motnahp
Posts: 1837
Joined: 8/22/2005 Status: offline
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Here's my two cents' worth. I did an AL-only assn using real players on their real teams, starting in 1969. Keep in mind that this was with an earlier version of PS, so some things may have changed. During the above-mentioned assn, I actually ended up with four Reggie Jacksons. The original Reggie (1969) had a good PS career, but PS retired him prematurely and he went into the Hall of Fame. When Reggie was retired, I imported a later version of him (possibly 1984) into a "fake" assn. I then copied down all of the ratings of the '84 version, created a fictional player in the actual assn, then renamed him Reggie Jackson'84. I, of course, then changed the ratings to match what was imported into the fake assn. Naturally, PS would retire him again and again, so I would repeat the process each time. This allowed me to keep a version of Reggie in the assn until his actual retirement after the 1987 season. With a recent update to PS, some of these steps are no longer needed. As long as you check the box allowing you to import duplicate players into an assn, you can import them back in whenever PS retires them early. The only drawback to this is that the players will each have separate lines in your almanac. The benefit, of course, is that you get to keep your teams historically accurate. In your particular case, PS will most likely not "know" that Fisk played into his mid 40's. I would (based on previous experience) expect PS to retire him around the age of 40. It could be sooner, or a little later. I had one guy last until he was 47, but that was a rarity. One sore spot among many PS users is how the program has treated Nolan Ryan. If importing Ryan as a young pitcher (age 19 or 20), you can expect him to be just an average guy as he matures. If you import him in his mid-20's, you can expect a dominant power pitcher, but I doubt he will pitch effectively into his mid 40's like real-life Ryan. One example I like to refer to is J.R. Richard of the Astros. He suffered a stroke in 1980 (at age 30, I believe). He was at the top of his game at the time, but never pitched again after the stroke. If you import him in his mid 20's, you will most likely end up with a J.R. that stays effective well past the age of 30. I've personally seen this happen with one of "my" Richards. Another one that comes to mind is Doc Gooden. If you import Doc as a 19-year-old, you can expect him to be one of your best pitchers in the assn for almost 20 years. PS doesn't "know" that he ruined his career with drugs. The Gooden I used ended up retiring at age 41 or 42 and went immediately into the Hall of Fame with over 300 wins! The program seems to take a "snapshot" of a player, using the import year and a year or two in each direction. I seem to remember Shaun addressing (and tweaking) this in the past. PS uses this "snapshot" to decide your player's ratings and longevity. There are many variables with injuries that could also affect how long a players lasts. I recall importing catcher Victor Martinez in his early 20's. During his first season, he suffered a career-ending injury. I just let it ride. I've long been an advocate of an option whereby the AI would choose its' lineups and rosters based on the ACTUAL number of innings pitched or at-bats in a given season, with an increased risk of injury if actual innings or at-bats are exceeded. I mention this on the boards about every 2-3 weeks, hoping others who are like-minded will get on board. So far, response to this idea has been lukewarm, at best. As is, though, the program has many options where we can work around things like your Fisk issue. Have fun with it, and hope I've been at least a little helpful.
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