THE STRAT-O-MATIC STORY

Strat-O-Matic came to market with its first baseball game in 1961. Since that time the company has grown into the largest sports board-game company in the world. The secret behind Strat-O-Matic's success lies in the design of the player cards. After each baseball season comes to an end the game company starts the long process of creating a set of player cards to represent that season. Thousands of man-hours in research are required to complete the process. The end result is an individual player card for each major-leaguer that completely encapsulates his season's contributions to his team. Each Strat-O-Matic card is a unique entity - capturing the essence of the player it represents.

Thousands of people play Strat-O-Matic baseball. We have letters from people of all ages and occupations who describe in detail their enjoyment with playing our game. Some people play the game as solitaire. Others play it with friends. Many people go beyond this and join play-by-mail leagues. Tournaments are held throughout the country with prize money and national standings at stake. Each year, when the new cards become available, hundreds of people line up outside our building for "Strat-O-Matic Opening Day." This event has received national media coverage - recently in Forbes magazine and on ESPN.

By purchasing this Strat-O-Matic game you have joined a large family of Strat-O-Matic baseball enthusiasts.  This family now includes second and perhaps even third-generation Strat-O-Matic players.  It is with great honor that the Strat-O-Matic family salutes you with a hearty "PLAY BALL"!


CD Version 1.0
WHAT WERE NEW FEATURES IN CD VERSION 1.0

If you are familiar with Strat-O-Matic baseball Version 6 (the DOS game) then you'll be interested to find out what's new with the CD-ROM version of the game.

-Tremendous play-by-play improvements!  Over 10,000 lines of play-by-play are now included with the game.  In addition, the play-by-play system has been completely overhauled to allow it to sense a multitude of game situations.

-Extended stat mode.  Keep full team statistics for each month, vs. every other team in the league, for day and night games, and for road and home games!

-Drag and Drop functionality.

-The Regulator.

-New stadium pictures.  All 28 are included in gray and color - day and night shots are optionally available.

-Batter Pie Chart.  An exciting new batter's pie chart option is available. When you use this option, a pie chart will display at a glance the current batter-pitcher matchup. This allows you to quickly see the batter's chances for hitting a home run, getting on base, and making an out.

-New reports.  New reports include a league report, computer manager report, defense grid (part of the draft report), and team leader reports.

-Features no longer supported.  With the advent of game result files for easy consolidation of league stats we have dropped the "report league" function from the game.  In addition the simplistic Player Encyclopedia function has been removed and we hope to create an optional encyclopedia program at a future date. (NOTE: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA WAS ADDED AT VERSION 3.0 AND A NEWER MORE POWERFUL ONE WAS ADDED AT VERSION 9.0)


RESEARCH AND REALISM

What sets Strat-O-Matic apart from the competition?  Research and realism. For instance, take our "recreated" past-season disks.  We could take the easy way out and spend about 50 man-hours of work to generate a past season roster disk.  Initially we would create a standardization formula for lefty-righty hitting and pitching breakdowns.  This simply means that all left-handed hitters would hit a certain number of points above their average (for example, 30 points above their average) when facing righty pitching and a certain number of points below their average (say, 15 points below their average) when facing left-handed pitchers.  Walks, home runs, doubles, and triples would be treated in the same manner. The same method would be used for righty batters, switch hitters, lefty pitchers, and righty pitchers. In regards to ratings, formulas based on the statistics for that season would be devised to reflect all necessary ratings.  Once this is accomplished, all that needs to be done is to get the statistics into a machine-readable form and then run a program that would pump out a season roster disk.  Then we could offer it for sale and relax while the money rolls in.  That's the way the rest of the industry handles past season disks, and it irritates many of their customers to no end!

But Strat-O-Matic takes a different approach.  We pour ourselves into every past season roster disk we make.  We manually comb through every single box score to extract the actual lefty/righty tendencies of each and every player for that season! Then we read everything we can get our hands on about that season so that the subjective ratings (fielding range, throwing arm, ability to hold runners, etc.) are realistic.

In fact, instead of spending a paltry 50 hours on the project we spend OVER A MAN YEAR!  When we're finished we have a beautiful "recreated" past season which mirrors reality incredibly.  And it contains detailed information that is unavailable anywhere else:  True lefty/righty data, pitcher's doubles and triples allowed, researched fielding ability, and so on!

Strat-O-Matic offers history based on original research.  Our competitors offer disks which don't even have the actual lefty/righty data on them - not to mention their terribly inaccurate ratings for important abilities such as fielding range, running speed, pitcher's holding, throwing arms, and more!

JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF OUR EXTRAORDINARY RESEARCH EFFORTS

An excellent example of Strat-O-Matic's ratings & research is George Case's 1941 throwing arm rating.  Case, playing left field, accumulated a league leading 21 assists. Our competitors thought he had a great arm but Strat-O-Matic disagreed.  In our newspaper readings for that season, we discovered that prior to 1941, he was an excellent fielding center fielder with a weak throwing arm. In 1941, the Senators shifted him to LF in order to prevent base runners from successfully challenging his throws. Opposing runners continued to challenge him, but the shorter throw from left field enabled Case to throw 21 runners out.  However that is a very deceptive number.  What it doesn't indicate is the number of runners who scored because of Case's poor arm, since everybody in the league was running on him.  Incidentally, as part of our research effort we interviewed a former major-leaguer who played in 1941. When we mentioned Case's name, he said, "Boy, what a weak throwing arm!" In Strat-O-Matic, Case is rated as a good fielding left fielder with a weak throwing arm.

As you know, most lefty batters prefer to face right-handed pitching.  A few examples with Hall-of-Famers will help us illustrate how this varies from player to player.  In the 1934 Strat-O-Matic season player card set, Chuck Klein is a classic case, hitting a miserable .230 against lefties and punishing right-handers for .329.  There are numerous exceptions. In the 1927 season, Strat-O-Matic discovered that Goose Goslin, also a left-handed hitter, batted .355 against lefty pitchers and .329 against right-handers.  Left-handed Ted Williams in his finest season, 1941, spanked lefties for .420 as compared to only .402 against righties.  In 1954, Williams broke his collar bone in spring training. It healed sufficiently enough for him to play during the regular season. However, he was physically below par when facing left-handed pitching. Thus, Strat-O-Matic discovered that his average against portsiders was only .280 as compared to .369 against righties for that season.

Pitchers also vary tremendously in Strat-O-Matic as they do in "the show." The great left-handed screwball pitcher Carl Hubbell is an excellent example. A lefty screwball pitcher is more effective against righty hitters and less effective against lefty batsmen.  In 1930, the National League "juiced up" the baseball (sounds familiar, doesn't it?).  Hubbell nevertheless, continued to use his screwball as his most prominent pitch. As reported by Strat-O-Matic, Hubbell, in 1930, relying on his screwball, gave up a .275 average against righty batters and .286 against lefties. In 1934, the National League changed the seams on the baseball.  Hubbell became apprehensive concerning the overuse of his screwball. Thus, he used his screwball as a decoy pitch.  The result as determined by Strat-O-Matic's research was .247 against righty swingers and only .220 against lefty hitters.

