I just took a major Hitters Park. Short Fences and every type of hit gets a bonus, with a couple of 4s added to the mix. (This is my Majors Park).

I am looking to build around High Ground Ball Pitchers. When you see a GB/FB rating, is that the GB Ratio shown? In other words, is a 75 GB/FB the same as 75% Ground Balls, 25% Fly Balls?

I have a small core of really good Ground Ball Pitchers if this is the case, and would be building my Staff to mirror this. High Strike Out Pitchers would also be important, as any ball put into play has a greater chance to end up becoming a Hit in my Park. What Abilities relate to a higher K Total? Velocity? Pitch Ability? What should I look for to know a guy can K with the best of them?

So, for my Staff I am looking to Play (and Develop) High Ground Ball, High Strike Out types... which greater emphasis on the GB.

For Offense, hits are going to happen in this Park. I usually like to see a team with 'two lead off types' going 1-2 to increase the effectiveness of those 3-4-5 guys, but with this park I might be better suited to just go Sluggers all the way. I already have a few Barry Bonds types (Javier Chavez 33 HR, 106 RBI, .331 BA... Don Matheson 36 HR, 100 RBI, .295 BA) with some Cecil Fielder types (Craig Torres 37 HR, 99 RBI, .266 BA and Julio Maradona 43 HR, 110 RBI .257 BA) and a few Top of the Line Up Power guys (Jesus Park 24 HR, 81 RBI, .298 BA and Neil Mercedes 26 HR, 81 RBI, .291 BA).

Should I stick with this Power Approach with Park and Mercedes as really powerful 1/2 hitters or should I move then to 7/8 and get some real Lead Offs in those spots? I ask, because though this Team was Top 5 in most major hitting categories (BA, OBP, OPS, SLG, HRs, Walks, 2nd Least Strike Outs) it was Below League Average in RBIs. They did not score close to what their Hitting would dictate, even though they were only Caught Stealing 5 Times (on 5 Attempts). Would getting some higher BA/OBP at 1/2 help to increase the Scoring?

Also, if I only have 1 or 2 really fast guys, how do I set up the Settings to have them Steal Often, but only have them running?

Any ideas about a Hitters Park and what to look for in my Roster would be greatly appreciated.

I'd go with Hi OBP leading off and then just follow with your best hitters...2 spot doesn't need to be a leadoff type, he can be a slugger, although i'd think about using one with a good OBP, not the Cecil Fielder types

75 GB/FB is NOT the same as 75% ground balls...it's a rating like any other (and think if 100 GB/FB guys never gave up fly balls! No home runs!)

Hi ground ball hi strikeout types is a great way to go, i like your thinking, keep the ball out of play and keep it on the ground. Also think about good control (don't want to give out free bases away).

On defense I'd want a catcher with a great arm who can cut down baserunners, which is even more valuable in a high run scoring environment. In addition I'd like great D at SS and great D (stressing arm strength and accuracy) so you can turn alot of double plays (getting these is huge in a hitters park)with that GB/FB staff

you can't set it so a couple guys steal often, the settings will apply to your whole team although the faster guys will run more, i'd keep the running settings low though because steals aren't nearly as valuable with a great offense AND a hitters park, you'd probably need around an 80% success rate for the team (and you have to look at it from the team point of view because that is how the settings work) to break even in terms of cost/benefit

