Thoughts on PETCO

Thanks for the overly kind endorsement Bruce.

Pitching, Defense and Team Speed are the keys for me in Petco.

Pitching: Maximize your pitching by using pitchers that give up Ballpark HR's which are negated 95% of the time in Petco because they are cheaper. That and good defense will shut your opponents down at home.

Hitting: Offensively, think similarly, BP HR's cost money and they are a waste in Petco. You want guys who can get on base and make things happen. As Matt said, your slugging needs to be in the form of Doubles and Triples, not so much Home Runs. Fast guys with a high batting average are the target.

Team Speed: Speed, speed, speed. The pricing of the players caught up with me regarding team speed as it seems all 17 rated runners went up in price in ATG 9. But 17's on the basepaths cause havoc and if they can steal that's even better. Set team to Very Aggressive Base Running. A perfect Petco team for me has all 17's on the basepaths (except catcher of course), preferably all A or better stealers. Set team stealing to Conservative and individual stealing to Steal More.

Team Defense: All 1's on defense is nice, but especially up the middle (SS, 2B & CF). I don't worry so much about Catcher. And good arms in the outfield. If you really want to hold people down, try to get your pitcher's hold ratings and catcher's arm to a combined -3 or better.

The problem with Petco is that the thing that holds your opponents offense down also holds your offense down, so you need to balance that. In 80 Mill leagues, you can get by with $25-$30 mill total in your pitching staff which allows you to spend $6-$7 mill on your average position player.

Here's a couple of "standard" Petco team for me that check almost all of the above boxes:

https://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1608897

https://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1583451

https://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1564393

I should have just kept quiet. Clearly you know too much, Rich.

So in the interests of full disclosure, the way to beat Petco has also been made clear. STRONG OF ARMS and, secondarily, catcher arms. The rationale is obvious: due to the offense negating properties of Petco, each base counts more in Petco than other parks so you need to shut down the running game.

Pitchers with lots of strikeouts on their cards also help, keep the runners from advancing on outs.

You definitely want outfield arms (-4 or better) in right and center. Question: doesnt having a 1 catcher help on plays at plate? I thought it does and, if so, I would think having a 1(-4) guy would be prudent in Petco. Anything to inhibit taking an extra base. The other thing--and this is kind of a question that can apply to any team--is to how to balance the team so to win on the road against power teams. Does it make sense to throw in a few power guys (with speed and who have high non-bp hrs)? Might be difficult at 80 mill, though. I always wrestle with the question with maximizing the advantage at home vs surviving on the road. Also, I think considering pitchers that give up walks rather than hits. Again, you get an advantage on guys that give up bp hrs in petco...but I wouldnt take that to an extreme else they'll blow up like a firecracker on the road.

If you see Rich in your division, though...time to go shopping for that -5 catcher. He is the best at those speed teams. That comes from painful experience with cleat marks from running over my teams...

If you see Rich in your division, though...time to go shopping for that -5 catcher. He is the best at those speed teams. That comes from painful experience with cleat marks from running over my teams...

Literally LMAO

Rich is getting soft on us - I didn't expect him to share his secrets!

If you see Rich in your division, though...time to go shopping for that -5 catcher. He is the best at those speed teams. That comes from painful experience with cleat marks from running over my teams...

If Rich is in your division, don't watch the playback because you'll end up throwing your computer across the room while his guys steal 2nd and 3rd and then you're catcher throws it into left field like 6 times a game.

Putting Petco to the test. Rich has started an 80M dh league with a team name that suggests Petco will be his park. Some big names in this one including Riggo Drill and the reigning BS tour champion, Matt, and of course, yours truly.

I have never played in Petco because I believe other parks simply offer more advantages. So to attempt to prove my point, I even joined this 80M league which is Rich's wheelhouse. Not my favorite cap as it seriously limits the viable player pool compared to 100M, for example. But a league with four BS finalists from the most recent finals was simply irresistible to my competitive instincts.

Still two spots open for lovers of carnage!

Putting Petco to the test. Rich has started an 80M dh league with a team name that suggests Petco will be his park.

I shoulda named my team Polo Powers, maybe you wouldn't have stolen Suzuki and Figgins from me.