Of course similar techniques are applied to our current season disks and you'll find an incredible amount of detailed work goes into creating them as well.  For instance, when rating a defensive player's abilities we take into account a myriad of information.  Every statistical evaluation (range, zone, chances per game, etc.) is used, scouting reports are consulted, newspaper accounts of games are scanned, people who travel with the team are interviewed and expert analysts are consulted.  All of the information obtained is databased and linked together to form a profile on every player in the major leagues.  Then the difficult part of boiling this data down to his defensive ratings begins.  It's a massive effort but we do it every year to make sure that you get the best representation of every player's abilities.

As you can see, Strat-O-Matic is not only the leader in Research and Realism, but actually has no competition in this area.  Don't worry, even though the other companies have decided they don't want to run in this race we are still committed to running as hard as we possibly can.


GETTING STARTED

Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball is a multifaceted game with many options and features.  If you are new to the world of Strat-O-Matic and just want to get started quickly you should follow these steps:

1. If you wish to play with the cards (this game may be played with or without the Strat-O-Matic baseball cards).  You must have understanding of the ratings system to play with the cards.  Even if you don't plan to use the cards you will probably want to understand the ratings system employed by the game.  Without the cards we recommend that you use the highest level of all the rules (this is Maximum or Super-Advanced, depending on the category).  With the cards you might want to start at the Advanced level until you become acquainted with how the game plays, and then you can proceed to the highest level of rules.

2. If you are playing a non-league game, no stats will be saved.  When you play your first league game you will be able to view statistics.

3. You can accept the defaults for most of the items shown in the menus when you start a game.  Items that you need to decide include your selection of playing league or non-league games (note that all scheduled games are considered league games), DH or NO DH, and if you wish to play with or without cards.

4. Don't worry about messing things up!  You can always re-install the software.  Also each season can individually be restarted, which simply erases all statistics accumulated to date for that league.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In this section we hope we can answer some of the most frequently asked questions that users of the game may have.  We cannot foresee every question that you may have but we hope we can  cover most of them.

What are some of the most frequent problems?

How do I Trade a player?

How do I create a Draft League?

How do I Select Multiple players, teams, or leagues using my mouse?

How can I create Rookies so that I can play this real-life season's rosters?

How do I Install a Roster Disk?

Do I need the Player Cards to play the game?

How do I use the As Played Feature?

How do I edit or create my own Play-By-Play?

How do I Continue A League that I started with Version 6.3 or with the CD version 2.0?

Why do some players names show as funny characters?

When I'm using Microsoft Windows can I prevent the task bar from cutting off part of the screen?

What are the leagues (ML, AL, NL, XM, XN, XA, MC and IL) found on the roster disks?

How do I merge the Extra Players (those in the XN or XA leagues)?

What are the interleague players (those in the IL league)?

Which features are included on the various past season rosters?

Are the files compatible across platforms, operating systems and releases of the game?

Why does the Window menu item only show the game and not the Manager screen also?


CREDITS

ORIGINAL BOARD GAME DESIGN - Hal Richman

COMPUTER GAME DESIGN - Bob Winberry, Hal Richman

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING - Bob Winberry, R. "Norb" Timpko

NEW INTERFACE PROGRAMMING - R. "Norb" Timpko

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING - Joe Senecal, Mark Thomas, Bill Pytlovany

RESEARCH TEAM - Steve Barkan, Hal Richman, Lenny Schwartz, James Williams, Rita Larnaitis

PLAY-BY-PLAY TEAM - Scott Nichols, Ren Petrie

PLAY TESTING - Larry Foster, Stu Blake, Dick Hunt, Bruce Bundy, Ren Petrie, Scott Nichols, Glenn Guzzo, Will Kolodzie, Len Durrant, Gary Simonds, Rob Ratliff, Ken Wenger,  Gary Kent, Ed Williams, Dave LeSueur

19th CENTURY SEASONS CREATORS/CONTRIBUTORS: Bruce Bundy, Len Durrant, Gary Simonds, Ken Wenger, Larry Foster, Rob Ratliff

ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS: Mike Agnello, Robert Allen, Jim Beauchemin, Steve Braccini, Chris Byrum, Brad Cummings, Eddie Demicco, Len Durrant, Mike Farbo, Jim Fife, Joe Freitas, Ken Fricke, Jon Grauer, Robert Jones, Gary Kent, Champ Kerr, Michael Kudak, Dave LeSueur, Gary Losey, Sean MacNair, Joe Moran, Mike Morgensen, Tom Nobis, Brian Oldaker, Rob Ratliff, Ken Rhodes, Alec Rogers, Gary Simonds, Jack Thompson, Ken Wenger, Ed Williams, Roger Wright, Anthony Youngkin, Ed Zajac, Greg Zeis, Ken Zionce

NETPLAY TESTING - Bruce Bundy, Doug Sass, Greg Zeis, Ken Rhodes, Dave Haller,  Bruce Herrin, Darren Barfuss, Miles Molyneaux, Josh Comfort, Dennis Marsh,  John O'Donnell

ACTUAL TO-DATE WON/LOSS RECORDS: Rob Ratliff

DOCUMENTATION -  Bob Winberry, Dave Scott, Lenny Schwartz

GRAPHICS AND ARTWORK - Stephen Vargas, Dalmation Creations

PHOTOGRAPHY - Joe Mock, www.baseballparks.com -- Please see Copyright Notice for more information.  Some photography provided by Bill Daughtry.

STATISTICS - Copyright © 2009 Baseball Info Solutions. All rights reserved.

OTHER STATISTICS - Some information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at "www.retrosheet.org".

Strat-O-Matic CD-ROM Baseball exists for, and because of, our loyal customers. Therefore we would like to thank and acknowledge you for your role in creating this game.  Many of you have offered great ideas and suggestions to help improve this game, and many of those ideas are now a reality.  Thanks!

A number of people we work with on a regular basis merit special mention.  Larry Foster, Scott Nichols, Ren Petrie, Bruce Bundy, Stu Blake, Len Durrant, Gary Simonds and Dick Hunt have gone out of their way to help insure that our game continues to get better every year.

We are lucky to have all of these great guys helping us out. Thank you men!


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

COPYRIGHT © 2009

Strat-O-Matic Game Company, Inc.

Glen Head, NY  11545

All rights reserved

Portions Copyright © 2000 Microsoft Corporation.

This software, team roster disks, and documentation are copyrighted with all rights reserved by Strat-O-Matic Game Company, Inc.  Under United States copyright laws the software, team roster disks, and accompanying documentation may not be copied, in whole or in part, except to make a backup copy for archival purpose only.  Any other copying, selling, or distribution of the software, team roster disks, and manual is hereby expressly forbidden except for the following circumstances:

The commissioner of a league may copy and distribute a team roster disk after drafting, cloning, or trading players onto their proper teams, provided that he has confirmed that all participants in the league have original copies (purchased from Strat-O-Matic) of any and all team roster disks containing player images that are contained on the league roster disk distributed by the commissioner.

Fringe players created by the game may be distributed freely.  However you may not distribute player images that you type in by copying a Strat-O-Matic playing card.

This software is for personal use only.  If you wish to utilize this software for  commercial purposes a separate agreement must be negotiated with Strat-O-Matic Game  Company Inc.

Photographs are copyright © 2004-2009 by Joe Mock,  Grand Slam Enterprises, Inc.  Used by permission.  No other use of these photographs without the express written consent of Joe Mock is permitted.  Many of the ballpark photos shown here also appeared in the full-color book Joe Mock's Ballpark Guide.  Autographed copies of the book are available from the author at www.grandslammall.com.

