A Review of Out of the Park (OOTP) Baseball with an Example
By Bill McCurdy
As some of you know, I’ve been a happy camper player of APBA Baseball in both the original dice and cards model through the current computer game since 1951.
All that old allegiance changed in April 2016 when I followed a tout from Kyle Burns of of our Houston Babies vintage ball club and looked into the relatively new kid on the baseball sim game block by the OOTP Game Company. – OOTP is an acronym for “Out of the Park” – which is exactly what OOTP Baseball turns out to be for pure, deep, comprehensive, and exhaustive simulation of the MLB game from 1876 through 2015 – with upgrades every seasons based upon the always developing new stats from new seasons.
Endorsed by the Major league Baseball Players’ Alumni Association, one can play the OOTP game gradiently from either the wading pool level to the much more complex and deep waters of the Commissioner Mode, from pitch by pitch in real time – to whole seasons in a matter of seconds – and expect to get results that are realistically based on the probability stats for every actual player who participated in those actual years of participation from 1876 through 2015 (0r the last season played from which you may be reading this article.
The game comes with a ton of visual and sensory effects, all optional, and totally dependent upon your own needs for them. This game is for the mind. It will not depend at all upon eye-hand motor facility. These games depend upon the stat match ups between teams, luck, and what ever your own managerial decisions bring to the table.
A Game Example
If you suffer from some variant of “Adult Attention Disorder, OOTP even has an answer for there too. You can program each league or series game to as many innings of quick sim play mode and then take over to manage the last inning or two. We just did that with a “best 4 of 7 games” series between the 2005 NL Champion Astros and last year’s 2015 Playoff Team Astros. After playing the first six games, all in MMP, in serial sim mode, the series was tied at 3-3, with the 2015 slated as the home club in Game 7.
Roger Clemens (1-1) and Dallas Keuchel (1-1) were slated to go against each other in Game 7. Both starters pitched scoreless 2-hit ball over 9 innings, but Jeff Bagwell got a sentimental lead-off HR into the Crawford Boxes in the top of the 10th to give “2005” a 1-0 lead. The dramatic swat booth cheered some older fans and softly saddened some of the millennial crowd that seemed to favor the more current Astros. It was bittersweet. The almost pure Astros crowd really wanted both the teams to win. “2015” Manager A.J.Hinch then brought in closer Luke Gregerson, who retired the next three men – and the “2015’s” came to bat for one last shot.
“2005” Manager Phil Garner brought in closer Brad Lidge to seal the 1-0 victory deal, but the results were both astonishing and painful.
After Jose Altuve led off the Bottom of the 10th with a hard line-out to Adam Everett at shortstop, Carlos Correa lashed a single to left. Luis Valbuena then lined a 2-strike blow down the right field line that barely failed as a game-winner by going inches foul at the pole. Valbuena then popped out to Craig Biggio at 2nd base, slamming his bat into the ground in frustration.
Victory was one out away for the 2005 NL champs. But this is baseball. And hope can fall from the heavens like a sudden rain in April.
Colby Rasmus reached first base on an infield squibber down third base line that Morgan Ensberg misplayed on a bad no-chance throw to first – and that error allowed the batter to make second as Correa advanced to third.
With the tying run on third and the winning run on second with two outs, Garner of “2005” decided to walk lefty Preston Tucker and have Lidge face free-swinging righthander Chris Carter with the bases loaded and a force out three now possible at any base.
Carter swung and missed badly on two outside sliders in the dirt. ~ And “2005” was one strike away from the series victory. ~ But then fate showed up.
Lidge left a fastball up in the zone. Carter made contact and sent a ball sailing high and far into center. The sound of his bat said “deep and high, but catchable” – especially with a speedy experienced guy like Willie Taveras in the central pasture – turning immediately and running to the deeper spot he knew he needed to be. He turned – almost on cue – the ball was descending – Willie was in position for the catch – the game was almost over – oh yes, – it was almost over all right – but not in the way Willie hoped.
He DROPPED it! ~ The little ball bounced out of Willie’s glove – falling to the ground. The game was over all right. – Correa and Rasmus already had touched home plate with the tying and winning runs for “2015”.
The 2015 aspiring Houston Astros had captured a seven game series from the 2005 only pennant-winning Houston Astros.
And the way it came down – was way too painful to enjoy.
And this was an OOTP simulation baseball game. If the forces of the dramatic muses are not pushing the madness of this game called baseball in all forms, I don’t know who else to credit or blame for such an ending. Can you imagine the horror any of us would feel to see our club lose in this fashion. – Even a victory in this way would be tainted by the “boy, were we lucky?” blackbird thoughts.
Computer systems alone are not capable of sadistic plot resolution – but the dad-gum baseball gods and muses most assuredly are.
At any rate, that’s how it played out on OOTP Baseball.
Final Facts: The Full Game is only $39.99. And no one else gives you more. A game with all the players in MLB baseball history from APBA would cost you hundreds of dollars – and still not contain all the other goodies that OOTP offers.
Here’s the OOTP site link:
https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out-of-the-park-baseball/
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Please Note: The opinions of The Pecan Park Eagle are not for sale. We have endorsed OOTP only because of the pure joy we’ve found in it. There are also forums and leagues available for those who want to connect or play the game with others. And that would probably be helpful to the learning curve needed to play the game at its more advanced levels. Online manuals and videos are also part of the program to help learn the basics for playing the game too. My only criticism is that some of the controls are not as obvious as they could be, but the basics you need to play what we described here in the Astros 2005-2015 series was a piece of cake to master.
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Bill McCurdy
Publisher, Editor, Writer
The Pecan Park Eagle
Houston, Texas
Brad Lidge
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 