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The Stats and AI screen is accessed from the Create New Game screen during game creation.
The Stats and AI screen includes some options that allow you finely tune OOTP's strategy and statistical engines. In general, the settings on this screen are pre-configured for enjoyable game play. We don't recommend changing these settings unless you have a specific reason to do so. Additionally, since these settings can drastically impact the statistical outcomes in your league, we recommend creating test leagues where appropriate to try out certain settings before you create your final league. This screen is divided into the following sections:
- Import Settings
- General AI Roster Settings
- General Strategic Tendencies
- Historical Modifiers & Totals Options
- Traditional OOTP Player Creation Modifiers
- Sabermetric Player Creation Modifiers
- League Totals and Modifiers
- Position Modifiers
Note: The above links will not work from within the in-game browser. However, they all simply link to sections lower in this page, so just scroll down to find the appropriate section.
Import Settings
Import Settings allow you to specify a real-world year on which to base your league. This does not mean that you will have players from the selected year. Rather, OOTP will use this value to automatically adjust a number of different settings to make the baseball experience more similar to that particular year in the real world, including:
- Financial settings (ticket prices, typical salaries, etc.)
- League strategy settings (how often players bunt, how often closers are used, etc.)
- Player creation modifiers (how likely are players to hit lots of home runs, etc.)
General AI Roster Settings
The General AI Roster Settings enable you to customize the approach the game's AI will take towards building its roster.
| Option | Description |
| Typical Starting Rotation Size | The typical number of pitchers in a starting rotation in this league. Can be set to 3, 4, 5, or 6. |
| Starting Rotation Mode | The typical way in which a manager in this league will choose his next starter. |
| Allow Starters in Relief | Whether or not managers in this league will use members of their starting rotation as relievers when needed. |
| Number of Relievers (non-DH league) | The typical number of relief pitchers carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is not used. |
| Number of Position Players (non-DH league) | The typical number of non-pitchers carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is not used. |
| Total players on roster (non-DH league) | The total number of players carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is not used. |
| Number of Relievers (DH league) | The typical number of relief pitchers carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is used. |
| Number of Position Players (DH league) | The typical number of non-pitchers carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is used. |
| Total players on roster (DH league) | The total number of players carried on the roster by a team in a league where the designated hitter rule is used. |
General Strategic Tendencies
General Strategic Tendencies enable you to customize the 'style of baseball' that your league plays. Most options have five settings to choose from: Very Rarely, Rarely, Normal, Often, or Very Often. Exceptions are noted below.
| Option | Description |
| Use of Relievers | How frequently the computer will use relief pitchers. |
| Use of Closers | How frequently the computer will use closers. |
| Pitcher Stamina | A measure of how quickly pitchers tire in your league. Can be set to Very Low, Low, Normal, High, or Very High. |
| Hook for Starting Pitcher | A measure of how soon to relieve a starting pitcher when he runs into trouble. |
| Hook for Relief Pitcher | A measure of how soon to replace a reliever when he runs into trouble. |
| Use of Relievers | The overall frequency with which the AI will bring relief pitchers into the game. |
| Use of Openers | The frequency with which the AI will choose to use the Opener/Closer setup for its pitching rotation. |
| Pitcher Stamina | A league-wide adjustment of how quickly pitchers tend to become fatigued, allowing simulation of eras or leagues where pitcher appearances tended to last much longer or shorter than the historical norm. |
| Pinch Hit for Pitchers | How frequently the computer will pinch hit for pitchers. |
| Pinch Hit for Position Players | How frequently the computer will pinch hit for position players. |
| Defensive Substitutions | How frequently the computer will substitute players late in games to insert players who are better defensively. |
| Stealing Bases | How frequently the computer will attempt to steal bases. |
| Hit & Run | How frequently the computer will attempt a hit & run play. |
| Bunting | How frequently the computer will bunt. |
| Infield Shifts | How frequently the computer will use an infield shift. |
| How much of an effect catcher framing will have on pitcher performance. Higher values will increase the effectiveness of catchers at "framing" borderline pitches so they are more likely to be called a strike by the umpire. |
General strategic tendencies affect the entire league. Similar settings are available at the player or coach level to change the tendencies for individuals one at a time.
Historical Modifiers & Totals Options
Historical Modifiers & Totals Options give you further flexibility if you are importing historical leagues. If you are not using historical leagues or fictional leagues based on historical data, you should leave both of these boxes unchecked.
| Option | Description |
| Automatically adjust league totals modifiers after each season for historical accuracy | When you select this check box, the game will automatically make an adjustment to your league totals after each season, so that the results of the next season will be statistically close to the real-world historical ratio of that season. So, if your league overall hit .250 in 1980, and the real world league batting average for 1981 was .275, the game will automatically adjust your Hits league totals modifier to 1.100, because you need to get hits 10% more often than this past season to approximately match the real world values. |
| Lock league total stats | When you select this check box, league stats are locked to fixed amounts. |
Note: We strongly recommend you use these two options in conjunction.
League Totals and Modifiers
League Totals and Modifiers are the final piece in modifying your league output. While player creation modifiers affect player ratings and potential, league totals and modifiers are used to directly affect the statistical output of a league. This information is most commonly used by historical players who want overall statistical results to match a specific target.
OOTP generates a league total for each category, noted in the left column. The league total acts as the basis for the calculation engine. In historical leagues, these are the real league totals from the imported year. In fictional leagues it's the major league totals from the most recently completed season. The league totals do NOT directly equate to how many of these events you will see in your league! They are simply a basis for calculation, which ensures the ratios of these events remain accurate compared to real life. Adjusting league totals is a little counterintuitive. The results in your league are inversely related to the league totals. In other words, if you increase the triples total from 1,000 to 2,000, it would actually result in FEWER triples in your league! We do not recommend adjusting your league totals directly unless you're just messing around, or you are experienced in working with our league totals!
As a more intuitive alternative, the right column contains modifiers, with a default setting of 1.000. A value of 1.000 is equivalent to modern professional baseball level. These modifiers can be used to adjust the statistical output of your league. For example, if you want 10% more home runs, instead of adjusting the home run totals, just change the home runs modifier to 1.100.
One important point to understand about the league totals and modifiers is that, unlike player creation modifiers, league totals directly affect the statistical output of the game engine. They have no impact at all on player ratings, potential, or player development. Even if you reduce your home run league total modifier to 0.150, your slugger with a 100 Power rating would still have 100 Power, and he would still hit more home runs than other players. But the numbers of home runs across the league overall would be drastically reduced.
There is also a checkbox entitled Automatically control in-game engine to match league totals (only recommended for minors). This option automatically modifies the in-game engine in a way that the stats output closely matches the entered league totals. This works fairly well, but is not a perfect statistical rendition, particularly at the lowest minor league level. It's a decent option for players who are extremely concerned about league totals looking "realistic" in the minors.
Position Modifiers
Position Modifiers affect the defensive aspect of the game. By adjusting these modifiers, you can alter the impact of different positions on your league, defensively. Each position has a range and error component. Increasing the Range modifier will increase the range of players at that position, putting them in a position to make more plays. Increasing the Error component increases the number of errors at that position, causing a decrease in fielding percentage. As usual, all values are relative to modern day professional baseball.