FreeImage notice - This software uses the FreeImage open source image library. See http://freeimage.sourceforge.net for details. FreeImage is used under the FIPL, version 1.0.

STATISTICS - Copyright © 2009 Baseball Info Solutions. All rights reserved.

OTHER STATISTICS - Some information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at "www.retrosheet.org".


AUTOMATIC TRANSACTIONS
AUTOMATIC TRANSACTIONS (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

IMPORTANT - DO NOT TURN THIS FEATURE ON IN THE MIDDLE OF A YEAR!  THIS FEATURE SHOULD ONLY BE SELECTED AT THE START OF A SEASON.

Using this option will tell the computer manager to make the actual transaction moves that occurred in real life on that day.  This option is only available on the 1994 through current team disks.  See the As Played Feature for information on setting up the rosters to use this feature.

Optionally, you can also use Automatic Lineups with this option to give you the most accurate replay possible.  Or you can just use Automatic Transactions to control the trades (and other transactions) and set the lineups yourself.


AUTOMATIC LINEUPS
AUTOMATIC LINEUPS (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

IMPORTANT - DO NOT TURN THIS FEATURE ON IN THE MIDDLE OF A YEAR!  THIS FEATURE SHOULD ONLY BE SELECTED AT THE START OF A SEASON.

This option will tell the computer manager to use the actual lineups and starting pitchers that played in real life on that day of the schedule.  This option is only available on the 1994 through current-year team disks.  See the As Played Feature for information on setting up the rosters to use this feature.

If want to you use this option you MUST also use Automatic Transactions option.  That is because Automatic Lineups require the right player to be on the right team at the right time.


INSERT BALANCE RATING
INSERT BALANCE RATINGS (Located in the League menu)

This function can be used to insert the balance ratings for players which you add or create with the fringe player creation function.  When players are first created they have no balance rating.  So after typing in new players the final step should be to run this function.


AUTOPLAY

The automatic play feature allows you to play many games in a short period. It does this by allowing you to schedule games and then lets you designate the computer to play those games automatically.  In "autoplay" both teams are managed by the pre-defined computer manager.  The Autoplay/Boxscore Options menu item allows you to configure your autoplay environment.

Why would you want to let the computer play games by itself? An example may help answer this question. Let us say that your favorite team is Philadelphia and you wish to replay their 162-game schedule. If you play through their schedule you will have fun playing the games and following their progress but something will be missing - a pennant race!  Playing all 1000+ games in the National League schedule would alleviate this situation.  However you probably don't have enough time or you may not be inclined towards such a large project. The automatic play feature is the perfect solution to your dilemma! You can manually play  Philadelphia's 162-game schedule and supplement this with all other games being played by the computer. Doing your replay this way would allow you to track the pennant race, the batting title race, the home run race, pitchers' ERA title, etc. As you can see this would add a lot of interest to your replay.

Playing time for autoplay games varies greatly from computer to computer. On a typical machine games are played in a few seconds each.

Before using the automatic play feature you must set up your preferred starting lineups vs. lefties and righties and your pitching rotation. Team roster disks purchased from Strat-O-Matic come prepared with this information already on them.  You can also use the Generate Computer Manager function to let the computer set this information for you automatically.

If you wish to save box scores and/or play account files for autoplay games you must be aware of the naming conventions used for these files.  When playing league games in autoplay mode the box scores are named BOX#.PRT and the play account files are named PAC#.PRT where # equals the overall number of games played in the league so far.

When saving these box score and play account files to disk you should always backup these files after the autoplay session is over. This is because it is very easy to write over these files. For example, say you start a new league and play an autoplay game. The resulting box score will be named BOX1.PRT.  You then start another league and play an autoplay game for this second league. The original BOX1.PRT file from the first league will be overwritten by the box score of the game from the second league!


RATINGS

Both batters and pitchers are assigned a balance rating which indicates their relative effectiveness vs. right-handed and left-handed opponents.

BATTER RATINGS (shown from best to worst in each category)

Running (17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8)

Stealing (AAA, AA, A, B, C, D, E)

Bunting (A, B, C, D)

Hit-and-Run (B, C, D)

Fielding Range (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Error Rating - The lower the number the better.

Throwing arm (-6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5)

Catcher's T rating - Catchers' throwing errors, the lower the number the better.

Power Rating (N for Normal, W for Weak).  If shown twice the first letter is his power versus left-handed pitching and the second letter is his power versus right-handed pitching.

PITCHER RATINGS (shown from best to worst in each category)

Starting fatigue (9, 8, 7, 6, 5)

Relief fatigue (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)

Closer Rating (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, N)

Error Rating - The lower the number the better.

Hold runner (-6 to +9)

Balk (0 to 20)

WP (0 to 20)

Hitting ability - see PITCHER'S HITTING CARD chart below.

Bunting (A, B, C, D)

Hit-and-Run (B, C, D)

Running (17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8)

ADDING PLAYERS

The following are some guidelines that can be used when adding players with the fringe player creation module, creating a player or updating a player.

Pitcher's hitting - If the pitcher hit a home run give him a power rating of "N" - otherwise give him a "W."

Use the following chart to determine which PITCHER'S HITTING CARD to use:

IF NO HR'S OR AB/HR>=68

Bavg           Card

.000 - .134      1

.135 - .179      2

.180 - .224      3

.225 - .269      4

.270 +           5

IF AB/HR < 68

Bavg           Card

.000 - .199      6

.200 - .249      7

.250 +           8

Pitcher Starting Endurance (Fatigue): IP / Games (round) (Max of 9)

Starters "*" rating:  if more than 200 innings pitched then give the starter an *.

Relief Endurance (Fatigue): If less than 1 ip / game rate him as a 1.  Otherwise:

IP*2/Games (round)  (Max of 4)

Closer Endurance (Fatigue):

Saves    Rating

0          N

1-3        0

4-6        1

7-9        2

15-19      4

20-29      5

30+        6

Steal and Running Rating (Note: see Supplementary Steal Ratings for more information on entering the Super-Advanced steal rating.)

AB/SB   Steal Run  Super-Advanced Steal

1-7      AAA   17  * 3-7/-     (20-16)

8-14      AA   16  * 3-6/-     (19-15)

15-29      A   15  * 4-6,12/-  (18-13)

30-66      B   14  * 4-6/-     (17-12)

67-199     C   12    4-6/10    (15-8)

200-300    D   10    5-6/10-11 (14-6)

301+       E    8    4,5/12    (11-4)

BUNTING (Use "C" if you don't know the number of sac bunts)

FOR POSITIONS PLAYERS

SAC BUNTS   RATING

   9+         A

  5-8         B

  1-4         C

    0         D

FOR PITCHERS

SAC BUNTS   RATING

  18+         A

 10-17        B

  2-9         C

  0-1         D

HIT-AND-RUN

AB/K'S      RATING

 10+          B

 6-9          C

 0-5          D

THROWING ARMS FOR OUTFIELDERS Use your best judgment.  Outfield assists are not a reliable indicator to determine throwing ability.  This is because many base runners will run on a poor arm, thus increasing the odds that a weak-armed thrower will get outfield assists.  In fact, there have been times that a poor throwing outfielder has led his league in outfield assists.  If you have no idea, it is best to rate the player as a having a +2 throwing arm.

