No Right Fielder

Some wrote;
The online game uses the CD-ROM rules for outfielder ratings when playing out of position.

This is categorically false, see the above or buy the CD-ROM and you will see. By the way, this is not even a new thing with the CD-ROM it has been that way for years and years. Furthermore, the CD-ROM does not let you play non outfielders out of position without becoming 5s in the field, so why would they let you play outfielder's out of position without becoming 5s if that was NOT how you are supposed to play (it literally IS part of the game if you play at home on your computer and has been that way for years). I have had this argument/debate before and I win every time because I own the game and I play it.

I am not disputing what the FAQ or on-line SOM wiki says, I am disproving the claim that the on-line game follows the CD-ROM or download. This has been provable for years and years now. Come on SOM get your sh!t together!

We are playing what ifs with all star teams. Do you ever see CFs playing RF or LF in the all-star games- of course.

No Radagast, it does follow the CDROM rules when it comes to an outfielder playing out of position. The only stipulation the online game has is that you can not manually set a certain player to play a position he is not carded for, which is the case for all positions not just outfield. It's also a rule which I also agree with. I do have the CDROM and I impose that rule when I play it. I think it's unrealistic to see Brett Butler in RF or LF, a position in which he never really played except possibly occasionally.
IF however HAL forces Butler for example to play LF or RF due to an injury, then he will have a 2 range in either position. So yes, the CDROM rules are in effect.

Some wrote;
The online game uses the CD-ROM rules for outfielder ratings when playing out of position.

This is categorically false, see the above or buy the CD-ROM and you will see. By the way, this is not even a new thing with the CD-ROM it has been that way for years and years. Furthermore, the CD-ROM does not let you play non outfielders out of position without becoming 5s in the field, so why would they let you play outfielder's out of position without becoming 5s if that was NOT how you are supposed to play (it literally IS part of the game if you play at home on your computer and has been that way for years). I have had this argument/debate before and I win every time because I own the game and I play it.

I am not disputing what the FAQ or on-line SOM wiki says, I am disproving the claim that the on-line game follows the CD-ROM or download. This has been provable for years and years now. Come on SOM get your sh!t together!

We are playing what ifs with all star teams. Do you ever see CFs playing RF or LF in the all-star games- of course.

What I am saying is if an outfield is forced to play out of position, his ratings be adjusted by the CD-ROM version's rules. I said the online version uses the rules concerning the ratings--not whether someone can play out of position.

The online game uses the CD-ROM rules for outfielder ratings when playing out of position.

I don't dispute the CD-ROM/download version lets you play players out of position. However, I did not claim you could play outfielders out of position in the online game. In fact, the first line second paragraph of my last point says quite the opposite.

However, (as everyone knows) the online game does not let you play outfielders out of position on purpose.

Just because the game doesn't let you voluntarily play an outfielder out of position doesn't mean they are automatically 5s. I used to wonder if that was the case (which I/we agree would be a bad thing) until I found the FAQ which I quoted in my last post.

We do disagree whether you should be able to play an outfielder out of position. From a realistic point of view, it does make sense. However, that is an opinion that I don't share. Here are some reasons I prefer it the way it is:

1. It makes selecting a team more challenging. For example in the 90s Kirby Puckett plays all outfield positions (of-2) very well. This gives me a flexibility that say Steve Finley (cf-1) does not offer. This is something I have to consider when comparing the two and deciding whom to draft.

2. I have Juan Gonzalez with these ratings: rf-3 cf-4 lf-4. He is essentially penalized because he played some games in left field. (If he hadn't, he would essentially be a lf-3.) This does not sit well with me.

3. Many years ago, I used to play a game called APBA. All outfielders were simply rated for outfield. You could play them anywhere with no penalties. So a Carl Yastrzemski, for example, would never get played in left field even though he never played any other outfield position. This did not sit well with me.

There is no right or wrong here, and there are advantages either way. If this is ever changed, I will certainly appreciate the new flexibility it offers. However, I will also miss the strategy that will be lost.

HAL did put Mitchell in RF as I had hoped, but they batted him 9th. I had left the RF spot open in the 7th position in the lineup. I won't want to continue going with no RF for long, but I will probably continue until a few of my bad cards shake out.

You guys just don't get it, with the CD-ROM you can not play Ozzie Smith at 3B without him being a 3B5 but you can play Bret Butler who is only rated at CF in LF or RF with NO PENAlTY, hence by definition it is part of the rules, not an option but part of the game itself...

You are crazy to believe a modern day reliever can pitch 300 innings but Andrew McCutchen could not play LF with no range penalty.... In fact the old board game rules allow this in writing when an injury occurs..... And if no penalty when an injury occurs why would a penalty occur with no injury?

I am rarely nasty or argumentative but sorry fellows I know I am correct about this because it has been this way on the CD-ROM for years and years. Just because one of you owns the game and does not allow this does not mean it is not part of the rules. You can have all the house rules you like. Clearly this on-line game and the download or CD-ROM are NOT exactly the same. Those of you who do own the game know that upgrades are added each and every year.

Your house rules are not the CD-ROM rules, dummy! You made my point for me, if you have to make it a house rule it is obviously a rule. I don't even know why I bother.

The fact that you had to make it a house rule, because the computer allows it, proves my point. Game over. I am done here!

OK here's the situation. Prove to me that Brett Butler playing LF in the online game is not a 2 range. You can't.

You're combining 2 rules into 1 here and that's what I think the problem is.

Lets break it down like this (breaking rule #2 down to just CF for simplicity).

Rule #1: a player is not allowed to play any position in the field he is not carded for.

Rule #2: A centerfielder who is forced to play an outfield position he is not carded for due to injury or lack of options to play said positions will suffer no penalties in defense.

Rule #1 is inconsistent with the online game and the CDROM game. The CDROM game allows you to play any player in any position at any time. The online game only allows for players to play whatever position they are carded for.

Rule #2 is consistent between the online game and the CDROM game when it comes to any player playing out of position, not just centerfield. Ozzie Smith a 3B will be a 5e88 in the CDROM or the online game. Butler in RF will be a 2 range in the CDROM or the online game.

So the only different here is rule #1 which makes it harder to take advantage of rule #2 (which is very flawed IMO)


As far as my house rules go, when I play the CDROM game I try to keep the realism whenever possible. I dont use super relievers when I play by myself. I don't play players out of position when I play by myself either. The online game is a different animal so I play it differently, but the official rules are still the same.

Again, if you have to make a house rule against playing outfielders out of position it is obviously because the computer lets you, which makes it legal in the CD-ROM and download. Hopefully some day soon the on-line game will catch up. Even the board game allows for CF in RF and so on.

If we were to play each other in a CD-ROM game I could play my outfielders wherever I want, period (your house rules aside). The CD-ROM does NOT allow you to break rules, there for it is a real. And I submit not doing this is what is unrealistic. Who in their right mind believes Andrew McCutchen would not be a 1 in LF?

Are you suggesting it is more realistic that your CF can play RF with no penalty if another player on that team is injured but if there is no injury Andrew McCutchen is a 5 in RF instead of a 1? That doesn't sound realistic at all.

Why does the game allow it if it is against the rules?