stecropper

Cash #25, I imagine that is Stormin' Norman you are referring to in your name? Yes, I get low scoring games like 2-1, 3-2 very often ..... most are like 5-3, 6-5 and occassionaly 10-2, 12-1, 9-8 etc ..... good variety actually. So many things have an effect on this stuff. The things I concentrate on are: 1) Use MVPEdit's Team Tendencies (as an example Takes Pitch at 2 will produce a lot of walks and at 0 will produce much less) 2) Use MVPEdit's Team Intensity (I set them all to "1" to get more realistic results - I found that a very weak team with Intensity at "2" often makes miraculous comebacks against much stronger teams with Intensity at "1") 3) The datafile you use has a great bearing on this stuff - obviously. I use KSM's V0.5 4) The Roster's you use certainly make a difference as well. 5) I like to set Variable Stuff to OFF - you still get pitchers getting knocked out early but not as often it seems which is more realistic to my liking 6) I also set Variable Strike Zone to OFF since occassionally that can effect what ever you do way too much to either degree - i.e. more runs or less runs 7) I also found that if you set Pitch Control too much into the positive numbers it produces less walks and more K's but also produces more hits and more home runs --- so that is really a balancing act. I also have noticed that once a Pitcher "Appears" to have lost his stuff (regardless rather he shows Positive during a mound visit) - yank him quickly as I have seldom seen them recover from like 3 or 4 straight hits and or walks combined ....... My overall method is to record all my changes and only make very minor changes only after a minimum of 5 games or so. Of course with you doing the pitching that probably will cause necessary changes as you improve on your pitching ability. Hope this helps somewhat?

ChuckkieB, Knowing that many factors influence what Sliders one should use even for CPU vs CPU games here are the ones I find provide fairly realistic results with the particular setup I play with: SLIDERS: CPU vs CPU Datafile: KSMs V0.5 Difficulty: All-Star Variable Strike Zone: OFF Variable "Stuff": OFF Blown Calls: On Rosters: Early '60s User Pitch Meter Difficulty: 0 Pitch Speed: 0 CPU Pitcher Ball Rate: -19 User Pitcher Fatigue: 0 CPU Pitcher Fatigue: 0 User Pitch Control: +10 CPU Pitch Control: +10 Bullpen Fatigue Rate: 0 Bullpen Fatigue Grace: 0 User Batting Contact: -47 CPU Batting Contact: -47 User Batting Power: -6 CPU Batting Power: -6 User Bunting Ability: -3 CPU Bunting Ability: -3 User Foul Ball Frequency: 14 CPU Foul Ball Frequency: 14 CPU Swing Frequency: -36 User OF Speed (Manual): -1 User OF Speed (MVP): -1 CPU OF Speed: -1 User IF Speed (Manual): -2 User IF Speed (MVP): -2 CPU IF Speed: -2 User Throw Speed: -3 CPU Throw Speed: -3 User Throw Accuracy: 0 CPU Throw Accuracy: 0 User Catch Errors: 24 CPU Catch Errors: 24 User Dive Difficulty: -11 CPU Catch Effort: 6 User Baserunning Speed: 1 CPU Baserunning Speed: 1 User Runner Aggression: 0 CPU Runner Aggression: 0 User Runner Steal Speed: 0 CPU Runner Steal Speed: 0 User Runner Steal Delay: -4 CPU Runner Steal Delay: -4 CPU Steal Rate: 6 Runner Injury Frequency: -44 Pitcher Injury Frequency: -28 Batter Injury Frequency: -28 Fielder Injury Frequency: -36 Pitching MG Difference: 0