PITCHERS HOLD / CATCHER'S THROWING ARM Because these two items are so intertwined it's hard to separate them.  Statistics can be used to get a general guideline but this area is still very subjective.  If you're not sure about a catcher make him a +2.  If you're not sure about a pitcher make him a 0.

FIELDING RATING Statistics can only be used as a general guideline.  Many times the statistics are way out of line.  For instance, in 1993 Roberto Alomar was last in the league in the fielding range statistic (among regulars at second base), even though players who have played against him say that he has great range.  That's only one example of how misleading fielding statistics can sometimes be.

ERROR RATINGS  1B  2B  SS  3B  OF  PI  CA

Excellent       8  10  16  13   4   0   2

Good           13  17  22  18   6  12   4

Average        17  23  32  26   9  20   7

Poor           25  41  48  37  16  38  16

CATCHER RATINGS  T-RATING   PB-RATING

Excellent          1-3         1

Good               1-5         2

Average            1-7         3

Poor               1-15        6

PITCHER RATINGS

BALK-  400*BK/IP  (That is, multiply balks divided by innings pitched by 400. If BK not known use 3 as the rating)

WILD PITCH-  200*WP/IP  (If WP not known: 20*BB/IP)


RELIEF SETTINGS

NOTE: See the Update Computer Manager screen for when these suggestions are to be used.

If a pitcher is rated with an * then use NO.  Otherwise:

RELIEF APPEARANCES  SUGGESTED SETTING

     0-4                  NO

     5-9               SOMETIMES

     10+                 YES


DICE INPUT
DICE INPUT (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

This option lets you input a dice roll manually or allow the computer to generate a dice roll for you automatically.

DICE ROLLED MANUALLY If you choose this option then every time a dice roll is needed to determine the outcome of the play you will be prompted to enter the dice roll.  Choose this option if you prefer to roll real dice instead of using the computer generated dice rolls.  Please see this important note regarding manual dice entry.  NOTE: This option is not available if the league is locked.

DICE ROLLED AUTOMATICALLY This is the recommended setting.  When a dice roll is needed the computer will randomly generate it.


DICE STOP
DICE STOP (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

When using an automatic dice roll, this option allows you to choose between the following:

ALL 3 DICE STOP TOGETHER All dice stop rotating on the screen at the same time.  This is the fastest option but does not offer as much anticipation.

SINGLE DIE STOPS FIRST The single white die stops first to allow you to see which column the result will come from.  Then the 2 red dice stop rotating.  This allows more anticipation, especially if your power hitter is up and you "hit" his best column!

SINGLE DIE WITH BEST COLUMN This is the suggested setting.  This functions the same as "Single die stops first" mode but it also displays a flashing message when you "hit" the batter's best column.


DELAYS FOR DICE
DELAYS FOR DICE (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

These setting will also effect the length of time the card will be displayed when using the optional Card Image Feature.

DICE/SPLITS ANIMATION SPEED A new Delay setting has been added to the Dice/Cards/Splits Options Dialog.  This is  called "Dice/Splits Animation Speed".  The range of this number is 0 to 99, with 0 being the fastest and 99 being slowest. This controls how quickly the dice and split cards animate  when using dice mode.  Each number represents 1 millisecond of speed between dice or split frames.  The default for this setting is 5.

DELAY AFTER DICE STOP ROLLING The "Base Delay For Dice" setting on the Dice/Cards/Splits options dialog has been replaced with the "Delay After Dice Stop Rolling" option.  Previously the card image vanished too fast in certain modes.  Each number represents about 40 milliseconds.  The valid range is 0 to 99, with 0 being the fastest and 99 being slowest.  The default for this setting is 5.

The actual amount of delay is also affected by the "Base Delay for Play by Play" setting which is defined in Base Delays.


SPLIT INPUT
SPLIT INPUT (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

This option lets you input a dice roll manually or allow the computer to generate a dice roll for you automatically.  Split numbers are in the range of 1 to 20 and are used to choose between two possible outcomes for the play.

SPLIT CARD INPUT MANUALLY If you choose this option then every time a split card is needed to determine the outcome of the play you will be prompted to enter it.  Please see important note regarding manual split entry.NOTE: This option is not available if the league is locked.

SPLIT CARD ARE AUTOMATIC DICE When a split card is needed the computer will randomly generate it.  Normally you will use this setting or the Tactile split setting.

TACTILE SPLIT CARD In this mode you get to "pick" a split card from the split deck by clicking it with your mouse.  You can also hit a key on the keyboard to select the split.  Please see Tactile Dice and Split Options for more information.


Main Rules
MAIN RULES (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option allows you to set the level of games rules you wish to play with.  If you are new to the game you should set all of the following rules to the highest level available.  The lower level of game rules are included to allow leagues to customize the rules they use and to support some older roster disks, which do not include all of the Super-Advanced features.  You can choose between the following rule options:

ADVANCED RULES The advanced game is the easiest to play.

SUPER-ADVANCED RULES The Super-Advanced rules are more difficult to play but add more realistic features such as rare plays.

SUPER-ADVANCED WITH BK/WP/PB This rule option contains all the Super-Advanced rules and adds to it individualized balks, wild-pitches, and passed balls.

MAXIMUM LEVEL The Maximum Level offers even more options and statistical accuracy than the Super-Advanced game.  Some options added in the Maximum Level include Home Field Advantage, Clutch Pitching, and Bunting for Hits.  To tailor these rules click on the "Max Rules" button and reference Maximum Rules Settings for more information.  NOTE: IF YOU WISH TO MAINTAIN 100% BOARD GAME COMPATIBILITY THEN DO NOT SELECT THIS LEVEL OF RULES.  See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.


STEALING
STEALING (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option allows you to select the level of the steal system that you wish to use.  You can choose between the Advanced and Super-Advanced Steal System.

ADVANCED STEAL SYSTEM This is the easiest level of the stealing system in the game.

SUPER ADVANCED STEAL SYSTEM Also known as the "Supplementary" steal system, the Super- Advanced steal system adds more realism to the game by adding the following features:

Regulation of steal attempts which forces potential base stealers to try to get a good lead.

Automatic outs when a base runner is caught leaning the wrong way.

Pickoffs and balks by the pitcher.

Hold onto the ball, which gives the catcher the option not to risk a bad throw into the outfield.

Delayed steal of home for when runners are on first and third base.


MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option allows you not to use or to use some rules which will enhance the level of realism.

DO NOT USE MISCELLANEOUS RULES By selecting this option you will not use this level of rules while playing you game.

USE MISCELLANEOUS RULES By selecting this option you will add a very realistic cut- off play, the ability to bring the outfield in at the end of the game, and new rules concerning the usage of players at positions they are not rated for.


INJURIES
INJURIES (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option allow you to choose to not use or use injuries while playing your game.  If you  use injuries and you use the 40/25 Method for minor leaguers then injured players will automatically be replaced by minor leaguers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Another option that influences how injuries occur in the game is the Force Daily Injuries rule.

DO NOT USE INJURIES This option will not allow a player to be injured during the play of a game.  Select this option if you are playing with Automatic Transactions and Automatic Lineups.

USE INJURIES Using this option will allow an occasional injury to players who did not play the full season.  The injuries are regulated by the total number of plate appearances a player had.  This will add to more realistic totals of at-bats and innings pitched.

