What do you like to do in Strat autoleagues?

Just curious if I am the only weird one . When I am in an auto league, I don't try to build the best team possible. I try to do some kind of a theme. Types of teams I have fielded: Best SP team in a pitcher's park, best hitting team in a pitchers park, best team for Progressive, Best SB team, Best HR team, Highest Double play teams (pitching with high dp's and all 1's in the infield, All clutch team (highest possible clutch rating at all positions), All doubles hitting team, etc. It is fun to try and do something really specific and yet still compete.

Any other ideas out there?

What do you like to try out?

I'm only currently playing in one season and have 2 credits left so I'm just trying to reach the postseason at the moment.

Actually, I don't think I've ever had enough surplus credits available to be able to create any "theme like" teams. I do tend to focus on different strategies, though, based on what happened to my past teams.

While waiting for the Players Championship Semis to start I've experimented with previously unused players and ballparks. Also a $125 million league which starts tonight. Got an awful draft in that.

I like to roll around in veggie oil and cover myself in feathers.



oh wait...you said...what do I like to do in auto leagues....never mind.

It completely depends on the players and parks in each year, but I do have four general types of teams I try to master each year, and they're not particularly esoteric: The Hitter's Park team, The Righty Park team, The Neutral Park team, and the The Lefty Park team. I usually alternate between the four until I determine which three are the best for the season, and which particular players are best for each team type. After that I usually work on honing those three in the hopes of winning as many championships as I can. I would be more imaginative, but I can only justify enough credits to my wife a year.

I usually save my experimentation for theme leagues and 24-team, 100 mil or 60 mil teams. Every so often, I try a pitcher's park team, but I realized long ago that pitcher's parks just aren't my thing. And in Mystery Leagues, I tend to focus on neutral and hitters' parks as the lefty/righty-weighted parks aren't as substantial


P.s. Splinter, it's very interesting to learn your hobbies outside SOM. I had no idea.

that's the stuff splinter can put here without violating laws in 35 states.

Auto league or not I almost always have some experiment or theme I am trying to pull off. Did not start off that way back in 2001 but after a while and a certain number of teams needed something extra to keep things fresh and interesting. Even if that theme was try to win with a nickel closer like Billy Koch.

Auto league or not I almost always have some experiment or theme I am trying to pull off. Did not start off that way back in 2001 but after a while and a certain number of teams needed something extra to keep things fresh and interesting.

I would get pretty bummed if I needed experiments or themes to keep me interested in SOM. I've been playing since the 2001 set as well, and the game still provides me many mysteries to be solved and territories to explore. Every new season is a new sea of players with endless permutations of combinations and possibilities. Even each league brings new managers, new opposing teams, and new possible team structures and elements to use to "battle" them. You can't step in the same river twice.

Valen did get me to look back at my old 2001 teams. I saw my first playoff team was with a 1-8/1-8 park, which I've never used since. It also had the 2001 Rich Aurilia, easily the best 5-6m card ever:

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/515394

Aurilia was $ in that set.

As was LoDuca.

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/533558

Check out Greg Myers and Phil Nevin...

Nevin again...
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/526552