Big League  of Baseball Established 1991   

New Features, OOTP 6.5 

Out of the Park 6.5 integrates several aspects of real baseball, including...

  • 40-man rosters effective Sept. 1st.
  • Slightly revamped ratings/talent system.  This game allows ratings in a scale of 1-100 for most skills.  Power, Contact, Batting Patience for hitters, and Pure Stuff, Control, & Movement for pitchers are rated on a 1-100 scale.  All other ratings for hitters/pitchers are rated on a 1-10 scale.  Both scales allow for ratings above the max (>100).
  • Also, I have decided to remove scouts from the game as a time saver.  The talents/ratings you will see are ACTUAL, not from a scout's perspective.  However, we still have coaches and minor league managers for player development.
  • Minor League Option Rule.  This rule basically means a player can only be sent to the minors during three seasons with no restrictions.  After that, he must pass waivers (See Waiver Wire).  As I understand it, if you send a player up-and-down twice in the same season, it still only counts as 1 option, but I may be wrong.
  • Waiver Wire.  This has two main applications, the trading deadline and player options to the minors.  Just like in real baseball, a player must be placed on waivers before certain transactions can be made.
    • All teams have a chance to claim a player off waivers, in order of least-to-best record.
    • If a claim is made and the player is not removed from waivers, then the claiming team receives the player at his current contract, with nothing owed to the former team.
    • If no claim is made, then the original transaction can go through.
    • Our waiver period will be 30 days; teams will have 30 days to claim players (real baseball has only 7 day waiver periods, too short for our schedule)..   
    • The two applicable transactions are:
      • Post-trading-deadline trades (Aug. 1st).
      • After a player has used up all three option years, must clear waivers in order to be sent to the minors.
  • Rule 5 Draft.  Held in the offseason, any player is eligible who's not on the 40-man roster and also with more than 3, but less than 6 years of experience (minors or majors).  Only teams with empty spots on their 40-man rosters can participate in this draft, and the drafted players MUST remain on your 25-man active roster for the next season.
  • Salary Arbitration.  Players with more than 3 but less than 6 years of major league experience receive their salaries thru computer-calculated arbitration.  Prior to their 3rd year they receive the league minimum, after their 6th year they are eligible for free agency.    
  • New Team Strategies.  Make sure to check out Team Strategies under your team menus.  Tendencies for stealing, hit-and-run, pitch around, pull starters, etc., can be set up for your entire team and for individual players as well!
  • Players MAY attempt comebacks after retirement!
  • Tons of other stuff, too!