I have used a C+/C- 1B out of position in LF twenty times for one of my teams, and so far he has made 0 errors, 0 bad plays, 0 good plays. This makes me feel extremely lucky. But...then I noticed he's only averaging 1.5 PO per game, which I know is rather low. So, my question is: does bad OF play by definition show up as easy-to-see bad plays and errors? Or can it be 'hidden' in a bad putout rate?

Thanks!

The sheer number of POs is determined by your pitching, opposition hitting, and a healthy dose of luck. Any time the player fails to make a play, it will show up as a - play in his stat line. So no, his range isn't low because of his skills. That would be reflected in a healthy dose of - plays. Guys just aren't hitting balls into his zone.

Small sample size. He'll eventually do a lot worse if you keep playing him there.

Let me ask a couple follow up questions.

Does range and fielding only effect plus, minus, and errors?

Or do they effect other things like passed balls and wild pitches for catchers and double plays for infielders?

An infielder with a poor fielding average will convert fewer DP's. That may actually hurt you more than his errors since you already have runners on base. It stands to reason that an infielder with poor range will also convert fewer DP's simply because he has fewer opportunities but, all other things being equal, a good fielder w/ poor range will convert more DP's than a poor fielder with good range. A catcher's fielding affects passed balls. His range is virtually irrelevant. I don't know if his fielding also affects wild pitches, which are primarily a function of a pitcher's control. Stands to reason that it might since passed balls "intersect" w/ wild pitches at some point.

Posted by thunder1008 on 5/11/2019 2:04:00 AM (view original):
An infielder with a poor fielding average will convert fewer DP's. That may actually hurt you more than his errors since you already have runners on base. It stands to reason that an infielder with poor range will also convert fewer DP's simply because he has fewer opportunities but, all other things being equal, a good fielder w/ poor range will convert more DP's than a poor fielder with good range. A catcher's fielding affects passed balls. His range is virtually irrelevant. I don't know if his fielding also affects wild pitches, which are primarily a function of a pitcher's control. Stands to reason that it might since passed balls "intersect" w/ wild pitches at some point.

Your reasoning seems very sound. But I was wanting to know (if anybody does know) If their actual rating plays into the DP and passed balls within the SIM itself.

Out of position Catchers make a TON of Passed Balls, unrealistically high. I assume their actual rating is a factor but I've never tested it. A secondary Catcher rating of D- range can also make way too many passed balls. That leads me to believe that Range affects PB's.

Yeah... bad fielding infielders will hurt you in ways you can't see. But as far as I can tell, bad fielding outfielders really only hurt you for errors and - plays. The double play effect should be pretty negligible.