USE SADV INJURIES Selecting this option will activate the optional super advanced injury system.  This system simulates the major league injury list system of 15 and 60 day injuries more realistically. Using this system when a player is injured he will have either a 15 day or 60 day injury. When using this system we recommend that you give teams that are not playing on a given day the "day off".  This is accomplished with the following commands: Scheduled Days Off (when playing scheduled games) or Give Team A Day Off (when playing non-scheduled games).   If you do not choose to use the "day off" method then injuries will be 15 or 60 games instead of 15 or 60 days. In addition this injury system completely revamps the way that pitchers are injured. (If you play without the cards you can ignore the following explanation and just understand that the SADV system will make injuries occur at a more realistic rate for pitchers). When using this system pitcher injuries that occur from the pitcher's hitting cards are ignored. Instead, all pitchers can be injuried when a dice roll of 6-12 occurs.  And injury can  occur to a pitcher with any player at-bat (not just the DH as was the case with the old rules).


GROUNDBALL-A
GROUNDBALL-A (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option will allow you to either allow or prevent using the Groundball-A on a pitchers card. Groundball-A is an individual double play rating for pitchers who induce more double play ground balls.  You can either prevent or allow Groundball-A on pitchers cards.

PREVENT GBA ON PITCHER CARDS This option will ignore any Groundball A readings on a pitcher's card.  You should select this option if you are using a team or season that does not contain Groundball-A on pitchers' cards.

ALLOW GBA ON PITCHER CARDS This option will use any Groundball-A readings found on pitchers' cards.  This will allow more realistic double plays for pitchers who induce more double play ground balls.


BP/CLUTCH
BALLPARK EFFECTS AND CLUTCH HITTING (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

These rules add more realism to the game.  If you wish to use them (we highly recommend that you do), then we suggest that you check all boxes on.

NOTE: If you wish to use Weather Effects the Ballpark Effects must be checked on.

Ballpark rules add ballparks' effects so that, just as in real life, it is easier to hit a home run in Colorado than it is in Houston.  Home runs and batting average are both taken into account, and Strat-O-Matic also factors in every player's home ballpark so that accuracy and realism are maintained.

Clutch hitting measures each player's ability to deliver the clutch hit.  Strat-O-Matic's  exclusive clutch hitting formula accurately measures every player's ability in these key situations.  Traditional clutch hitting stats do not comprise enough situations to make them statistically significant.  For instance a batter with 500 at-bats might only hit 110 times with runners in scoring position and perhaps 80 times in "close and late" situations.  This total number of at-bats is not enough to truly gauge his clutch hitting ability, because in 190 at-bats a .250 hitter can be expected to swing anywhere between .187 and .313 just as  a result of random statistical distribution.  Strat-O-Matic's exclusive clutch hitting formula measures the outcome of every baserunner that the batter affected during the year.  This detailed approach provides a true measurement of the batter's clutch hitting ability.  Our system is implemented with 2 outs and runners in scoring position because in real-life that is traditionally the most difficult time to "come through" with a base hit.  If the batter fails, there are no more chances to drive in those runners.  Most batters will see their average go down in the clutch -- both in real-life and with our system.

Some leagues wish to play with just the ballpark option and not the clutch hitting system.  Originally these options were developed to work together, and in previous versions of the game you could not toggle them individually.  The option to toggle them independently is now available, however when doing this the statistical accuracy of the game will suffer slightly, perhaps a point or two on the batting average at most.

Strat-O-Matic recommends that you use both ballpark and clutch hitting features together  for maximum realism and statistical accuracy.


STRATEGY
STRATEGY (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option will allow you to select the level of strategy charts to use.  You can select either Advanced or Super-Advanced.

ADVANCED STRATEGY This option will determine Sacrifice bunts, Squeeze bunts, and Hit-and-Run.  This is the easiest level to play with.

SUPER ADVANCED STRATEGY This option is a more realistic level of the strategy charts.  It use all the features of the Advanced Strategy but also adds realistic features such as Safety or Suicide Squeeze plays.


FATIGUE
FATIGUE (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option selects whether you do not use or use Super Advanced Pitcher Fatigue.  Super Advanced Pitcher Fatigue rules allow for a more realistic usage of your pitching staff.  They should be used for all seasons except for very old seasons where you wish to allow a pitcher to stay in the game for very long stretches.  If you do not use this option it is possible for a starter or reliever to stay in for the remainder of the game even if it goes many more innings.

DO NOT USE SADV PITCHER FATIGUE Choose this option if you do not want use Super Advanced Pitcher Fatigue.

USE SADV PITCHER FATIGUE This option will use realistic fatigue rules for your pitching staff.  Pitchers will have to rest a certain number of days between starts and can get fatigued early in a game if they are hit hard.  Relievers will also become fatigued to prevent unrealistic usage.

USE SADV PITCHER FATIGUE & PITCH COUNT This option will use the realistic fatigue rules described above.  In addition the Pitch Count Rules will be implemented.  This option cannot be selected unless the Main Rules are set to Maximum Level.


CLOSER
CLOSER (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

This option selects whether you do not use or use the Closer rule.  The Closer rule can only be used with a team or season whose pitchers have a "closer rating."  This option will cause certain relievers not rated as closers to become less effective in a closing situation.  A closing situation occurs when the defensive team has the lead and the tying or winning run is on base or at the plate in the 9th inning or later.

DO NOT USE CLOSER RULES This option will not use the "closer rating" found on a reliever's card.  You should select this option if your league does not have closer ratings.

USE CLOSER RULES This option will use the closer ratings found on relievers' cards.  Only those real-life pitchers who were effective closers will excel in these situations.  They will be able to last longer and be more effective in a closer situation than pitchers who were not used as closers in real-life situations.


OVERUSAGE
OVERUSAGE (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

This option will try to limit overusage of players or will ignore the overusage of players. This option only affects league games.

FULLY CONTROL OVERUSAGE This option will try to use players accurately, just as they were used in real-life.  It will effect the computer manager's selection of starting pitcher, relief pitchers and position players (both before and during the game).  Using this option makes accurate  player usage a priority over a competitive computer manager.

TRY TO LIMIT OVERUSAGE This option offers a balanced approach somewhat of a compromise between the other two settings.  It will do a reasonable job at balancing the desire for accurate player usage and a competitive computer manager.

IGNORE OVERUSAGE This option is for those who desire the most competitive computer manager and are not that concerned with players being overused.  It will force the use of an alternative fatigue system which will always pick the first available pitcher in the rotation who is not fatigued.  Also, computer manager decisions will not be affected by accurate player usage.  Using this option will lead to a more competitive computer manager at the expense of accurate player usage.


ENTRY MODE
ENTRY MODE (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

This option will allow you to customize the mode you use to determine game results.  You can choose between the following options:

MANUAL ENTRY This a special mode designed to recreate previously played games.  You can manually enter your play results directly into the game.  This is very useful for play-by-mail leagues who still have participants who use the board game.  You can enter complete games from a scoresheet and update that game right into your league.  For more information click here.  NOTE: This option is not available if the league is locked.

DICE MODE This mode allows you to play with the Strat-O-Matic player cards from the board game.  You can hold the cards while the dice are rolled right on the game screen.

REGULATOR Click here for a complete description of using the Regulator.

PRESWING PLAY-BY-PLAY This option will display play-by-play before the pitch occurs.  This play-by-play is very varied and entertaining.  If you like play-by-play we recommend that you use this option.

NONE Selecting this option will play the game in its standard graphical format.  Results are calculated off screen and are depicted by animation and text play-by-play.