Quote: Originally posted by brrexkl on 6/01/2010  I just took a major Hitters Park.  Short Fences and every type of hit gets a bonus, with a couple of 4s added to the mix.  (This is my Majors Park).  I am looking to build around High Ground Ball Pitchers.  When you see a GB/FB rating, is that the GB Ratio shown?  In other words, is a 75 GB/FB the same as 75% Ground Balls, 25% Fly Balls?  I have a small core of really good Ground Ball Pitchers if this is the case, and would be building my Staff to mirror this.  High Strike Out Pitchers would also be important, as any ball put into play has a greater chance to end up becoming a Hit in my Park.  What Abilities relate to a higher K Total?  Velocity?  Pitch Ability?  What should I look for to know a guy can K with the best of them?  So, for my Staff I am looking to Play (and Develop) High Ground Ball, High Strike Out types... which greater emphasis on the GB.  For Offense, hits are going to happen in this Park.  I usually like to see a team with 'two lead off types' going 1-2 to increase the effectiveness of those 3-4-5 guys, but with this park I might be better suited to just go Sluggers all the way.  I already have a few Barry Bonds types (Javier Chavez 33 HR, 106 RBI, .331 BA... Don Matheson 36 HR, 100 RBI, .295 BA) with some Cecil Fielder types (Craig Torres 37 HR, 99 RBI, .266 BA and Julio Maradona 43 HR, 110 RBI .257 BA) and a few Top of the Line Up Power guys (Jesus Park 24 HR, 81 RBI, .298 BA and Neil Mercedes 26 HR, 81 RBI, .291 BA).  Should I stick with this Power Approach with Park and Mercedes as really powerful 1/2 hitters or should I move then to 7/8 and get some real Lead Offs in those spots?  I ask, because though this Team was Top 5 in most major hitting categories (BA, OBP, OPS, SLG, HRs, Walks, 2nd Least Strike Outs) it was Below League Average in RBIs.  They did not score close to what their Hitting would dictate, even though they were only Caught Stealing 5 Times (on 5 Attempts).  Would getting some higher BA/OBP at 1/2 help to increase the Scoring?  Also, if I only have 1 or 2 really fast guys, how do I set up the Settings to have them Steal Often, but only have them running?  Any ideas about a Hitters Park and what to look for in my Roster would be greatly appreciated.

Velocity of the number one gauge of strikeouts, I'm fairly certain it is actually the ONLY factor. Well, maybe not ONLY, but close to ONLY.

or maybe I'm wrong and it is a lot of factors, (But I don't think I'm wrong here)

I am quite proud of the team I built in Scottsdale (+2 all around). In a nutshell, guys with good batting eyes and power, and pitchers with good vR, GB/FB and control.

Sign the best pitchers and hitters you can find. This will work well for you whether in a hitters park or pitchers park.

Quote: Originally Posted By movet22 on 6/01/2010

Quote: Originally posted by brrexkl on 6/01/2010
I just took a major Hitters Park. Short Fences and every type of hit gets a bonus, with a couple of 4s added to the mix. (This is my Majors Park).

I am looking to build around High Ground Ball Pitchers. When you see a GB/FB rating, is that the GB Ratio shown? In other words, is a 75 GB/FB the same as 75% Ground Balls, 25% Fly Balls?

I have a small core of really good Ground Ball Pitchers if this is the case, and would be building my Staff to mirror this. High Strike Out Pitchers would also be important, as any ball put into play has a greater chance to end up becoming a Hit in my Park. What Abilities relate to a higher K Total? Velocity? Pitch Ability? What should I look for to know a guy can K with the best of them?

So, for my Staff I am looking to Play (and Develop) High Ground Ball, High Strike Out types... which greater emphasis on the GB.

For Offense, hits are going to happen in this Park. I usually like to see a team with 'two lead off types' going 1-2 to increase the effectiveness of those 3-4-5 guys, but with this park I might be better suited to just go Sluggers all the way. I already have a few Barry Bonds types (Javier Chavez 33 HR, 106 RBI, .331 BA... Don Matheson 36 HR, 100 RBI, .295 BA) with some Cecil Fielder types (Craig Torres 37 HR, 99 RBI, .266 BA and Julio Maradona 43 HR, 110 RBI .257 BA) and a few Top of the Line Up Power guys (Jesus Park 24 HR, 81 RBI, .298 BA and Neil Mercedes 26 HR, 81 RBI, .291 BA).

Should I stick with this Power Approach with Park and Mercedes as really powerful 1/2 hitters or should I move then to 7/8 and get some real Lead Offs in those spots? I ask, because though this Team was Top 5 in most major hitting categories (BA, OBP, OPS, SLG, HRs, Walks, 2nd Least Strike Outs) it was Below League Average in RBIs. They did not score close to what their Hitting would dictate, even though they were only Caught Stealing 5 Times (on 5 Attempts). Would getting some higher BA/OBP at 1/2 help to increase the Scoring?

Also, if I only have 1 or 2 really fast guys, how do I set up the Settings to have them Steal Often, but only have them running?

Any ideas about a Hitters Park and what to look for in my Roster would be greatly appreciated.

Velocity of the number one gauge of strikeouts, I'm fairly certain it is actually the ONLY factor. Well, maybe not ONLY, but close to ONLY.

or maybe I'm wrong and it is a lot of factors, (But I don't think I'm wrong here)

The K leaders I've noticed tend to have high velocity, and multiple high pitch ratings... or at least one 90+ pitch.