How long to your first championship? How often now?

[magnotti]

For the veterans out there -- how many games did it take for you to reach for first playoffs and (hopefully) first championship/free credit?

How many times out of ten do get there now?

I am enjoying SOM a lot, but I'm getting my teeth kicked in with my first 2 teams. There is always hope, but I sure would like to know on average how much you need to invest before getting something back.

[LMBombers]

Everything being equal, you have a 1 in 12 chance of winning the championship. However as you first start out everyone is more experienced than you so you chances are lower, probably 1 in 18 maybe. As you play more teams and get used to what works and what doesn't work, what players seem to be "good values" to a certain park and so forth your chances start to improve.

Even managers that have played hundreds of teams like me don't win all the time by any means. The best you can hope for is to get your championship % better than 1 in 12 somewhat. Really you should just shoot for having a playoff team and not worry about championships as anyone (and I mean any team at all) that makes the playoffs can win the pennant. Many times the wild card or playoff team with the worst record will win it.

Remember you just have to make the finals to win at least 1 free credit so really your chances of winning a credit are only 1 in 6. Keep playing, keep watching your league to see what players are doing well for their salary, pay attention to what types of parks they are doing well in, keep reading the forums and you will gain experience and knowledge to be better and better in the future.

[keyzick]

My very first team won it all....and it was a LONG time before I had another.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.

I say, it's doing something that works, and then not repeating it again, but expecting the same results. :lol:

You'll get there. When you see teams with good records, look at their roster and try to see what's making them tick.

I always fall into the category of thinking "I can build a better mousetrap"...gaining successful strategies, and thinking, "hey, I can maybe sacrifice a little fielding here, a little pitching there, add some power over here"...that's a great strategy to get you to building some great playoff-quality teams, just remember to hit the brakes when you reach the top! I tend to keep tweaking, and before you know it I don't even recognize my team's glaring weaknesses anymore.

Sigh, well, thanks for letting me vent some of my own psychobabble on myself.

Good luck, and keep on tweakin'!!

[magnotti]

I assume be continuing to tweak you don't mean continuously drop and pick up -- I thought that was a big no no because of the 20% penalty.

Also, does it make sense to drop an under performing superstar and pickup someone different? I mean the dice rolls have to catch up with you eventually right?

[keyzick]

I meant team by team tweaking of strategy, not in-season tweaking of rosters.

If you have a superstar underperforming, it's just a matter of the dice rolls averaging out. It's not like they can "slump", since their card is created to provide statistically equivalent results. Some may under/over-perform based on your stadium and opponent's stadiums (ie, if reliant on BPHR and BP Hits, then playing in pitcher's parks will likely result in lower overall performance).

[Jeepdriver]

I remember back when I was high school age I became interested in chess because a good friend was enjoing the game. He was always the smartest guy I knew growing up and was much more advanced at Chess than I was. I can't tell you how many teams I got my teeth kicked in, but eventually I became as good as he was because I learned from him.

Same thing in Strat. I want the very best competition because it will make me the best player I can be. Will I get my teeth handed to me occasionally? Yes, but there's no better feeling than when you succeed and you know it's against the very best.

[magnotti]

The only difference is in chess games didn't cost $20 each! :lol:

[coyote303]

I made the playoffs with my first team, but it was a long time before I won a championship. Then, I won another championship right after the first one, almost made it three in a row, just before going into a terrible slump. (I have since recovered although one of my current 70s teams may prove to be my worst team ever.)

Lots of good advice in this thread. Also, be sure to read The Secret Formula 2009 thread if you haven't already. However, what I love about this game is you can take all this advice and still put together a (successful) team that has your own vision of what YOU want in a team.

For example, I used to be all about pitching and defense--spending far more on pitching than the Secret Formula recommended. I have since shifted more $ to offense, but most of my teams still have excellent defense. I say most because sometimes it's fun to try something completely different. (Like the time I went with strong starting pitching in a hitter's park with, shall we say, "limited" success.)

One last comment: In a 200x game, never drop a star just because he is in a slump. His card is every bit as good as the day you drafted him, and taking large 20 percent salary hits will kill you.

[magnotti]

Yes, lots of good advice here. I have read the The Secret Formula 2009 as well as Secret Formula: The Theory in Action. This should make a big difference in my next team. I am excited to try some of the advice out.

Ok I am going to ask some real newbie questions here.

Why do you guys always say 200x when referring to a league?
What do BPHR and BP Hits mean?

Thanks again all, this community is great for getting started.

[drew6013]

200x refers to the games based off of the 2000's series games. As opposed to the All Time Great (ATG) games.

BPHR and BP Hits refer to homeruns or singles that are determined by the ballpark you're playing in. It might be helpful for you to read the newbie thread (on this site) and the "how to read a strat card" which comes up when you view a players card.