James Rodney "J.R." Richard, #50 "He had the greatest stuff I have ever seen and it still gives me goosebumps to think of what he might have become" Joe Morgan, Hall of Famer The tragic story of J.R. Richard is one that deserves to be told and retold for as long as the sport of baseball survives. Much like the timeless Greek tragedies written thousands of years ago, it is the story of a great figure brought to ruin at the height of his glory by forces beyond his control. When people talk of J.R., their conversations will inevitably end with an unanswerable series of "What If?" scenarios. Would the Astros have gone to the World Series in 1980? Would J.R. have struck out 300 batters again? Would he have won the Cy Young? Would he have been a Hall of Famer? James Rodney Richard was born on March 7, 1950 in Rustin, Louisiana. Growing up, his great height and athleticism allowed him to excel in sports. By his senior year at Lincoln High, Richard was a giant among his schoolmates, standing at 6'8" and weighing 220 pounds. As a result, he dominated in both basketball and baseball. An overpowering right-handed pitcher, J.R. did not allow any runs in his Senior season -- period. His teammates knew that he could swing a mean bat as well. In one game, he hit four consecutive home runs while pitching his team to a 48-0 drubbing against a local rival. Upon graduation, J.R. turned down over 200 basketball scholarship offers to sign with the Houston Astros, a rising team that had made him their first-round pick in the 1969 Summer draft. It did not take long for the Astros to realize the incredible talent they had on their hands. J.R. was not polished, but could overpower the opposition when he was able to find the plate. Though he walked 68 batters in only 109 innings in his first full minor-league season, he also struck out 138 batters and threw a no-hitter. His fastball was explosive and often reached 100 mph. But more devastating than his fastball was his slider. J.R.'s slider could reach 93 mph, faster than most major-league fastballs. And because of his reputation for wildness, hitters were unwilling to dig in against the slider. A late-season callup in 1971, the 21-year-old Richard made his major-league debut against the San Francisco Giants and immediately caught the attention of the baseball world. In his first game, the giant rookie tied Karl Spooner's record by striking out 15 batters in his major-league debut. But J.R.'s wildness bounced him between the majors and the minors for several years as the team tried to remain competitive in the National League West. In 1974, however, J.R. would post an 0.00 ERA in 33 innings in the team's AAA affiliate in Denver, forcing the team to keep him on the major-league roster for good. He was still wild, but there was no longer any doubt about his future with the team. In 1975, the Astros were rebuilding and gave J.R. a full-time spot in the starting rotation. Even though the team slumped to its worst record in franchise history, 64-97, Richard's 12-10 mark was the only winning record among the starters. Although this might represent a good start for most pitchers, it would be the following season in which J.R. would claim his place among the elite pitchers in baseball. It started innocently enough, with J.R. unseating another Astro great, Larry Dierker, as the opening-day starter for the team. Beginning his season with an 11-5 blowout loss to the defending World Champion Cincinnati Reds, Richard quickly rebounded with a shutout against the Giants and his way to five consecutive wins. Even though the team floundered around .500 most of the season, J.R. slowly accumulated wins. After winning his 18th game with only seven games remaining, J.R. pitched twice more, allowing only one run in two complete games to finish as only the second Astro pitcher to win 20 games in a season. During a year in which the Astros finished more than 20 games behind the Cincinnati Reds, J.R. had given the hometown fans something to cheer about all of the way until the last day of the season. In addition, his 2.75 ERA was 7th in the league and his 214 strikeouts were second-best. Fresh off of his 20-win season, J.R. would post another solid season in 1977, finishing with an 18-12 record, a 2.97 ERA and 214 strikeouts yet again. It was the first time that any Astros starter had won at least 18 games in back-to-back seasons, yet J.R. would go on to win at least 18 games for four consecutive seasons. As a follow-up to this performance, J.R. raised his game up to another level in 1978. Although the team could not reach the .500 mark, Richard kept Astros fans excited in the final weeks of September. He was not chasing 20 wins this time, but 300 strikeouts. In his final start of the season against Atlanta on September 29, J.R. would reach that plateau by striking out Rowland Office in the second inning. It was 1979, however, that would turn out to be J.R.'s finest full season in the majors. After getting off to a slow start, Richard won 11 of his last 13 decisions to finish with an 18-13 record. In addition, he led the league with a 2.71 ERA and set a new personal high with 313 strikeouts. J.R.'s fame was now undeniable; he had joined Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax as the only modern-era pitchers to strike out 300 batters in consecutive seasons. But despite leading the league in ERA and strikeouts, J.R.'s 18 wins were not enough to win the Cy Young Award. Instead, he finished third in the voting behind reliever Bruce Sutter and teammate Joe Niekro, who had won 21 games. We have now reached the "Greek tragedy" chapter of the story of J.R. Richard. At this point, he seemed unstoppable. Batters were striking out in record numbers against him. Richard was racking up win after win after win. On Opening Day in 1980, J.R. was only 30 years old and had already achieved greater success than any other Astros pitcher in history. But something was about to go terribly wrong, and this is the part of the story that Astros fans are all too familiar with. Opening Day went as expected. J.R. ushered in the new season against the Dodgers, retiring the first 19 batters he faced before finishing with a two-hit victory. In his next start, he would pitch five scoreless innings against Atlanta before leaving with shoulder stiffness and a no-decision. If this was a harbinger of things to come, nobody recognized it yet. His third start was brilliant. Dominating the Dodgers once again, Richard threw the only one-hitter of his major-league career, allowing only a fourth-inning infield single to Reggie Smith. After that, though, Richard would begin to take himself out of games early, complaining about a variety of ailments: shoulder stiffness, back stiffness, forearm stiffness, a "dead arm". Nobody complained, though, because he was still winning. By the All-Star break, J.R. was leading the league with a 10-4 record, a 1.89 ERA, and 119 strikeouts. In fact, the "talk" about J.R. was much more insidious. What started as whispers soon worked its way into the mainstream media. Some accused him of being jealous of Nolan Ryan's new $1 million salary, even though J.R. was making $850,000 himself and had never complained about Ryan's contract. There was also talk that he was "loafing", even though he had not missed a single start in the five years preceding 1980. Some suggested that he couldn't handle the pennant-race pressure with Los Angeles, blindly ignoring the fact that he had gone 11-2 during the 1979 pennant stretch run against Cincinnati. Much of the talk had racial undertones, and that cannot be ignored. It is just inconceivable that this kind of rumor-mongering would have occurred if instead Nolan Ryan had been taking himself out of games early. Finally, though, J.R.'s career came crashing down. After complaining of dizziness on July 14, Richard was placed on the Disabled List and underwent a battery of tests. Some arterial blockage was found in his right shoulder, but it was not deemed to be serious. In fact, the team doctor suggested that Richard's problems might be emotional in nature. Just days later, on July 30, J.R. collapsed during pre-game throwing drills with Wilbur Howard and was rushed to Southern Methodist Hospital. It turned out after all that he wasn't lying, he wasn't faking, he wasn't loafing, and his problems were not emotional in nature. J.R. had suffered a major stroke and would have died that day without emergency surgery. When reporters asked about the condition of J.R.'s arm, the doctors replied that they were interested in saving his life, not his arm. After more surgery in September, J.R. went about the business of recovering and returning to baseball. It was not meant to be. His left side had been partially paralyzed and he was unable to re-learn the coordination required to pitch effectively. After a partial season in the minor leagues in 1982, he was quietly released by the team. With the loss of his fame and income, J.R.'s personal life spiraled downward as well. He lost over $300,000 in a business scam and almost $700,000 in a divorce. With no money, Richard found out how rare true friends really are. While people were asking themselves, "Whatever happened to J.R.?", Richard was too proud to ask for help and eventually found himself homeless and living under an interstate bridge. But when his plight became known, his friends rushed to his assistance. In 1995, J.R. returned to the game that had once turned its back on him by making an appearance in the Old-Timer's Game.