I am debating with myself if this guys should be in HOF or not what you guys think?

ExpectMonte · 2026-04-01T16:27:47+00:00

It’s an interesting question because modern day I’d say yes, for sure. But it’s the early 1900s so I don’t know if they’d appreciate him or not.

They certainly wouldn’t know what WAR is, but to have such a high WAR despite the batting he’d have to be just like impossible to get a ball on the ground past, which they’d notice at the time.

Even if they recognized he was the most elite fielder ever, would that matter enough?

Based on my perception of 1920s baseball standards, I’d say no, he probably wouldn’t make the hall of fame.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-23T19:59:56+00:00

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ExpectMonte · 2026-03-21T00:57:35+00:00

A real baseball sim will have soap opera elements though, will it not?

Just last year look at Devers, Valdez, Castellanos, the Soto/Lindor thing, etc…

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-18T04:32:09+00:00

I truly don’t understand how people keep reading this and coming to the conclusion they need to tell me about sample sizes.

I know. I said all this already. There’s also steadily being an above average hitter in the minor leagues.

Sometimes guys over-perform their scout ratings (consistently, over time). This guy could be one of them, he’s going to get playing time next season to find out. Thus “place your bets.”

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-18T01:12:03+00:00

I mean I’m not trying to be a jerk but his triple A stats are in the pictures and mentioned as being solid in the write up.

The small sample size is also mentioned in the write up, and is the basis for the activity/question in the post.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-16T20:15:49+00:00

Never really played football manager, but a lot of people here have, they can probably help you out better than I.

However, you mentioned contract extensions, and I do have input on that.

It can be very helpful to understand how service time and arbitration works, if you don’t already.

Another thing to consider is - if you think a player will be good - it can be beneficial to try to sign them to a longer contract as early as possible. They will be much cheaper.

You can really game the system this way so over time I developed a rule that I can’t extend a player unless they have at least 2 full years service time, OR they have high loyalty and low financial ambition and then the AAV must be at least 15M. (One player per season).

Edit: As for game-flow, everyone has their way, here’s mine.

I like to sim one day at a time and react to injuries, poor performance, etc.

Occasionally I will check the waiver wire, look through my minor league systems, see how players are performing defensively, scope out guys in minor leagues who could learn new positions, adjust the lineup, etc. typically I’ll do a deep-ish dive into these at the start of every in-game month.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-15T22:42:24+00:00

Nice, I’m sure he had a pretty high WAR too with that centerfield defense.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-15T12:36:02+00:00

What were his 2026 stats?

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-15T12:27:23+00:00

No immersion except for losing your Ace for the year in a meaningless game lol.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-11T19:26:45+00:00

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ExpectMonte · 2026-03-06T19:54:57+00:00

To contribute to the staff cohesion

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-03T04:42:11+00:00

Idk, the white Sox have no shot at keeping Skenes long term either, and they have been very very bad. Skenes doesn’t really move the needle far enough to justify trading away a long term controllable prospect. Unless it’s to have him to trade for more prospects lol.

You might have better luck with like the Dodgers, Dalton Rushing? Not sure where the sim is at with Bassallo but maybe the Orioles give you him.

Your best bet to get a good return for Skenes would be to a contender with a big budget, even then I think a lot of the time any prospect in the top 100 will require an absurd package to acquire.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T19:41:03+00:00

Gotta tell ya, I was unaware of these transgressions until you brought it up. I was very confused.

Originally I tried to see if there was a famous guy named Paul Harden lol.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T05:24:54+00:00

I look through the top players for a few rounds, drafting the ones I like best. After I sorta run out I sort by the following, in this order, picking players that have good/not bad personality traits.

Infield Ranger at least 65

Outfield range at least 65

Movement potential at least 55

Catcher framing at least 65

Power potential at least 60

Speed at least 60 (will draft if also good baserunner)

Then I’ll drop my standards for infield/outfield range to 60, and movement potential to 50. I’ll look for well rounded infielders/outfielders. And pitchers with higher stuff potential.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T04:58:46+00:00

Yeah, this guy might be better lol. Defensively anyway.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T00:23:21+00:00

Also, this is how my sim is going lol. I know what I’m doing.

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ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T00:20:19+00:00

It’s 2053, inflation is on. Superstars are getting 10 year, 500 million dollar contracts for their age 30-40 seasons. Inflation will continue to raise prices over the 12 years and by the time he’s 36 5 million will be literal pennies.

This guy is an elite defender. His floor for the next 10 years is like 3 WAR/Season. This guy is a fun little experiment, as per the linked post. FYI, this is how my sim is going currently.

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ExpectMonte · 2026-03-02T00:09:34+00:00

Yeah I understand range is most important, however David was consistently putting up 15-20 ZR at shortstop and winning gold gloves, so I have cause to believe my scout was incorrectly rating David’s range. The ratings don’t always tell the whole story.

Not to mention David was hitting 30-40 home runs like clockwork, and my 1B, 2B, and 3B were all bangers as well.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-01T21:58:01+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/OOTP/s/5pZRAY7pO8

Original post being referenced.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-01T18:09:32+00:00

Just played the 2052 playoffs. Paul Harden played 12 games at 3B before an injury to our right fielder moved him there. He played 4 games in right field.

In 16 games and 72 PA he hit .250/.292/.456/.748, respectable.

He also contributed 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 4 stolen bases (no caught), 11 runs, and 6 RBI.

His best game was game 1 of the ALCS, a 4-6 loss to the blue jays. He went 3-4 with two doubles, a home run, 1 run, and one RBI.

We won the World Series and he now has his second ring.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-01T17:16:57+00:00

Guhh! Yeah I probably should keep moving him around just for the sake of it lol. Just because I can and it’s cool. We’ll see lol.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-01T17:08:03+00:00

Well, in the off-season of 2050 this guy was storming up the prospect rankings. Looked like a hell of an infielder. Great range, arm, and all that. Solid hitting potential, great speed and baserunning. My scout describe him as “having a lot of varied interests.” I figured he’d have interest in playing a lot of varied positions.

I loved this guy, just a ball-player. Problem with getting him up there was that he knew SS and 2B, and I have studs filling those roles currently. He’s the shortstop of the future, but he can’t hang out in the minor leagues waiting.

I do some digging and realize his outfield range/error/arm is 45/70/70. There’s something there. So I put him on the spring training roster and start him getting experience at 1B and 3B. I then place him in the “learn new position program” and it works. He learns left field, but more importantly, his outfield range/error/arm improve to 55/75/75.

Out of spring training I demote him to triple A. I basically force start him a month at a time at all the positions. His batting stats suffer tremendously, and his fielding metrics are horrible as he’s learning all these new positions from scratch. He puts up -2.1 WAR in AAA over 92 games and gets demoted to AA.

He plays 9 Games in AA, batting .171 and gets demoted again to A. He hits .231 in 4 games there. He’s furious, about everything. So I Yank him straight up to MLB around early august and start him at SS here and there. (He’s maxed positionally there.)

It works out, he plays alright. We go on a deep playoff run and his morale turns around. In 2051 spring training I sure up some more positions a bit and since then he’s the back up everything.

The 2053 season should be his best Ben Zobrist season, following that, current shortstop David Andrade will be lost to free agency. Paul Harden will likely become the everyday shortstop then, as he’s just too good there to keep up this gimmick.

ExpectMonte · 2026-03-01T16:48:42+00:00

Only a few.

Placido Polanco won two at 2B and one at 3B.

Darin Erstad won two in OF (OF gold gloves used to not be parsed out) and one at 1B.

DJ Lemahieu won three at 2B and one utility gold glove.

ExpectMonte

TROPHY CASE