Pulling my hair out

I’m new to 365 but have been playing Strat for years.
I’m my last game had a close game going into the 9th
inning . My catcher Cochrane reached first and Bill Spiers
is sent in to pinch run . That’s fine . Nothing comes out of the
inning on our end . For some insane reason Spiers stays in the
game to catch , although he is not rated there and Elton Howard
and Jamie Quirk are both in the bench available to catch .
Bottom of the ninth , two quick outs then
Kiner walks ,Guillen pinch runs , steals second , Stargell
is HBP and then Guillen steals third and of course Spiers throws
the ball away . I am trying to give Hal credit for making moves
I’m not seeing but it’s like he was trying to throw the game .
Maybe I’m not seeing something and I’d welcome any thoughts
anyone may have .But if I keep seeing moves
like this I don’t think I’ll be staying around as it’s too
frustrating . It’s a shame because I really love the concept .

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/game/453605/198

I have had issues with catcher substitutions late in the game . I think it’s a known glitch. I’ve sent emails to customer service a couple of times over last year or two with no results.

I sent an e mail to customer service as well.
If it’s a known glitch I wish they’d fix it .
You spend so much time carefully inputting
specified lineups , pitching rotations , general
strategy and the computer manager is not
intelligent enough to substitute a catcher for
another catcher ? It’s as if Hal had bet money on
the opposing team. Come to think of it HAL from
2001 had some pretty questionable intentions
in the end ....

I, too, have sent letter about this particular glitch and attached supporting documentation....this is the subject line of my email from 2019
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Member: paul8210 Game Engine bug - Cater (non-catcher) replacing Pavletich in the ninth for no reason. Hendricks or Pavletich were available to catch in the ninth. Why overlay Pavletich substitution with Cater?

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I think the glitch may be due to having catchers whose primary position is not catcher. I think that was the case with your catchers. This confuses one of Hal's algorithms.

There is no way they will fix this right now or for quite a while. Suggest putting do not pinch run for catcher (under hitter prefs). If you have a good catcher, put no pinch hit for him (under hitter prefs). If you have a platoon instead of do not pinch hit put two platoon catchers in a platoon. Im not exactly sure what you do with 3 catchers except do not pinch hit but that of course has a cost to it.

Good luck.

I want to thank everyone for replying to this . It's great to see all my Strat Brethren trying to help.
In regards to your reply:
Elston Howard was on the bench and his primary position is catcher. I do use a Howard/ Cochrane platoon
in regards to your message.
I'll probably do as you suggest and put do not pinch run for any of my catchers.Sadly they are the slowest players on
my team. I may drop Jamie Quirk. One of the reasons I picked him up was his ability to play several positions including catcher , but now his value has diminished.
Given all the terrific choices and upgrades to strategy , I would thing that Strat would tweak the algorithm to stop this from happening , especially given the advances they have made to bring more strategy and realism to the game.It's kind of silly .
Thanks again for the advice. It's greatly appreciated.

I want to thank everyone for replying to this . It's great to see all my Strat Brethren trying to help.
In regards to your reply:
Elston Howard was on the bench and his primary position is catcher. I do use a Howard/ Cochrane platoon
in regards to your message.
I'll probably do as you suggest and put do not pinch run for any of my catchers.Sadly they are the slowest players on
my team. I may drop Jamie Quirk. One of the reasons I picked him up was his ability to play several positions including catcher , but now his value has diminished.
Given all the terrific choices and upgrades to strategy , I would thing that Strat would tweak the algorithm to stop this from happening , especially given the advances they have made to bring more strategy and realism to the game.It's kind of silly .
Thanks again for the advice. It's greatly appreciated.

Looks like Elston is chained to the bench because of his platoon status. If you list Howard as 1st backup and Quirk as 2nd backup to Mickey perhaps Elstonor Quirk would of been put in to replace Spiers?

They are indeed listed that way

So Elston is listed as a platoon and as first backup . Quirk is listed as second backup.
So if somehow Howard’s platoon status chains him to the bench it is still incomprehensible
as to why Quirk would not be inserted .

The backups you choose are only considered for setting your starting lineup. HAL decides who to bring in during the game if someone is injured. Obviously, there is a serious flaw in his logic in some cases when it comes to catchers.