Insanely detailed

For the past few years I’ve enjoyed playing the IOS version of OOTP. I knew the OSX version was more realistic, but I couldn’t believe how much more powerful and detailed this program is. Not only is the game simulation realistic, but roster rules, contracts, and drafting are all recreated in their full glory. You have to hire coaches, handle players’ promotions and demotions through the minors, and set your 40-man roster, consistent with Major League rules. Some players can’t be demoted to the minors because they’re out of options, others have and enforce no-trade clauses. Sometimes players you draft decide that they’d rather go to college than sign with your team. There’s even a fog of war element, as the quality of your scouting director can warp your team’s opinion of a player’s quality—some scouts will love a free agent you’re thinking of signing, while others will think he’s a bum.

Add to that the full support of MLB—no generic team names or star outfielders named “Pete Bass” instead of Mike Trout—and this is a great baseball sim. The OSX version of the game includes past seasons, so you can go back to 1908 and replay the last 107 years of Cubs baseball if you want to, to see if you could do a better job than the GMs and managers the franchise actually had since their last World Championship.

Rogers Aching Ticker about OOTP Baseball 16