RESULTS & OPTIONS
RESULTS & OPTIONS (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

This option allows you to select how results are shown on the game screen.

SHOW FLIGHT OF BALL When using this option you will see a digitized pitcher and batter with the flight of the ball animated on your game screen.

SHOW BOARD GAME INFORMATION When using this option the play-by-play will indicate when a board game situation has occurred.  It will list situations such as X-Chart Results.  When an X-Chart reading occurs (and you are using the Super-Advanced or higher level of rules) then an X-Chart information display is shown at both the beginning and the end of the play by play.

The display will also indicate dice rolls and split readings that are found directly on the  player cards (other dice rolls and splits are not shown).

The display that occurs before the play is fully described (which is a new option starting with Version 7) will give you a breakdown of the fielder's range, e-rating, his chance for a great play, chance of surrendering a hit and chance of making an error.  The exact meaning of a Great Play varies by position:

Catcher: Great play is defined as any reading that is not a G3 and not a possible WP or PB.

Infielders, Pitcher: Great play is defined as a G1 reading.

Outfielders: Great play is defined as an F3 reading.

Note that for catchers the chance of giving up a hit is replaced with a category called "Mishandle?".  This indicates the possible chance of a mishandled pitch that could result in a WP or PB if there were a runner on base.

The display that occurs after the play is over information includes the position, adjusted range (range can be adjusted due to infield positioning or when runners are held) and the split reading (a number from 1 to 20).  In addition a comparison is shown listing what the outcome would have been for players with differing range factors. The symbols listed next to each of the five range ratings match the symbols found on the Super Advanced Fielding Chart that is available separately from the game company (this chart is included with the board game).

DISPLAY TRIVIA QUESTIONS If you choose to use this option then a trivia question will be asked during the seventh inning stretch.

DISPLAY NEWSWORTHY EVENTS This option, used in conjunction with pre-swing play-by-play, will allow the announcer to discuss real-life newsworthy events.  For instance while playing a game during the summer of 1996 in Atlanta the announcer is likely to bring up some real-to-life event that happened during the Olympics on that day in history.

PLAY-BY-PLAY TEST MODE This option will display the file from which the play-by-play is coming and the category and line number.

SAVE PLAY-BY-PLAY TO FILE If you select this option all play-by-play that scrolls by during the game will be saved to a text file.  The files name depends on whether or not this is a league game.  If it's a league game the files name will include the game number to help you identify it.  Warning: this option can chew up a large amount of disk space if it is used all the time.


PLAY-BY-PLAY LEVEL
PLAY-BY-PLAY LEVEL (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

This option determines how detailed your text play-by-play will appear on your game screen after a play result.  It can range from a basic result to a detailed radio-like play-by-play.

NO PLAY-BY-PLAY Selecting this option will just give you a basic play result such as "Double."  This is the lowest level of play-by-play script.

MINIMAL PLAY-BY-PLAY This option slightly expands the play-by-play script level.  For example, a double might read, "There's a drive into the gap for extra bases, that's a Double."

NORMAL PLAY-BY-PLAY Similar to the minimal level of the play-by-play, this will expand further on the play-by-play and give it a more realistic and detailed description of the play result.

DETAILED PLAY-BY-PLAY Selecting this option will give you the most comprehensive play-by-play script available in the game.  While you use this level, your play-by-play will read like you are listening to a radio broadcast of the game.

CREATING YOUR OWN PLAY-BY-PLAY Yes, our play-by-play anticipates nearly everything, but maybe you have some ideas of your own for play-by-play.  You can create your own play-by-play by editing "pbp.txt" that was installed in your Data folder (directory).  Be sure to use an ASCII text editor.


BASE DELAYS
BASE DELAYS (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

These delay options control the speed of graphics and text scrolling on the game screen.

FLIGHT OF BALL ANIMATION SPEED The flight of the ball animation speed has been fixed.  On the Game Preferences Dialog  the "Base Delay for Animation" has been replaced with the "Flight of Ball Animation Speed".  IMPORTANT: The range for this delay is 0 to 99, with 0 being the fastest and 99  being slowest.  This setting has much finer control than in previous versions.  The default for this setting is 50.

PLAY BY PLAY SPEED The "Base Delay for Play-By-Play" setting has been renamed in the new version to "Play by Play Speed".  IMPORTANT: The range for this delay is 0 to 99, with 0 being the fastest and 99  being slowest.


GAME SCREEN LAYOUT OPTIONS
DISPLAY OPTIONS (Located in the Options/Game Screen Layout)

These options allow you to customize your game by selecting which information boxes will appear on the game screen.

MATCHUP BOX Please see Matchup Box for a complete description of this feature.

ACTUAL STATS This information box will display the real-life statistics of the batter and pitcher on the game screen.

REPLAY STATS This option will display any statistics for the batter and pitcher that have been used during league play.  The replay statistics will appear below the actual statistics if you have that information box turned on.

GAME STATS This option will display the current game stats for the current batter and pitcher.

BUTTONS - BUTTON PALETTE This information box shows icons which can be clicked to select game functions.  The functions are swing away, hold runner, position defense, intentional walk, steal, hit-and-run, bunt, squeeze play, visitor bench, home bench, and check information.  The palette can be moved by clicking on the black square and dragging the entire palette to the desired location on the screen.  Click here for a description of each of the buttons on the palette.

PIE CHART This information box will display a colorful pie chart which will graphically show you the chances for a batter to get on base, hit a home run, or make an out against the pitcher who is in the game.  This display will change with a change in the batter-pitcher matchup.  The chart is color coded with the following colors:

Green = chance to get on base

Red = chance to make an out

Blue = chance to hit a home run

PLAYER PICS (BATTER & PITCHER PICS) If you've added pictures to the Players folder for batters and pitchers and you wish to view these pictures during gameplay then select this item.  Please see Player Pictures for more information.

NAMES This displays the player names and information that by default appears underneath the player pictures.  For the pitcher this includes pitch count information,  throws (Right or Left), and Balance rating.  For the batter this includes Bunting, Hit&Run and Power ratings.  Also included besides names is additional information such as "Infield In".

DICETXT This displays miscellaneous dice information that by default appears underneath the dice.  For example, the best column information is displayed by this option.

CARDS If you have purchased the Card Image Option then this displays the player cards on the screen.

BOX OFFENSIVE  When this option is selected the offensive player's name will appear inside a black box on the screen.  This may make it easier to read the player's name and the data that appears below it.

BOX DEFENSIVE  When this option is selected the defensive player's name will appear inside a black box on the screen.  This may make it easier to read the player's name and the data that appears below it.  Next to the pitcher an additional area will be blackened out to display status information, such as "Corners In".

PARK INFO This option will display the ballpark and/or weather information on the field. See Update Ballpark Information for more details about ballpark information.


COMPUTER MANAGER
COMPUTER MANAGER (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

This option allows you to select whether the visitor or home team will be run by the computer manager.

VISITING TEAM MANAGED BY COMPUTER This option allow you to use the computer manager to run the visiting team.

HOME TEAM MANAGED BY COMPUTER This option allows you to use the computer manager to run the home team.


FIELD
FIELD (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog, during game only)

This option will show you the file number of the ballpark picture being used.  You may substitute the background picture by simply typing in a new field number.  This option will only appear in the Game Preferences screen during a game.


FANS
FANS (Located in the Options/Sound dialog)

This option screen allows you to select how your hear the digitized sound effect for the crowd.

