- Charge 1st (Chg 1st, used in certain bunting situations) - Charge 3rd (Chg 3rd, used in certain bunting situations) - Cancel out previously selected options (No Play)* - Hide Selections (Hide)*
*These are very helpful against human opponents. If you don't hide against a human opponent, they will know exactly what you are doing. You can also psych out opponents sometimes if you pretend you are doing something and then actually hit "No Play".
Part V - Stats
EWB is one of the most statistically driven baseball games I've ever played. To be good at EWB you must understand some basics of baseball stats. Stats generally break down into three important catagories: Hitting, Pitching, and Fielding, with both total stats and split stats (see terminology for more on split stats).
A. Hitting Stats
Basic catagories for total hitting stats:
BA - Batting Average (calculated as H/AB) G - Games played AB - At bats R - Runs H - Hits 1B - Singles 2B - Doubles 3B - Triples HR - Home runs RBI- Runs Batted In SH - Sacrifice Hits BB - Walks SO - Strike outs SB - Stolen Bases CS - Caught Stealing SA - Slugging Average ((HRx4)+(3Bx3)+(2Bx2)+1B)/(PA-(BB+HP+BS))** OBA- On Base Average (HR+3B+2B+1B+BB+HP)/(PA-BS)**
**For SA and OBA - (HP is "Hit by Pitch" and BS is "bunt sacrifices". Both are not calculated in EWB, so real stat OBA in EWB may be off a little when compared to what the hitter did in real life, but not so much that it really matters. PA is "plate appearances".
Basic catagories for split stats for hitters:
Split stats show VsR and VsL stats for players.
BA - Batting Average (calculated as H/AB) AB - At bats H - Hits 1B - Singles 2B - Doubles 3B - Triples HR - Home runs BB - Walks SO - Strike outs SA - Slugging Average ((HRx4)+(3Bx3)+(2Bx2)+1B)/(PA-(BB+HP+BS))** OBA- On Base Average (HR+3B+2B+1B+BB+HP)/(PA-BS)**
**For SA and OBA - (HP is "Hit by Pitch" and BS is "bunt sacrifices". Both are not calculated in EWB, so real stat OBA in EWB may be off a little when compared to what the hitter did in real life, but not so much that it really matters. PA is "plate appearances".
Basic catagories for rankings for hitters:
POWER - Power is one of the most important offensive stats. Hitters with higher power rankings tend to have more home runs and extra base hits, as well as more hits in general (though this last bit doesn't tend to make much sense).
H&R - The higher the ranking in H&R (Hit and Run) the better the hitter will perform the hit and run option during gameplay. Not too important usually.
BUNT - The higher the ranking in BUNT the better the hitter will perform the bunt option during gameplay. Not too important usually.
RUNS - This ranking affects the general speed of the player, including the ability of the player to steal bases. This is a moderately important offensive stat.
General notes on Hitting Stats:
Some stats are much more important than others. In real baseball, there is a temptation to put a large emphasis on HR, RBI, and BA. In EWB, one must caution against this. POWER, SLG, and RUNS play larger roles as catagories, in general, than the raw numbers of HR, RBI, and BA (though it is by no means bad to have players who have high numbers in these on your team). Keeping Versus stats in mind while making a line-up or team can be very important too (more on this later in the FAQ).
B. Pitching Stats
Basic catagories for total pitching stats:
W - Wins L - Losses ERA- Earned Run Average (calculated as (ER/IP)*9) G - Games GS - Games Started CG - Complete Games SV - Saves IP - Innings Pitched H - Hits allowed ER - Earned Runs HR - Home Runs allowed BB - Walks allowed SO - Strike outs HB - Hit Batsmen* BALK - Balks committed*
*some leagues prefer to zero-out these stats as 1)they can happen seemingly too often in EWB and 2) it can be difficult to find these stats when creating your own players based on real stats.
Basic catagories for split pitching stats:
BA - Batting average against (calculated as H/AB) AB - At bats against H - Hits allowed HR - Home Runs allowed BB - Walks allowed SO - Strike outs allowed
Basic catagories for rankings for pitchers:
SPEED - Speed ranking measures the ability of the pitcher to strike hitters out. Somewhat important pitching stat.
CONTROL - Measures pitcher's control. The lower the control, the more walks a pitcher is likely to give up. This is a *very* important pitching stat.
