Athletic: OOTP used in Twins and other MLB offices

[Richie the Rally Goat]

this is fun.

quote: 

“I think it’s a useful tool, first and foremost, to get to know the roster,” Kapler said recently. “At that point, it gave us a sneak-preview of how we would use the roster as a coaching staff and how we viewed the roster as individuals, and it prompted discussion around some late-game, in-game strategy.”

Rocco Baldelli’s Minnesota Twins did the same thing at the outset of the pandemic. The coaching staff got information sheets together just like they were in the dugout and worked through simulated games.

“It’s more real than unreal, I’ll tell you that,” Baldelli said in 2020. “It’s very realistic the way that things come up. It’s one thing to have a discussion and look at information on a page and try to get into it, but it’s another thing when you’re watching it unfold in front of your eyes … And talking through it, just as you would in the dugout, that’s gold.”

https://theathletic.com/4339875/2023/03/24/out-of-the-park-baseball-24/

good article about the programmer developing the game, and how it gets used.

[ashbury]

There was an interesting back and forth with Jack Goin who used to be in the Twins FO on this topic, a few months back.

https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/59228-how-can-the-twins-front-office-regain-twins-fans-favor/?do=findComment&comment=1199842&_rid=13

[Richie the Rally Goat]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

There was an interesting back and forth with Jack Goin who used to be in the Twins FO on this topic, a few months back.

https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/59228-how-can-the-twins-front-office-regain-twins-fans-favor/?do=findComment&comment=1199842&_rid=13

That was awesome! I like the comparison of payroll to asset portfolio. I think of it as capital expenditure in a factory which is a similar investment strategy to stock asset portfolio, but your factory works together more directly. Sometimes you invest to replace a factory asset because it’s out of capacity and you need an asset that can hit more home runs. Sometimes you replace an asset that is nearing end of life and has extended breakdowns.

the quote pulled for the article made the Twins use of OOTP more about scenario planning, than team building.

[Seth Stohs]

I like what the Twins did. Not only was Baldelli using it, but they had all of their organization managers (and often coaches) sit in and they literally discussed the potential things that could be done and why they make certain decisions. There could be disagreement and that was encouraged. 

[ashbury]

They ain't playing games, are they?😀