NO CROWD NOISE Selecting this option will completely shut off the use of the crowd noise in the game.

CROWD NOISE AFTER AT-BATS Selecting this option will only play the crowd noise after an at-bat.

CROWD NOISE ALWAYS Selecting this option will play the crowd noise in the background of the game all the time.


OTHER SOUNDS
OTHER SOUNDS (Located in the Options/Sound dialog)

This option screen allows you to select if you hear music and other digitized sound effects.

MUSIC SELECTIONS Selecting this option will play music such as the National Anthem and the 7th Inning Stretch.

DICE AND CARD SOUNDS Selecting this option will play sound effects of dice rolling and split cards being picked.  These sounds will only play if you are using Dice Mode.

CRACK OF BAT SOUND Selecting this option will play a sound of a bat hitting a baseball every time the ball is hit by the digitized batter in the game.

HOME RUN SOUND Selecting this option will play a digitized play-by-play call of a home team home run.

VENDOR SOUNDS Selecting this option will occasionally play a digitized sound of a vendor screaming in the background.


OUTPUT-WHEN
OUTPUT-WHEN (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog)

This option allows you to select when to save box scores, scoresheets, and play accounts for games that are autoplayed.

NEVER Selecting this option will not save any box scores, scoresheets, or play account files from games that are autoplayed.

ONLY FOR EVENT Selecting this option will only save box scores, scoresheets, and play account files from games that are autoplayed if they qualify under a certain event that is selected in the Events Option screen.  For example, if you only want box scores saved if a no hitter is thrown, you can do that by selecting this option.

ALWAYS Selecting this option will save box scores, scoresheets, and play account files for all game that are autoplayed.


OUTPUT-WHERE
OUTPUT-WHERE (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog)

This option will allow you to select where you want to print box scores, scoresheets, and play account files of games that have been autoplayed.

SAVE TO FILE Selecting this option will save box scores, scoresheets, and play-by-play files to your hard drive.  Box scores with scoresheets usually take up between 4,000 and 10,000 bytes of space each.  Play account files take up between 5,000 and 15,000 bytes of space each.

PRINTER Selecting this option will print up all box scores, scoresheets, and play account files on your printer.  Remember to turn your printer on before beginning your autoplay games.


OUTPUT-WHAT
OUTPUT-WHAT (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog)

This option allows you to select which ouput files you want to save from games that are autoplayed.  You can choose between a combination of box scores, scoresheets, and play account files.  Scoresheets cannot be saved without box scores because part of the information necessary to understand the scoresheet is located on the box score.


MINOR LEAGUES
MINOR LEAGUES (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

This options allows you to define how players defined as minor leaguers will be used during games that are autoplayed.  Minor Leaguers are defined on the Eligible Players screen.

MINOR LEAGUERS - ELIGIBLE This option will allow the computer manager to make a minor leaguer eligible to play in an autoplay game.  Using this option will give you the best player usage over the course of a season because the computer manager always has the ability to use any player on the roster.

MINOR LEAGUERS - 40/25 METHOD This option allows minor leaguers to become eligible under certain circumstances.  Before  September 1st the roster is limited to 25 eligible players (the others are kept in the  minor leagues).  On September 1st of your schedule the team rosters expand from 25 eligible players to 40 eligible players.  Using this option is realistic because it limits your roster sizes to the Major League limits.

If you use injuries (see Injuries and Force Daily Injuries) then using the 40/25 method will work nicely because it will automatically promote minor leaguers to fill in for your injured players.

MINOR LEAGUERS - INELIGIBLE This option will prevent the computer manager from making a minor league player eligible to play in an autoplay game.


VISITOR AND HOME TEAM LINEUPS
VISITOR AND HOME TEAM LINEUPS  (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

This option determines how preset lineups will be chosen by the computer manager.

PRIMARY WITH REST This option will select the primary preset lineup (Preset 1 against lefty starters and Preset 2 against righty starters), and will occasionally rest players in that lineup when they are being overused.  Using this option with Injuries on will give you the most realistic player usage.

PRIMARY Using this option will work the same as Primary with Rest with the difference being that the computer manager will not rest players from the Preset lineups when they are being overused.

SECONDARY This option allows you to use alternate lineups which can be defined by using Preset lineups 3 and 4.  Preset 3 is the secondary lineup vs. lefty starters and Preset 4 is the secondary lineup vs. righty starters.

AUTOMATIC LINEUPS This feature requires particular steps to be followed before it can be used.  See  Automatic Lineups for more information on using this feature.

MANUAL MODE This option will stop before every game that is played to allow you to set your own lineups.  When using this option you must be at the computer when automatic games are being played, but it will allow you complete control over selecting the starting lineups.

DRAFT LEAGUE MODE WITH REST This option is similar to Primary With Rest except it will select preset lineup #3 against reverse lefties and preset lineup #4 against reverse righties.  A reverse pitcher is one who does better against batters who bat from the opposite side of the plate.  For example, a left-handed pitcher who is tougher on right-handed batters.  This mode will continue to use preset lineups #1 and #2 against normal pitchers, just like Primary With Rest does.

DRAFT LEAGUE MODE NO REST This option is the same as Draft League Mode With Rest except it does not rest any players in the preset starting lineups.


VIEW SCORES DURING AUTOPLAY
VIEW SCORES DURING AUTOPLAY (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog)

Using this option will display scores of games during autoplay.  If you do not wish to see the scores as the games are played then you should not use this option.

If you are going to use the Out-Of-Town Scoreboard feature we recommend that you turn this option off so that scores are not displayed during autoplay.


CREATE GAME RESULT FILES
CREATE GAME RESULT FILES (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog)

By checking this option "game result files" will be saved for every league game that you play.  These game stats are saved  in the Export directory on your hard drive.

This item should be checked if you participate in a play-by-mail league.  Every month your commissioner will request that you send him all of the  game result files in your export directory.

He will then take them and copy them to his import directory  and he will run the Import Game Results function to add your stats into the league totals.

You may find out more by referring to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.

Even if you are not a member of a play-by-mail league you may wish to use game files because in the event your league statistics ever get destroyed (for example, you have a problem with your hard-drive) you can use the Rebuild league from gamefiles function to rebuild your league statistics.


SUBSETS
SUBSETS (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog, also available at end of games)

There are two different types of subset stats available in CD-ROM baseball.  The first is "Manual Subsets" (numbered 1 through 9).  The second is "Automatic Subsets" which can be used to automatically keep track of additional statistical breakdowns, such as Day vs. Night stats.

You can use "Manual Subsets" to define your own subset of statistics.  Manual subsets may only be used when you manually play the game.  You may define up to nine different manual subsets.  When you choose to use them the game will keep a completely separate copy of the stats that will include totals from games that you have added to that subset. For example, you can setup a manual subset to keep track of statistics for all games that you win and another for all games that you lose.  At the end of each game you'll need to check the appropriate manual subset check-box (depending on whether you won or lost).  Manual subsets may also be used in certain play-by-mail leagues.  For more information on using manual subsets in this way please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.

The following Automatic Subsets are available:  Team vs. Team, Day vs. Night, Home vs. Road, By Month.  By checking one of these boxes the extended stat mode will automatically maintain a database of the requested statistics for every team in your league.  After playing a league game you can view these statistics by selecting the "Team Stats" item on the "Statistics" menu.

