yeah, just bulk up on power guys. Lower splits are more acceptable because what would normally be fly balls will sail over the fence at your park. The crux of your defense should be your infielders, since you're focusing on ground ball pitchers, so go out and get the best SS and 2B you can get your hands on. With your outfielders, just get the best hitters you can and don't worry too much about fielding since you won't need as much range in such a small ballpark.

This is incorrect. Contrary to normal baseball logic (I play in a big park like San Diego, therefore I must need outfielders with a ton of range), plus parks like Madison result in more chances for the OFs to make great plays. Having a 55-55-55-55 LF in this type of park will kill you. I have teams now in Austin and Montgomery (and had one in Santa Fe), and I can tell you that fielding 80+ range guys in LF and RF, and 90+ in CF will help your pitching immensely.

Montgomery is a 2-2-2-1-1 park, and my startng OF have ranges of 90/88/83. The result is that pitchers who give up hits to the OF are now giving up flyball outs instead. Omar Mendoza is an example of a guy who has poor stats until he moved to a team with a goood defense behind him. I realize that Montgomery is not Boston or Durham, but the improvement is palpable.

Quote: Originally Posted By cbriese on 4/10/2010

Quote: Originally Posted By prezuiwf on 4/09/2010
I'd put a lot more emphasis on velocity and GB/FB for pitchers. The goal should be to have as few fly balls in play as possible (when you're not at the plate, of course). After that, yeah, just bulk up on power guys. Lower splits are more acceptable because what would normally be fly balls will sail over the fence at your park. The crux of your defense should be your infielders, since you're focusing on ground ball pitchers, so go out and get the best SS and 2B you can get your hands on. With your outfielders, just get the best hitters you can and don't worry too much about fielding since you won't need as much range in such a small ballpark.

This is incorrect. Contrary to normal baseball logic (I play in a big park like San Diego, therefore I must need outfielders with a ton of range), plus parks like Madison result in more chances for the OFs to make great plays. Having a 55-55-55-55 LF in this type of park will kill you. I have teams now in Austin and Montgomery (and had one in Santa Fe), and I can tell you that fielding 80+ range guys in LF and RF, and 90+ in CF will help your pitching immensely.

Montgomery is a 2-2-2-1-1 park, and my startng OF have ranges of 90/88/83. The result is that pitchers who give up hits to the OF are now giving up flyball outs instead. Omar Mendoza is an example of a guy who has poor stats until he moved to a team with a goood defense behind him. I realize that Montgomery is not Boston or Durham, but the improvement is palpable.

Ah, interesting! Sorry for the misinformation. You learn something new every day.

In hitting parks I think it's important to field an outstanding defense first of all, and then get pitchers with really good control. You no longer have the margin for error that would allow a walk every other inning. I personally also like a good P1, and can live with splits in the 50s. a good GB/FB is useful, butI still haven't figured out how to weigh velocity.

So for my own informational use, in a hitters park, is it best to get the best control and high GB pitcher? The best defenders who can hit at least decent?

And for a defensive park, I would assume that control isn't as important since a walk won't hurt as much. Would that also mean a low GB is acceptable? And would you take hitting over great defense there?

I'm going to say it honestly doesn't really matter how you build your team from park to park.

Pitchers that walk batters are bad and pitchers who strike guys out are good. Batters that get hits are good and defenders who suck are bad.

How many people have built teams that have CONSISTENTLY outperformed on the home as opposed to the road from season to season?

I think high VE, combined with high CN and P1/P2, is going to lead to a lot more Ks and a lot less BBs. If you can get VE, go for it.

Quote: Originally Posted By jtrinsey on 4/10/2010
I'm going to say it honestly doesn't really matter how you build your team from park to park.

Pitchers that walk batters are bad and pitchers who strike guys out are good. Batters that get hits are good and defenders who suck are bad.

How many people have built teams that have CONSISTENTLY outperformed on the home as opposed to the road from season to season?

This is certainly an interesting question. To answer it requires hard, rather than anecdotal, data. I decided to put this to the test on my 18.7 seasons so far playing in a hitter's park.

Over the course of those 18.7 seasons, I have averaged a home differential of13.5 mores wins per season than losses. My road differential was 12.2. So I am averaging 1.3 more wins per season at home than on the road.

In seasons where I fiinish among the top five ML teams in both plus defensive and (fewest) minus defensive plays, my home differential jumps to 18.3 wins, with a road differential of 15.4 wins (2.9 wins/season difference. Conversely, in seasons where I do not finish in the top five ML teams in fielding plus/minus (and only one season was not top 16 in both), my home win differential is 7.0 wins, and my road win differential is 8.0 wins, a -1.0 win/season difference. Total home wins per season more than road wins, based upon fielding plus/minus: 3.9 wins/season.

I ran the same numbers for fielding percentage, and the results are nearly identical. In top five fielding pct seasons, my home differential is 18.5 wins, and road differential remains at 15.4 wins. In seasons outside the top five in fielding percentage (including four seasons outside the top 16), home differential is 6.8 wins, while road differential remains at 8.0 wins. Total home wins per season more than road wins, based upon fielding percentage: 4.4 wins/season.

Now lets take a look at walk rankings. In seasons where my team finished in the top five in fewest walks allowed, my home differential is 17.4 wins/season, while the road differential is 10.9 wins per season. In seasons outside the top five in walks allowed (including two seasons outside the top 16), home differential is 11.8 wins, while road differential comes in at 12.8 wins. Total home wins per season more than road wins, based upon walks allowed: a whopping 7.6 wins/season.

Finally, lets apply the same test to OPS, to measure how much difference a top offense makes in a hitter's park. In seasons where my team finished in the top five in OPS, my home differential is 9.3 wins/season, while the road differential is 9.6 wins per season. In seasons outside the top five in OPS (including one season outside the top 16), home differential is 16.0 wins, while road differential comes in at 13.8 wins. Total home wins per season more than road wins, based upon OPS: a negative 3.4 wins/season.

So, in conclusion, I would say that, yeah, in hitters' parks, fielding makes a big difference in the success you have. The number of walks perhaps makes a bigger difference. OPS, not so much.

Admittedly, 18.7 seasons is a small sample size. Your mileage may vary. I just wanted to back up my conjecture with a little bit of hard data. I was actually surprised at how it turned out. Another validation would be to apply the same test, using the same variables, to my teams that have played in pitchers' parks. But I'm too lazy to do that right now.

Cbriese, I also play in a hitters' park, and I appreciate some hard numbers. Thanks.