I Stuck Barry Bonds In The Deadball Era - With Shocking Results!

[@robbieg416]

I started a Detroit Tiger save on ootp in 1901. The year is now 1918 and I've noticed that the SB totals are really low. Ty Cobb steals like 40 bases a year. Everything else seems pretty on point though.

[@MikeLopez-cd8zq]

Thanks for taking the time to do this project. Very interesting. I am boomer who has experience playing table top baseball games like Sports Illustrated and APBA ,and then later various PC based games. However, I have not heard of OOTP. Will have to go on a journey of discovery. Thank you.

[@markellzey1531]

Yea OOTP baseball is an amazing franchise simulator. The in-game graphics are nothing on par with Playstation or Xbox but the franchise is incredibly deep and if you want a realistic GM franchise baseball experience, it's endless fun.

[@gregorykrajeski6255]

I hated the steroids era even at the time. I remember when McGuire and Sosa smashed the home run record. It was a travesty and a permanent stain on the game. Then Bonds had to juice himself up even more to smash that record. It was so ridiculously obvious that he was roided up to insane levels that everyone had to know. No ones head grows two sizes after the age of 35. As far as I'm concerned, Aaro. Judge holds the record for most home runs in a season.

[@TJ_Is_Online]

Very interesting video with results I wish you can ow simulate Barry Bonds without steroids starting in 1995.

[@sgjjamie73]

Enjoyable video! Projects like these are exactly what I was referring to in my last SGJ article, "Remembering The Play in Replay."

[@mitchelvalentino1569]

I really enjoyed this. My favorite player and my favorite era of baseball.

[@calmccormick3374]

I really enjoy these hypothetical scenario videos, very cool stuff

[@ethanchetkof1076]

You mentioned that you weren’t sure how to make it so players can become FAs earlier - right below the reserve clause setting there is “minimum service years for free agency”. By default is is set to 6, but you can change it to whatever you want with that setting

[@klubers3074]

Fun to listen. Would be very interested in a post on Barry bonds trade to the giants if you choose to do one on that topic.

[@JamieAtSLC]

How did you feel that OOTP did in terms of translating Bonds's hitting profile to the deadball era? I've always been disappointed doing these types of cross-era translations (especially translating from the liveball era to deadball era) in previous versions of OOTP. I feel like when you translate a big power hitter like Bonds into the deadball era, he shouldn't just hit a lot of homers for the era, because "a lot" of homers is at best 20. He should also be among the most deadly doubles and triples hitters, because that's what power hitting looked like in the deadball era--hitting a ball over the outfielders and running round the bases. My experience has been that power hitters lose out on a lot of the 2B/3B value they should getting, because OOTP just says "hey, this guy hit a lot of homers for the steroid era in real life, he would have hit a lot of homers for the deadball era."

[@baseballreplayjournal]

Yep - you nailed it. That's exactly what I experienced. I don't think Bonds ever led the league in slugging percentage. When I try this again in the future, I might make a few changes to try to avoid this. Either that, or I'll stay away from dumping guys into the depth of the deadball era.

[@EricBerinson]

@@baseballreplayjournal This is a fascinating challenge for all computerized OR board game simulations… Normalizing players across eras, thus allowing them to compete as equals within the corresponding temporal advantages/disadvantages. Which Baseball sims do it best, and why? Would love to hear those factors enabling “correction” you have in mind for OOTP? Did Bonds incredible OBP shine through (sounds like perhaps not)? OOTP seems a great engine… I would hope it could accommodate this with nuance to emphasize a players multiple characteristics across his career arc within a different era?

[@MickeyMo600]

I feel like Barry could have changed that like Ruth. Become a icon with home runs.

[@farpointgamingdirect]

I stuck Sammy Sosa on the 1924 Cubs and played a series against the 1924 Senators. It did not go well for Sammy...

[@baseballreplayjournal]

Interesting - I wonder if there's a pattern with steroid era guys not doing so well in cross era play in OOTP...

[@ethanchetkof1076]

@@baseballreplayjournalAt least in past versions of OOTP, I’ve also noticed that a lot of deadball era guys totally dominate if in a more offensive era - some becoming some of the greatest sluggers of all time because of how they performed relative to their irl peers!

[@bishopthefool]

​@@ethanchetkof1076 how about the deadball pitchers? Is Three-finger Brown dominant in 1987? or Smokey Joe Wood?

[@joedaffern-sparkes1672]

Put babe Ruth in the modern day

[@snerdterguson]

Better equipment, lighter bats, better training, scouting, medicine, smaller stadiums, higher average temps which means balls fly farther on average, an extra 8 games a season spread out over a 20+ year long career is an extra full season plus worth of games to add to career numbers, there is now a DH which means he starts his career getting far more ABs, and doesn't need to move to the outfield to get more ABs meaning he likely pitches for a longer period. Honestly, Babe in the modern era would be a superstar. His homers likely increase, but his average takes a hit due to there being less area that's in play to hit in.

[@wyssmaster]

​@@snerdtergusonwhile all of those changes you've mentioned are true, you also need to take into account that pitchers are throwing much faster with much more break to their pitches than in Ruth's day. There are also more teams to play with a much larger talent pool; in Ruth's day you could feast on a bad pitcher on a bad team because you would likely see him a dozen or more games a season, with him likely throwing at least seven innings regardless of outcome. There's also a lot more scouting information available on both sides of the ball, meaning pitchers would be able to pick apart Ruth's swing and find exactly where to pitch him. Realistically I don't think it's fair to say that Ruth wouldn't even make AAA like I've seen some people say, but I also don't think for a second that he would sniff 700 career dingers

[@Ibhenriksen]

​@@wyssmasterYou just said they would use the available technology against him? Ok. So what wouldn't he use that current technology to help him as well? Not to mention if you stuck him in the current era, he would have been used to the faster pitches.

[@wyssmaster]

@@Ibhenriksen all of the scouting data we have has benefited pitchers and defenders more than hitters: look out how offensive numbers dropped significantly until the league artificially boosted offenses by banning most defensive shifts. My point is not that Ruth wouldn't be able to adjust, but that his numbers were put up against the equivalent of minor league pitching. Yes, there were some monster pitchers in his day (like Walter Johnson), but a lot of those guys were topping out in the mid-80s with a lot less break on their pitches. If you think he would be able to put to BETTER power numbers while not being able to sell out on literally every pitch then you're not looking at the situation honestly.

[@Ibhenriksen]

@@wyssmaster Yeah, I see what you're saying. We are almost in deadball era 2.0 now.

[@K37-h1z]

Its an absolute hypothetical involving time travel and yet racism still comes up. Times were different back then. And time travel doesnt exist. Absolutely zero point in even mentioning it

[@nickhueper2906]

Wdym, have you heard of the Negro League? It only existed cause owners didn’t like that black players were better than the white ones. Racism would play a factor if a hypothetical Barry Bonds went back in time