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MANAGER MODE As the manager, you control the pace of the game. For each batter:
Relief PitchersAs the game progresses, your starting pitcher will become tired. A pitcher can generally throw a number of pitches equal to his Endurance rating before noticeably tiring. After that point, the pitcher might still be strong, or he might struggle. Two clues to watch carefully are his command (as judged by how accurate he his with his pitches) and his velocity (which will drop as he tires). To replace your pitcher with a relief pitcher, click your current pitcher to open the Relief Pitcher Dialog and swap in a reliever. Baseball Mogul does not require that you “warm up” pitchers in the bullpen. Defensive SubstitutionsUsing the Lineup list at the right of the Play-By-Play Screen, you can click on the name of any of your current defenders in order to open the Defensive Substitutions Dialog that lets you replace any current fielder. Pinch Hitters and Pinch RunnersClick on the name of the current batter or runner to open the Pinch Hitter/Runner Dialog and choose a substitute. Offensive PlaysWhen your team is batting, you can choose an offensive play from the dropdown list in the upper-right corner of the Batter Display. This play will remain in effect until you change it, or until the game situation changes (such as after an at-bat or a stolen base). Swing Away: The default offensive play. The batter waits for a good pitch to hit. The runners take a normal lead and don’t attempt to steal. SacrificeBunt: The batter waits for a good pitch to bunt. The runners try to advance to the next base, but only after the ball is bunted. SuicideSqueeze: The runner from third breaks for home as the pitch is delivered. The batter tries to bunt it whether or not it is a strike. Hit and Run: The runner goes with the pitch and the batter swings at the pitch trying to put it in play. If the batter misses, the runner is essentially trying to steal and can be thrown out. StealSecond (or StealThird): The batter takes the pitch and the runner tries to steal the next base. Run and Hit: The runner tries to steal. If the pitch is good, the batter swings. Otherwise, he lets it go. SacrificeFly: As “Swing Away” except the batter is trying to hit a fly ball to the outfield that will allow the runner on third to tag up and score. With this conservative approach, the batter is less likely to get a hit or a home run. Hit to Right Side: The batter tries to hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield, allowing a runner on second base to advance to third. It is possible to get a hit through the infield with this strategy, but it is less likely than when swinging away. Defensive PlaysAs the pitching team, you have three choices for positioning your fielders: Straight Away: Normal defensive positioning. (With a runner on first, the infielders will automatically hold the runner and “cheat” into “double play position” if there are less than two outs). Guard the Lines: The first baseman, third baseman, left fielder and right fielder will play closer to the foul lines than usual. This will decrease the number of doubles allowed down the lines, but increase the number of singles allowed to the middle of the field. Infield In: The infielders move in, allowing them to more easily throw out the runner on third as he heads for home on a ground ball. The downside is that more hits will go through the infield. Player ModeIn Player Mode, you make all the decisions described in Manager Mode. You also have control over each individual pitch, as either the pitcher or batter. Selecting a PitchAs the pitcher, you choose which pitch to throw and then click on the screen where you wish to aim the pitch. Whether your pitcher hits the location you specify depends on:
Which pitch you should choose depends on your individual pitcher’s ratings for each pitch, the batter’s abilities, and game situation, and the current count. Fastballs are the easiest pitches to “locate”, or control, meaning that a fastball gives you the highest chance of hitting the spot you aim for. At the other end of the spectrum, curve balls are the most difficult pitches to throw for strikes, or to any specific location. But curves are also the hardest pitches to hit cleanly, unless the batter is expecting a curve. Sliders and changeups fall in the middle of the spectrum, with more accuracy than a curve and less than a fastball. When the pitcher is “ahead” in the count (when there are more strikes than balls), it can be advantageous to throw a breaking pitch such as a curve or slider, low in the strike zone or even “off the plate” (outside the strike zone). Batters with lower eye ratings often chase bad pitches, leading to poorly hit balls or strikeouts. By contrast, when the pitcher is “behind” in the count (more balls than strikes), it is often necessary to throw a fastball in order to maximize your chance of throwing a strike. The downside of this strategy is that the computer opponent will often be “sitting on” on a fastball in hitter’s counts (such as 2-0 or 3-1). Guessing a PitchAs the batter, you can choose to guess (or “sit on”) a specific pitch in a certain location. You can also choose not to guess (trying to stay prepared for all types of pitches). When you do guess a pitch, you tell the batter to be more aggressive: to look for that type of pitch over a certain part of the plate, and try to hit it hard. If you guess the right pitch but in the wrong location, the batter might still be able to put a good swing on it, or he may decide to take the pitch and wait for a better pitch. If you guess the wrong pitch, it is likely that the batter will swing and miss. Because of the way a batter shifts his weight when guessing a location, it is more important to guess whether the pitch will be inside or outside than whether it will be high or low. Guessing pitches is usually the most successful in “hitter’s counts”, when you expect the pitcher to throw his fastball for a strike. In contrast, guessing pitches with two strikes is risky because of the possibility of guessing incorrectly and striking out. A full count (3 balls and 2 strikes) presents an interesting situation. Pitcher’s with mediocre control will often bring the fastball, while pitcher’s with better command might try to outsmart you with a breaking pitch that they think they can throw for a strike. Pitch TypesBaseball Mogul 2009 includes thousands of pitchers from the 19 th century to 2008 and a proprietary database cataloguing their skills, velocity, delivery and the individual pitches they threw. This includes over 30 different pitches ranging from Christy Mathewson’s famous “fadeaway” to Pedro Martinez’ devastating “circle change”. A summary of these pitches is shown here, ranked from the easiest to control (fastball) to the most difficult (knuckleball).
For more information about the characteristics and history of these pitches, visit www. sportsmogul.com/pitches. Controlling a TeamIf both teams in a game are controlled by the computer, you will not be able to call plays or pitches for either team. You can change this setting during a game by opening the League Editor on the League Menu and setting one of the teams to ‘Human’ control.
The Play By Play screen lets you slow down the Baseball Mogul simulation and view games one at-bat at a time. To do this, choose the Play By Play page from the News Menu and then choose a number of days to play from the Play Menu. When using Play By Play mode it is recommended that you only simulate one day at a time because of the slow speed at which the games progress. To choose which games are presented in Play By Play mode, and at what speed, use the Options Dialog on the League Menu. Note that game sounds are not played if the game is simulating too quickly. To hear game sound effects, use the Options Dialog to check the Sound Effects box and lower the "speed" setting for Play By Play. While viewing a game in Play By Play mode, you have access to a variety of information: The right side of the screen shows the current lineups. Use the dropdown list above the lineups to toggle between the lineup and pitcher list, or to choose which stats to display for each player. To view a Scouting Report for any player, click on that player. The field diagram also shows the dimensions (in feet) from home plate to the outfield fence. Note: If you leave the Play By Play page while games are simulating, the game will automatically finish the game you are viewing and continue to simulate any remaining games at high speed. Play Modes
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