Ten Challenging Teams to Consider Playing in Out of the Park Baseball 25

[@pester2191]

I have been watching your Yankees series as I try to both get into baseball and make the jump from a longtime Football Manager to OOTP. Your videos are excellent and informative and I love your relaxed approach. You do a great job of distilling complex info down into something more easily understood.

[@oldschoolsports]

Thank you for the kind words, appreciate you watching!

[@Shauneroo]

Loved the Wings playthrough, and looking forward to this one too. I'd lean towards the Nationals, but then I have a bit of a soft spot for them.

[@abcdefghijkl5408]

Ive been playing the Nats on OOTP22 and those first couple of years with the Corbin and Strasburg contracts were rough for sure. Now, i am printing money (not even close to spending it all) and dominating....might restart with someone else

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks for your thoughts... I am definitely open to almost any of the ten teams right now. Two years ago when I made the video I was pretty sure I would do KC, and last year I definitely planned on doing the expansion team... but this year it's still truly wide open!

[@noahcalisti6773]

I am very late to the game but I got home from college this weekend so I finally have some free time to dive into OOTP 25! Love seeing the breakdown in this video - the factors you consider are pretty much exactly what I consider as well. I'm debating between the Nats and White Sox for this year...leaning towards the Sox but it's a tough call!

[@oldschoolsports]

Nice... I almost went with the Sox, good luck with whatever team you decide!

[@noahcalisti6773]

@@oldschoolsports Thank you! It's hard to choose them as a cubs fan but they're in such an interesting spot. Looking forward to catching up on your A's series over the coming weeks!

[@JackhammerPossessor]

I think you should play with Kansas City in OOTP 25 but I am biased. They did sign alot of free agents this offseason though so they might have some potential decent trade bait to help beef up their farm system. Oakland remains the biggest challenge but as you said, so many people play with Oakland.

[@oldschoolsports]

I really have not decided, but pretty sure I won't do KC again so soon. Oakland definitely in the mix though, but as you noted, it's been done by a lot of people already!

[@stewartrickert]

Look forward to the series! I’m thinking of trying to do an ootp save on a channel as the As , angels or another challenging team but looks like a great list

[@oldschoolsports]

Nice, I like both of those choices, they're certainly in the mix for me too!

[@stewartrickert]

@@oldschoolsports Yeah, I usually try to A's. I'm more a Cubs fan but I try to rebuild the franchise - them or the Tigers usually lol. In general, as in real life, I am happy to see small market teams doing well

[@htorres11]

great stuff!

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks for watching!

[@christopherslovick9373]

Love it. I love this channel. New Subscriber here!!!!

[@oldschoolsports]

Appreciate it, glad you found us!

[@alexdostaler]

This video has me thinking White Sox this year for my main playthrough!

[@oldschoolsports]

I think they would definitely be a good challenge... they are still on my short list... good luck!

[@patrickdebonis6493]

The Guardians do have the first pick in the draft this year

[@patrickdebonis6493]

I would consider the Red Sox to be a good challenge. The are stuck at the bottom of the AL East and have an owner that is more interested in making money than he is in willing games. Here's an idea: Let's send Henry and Cashman to Baltimore and start fighting for this division again. The BoSox are helped by the fact that Sale's contract is off the books and the farm system is rather good. But still, Story is a bad contract and Devers could be in a few years too. I'm not sure I'd go top ten with them, but I would put them in your list of also rans. We're used to that.

[@oldschoolsports]

It's a fair point. I did briefly consider them, but they are still the Boston Red Sox, so I didn't really give it a ton of thought. But you're right that the ownership really seems to be focused on only one thing, and it's not winning anymore. Which can make winning much more challenging!

[@Iridescence93]

what I am doing for at least one playthrough this year is starting with the last live 2023 save, reset everyone's age to 21 or younger, do a fantasy redraft and then very slowly bring in random debut historical players ( no drafts for the first 5 years then like 5 players per team for year), It should make a really interesting alternate history (also will be using totals from a random historical year every year so we may get a bunch of modern players trying to play in deadball era conditions (or eventually the reverse.)

