Excel Rosters/Free Agents Sheets InformationThe following are details about the Rosters and Free Agents files. As with many of the pages on this site, it’s something to skim now, and maybe read more carefully later if you have specific questions, or if you have nothing better to do. Note: The Rosters and Free Agents files are available year-round, but they are not kept up-to-date except in preparation for and during the Free Agent draft. In other words, the file you download today may not accurately reflect the current rosters or available free agent pool. Check with the Commissioner if you have questions about the files’ current status. The rosters are arranged in a logical orderOn the batters page, the top players listed were the starters for that team that year in real-life (if there seems to be one or more starters missing, it means they are not on your team right now, either because they don't meet the eligibility requirements for the league, or because you traded or released them, or because OOTP retired them, or because another team retained them using a Star Player slot). The next section is the bench, ordered first by position, then by how many at-bats they had that year in real-life. On the pitchers page the top section is the starters, more or less (keeping in mind that in this era all pitchers started and all pitchers relieved, with almost no exceptions). They are in order of innings pitched for that year. The next section is the relievers, or more accurately the starter/relievers who pitched less than 150 innings. They are also in order by innings pitched for that season. It is expected that GMs at least consider using players in their real-life roles. The ratings shown are their base ratingsThey are NOT the actual current ratings in OOTP. Base ratings are the ratings the player gets when he enters the league. They are also the ratings he will be restored to if OOTP’s Player Development messes with him too much. Actual ratings change all the time, at the whim of OOTP. Base ratings only change in a year that a player went from the PCL to MLB—or vice-versa—in real life. If the player was in the PCL during the year we’re playing, his base ratings are derived from his career minor league statistics. If the player was in MLB during the year we’re playing, his base ratings are derived from his MLB statistics. The “Res/Ret” and “End” columns“Res/Ret” is short for “Reset/Retire”. If it just says “N/A” in the Res/Ret column, it means the player is not tenured. The OOTP Player Development feature will move the player’s performance ratings up and/or down and the player will retire whenever the program decides. If it says “N/A” followed by a year, the player is no longer tenured, but I will un-retire him if the game makes him retire before the year listed. If it lists two years in the Res/Ret column, it means the player will be tenured up to and including the first year listed, and cannot retire until after the second year listed. The “Res” (reset) year is generally three years before the player’s final year in MLB, Double-A, or the Negro Leagues, and the “Ret” (retire) year is generally two years before the player’s final year in MLB, Double-A, or the Negro Leagues. In some cases I’ve had to make a determination about what should be considered the player’s “final” year for the purposes of setting the player’s tenure. This is because of the not-uncommon occurrence of players making brief appearances years after they were effectively finished as ballplayers and the even-less-uncommon occurrence of players hanging on for years and years, collecting 20 or so at bats a season (usually while they are coaching or managing). There is some guesswork involved here. Feel free to challenge my ruling on any specific player for whom you feel I’ve gotten it wrong. The “End” column generally shows the player’s final year at a high level (the Major Leagues, the Negro Leagues, or the highest level of minor league ball). Following this year, if the game hasn’t retired the player, I will begin to guide him towards the door by a) resetting his ratings, if they have improved from their base settings, back to their base settings; b) setting his Injury rating to at least 180; and c) setting his Work Ethic rating no higher than 100 (if his Injury and Work Ethic ratings are already worse than these values, I won’t change them). From this point on his ratings will only be allowed to get worse, never better. If he hasn’t retired before the third season after his “End” year, I will forcibly retire him. Why some players are in boldface,
some are
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