# ballpark home run rating

I’m not sure how the # home run rating works. The rule is copied below. Example: if a righty hitter’s card is
# HR 1-5 but the ballpark is rated 1-12 for righty homers, are there 2 rolls or does the ballpark rating control? In this example, if the first roll is 6 does the batter not get a homer or does he? I had assumed Hal did a second roll so if the original roll was a 1 through 5 then there would be a second roll based on ballpark rating. But that’s not what the rule seems to say. But if that’s the case why didn’t Strat just have a simple # rating rather that the # 1-5 or 1-2 etc?


# -- Ballpark home run reading. An additional roll determines whether there is a home run or a flyout. Obviously, the probability varies by ballpark and whether the hitter is lefthanded or righthanded. The original result listed is ignored -- in effect, the result will be determined by "rolling against" the ballpark's home run rating (a random number from 1-20). If the number rolled is equal to or lower than the ballpark's rating for a left- or righthanded hitter, it is a home run.

The answer is simple, but it might be difficult to explain.
The first split number (1-5) has nothing to do with ballpark effect at all... It's just a normal split. But whereas most such splits would yield a definite result (like a double, or a regular home run) the # indicates that it's just a POSSIBLE home run, one that's dependent upon the ballpark you're in.
A better way to look at it, using your example: If you're playing the cards & dice version of Strat baseball, and you roll between 6 and 20 for the first split, then there's no HR at all. But if you rolled between 1 and 5, then you would CHECK for a HR by rolling a 20-sided die... 1-12 would be a HR.

The answer is simple, but it might be difficult to explain.
The first split number (1-5) has nothing to do with ballpark effect at all... It's just a normal split. But whereas most such splits would yield a definite result (like a double, or a regular home run) the # indicates that it's just a POSSIBLE home run, one that's dependent upon the ballpark you're in.
A better way to look at it, using your example: If you're playing the cards & dice version of Strat baseball, and you roll between 6 and 20 for the first split, then there's no HR at all. But if you rolled between 1 and 5, then you would CHECK for a HR by rolling a 20-sided die... 1-12 would be a HR.

I do not believe that is correct. From the Strat rules Wiki:

(30.3) BALL PARK HOMERUNS (black diamond): Ignore all readings that have a (black diamond) symbol to the left of them. Instead, refer to the Ball Park Effect Chart. Find the home stadium and the correct batting stance of the current batter (L=lefty or R=righty). This is the new dice range for the homerun. Roll the 20-sided die to determine whether the batter has hit a homerun or a Flyball()B.

The online cards don’t have black diamonds, they’ve been replaced by the # symbol instead.

So, there’s only one roll of the 20 sided die; you ignore the split on the card and instead refer to the BP HR rating as the split.

Jjii66 - your explanation makes sense but that’s not what the rules seem to say.

Ggyuppie - if your answer is correct (and it seems to match the rules) then why is there,in my example, a 1-5 at all? Why not just have the # and go right to the ballpark ratings?

Thank you for the info, ggyuppie... It seems I've had this wrong for many years now.
BUT, I'm with tdkearns... why on earth would they bother putting a 1-5 split if we're just supposed to ignore it? It's confusing.

Thank you for the info, ggyuppie... It seems I've had this wrong for many years now.
BUT, I'm with tdkearns... why on earth would they bother putting a 1-5 split if we're just supposed to ignore it? It's confusing.

Because in the dice and card or CDROM game you have the option to play without the ballpark factors.

But the simple “# home run” is also a common entry on the cards. If your logic is correct wouldn’t that mean that all # home run results would require the 1-5 subranking?




Because in the dice and card or CDROM game you have the option to play without the ballpark factors.[/quote]

I found another quirk. I have Killebrew. He has a # HR 1-19.
My home park has a 1-14 HR rating for righties. Quite favorable to righties. Yet Killebrew will be penalized on that roll if the hitters card is ignored.

I found another quirk. I have Killebrew. He has a # HR 1-19.
My home park has a 1-14 HR rating for righties. Quite favorable to righties. Yet Killebrew will be penalized on that roll if the hitters card is ignored.

He is not penalized. Did you notice he also has a ballpark chance at 3-10, which has zero chance for a homerun? It all works out. Trust me. Just ignore any homerun chance (or non-chance) listed after a ballpark homerun chance (#). You'll sleep better at night!

Which ballpark you chose obviously affects how many homeruns you can expect Killebrew to hit. However, you aren't being cheated because SOM365 uses ballpark ratings.

It appears ggyuppie and coyote303 are correct. SOM responded to my email:

Hi,

Any reading that shows the (#) completely ignores the results on the card itself and just uses the ballpark rating to determine a home run or not. For example, if a reading shows the following:

# HR 1-5, flyout 6-20 and the ballpark rating is 11 HR.

The only reading that matters there is the # symbol. The home run roll is then based on the 1-11 HR result.

The reason the original result is shown in the image (in this case the 1-5 HR) is that other versions of the game use different versions of the rules, some of which ignore ballpark effects completely.

Sincerely,
Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365