Under the Hood of the TTL Baseball Sim
I thought I'd do an under the hood series to show whats behind some of the game modifiers in TTL Baseball. I already did a post on base stealing and now its time to cover hit and run plays.
The H & R modifiers apply to both basic and advanced game versions. All the potential modifiers are listed below followed by the situations where they apply.
H & R modifier Applies on Explanation
+4 to BODR All at bats Modifier added to all batter rolls that reduces effectiveness of the hitter.
+40 to runners CTA Base hits Significantly increases the chance a base runner will advance an extra base on a hit.
-10 to runners SB value Strike Outs Reduces the runners chance to steal when the batter strikes out.
+40 modifier to GO rolls Ground outs Reduces the chance of hitting into a double play when the H & R is on.
+50 to chance of DP Line Outs Increases the chance of hitting into a line out double play.
+1 base advance on errors Errors Base runners get an extra base on all error plays when the H & R is put on.
BB result changed to foul ball Walks There are no walks when a H & R is on as the batter is being forced to protect the runner.
-20 to tag values Fly Outs Reduces the chance that a runner can tag on a fly out since he would be far off the base.
All these modifiers are intended to model the actual risk/rewards of putting a hit and run play on as accurately as possible. Together they reduce the hitters effectiveness by forcing him to swing regardless of pitch location. Hence the walks changed instead into a foul ball. The +4 BODR modifier will reduce the home run potential of the batter. The reduced stolen base modifier is because runners generally don't get as good a jump on a hit and run play as they would on a straight steal. Any time a batter strikes out when the hit and run is on, the play turns into an attempted steal play. Of course the rewards of the H & R are represented as well. Such as reducing the chance of grounding into a double play and increasing the chance of advancing the runner an extra base.
While initially it may seem like a lot to keep track of. Keep in mind that only 1 modifier applies to any given play type. When just learning the game, I might suggest simply using the 2 most key modifiers. Those would be the ones that apply to ground outs and base hits. You can always use the modifiers that apply on walks and strike outs after your more familiar with the game.
TTL Baseball was designed to have a lot of detail that models all aspects of game play. Hit and Runs is a little bit like Russian roulette in that it can break open an inning, but there is also a risk that it back fires. That is part of what makes baseball so interesting.
TTL Baseball is available here: TTLB
