ATG8--WHY DILUTE THE SET?

Now ATG 8. We are getting close to launching the new set, but we're not quite there yet. We expect to launch within the next few weeks though. However the player list is set! For the first time ever, players from the Negro League seasons, Japanese League seasons, and the Cuban Stars rosters will be available to play with in ATG!

50 players have been chosen from these sets and will be added to the game. Cristobal Torriente, Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell, and Josh Gibson are among the 20 Negro Leaguers to get a single season card added to the card.

I'm fine with this addition

Almost all of the Japanese players added are currently honored in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. 1973 Sadaharu Oh is the main attraction of the 16 Japanese players but other players include HOF's such as Isao Harimoto, the only player with 3,000 hits in Japanese history, outfielder Koji Akiyama, and the "Little Great Hitter" Tsutomu Wakamatsu. An added bonus -- 2014 MLB rookie and 2013 Japanese stud pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. Cuban players? 14 have been added that represent the island of Cuba have been added. Omar Linares headlines this group of players that include "Crazy Man" Victor Mesa, "The Giant" Antonio Munoz, "Cyclone" Rogelio Garcia, and Braudilio Vinent. You can read full details on how the Cuban Stars cards were created here.

Ridiculous. I can't believe this. Why don't we just add my high school card while we are at it. ALL-TIME GREATS?

Of course MLB players have also been added. New Honus Wagner, Al Kaline, Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, and Tom Seaver cards are among the new group of cards being added. Hank Thompson and Jim Lemon are among the players to have their first ATG card in the new release. Each of the 3 new MLB Hall of Fame inductees will also get a new card: 1992 Tom Glavine, 1997 Frank Thomas, and 1998 Greg Maddux.

Extremely excited about these additions.

In addition, 334 player cards currently in the game are being upgraded to their Super Advanced versions of the card. If we have a Super Advanced card for them, it's going in and replacing their previous computer generated cards. This means a new card for 1971 Roberto Clemente, 1961 Mickey Mantle, and 1977 Steve Carlton.

This is a great addition.




I'm glad we are adding new cards and super-advanced cards. I am beyond unhappy about adding the Cuban and Japanese cards. I would wager that the majority of the community was not asking for this. MAKE THEM PART OF AN UNLEASHED ATG SET IF YOU MUST, but I'm not interested in diluting the set like this.

I agree completely!

My ATG philosophy: I want to play with the MLB stars from the past. I don't mind the NeL cards, because they should have been in MLB from the start. Why have we added Japanese and Cuban cards, when virtually NO ONE ASKED FOR THEM??

My ATG philosophy: I want to play with the MLB stars from the past. I don't mind the NeL cards, because they should have been in MLB from the start. Why have we added Japanese and Cuban cards, when virtually NO ONE ASKED FOR THEM??

EXACTLY!

Totally agree and it looks like all that work George Barnard did with his surveys was done for nothing as it appears SOM has NOT HEARD US ONCE AGAIN! I truly hope that is NOT the case.

Andy: I agree with you about the Cuban and Japanese players and don't like the thought of having those players crammed down our throats. As a matter of fact, I feel the same way about the Negro league cards. I find it hard to believe that there are so many NeL players who would be just as good or better than HOFers and pioneers Jackie Robinson, Doby, Mays, Aaron, Frank Robinson and Banks. Yet that's what we were given, as offense sells, just like in MLB. While SOM is to be lauded for its pioneering work in creating the Nel card set, there is no valid argument for including such cards in the post WWII card set.

So, I have a suggestion regarding cards of the NeL, Japanese league and the Cuban league: Make them opt in only, as the stats are not based on major league seasons and there is no generally accepted method of approximating Major league stats from available records, which more often than not were poorly kept, if they were kept at all.

In other words, the default ATG set should include only seasons based on major league baseball seasons. If the founder of a league wants to use Nel, JaL or CuL players, let him opt in. That seems to be the most fair solution and it should be easy to extend the use of the current toggle buttons to the various non-major league player sets.

I'd bet my last dollar that, given such an option, the use of the MLB only set would by far exceed the use of all the non-major league sets combined.

I agree with BDWard

Well said BD!!!!!

Totally agree with Andy! I don't mind the NeL players, though I seldom use them. But the addition of Japanese and Cuban players instead of badly needed Deadball and Postwar players that will give franchise leagues a shot in the arm, is a terrible idea, a bad joke that will make a mockery of ATG, even if there is an opt-out version. Makes you wonder why veterans like George Barnard bother to try to help SOM improve its product.

I guess I'm in the minority that doesn't mind the addition of some Japanese and Cuban players. Seems like everyone else hates the idea.