[@oldschoolsports]

Sounds interesting, I'm definitely more vanilla in what I'm considering for OOTP 25, but would be interested in hearing how it goes. Good luck!

[@Iridescence93]

@@oldschoolsportsthanks. I really like the sandbox aspect of the game. I usually play historical. This is the first time in a long time I'll be playing at least initially with all current players. I like exploring weird alternate leagues. with real players. My problem isn't coming up with ideas but finding time to stick with them in OOTP. BTW if you want a challenging play through the number one thing you can do I find is is turn injuries up to at least high and not exploit the trade AI which still needs a lot of work (only make trades that make sense from the AI point of view).

[@oldschoolsports]

@@Iridescence93 I hear you on the injuries and trade AI. I like to have a good challenge, but I also want to have fun and have some chance at success, so getting that balance right can be tricky. Dealing with tons of injuries, a bad owner, and not being able to make any trades starts to feel too much like work to me, so I try to find a good balance that I actually enjoy playing!

[@Iridescence93]

@@oldschoolsportsyeah I think you should still make trades just it's pretty easy to take advantage of the AI and build up a super team once you know how it works if you allow yourself to do that. IMO having a constant dynasty makes the game less fun in the long run.. Same as the injuries which reward you for building up your bench which is important in RL baseball. OOTP in general produces far more players capable of playing every day and being productive than in RL so with low injuries you will get a backlog and it becomes too easy IMO.

[@oldschoolsports]

I've been thinking about my league settings for OOTP 25, and am interested in more of your rationale for why you believe the more frequent injury settings are more challenging. I agree it sounds harder, and for someone putting out videos like me it would let me pound my chest and say "see how smart I am, I'm doing well even while playing with this really high injury setting!" But stick with me here and help me figure out the flaw in my logic... The more frequent injury setting applies to every team in the league, so that's no easier or harder for me than any of the other teams in the league - every team is going to have more injuries over time. To your point about more injuries rewarding the team that builds a better bench, I think a human GM should be able to build a better roster than the AI, so I'd argue that makes things easier for the human GM who is presumably better at building a good bench and now able to take advantage of that more frequently. Similarly, more injuries, and more significant injuries, mean additional opportunities to make decisions on whether to IL or keep the player on the roster, who to promote, whether to trade for a replacement, what lineup changes to make, etc., and I'd argue once again that a good human GM is going to be better on balance at making these types of decisions than the AI. So I'm thinking while a more frequent injury setting sounds more challenging, and does give you more decisions to make, it actually works in favor of a good human GM, precisely by giving them more decisions to make that they will likely optimize compared to the AI over time. What do you think? Right now I'm thinking a higher injury setting is different, but I'm not so sure it's actually more challenging. But maybe I'm missing something!

[@SSman560]

My two cents on who your next team should be is the Rockies, Rays, or angels. Rockies and Rays are in the toughest divisions, they don't share a division with any other challenging rebuilding teams, thus making it harder to win. I also was curious if the game bakes in worse pitcher performance in coors field, that could be interesting. I could also see the angels being alot of fun. I think I would trade mike trout in any scenario just to get a clean slate so to speak, and not have the pressure of trying to be good right away. Excited to see who you go with.

[@SSman560]

I suppose the Pirates would fall into this category as well. But given the reds are usually on lists like these and the cardinals and Brewers aren't exactly powerhouses they slipped my mind a bit.

[@oldschoolsports]

I did around a decade with the Rockies in OOTP 23, so they're probably one of the teams I'm less likely to play. The park definitely factors into the decisions you need to make around your pitching staff, and the offensive numbers there can be crazy, so the game does a good job of factoring in how tough it can be on pitchers there. I've always said I'd never do an AL East team to avoid competing with my Yankees, but I do think the Rays would be very interesting. And Angels definitely in the mix too. Thanks for the two cents!

