Hello,

i am considering sportsman park iii. It has a +3 doubles and +1 RF HR. I have good lhb power, mediocre doubles, and c- to D range outfielders. From a offensive and defensive perspective, do you think this park is an ok choice? Will the plus 3 in doubles hurt my limited range outfielders. Any feedback would be appreciated.

This is one of only two parks that gives lhb power advantage over rhb, which is why i want to make this work.

I wouldn't personally use a +3 for any rating if my team's performance in that rating would be considered mediocre. I'd use +3 for doubles only if I expected to contend for the league lead in doubles. That's when the high + rating gives you the greatest advantage. Robison might be the better choice if you're only considering a boost to LH HR power over RH.

Ditto Skunk's point and additionally, in a park that's +3 for any type of XBH, you're better off using high range (A- or better) at multiple OF positions. The impact of + plays, defensively, is hard to understate. Using poor range in those situations will not only cause - plays but also leave a lot of potential outs on the table (increasing both opposing base runners and also pitches thrown by your staff)

So a plus 3 in doubles doesnt mean that a whole bunch of singles will turn into doubles, it just means all players are expected to hit15 percent more doubles?

When the SIM determines the outcome of a PA, it will at one point determine if the PA resulted in a hit or an out. In that case, hit does not mean single. It just means a hit of some type. The individual batter hit rates modified by the park effects (with some vague influence by the pitcher, I think) then determine what type of hit occurred. So a +3 for doubles does not strictly turn singles into doubles at some fixed percentage. At the point the type of hit is determined though, it does of course increase the chance that a double is the resulting hit type.

Posted by skunk206 on 1/24/2017 4:58:00 PM (view original):
When the SIM determines the outcome of a PA, it will at one point determine if the PA resulted in a hit or an out. In that case, hit does not mean single. It just means a hit of some type. The individual batter hit rates modified by the park effects (with some vague influence by the pitcher, I think) then determine what type of hit occurred. So a +3 for doubles does not strictly turn singles into doubles at some fixed percentage. At the point the type of hit is determined though, it does of course increase the chance that a double is the resulting hit type.

Skunk's last sentence is exactly why you want to emphasize doubles hitters at Sportman's. I just won a $130m TOC using a "doubles at Sportsman's" philosophy using guys like '95 Thompson, '01 Anderson, '78 Rose, '75 Lynn, '16 Daniel Murphy, and part timers like '05 Winn and '99 Shumpert .

Nice, how about '85 Henry Larkin

Posted by skunk206 on 1/24/2017 2:30:00 PM (view original):
I wouldn't personally use a +3 for any rating if my team's performance in that rating would be considered mediocre. I'd use +3 for doubles only if I expected to contend for the league lead in doubles. That's when the high + rating gives you the greatest advantage. Robison might be the better choice if you're only considering a boost to LH HR power over RH.

I'm sorry, what is Robison?

Robison Field. Great for lefty power hitters

Is one of those historic parks and its effects you may not be able to see from open leagues. Can be viewed from a theme league office.

Posted by bayridgeguy on 1/24/2017 8:48:00 PM (view original):
Nice, how about '85 Henry Larkin

Yeah, Larkin is a good fit at Sportsman's....he'll get a lot of doubles there (I like his speed). You can hope is OF + plays offset some of the errors he'll commit as a D fielder, but you could do worse if you're inclined to use him

Don't overthink doubles, choose a +3 doubles park when you expect to hit a lot of doubles not many other factors to consider here. A high K pitching team slightly increases the value of XBH parks and a high HR team slightly decreases the value of doubles. Defense is important anywhere I don't think it has added significance in a doubles park. Maybe OF defense has an effect in Real Life because doubles are outfield hits not grounders, but I don't think the Sim considers that fact. Yes Sportsman's Park favors lefty power hitters but with only a 1 point difference I consider that more of a tiebreaker than something to build a team around.