If you have read the book (or seen the movie) Moneyball, you have dreamed of being the GM of a MLB team. Now in my dream, I also look much better. Just like Brad Pitt portraying Billy Bean in the movie Moneyball. So there is no reason why Matt Damon could not stand in for me when the movie about my GM career is made. There is just one thing I need to take care of so Matt Damon gets another acting role. I just need an owner of an MLB team to hire me as a GM. Okay that is one BIG issue. This is an issue I may never overcome in real life. Luckily enough for me, Out Of The Park Baseball 15 was made so I can still put my GM skills to the test.
If you want to be a GM of an MLB club, OOTP Baseball 15 is the game for you. OOTP Baseball 15 allows you to take control of your favorite baseball team. You can be Billy Bean managing the small market team to the World Series, or you can take Brain Cashman’s place crushing your competition with a boat load of cash. Your favorite team is just waiting for you to take control.
I am a Braves fan, so I stepped in and took the reins.
Quickly I found out how many things a GM has on his plate. OOTP Baseball 15 is by far the deepest baseball sim game I have ever seen. I enjoyed MLB Front Office Manager on the PS3. As in depth as MLB Front Office Manager was, OOTP Baseball 15 has blown it away in the depth category. Pulling up my team page I find that I have full control of the MLB, AAA, AA, High A, Low A, and three Rookie level teams. There are pages from finances to scouting for me to manage. There are even pages for scouting finances. I started to feel a little overwhelmed. Then I realize that even though the game allows you to micromanage every decision of your club, you do not need to. You can ask for help from your managers and coaches. You can have them set lineups and depth charts for the each level. They will even suggest players who are ready for promotion or are over-matched at their current level.
This game is set up so you can micromanage every decision your club makes, right down to the field level play. You can sit in the dugout and manage the game action. The games are still a simulation and not played as you see in other baseball games. I did find that the games are a little slow for my taste. I do however like that I can tell the manager who he is starting and what roles the players have. Just like Brad Pitt in Moneyball. OOTP 15 allows you to quickly move through a season, by setting lineups and simulating the games. OOTP 15 makes it easy to speed through time to see the results of your master plan.
Powered by Baseball Prospectus, OOTP 15 allows you not only to take control of current rosters, but any roster all the way back to 1871. This amazing depth of players, stats, and control is unparalleled. I was shocked that partway through my season my owner died, and his son took over. As in the real world, the new owner had a different outlook on his team. Take the time to read the news wire in the game. You will be surprised to see the amount of true to life things happen around the league.
My first season has come to a close, with my Braves missing the playoffs. I am doing my best to reconstruct them in a way I feel will have a better chance of competing. I traded away the big contracts and low OBP of Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton for minor league talent. I’m not sure how B.J.’s Brother feels about that yet. I know for one thing, I will know at some point. Yes, you have to deal with the ever changing feelings and attitudes of players.
The ability to make the changes to your team’s roster and direction is what makes OOTP 15 addicting. Hiring and firing coaches, managers, trainers, and scouts, trying to channel your best Donald Trump inner self. You are able to make the trade to land the star for the playoff run or, as I did, trading the player with a big contract for some minor league talent. All these things have affects. You can make the fans happy by bringing them hope or alienating them by trading their favorite player. It also affects the players and owner as well. OOTP Baseball 15 gives you the full feel of what the Billy Beanes of the world deal with.
Next time you are tweeting how the GM of your favorite team has no idea what he is doing, buy OOTP Baseball 15 and take his job!
Chuck Amspacher
@Captain_LWOS