[@stanleyrosella7042]

I thought you would have a go with the Red Sox, as you being a Yankee fan it would be fun to see how you handle that. Why not try and wrestle with Reindorf and maybe a relocation to Nashville ? Understand Southsiders are almost in rebellion with the leadership in that windy city. Guardians. Nah, they are still the Indians for me. Those crazy new names. (However maybe the logo Chief Yahoo was a bit too much) I never been excited over Florida teams in baseball, that's the spring fun time for me. Guess even the Floridians think the same looking at how few attend their games. Maybe you should try Angels and try to pick up the pieces after Ohtani era. Trouts contract might be crippling but he might have some skills left for 2-3 years. Rondon ooh. It's stunning to see how many bad contracts are in the sports with super long years on players that clearly declines up to 4-5 years before they are over. How do owners think ? Do they never learn ? However just Reindorf never been on that wagon. (Almost) The city of Oakland is in a total sport collapse in my eyes. Bigger damage than the famous World Series earthquake back then. So Angels or White Sox would be my bets. Different roads to follow but interresting. Think the faith of Cease could swing it one way or the other. Still would have loved hear The Hawk if you pick White Sox. Just don't start OOTP25 until it's stable enough.

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't think I'll do a relocation/expansion again right away, and will definitely wait until things are stable before beginning anything long-term. So I probably still have well over a month to officially decide! White Sox and Angels are definitely two I'm strongly thinking about right now, but unlike other years, I have not already made my decision!

[@thomasmorganjr7267]

I am excited at what he said about the New" Ratings system, and the "New" Player Development Engine. I hope they also improve the "Coach Improvement" Engine. I did a 1969 replay, and the AAA Franchise for my Montreal Expo's won the League Title three years running, and the Manager the MOY three years running, and he was still fair and poor across the board. I would not promote him to MLB with those ratings.

[@oldschoolsports]

Agreed, I watched the two most recent OOTP hype videos last night and am looking forward to seeing how they executed on some of these changes... could be really good!

[@thomasmorganjr7267]

As a lifetime Pirate fan I am biased. I am going to break my tradition and "FLEX" the development engine, and choose my team based on the Minor League Rankings.

[@oldschoolsports]

Worst ranking for the challenge or best for the fun?

[@patrickdebonis6493]

Have you ever considered doing a "live?" Maybe a draft, all star game, or postseason?

[@oldschoolsports]

I've thought about it a very tiny bit, but just kind of worried that it will seem kind of silly if only a couple people (or nobody) happens to be watching. And I have no idea how to do it, but I'm sure I could figure that out. Probably something I should look into, it would definitely make things more interactive, and real-time feedback would be cool!

[@thomasmorganjr7267]

I am thinking picking in the bottom three (because there are certain MLB teams I will not play ie Yankees and a couple others), and Hiring the best Minor League Managers and Staff I can find. Based on the Podcast and Markus's remarks, I might just do an Expansion Season in 2024 with No Minor League at all. That way I can hire all my staff.

[@oldschoolsports]

Hmmm, I haven't listened to that yet, I'll have to catch up on it tonight.

[@patrickdebonis6493]

Sounds like Rendon has been seeing Guru Hitmehard.

[@oldschoolsports]

Ha, and he's gotten the bad outcome so far...

[@thecoolestjedi]

I say white Sox, we need a smart mind to cure my team. From all ailments

[@oldschoolsports]

Haha, unfortunately any cure I am fortunate enough to bring will only be in the virtual universe!!!

[@patrickdebonis6493]

You failed to mention the fact that the Marlins fired your ass. Any hard feelings? pfholden is still lamenting about the Royals firing him and still carries a grudge against them in all his saves.

[@oldschoolsports]

Ha, no, doesn't bother me at all, maybe it should!

[@patrickdebonis6493]

@@oldschoolsports Na, you can't in this business. Just look at George and Billy.

[@ModernMozart1104]

LA Angels is not controversial at all. I also thought of them being a good challenge. They have sucked it up for a loooooong time.

[@oldschoolsports]

Ha, the only thing that makes them a little easier is they should have a decent budget... but pretty much everything else is a disaster!