by Mean Dean » Wed May 10, 2006 9:11 pm
Quoting my earlier post, sorry for the repetition:[quote:a80ca96d8c]Infield in does raise the hitter's average in SOM; specifically, on a gb(X) to a fielder positioned in, 20% of the groundball outs on the chart become SINGLE**.
But, look at [url=http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/btf/pages/basesim/somrules.htm]all the advantages infield in has[/url] (the table at the end). With bases loaded or 1st and 3rd, it saves a run (at the expense of a DP.) With men on 2nd and 3rd or just 3rd, it will save the run on a gbA to 2B or SS, and on a gbB or gbC to 2B or SS, you will get the chance to throw for the runner instead of him just scoring.
So to me, there are far more things that can go right with IF in than can go wrong. (You can also throw in the factor that a man on 3rd with fewer than 2 outs is likely to score no matter what you do, so it's not like the worst-case scenario of a SINGLE** is some tremendous disaster.) My experience is to just play the infield in every time, so I set it to 1st inning. I'm sure you could work it out mathematically, and maybe you'd come up with a different answer, but based on my board game experience and the way the game mechanics work, I wouldn't think so.[/quote:a80ca96d8c]