Out of the Park Baseball has graciously provided Off The Bench with copies of their baseball simulator for each of the past three iterations. When we reviewed OOTP ’14, Max laid out his theory of the short-term contract and sang the game’s praises. Just a few months later, OOTP ’15 was out and Max’s gushed “I also couldn’t help but marvel at the game…” Max has sung these praises to me for well over a year and I’ve kept them–and the game–cautiously at arm’s length. Much the way an alcoholic avoids a whiskey tasting.
To be honest, I took a swirl with OOTP ’14 in the spring of that year and the Saturday afternoon was one of bliss. Or so I imagine. The truth is that I turned the game on, opened a Guiness and suddenly realized that 4 hours had passed. I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but OOTP ’14 had sucked me in and my pulled pork was ready to be devoured. Save that Saturday afternoon, I have merely glanced over Max’s shoulder as his teams regularly flounder about in their quest for the playoffs. I knew the power of this game from his reviews, and knew that it–combined with fantasy baseball and mlb.tv–could quickly send my life into that spiral from which bills and rent do not get paid onto a glorious plane of baseball nerdom.
But then OOTP developments announced that OOTP ’16 would contain official MLB licensing and my opinion shifted. It seemed like the game was #winning its way from the periphery of the baseball world to supplant other simulators.
I guess my review should start with this: My girlfriend hates this game. She doesn’t get the primal allure of a game full of spreadsheets, numbers, fake scores, and sassy mythical owners who will literally tell you that your goal for the year is “not to suck completely.” Whenever I mention that I’m playing OOTP ’16, she shakes her head and rambles about it being boring, or some other nonsense. But she “doesn’t get baseball,” so she’s clearly not to be trusted.
It’s true: the game is essentially a portal into an incredibly detailed world of spreadsheets and probabilities. But as a baseball nerd and fan, this game captures the complexities and anxieties that I face in real life. Every time my bullpen blows a lead late, I get mad and start a Steinbrenner-esque search for a new, perfect mix. Every time the division leader rattles off 8 straight wins, I decry my team’s 7-1 stretch over the same period. Maybe that’s only a product of my competitiveness, or the time that I have invested. That it happens at all is a good reflection on the game.
As for my specific teams and game files: I first set out as a rookie, unemployed, 21 year old aspiring general manager. I somehow scored a job as the class AA Mississippi Braves manager and had a rotation and lineup that weren’t all that inspiring, even for a Braves fan. Top prospect Ozhaino Albies was on the roster and Ian Thomas too, but both were quickly shipped away. It seemed like whenever I had a lineup that would produce or was cohesive, Braves GM John Hart would move pieces around and I would have to figure out who was most deserving of sitting on the bench. I grew tired of his whims and was spurred to embark on that long trek to my own MLB corner office. (So I started a new game.)
I was to take the Braves from their current rebuilding state to the 2015 playoffs. I was confident and had set out to do so authentically, i.e. without updating my rosters to reflect the Braves’ decision to trade Craig Kimbrel/Melvin Upton Jr. My first move was to trade Ozhaino Albies. I shopped him around and wound up with a one-for-one swap for Jose Bautista. Jose Bautista! The game seemed to overvalue top prospects, a flaw I would confirm later on. This overvaluation of prospects is likely a reflection of the current MLB landscape, but to acquire Jose Bautista for an 18-year-old second baseman in A-ball is a bit far.
Soon after Jose Bautista won NL player of the month in April, my computer crashed. This should not speak poorly of the game as it’s been time for Sean to get a new computer for a few years now. Still, my Braves were gone.
Time to start over, this time with the Pirates. As a huge fan of the Bradenton Marauders, this seemed like a natural fit.
After a spring and summer full of wheeling and dealing, I sat in second place at the end of September with Freddie Freeman at first, Justin Upton manning third base, and Craig Kimbrel closing out games. Upton was hitting just .196 and the Padres offered him up for a 24 year old in A-ball in whom my scouts did not believe. I had to make the deal despite Upton’s expiring contract and the lack of “positional optimization” across my roster.
The bullpen was a work in progress all year. Remember how I mentioned at the outset that I turn into Steinbrenner at the thought of a blown save? Mark Melancon lasted two weeks. Rafael Soriano lasted three. Jared Hughes gave up three runs in his only day as “closer.” I traded for Jon Papelbon, then he complained about playing time and was promptly shipped out. Craig Kimbrel is the only closer who I can deal with, but even then I somehow blame the game whenever he blows a save.
On August 2, Gregory Polanco went down with a torn ACL and on August 4, Andrew Cashner, who had pitched fine all year for my revamped Pirates, suffered a torn rotator cuff. The team wasn’t meant to be and the cruel world of OOTP ’16 left me in third place at season’s end. I should note that I somehow acquired Lucas Giolito among my trades and am optimistic about my future, especially after Allen Hanson hit over .300 when I inserted him into the second base job.
The Final Review
Sports game reviews don’t feel complete without a rating and some overt discussion of the game’s legacy. OOTP ’16 deserves awards among baseball simulators for its detail, complexity, and pure breadth. But not many games set out to be baseball simulators. The game is fantastic at what it does, but that target market is undeniably acute. If a casual baseball fan picked up this game, I’m not sure that they would enjoy it in quite the way that I do. There’s still enjoyment to be had, though, and my hope is that the game will facilitate more fans’ transitions to nerdom. But if you’re already a baseball nerd and are looking to misplace a few hours, OOTP ’16 is ideal.
A final note before I get to the rating: even given the game’s complexities and the breadth of its simulations, I found the wait times to be a pain. Maybe these would be reduced with a processor that is not gasping its last breaths, but the game is far from seamless. There will always be tradeoffs and wait times with any computer software, but I would happily trade some of the complexity that I have yet to unearth in my 30+ hours of gameplay, for more good old American speed.
8.4 out of 10.
-Sean Morash