FATIGUE - Measures how long a pitcher can pitch without getting tired. The higher the fatigue, the longer they can stay in without getting tired. In general, starting pitchers should have a 6 fatigue or better, though having one 5 fatigue starter in a rotation is okay, and starting a 3 or 4 fatigue pitcher in an emergency is acceptable. 3 and 4 fatigue pitchers are usually "long relievers", while 1 and 2 fatigue pitchers are used for short relief circumstances, usually in the later innings.
BUNT - How well the pitcher can bunt. Not used at all if you play games with Designated Hitters (which is probable).
FA - Fielding Average of the pitcher. The higher the better.
C. Fielding stats
Basic catagories for fielding are as follows:
PO - Putouts* AS - Assists* ERR - Errors committed* FA-1- Fielding Average for fielding position 1** FA-2- Fielding Average for fielding position 2**
*these three stats as entered could be just for PA-1 if player has two positions **If you highlight a player and look in the upper right corner of the display, you will see player positions (in edit mode these will be "P1" and "P2"). FA-1 corresponds to the first (main) fielding position and FA-2 corresponds to the second fielding position.
Basic catagories for rankings for fielders are:
RANGE - The higher the range, the more ground the player can cover in a relative amount of time. This stat is most important for 2B, SS, 3B and CF.
ARM - The higher the ARM ranking, the faster and farther a player can throw. This statistic is very important for catchers and outfielders.
Part VI Drafting
A. General Drafting Strategies
In EWB, drafting is picking your team of 25 players from the list of players in the league. The draft is when all the teams in your newly created league (probably between 8 and 12 teams) pick their players from the general stats of a real season (note: this is just the general way it goes. You could play an "AL-only" or "NL-only" draft where you only pick from one league of stats, or you can create your own players from thin air if you wish....generally, how ever, drafts come from a full league roster of Major League Baseball stats of a real season). If you wish to know the physical logistics of drafting (that is literally how you conduct a draft) skip to Part VI C. and D. For now, I will provide a basic general strategy for drafting position by position, as well as some general tips.
Suggestions for your league: I suggest setting a few rules for your draft before you start drafting. First, I suggest that you make a rule to set minimums on players that can be drafted. For instance, in my leagues we usually have a rule that states that no hitter under 100 AB can be drafted and no pitcher under 20 innings can be drafted. This appears to be more important regarding hitters, as some hitters with high powers and low at bats can get an extremely high amount of homeruns that tilts the league unfair toward players that were marginal or unimportant in real life. For instance, Geronimo Pena had 9 at bats in 1999 for the Kansas City Royals, and hit 1 home run. Even with a marginal and fair 4 PWR rating, he could probably hit 75 or more homeruns if he was given 500 to 600 at bats in a full season, which is a great reason not to let players like him be drafted.
General Tips:
You generally want to try and draft a roster with at least 10 or 11 pitchers. I usually find 10 to be an optimum number, but sometimes 11 can be necessary. You want to draft 2 catchers, at least 4 starting pitchers (6 FAT or better), and have at least one or two good left handed hitters per team. 3 or 4 is even better, but 1 or 2 is absolutely vital. A team full of right-handed hitters is sure Weaver death. One closer who is an excellent reliever is necessary. You also need at least 1 left-handed reliever who is good against left-handed hitters to get clutch outs against the other teams good left-handed hitters in the late innings. Also, don't be a bit afraid to platoon (terminology) players if it means you can get better match ups overall. It will be rare that you can play a full roster without at least a few platoon positions. If you are really good at it, you can actually effectively platoon upto 6 positions, although it isn't recommended unless you are a Weaver veteran.
Position by position analysis:
Catchers:
Drafting 2 catchers is an optimum number. Your primary starting catcher should be relatively offensively adept and have an ARM rating that is at least 4 or 5. Catchers with a 3 ARM or less are incredibly easy to steal bases against. Catchers with an 8 ARM or higher are very hard to steal bases against. Your back-up catcher will probably not be too good, but should have some redeeming quality so that he is actually occasionally useful. For instance, he could have a good ARM or be above average against left-handed pitching. Also, catcher is a good position to platoon (see terminology), especially if you don't get a top tier catcher. There is usually high position scarcity (see terminology) at catcher, so this is one position to stay concerned with. The ARM ranking of Defense is very important for catchers.
1st Base:
Generally there are many good offensive First Basemen available, including some good power-hitters. What this means is that you can
|