This game is way too easy.

[hoosiergoody]

Or start with the current Reds and let me know how you do. I have been playing with them as my team, and after 6 years, I have made the playoffs only 2x, exiting both years in the 1st round. I have been trying to build a solid minor league, so I have $$ tied up there and also in scouting (not as much). Each year my budget decreases. I have had tickets at $18 and had 35,000 fans or at $24 and had 28,000 fans. Either way, it isn't enough to have a yearly payroll over $40 consistently unless you get a lot of cash in trades. I try to be realistic on that, as in real mlb, any cash transactions over $1million have to be approved by the commissioner's office...

[michaelg123789]

The Royals are pretty tough also.

[ohms_law]

You could try the 2004 Kansas City Royals.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Pittsburgh post Bonds /Bonilla

[6leopard6]

I accidentally released 1/3 of my starters my first season by x-ing out during the free agent signing period instead of negotiating with my players because I wanted to check my team situation. After releasing 8 or so guys, I realized what was happening. I came in last the next two years. You could try that? =)

[DDog9999]

I think we are all just wondering if Clay has put out the final patch or not. He really hasn't been specific if that patch was the last one or if there will be a few more fixes. My main issue is how easy the trade logic is.

[ohms_law]

The Last Official Patch

[beerchaser]

Try creating an expansion team in 2006, starting with an all-rookie team and only $15-20 million in startup money and a $75 million expense budget. Then play all your games in sim-only mode, i.e. no Manager or PBP participation. That should give you a challenge; it certainly has for me. I've tried this both in Manager mode and in sim-only and the results were much more favorable to my team in Manager mode, though things progress much slower time-wise that way, obviously.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Try creating an expansion team in 2006, starting with an all-rookie team and only $15-20 million in startup money and a $75 million expense budget. Then play all your games in sim-only mode, i.e. no Manager or PBP participation. That should give you a challenge; it certainly has for me. I've tried this both in Manager mode and in sim-only and the results were much more favorable to my team in Manager mode, those things progress much slower time-wise that way, obviously.

Good suggestion...

[ohms_law]

I think we drove him away:
Last Activity: 10-21-2006 09:02 AM

*sigh*

[Aisengard]

Actually, I might try the expansion team thing. Sounds like a lot of fun.

But mainly I'm waiting for BM 2008, because then maybe a lot of things that take the competitiveness out of the game will be fixed (ie, trading, drafting, FA signing).

The game itself is amazing, I find myself becoming attached to players, regardless of their ratings. One guy led my team with 12 homeruns (where everyone else was hitting under ten) and a .300+ average with a rating of 77. I kept him in the cleanup spot all year and he performed, and he was kept on the team even when he started performing like his rating suggested. It's this kind of cool unpredictability that keeps me playing. Maybe I should join some online league or something.

[FRENCHREDSOX]

Maybe I should join some online league or something.

Bobby where are you ?


Seriously try the AGML (look at Boomboom's viewer file & click on his sig )

It is slower than the average league but allows micro strategies & will allow you to build up the knowledge of the differences between BM & BMO without being completely over whelmed like in a 60 games/day league

[Rongar]

Aisengard, you want a challenge? Try simming an expansion team, week by week, month by month, frantically balancing decent hitting and pitching after each session with these weak teams(e.g.'77 Blue Jays; '69 Expos; '98 Devil Rays) at Mogul level.

I would think that the ultimate challenge is to be completely realistic, using only the players that the original teams used in any given season, thus if you managed Toronto, you couldn't poach George Brett, say, from K.C. 'cos he never was a Jay, and although John Mayberry did play for the Jays, it wasn't until '78, so you couldn't have his bat in the line-up during your 1997 expansion year.

Similarly, if you ran the Expos, you would have to let Staub go after 1971, no matter how well he played for you(and even if you could afford him!), 'cos that's what happened in real life.

When all's said and done, though, if you want a challenge and fun, pick a weak, financially hard up team, give yourself a good start at FAN difficulty level, go to the "Play-by-Play" menu, and, by clicking on the PLAYER button do your own batting; pitching; baserunning; and (some) fielding. That first easy FAN season (playing a coupla games a day 'twill take you about 3 months) you will probably end up winning the World Series that year, with millions in the Club coffers.

Okay, the next season, step it up a notch, and play that same team (again with legit players) at the next difficulty level (Coach), and so on, thro the cyber years till it's winning the World Series at Mogul level.

There are many interesting ways to play this game...just browse thro these forums, and ideas will abound, your ennui evaporate...Good luck!

[BaltimoreChop]

I've been playing Baseball Mogul for years now. I find the 2007 version to be the easiest by far. I play solitaire in Mogul mode and manage my team through each individual season.

There are so many holes to the current version that it isn't even a challenge to build a superpower. I can take any team from any year and within 5-6 years be a superpower averaging over 130 wins a season from that year forward.

Right now I have a team that I started in the 1950 season and have played it up to 1982. I recently completed a three year span where my team won 145 then 150 then 148 games. So my three year record was 443-43. One year I scored 1285 runs while allowing 413. I had a 54 game winning streak. I had 4 30+ game winning pitchers and hitters who drove in 197 and 194 runs. I haven't lost a playoff game (and I mean game, not series) in several years.

I built these super teams despite losing several superstars through expansion drafts. In one of those drafts the first 10 players taken were from my roster. I never missed a beat without them.

During this period I have never once cheated by altering a player in Commissioner mode. Or forcing any trades.

One way to guarantee that you build a superteam is to sell off your best players when they have 1 year left on their contracts, you can get 60-80 million for each. Then you use this money to buy all of the top draft picks. If you have budding superstars in the minors, then in the year before you call them up, just release them and then sign them as free agents. You can get them for around $5M/yr and you sign them to maximum 7 year contracts with 2 year team options.

You can never use up all of the money you get from selling players. My team currently has a positive balance of over $1B. I drop $30M a year on my minor leagues to develop those guys, as I have so much money to burn.

While I found that I could average around 120 wins a season with the 2004 and 2005 versions, I am now disappointed with any season with less than 138-140 wins.

For several seasons now I have purposefully scaled back on taking advantage of all of the game weaknesses. Allowing several great players contracts to expire. Never buying more than 2 rookies a season. But it is still way too easy.

This is using V9.45.

[DeViLzzz2006]

Try using more challenging teams cuz I am wondering what club you used and how much you altered it ..... also one thing that is bad about games that use real players names is that you know who is in all probability going to become good as in young players like when I traded for Cal Ripken and various other young stars that were only in the minors and were able to be had for not much. It isn't hard to understand that you can take advantage of things like this and do well but it doesn't mean you have to as you can do a pretty much to true season replay and don't make those moves as really isn't it about recreating (sometimes) what happened in the past or trying to better it with what that manager had ??? I say try managing a more challenging team say like the '69 Mets or the '80 Astros like I have and see if you can do the same thing. Uhmmm yes you can make it easy to manage those teams if you alter the rosters but if you just use the personnel they had well I think it will be a challenge .....