Draft Selection based on Stadium Selection. (For Newbie)

[AdamPhoenix]

As I plan on how to list te players for my draft, I understand I need to keep in mind what stadium I will be playing in. First question is, if I want to play in Yankee Stadium (I grew up in NY and I'm a diehard Yankees fan), what year of the Stadium do I get (I haven't yet looked at Stadium Selection)? If memory serves me correctly the fences were changed during the decade.

Additionally, I see through different threads how some people use different strategies, and from what I can gather, if I am going to use Yankee Stadium, I should basically try and model my team after the Yankees of the '80s (the good years of course...remember they are the winningest team of the '80s), but especially in Strat-O-Matic, pitching and defense take the upperhand when it coms down to better bat or better glove.

Does my idea make sense, if not please let me know and any other strategies would be helpful.

[honestiago1]

The Yankee Stadium of the 80s favors lefty batters, so you might want some LH power guys. It is not an excessive hitter's park. I would consider it balanced, especially when compared to such parks as Fenway and Wrigley. I believe the BP rating is an amalgam of the decade, as far as specific ratings go.

You're right: pitching and defense is a winning formula in STRAT. Something I've been considering doing later on is not spending a great amount on the defensive positions: SS, 2B and C, and using the money I saved to draft significantly better hitters at the corners and in the OF. I'd also used saved money on pitching, of course. You can actually carry someone like a Lind or a Schofield if you have others who are going to produce. Consider making one part of your DP combo a pure glove guy. Naturally, having a great hitter at the keystone(s) is nice, and they ARE harder to find. But they are always DEF positions.

That said, I'd have to rate guys like Yount, Trammell and Sandberg as the greatest values in the game. Great defense and pop. But you don't need it from those positions to win, right?

Finally, after the draft and before the waiver pickups, I'd take a good look at the pitching staffs of the rest of teams. There tends to be more RHP's, but if there are a LOT more chosen, then take a good look at lefty batters for your lineup. I believe that teams with more lefty hitters will outperform, on average, the righties, if only because, as someone else said o this board, 66% of the pitchers are RH. Naturally, nothing is ironclad in STRAT, but it's something to think about (I DO believe, though, that speed, bat control and defense never take a holiday).

Anyweay, good luck in your league. And, uh, GO ANGELS! (j/k)

[Outta Leftfield]

I believe we have Yankee Stadium after it's first major renovation, which took place in the early 70s. At a later date, the left field fence was moved in and monument park created. I may be off on this. But in general, Yankee Stadium is considered a more or less neutral park--maybe just a mild pitcher's park. As construed by Strato, it has no left-right bias.

I think Yankee Stadium is a good place for you to start. If you're a Yankee fan, you're going to know instinctively what sort of players are effective in Yankee, and it's less essential to full understand how the game mechanics influence hitting and pitching. Also, Yankee is a moderate ballpark in terms of both its impact on singles and its impact on home runs (the only things affected.) I'd suggest studying the explanation of the hitter and pitcher cards in the FAQ to understand a bit more about the terminology and how the cards work in reference to ball park effects-- but to summarize briefly, Yankee mildly suppresses singles and (perhaps) mildly encourages home runs.

On a personal note, I started my Strato career in Yankee myself and have used it more often than any other park. This is both because I grew up watching the Yankees and because Earl Weaver is my guiding light among the big league managers. Memorial Stadium is a clone of Yankee in this game (identical HR and singles characteristics), so Weaver's approach to managing and team building will probably work in Yankee. If you're interested in managing in Yankee, it would be worth your time to read his two books, "Weaver on Strategy" and "It's What You Learn After You Know it All That Counts." The latter is his autobiography and its title is just about my favorite book title. :D

[Sykes25]

Yankee Stadium is a neutral park. It does not favor either side of the plate, but it is a great park for a first 80's team. Lots of attendance. :wink:

[honestiago1]

It is entirely neutral. Singles 1-7, HR's 1-10. So forget what I said about Lefties, etc. (guess I was thinking of something else).

[bjs73]

[quote:cf8722d466]It is entirely neutral. Singles 1-7, HR's 1-10. So forget what I said about Lefties, etc. (guess I was thinking of something else).[/quote:cf8722d466]

It did favor lefties in '85 for BP effects. Higher singles and HR's from the left side with the short porch. I believe it was 1-13 HR vs 1-9 Right back then. It's probably not correct but its close. Singles favored lefties by 3 or 4 points too so that is probably what you are remembering.

Been to Yankee Stadium one time and it was worth it. Mattingly was my idol since he's a Hoosier and a great ball player at that. His batting practice session was awesome. Such an effortless swing and kept all the people in the lower deck in RF busy cracking HR after HR without much effort at all.

Met Mattingly in person too at his restaurant in Evansville in 1989. I still have the photograph somewhere in my memorabilia...

[AdamPhoenix]

Growing up in NYC and as I mentioned earlier a Yankee fan. I can tell you in real life you wanted your power hitter to be a lefty or if he was a righty to be able to hit to right field because of the short porch. Balls hit to left field/left center field were good for singles and doubles. As for center, it was larger enough not to let every ball hit that way to leave the park but short enough that you didn't always have 430 foot fly outs.

[Outta Leftfield]

I think it's reasonable to say that Yankee Stadium [b:9d0599d5f5]should[/b:9d0599d5f5] favor LH hitters for HR, but for some reason it doesn't. 7-singles; 10-homers from both sides. Memorial Stadium is exactly the same. Memorial was a symmetrical park but Yankee obviously isn't.

There's a lot of lefty/righty particularity in the handling of Fenway, but for some reason not Yankee. In any case, the simple symmetry and balance the game gives you makes it a very good beginner's park. And I still think it's a good idea to have lots of LH hitters, for the simple reason that most of the pitchers are RHPs.

[AdamPhoenix]

[quote:12f35fa531]I think it's reasonable to say that Yankee Stadium should favor LH hitters for HR, but for some reason it doesn't. 7-singles; 10-homers from both sides. [/quote:12f35fa531]

I know after I read the FAQ I'll know what this means, but until then what does it mean when you say 7-singles and 10-homers from both sides?

[honestiago1]

In the dice version of the game, the range for BP singles and HR's is on a 1-20 scale. Thus, a BP with a 1-10 HR rating has a 50-50 chance of producing a HR on a BP result on pitcher's or batter's card. Same with singles. If you want to think of it in terms of percentages, then each pt. of BP HR or single equals a 5% chance (meaning the 7 out of 20 is 35%, the 10 of 20 is 50%). By comparison, the park I am currently using, the Astrodome, is rated 1-10 for singles (better than Yankee), but only 1-2 for HR's (the lowest rating in the 80s game).