Using Automatic Subsets will consume more hard drive space but most of our user feel the trade-off is definitely worth it.

Both Automatic and Manual subset files are stored in the Subset folder of the game.  You can Identify Manual subsets because they have a ".SS" extension name whereas Automatic subsets have a ".X" extension name.

If you wish to use the Player Detail Reports or Team Detail Reports then we highly recommend you use all of the automatic subsets.


DUPLICATE LEAGUE
DUPLICATE LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

The function allows you to duplicate a league that already is installed in your game.  This is helpful when you would like to create a draft league by releasing all the players and redrafting them.  By duplicating the league you will not damage the league that contains the player pool you wish to draft from.

WARNING -- Do not use this function to copy over a league with statistics that you wish to save because this function will restart a league when it duplicates it.   Instead follow the directions describing how you Continue A League.

Note: If you own 3.5" season roster diskettes you can use this function to install them.  Strat-O-Matic no longer sells 3.5" roster diskettes -- instead we now deliver all rosters on the CD-ROM and use the Authorization System to unlock them.


MERGE EXTRA PLAYERS
MERGE EXTRA PLAYERS (Located in the League menu)

The Merge Extra Players function is accessed from the League menu.  This function will allow you to merge the computer only extra players from their XA or XN extra leagues into the American or National Leagues.

Before selecting this function from the menu highlight the league which you wish to merge extras into.

This is not a "general purpose" merge function.  For instance, it cannot be used to merge players from the AL into the NL (you can copy the teams if you wish to do that).  Its  only purpose is to merge the XA or XN extra players onto their respective teams.


GENERATE COMPUTER MANAGER
GENERATE COMPUTER MANAGER (Located in the Team menu)

This function will automatically generate the computer manager settings for a team.  The only option you must manually choose is whether to use a designated hitter or not.


GIVE TEAM A DAY OFF
GIVE TEAM A DAY OFF (Located in the Team menu)

This function can be used to give a team a day's rest.  A day off will come in handy when you have players who are injured or pitchers who are tired from being  overpitched.  You may select from between 1 and 5 days of rest.  You can also select 15 days rest, which clears out all fields including all injuries.  During the playoffs you may wish to use this function to provide proper rest.


RELEASE PLAYERS
RELEASE PLAYERS (Located in the Team menu)

This function will allow you to release all the players on a given team to free agency at once.


RELIEF USAGE

To determine Using Relief settings divide Saves/Wins and refer to the chart below:

SAVES/WINS SETTING       COMMENTS

.000-.275  EXTRA CONSERV Pre-WWII, maximize cg's, no

                         closer

.276-.350  CONSERVATIVE  1940's-1960's, many cg's, may use

                         closer

.351-.450  NORMAL        1950's-1970's, balance cg's and

                         closer

.451-.575  AGGRESSIVE    1960's-1990's, emphasize closer,

                         few cg's

.576 +     VERY AGGRESS  1980's-1990's, heavy emphasis on

                         closer

CG's refer to complete games.


INTENTIONAL WALKS

Intentional walks are a relative setting.  To get an idea of what the setting should be refer to the table below.

TEAM IBB ISSUED  SETTING

     0-25       EXTRA CONSERVATIVE

     26-39      CONSERVATIVE

     40-64      NORMAL

     65-79      AGGRESSIVE

     80+        VERY AGGRESSIVE


BALLPARK CODES

Ballpark City Ballpark Name          Ballpark Code

Anaheim       Edison Field (2000)       70

Anaheim       Edison Field (1997)       60

Baltimore     Camden Yards               1

Boston        Fenway Park                4

California    Anaheim Stadium            3

Chicago       New Comiskey Park          7

Cleveland     Jacob's Field             11

Detroit       Comerica (2000)           69

Detroit       Tiger Stadium             14

Kansas City   Kauffman Stadium          15

Milwaukee     County Stadium            17

Milwaukee     Miller Park (2001)        74

Minnesota     Metrodome                 19

New York      Yankee Stadium             0

Oakland       UMAX Coliseum (1997)      62

Oakland       Oakland Coliseum          10

Seattle       Safeco (2000)             73

Seattle       Kingdome                  23

Tampa Bay     Tropicana Field (1998)    68

Texas         The Ballpark at Arlington 24

Toronto       Skydome                   25

Arizona       Bank One Ballpark (1998)  67

Atlanta       Fulton County              5

Atlanta       Turner Field (1997)       63

Chicago       Wrigley Field              8

Cincinnati    Cinergy Field              6

Cincinnati    Great American BP (2003)  76

Colorado      Coors Field               27

Florida       Pro Player Stadium        26

Houston       Enron (2000)              71

Houston       Astrodome                  2

Los Angeles   Dodger Stadium            12

Montreal      Olympic Stadium           13

New York      Shea Stadium              16

Philadelphia  Veteran's Stadium         18

Philadelphia  Citizens Bank Park (2004) 77

Pittsburgh    Three Rivers Stadium      20

Pittsburgh    PNC Park (2001)           75

St. Louis     Busch Stadium (2006)      91

St. Louis     Busch Stadium (1997)      61

St. Louis     Busch Stadium             21

San Diego     Jack Murphy Stadium       22

San Diego     Qualcomm Stadium          64

San Diego     PETCO Stadium (2004)      78

San Francisco Pac Bell (2000)           72

San Francisco 3-Com Park                 9

Washington    RFK Stadium               79

Washington    Nationals Park (2008)     80

Also see Oldtime Ballpark Codes.


OLD BALLPARK CODES

Ballpark City Ballpark Name          Ballpark Code

Baltimore     Memorial Stadium          31

Boston        Fenway Park               32

Chicago       Old Comiskey Park         33

Cleveland     League Park               34

Kansas City   Municipal Stadium         35

Los Angeles   Wrigley Field             36

Minnesota     Metropolitan Stadium      37

New York      Yankee Stadium            38

Philadelphia  Shibe Park                39

St. Louis     Sportsman's Park          40

Seattle       Sicks Stadium             41

Toronto       Exhibition Stadium        42

Washington    Griffith Stadium          43

Washington    RFK Stadium               44

Boston        Brave's Field             45

Brooklyn      Ebbett's Field            46

Cincinnati    Crosley Field             47

Houston       Colt Stadium              48

Los Angeles   Memorial Coliseum         49

Montreal      Jarry Park                50

New York      Polo Grounds              51

Philadelphia  Baker Bowl                52

Pittsburgh    Forbes Field              53

San Francisco Seals Stadium             54

Cleveland     Municipal Stadium         55

Texas         Arlington Stadium         56

Colorado      Mile High Stadium         57

Also see Ballpark Codes.


RECOMMEND
RECOMMEND (Located in the Player menu)

If you are unfamiliar with Draft-O-Matic then click here for an explanation.

Draft-O-Matic will recommend a player for any team you request.  Simply highlight the team with the mouse and then select one of the "Recommend" items from the Player menu.  The team you have selected turns red and then the player that Draft-O-Matic recommends becomes highlighted (sometimes it takes a little while for this to occur because Draft-O-Matic must make many calculations before deciding on a player).

If you wish to accept the suggested player simply drag him to the team that is highlighted in red.  Or you can select the Draft Selection menu item from the Player menu.


DELETE REPORT
DELETE REPORT (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will allow you to delete a report file that either you have created or one of the default report files that come with the game.


SYNCHRONIZE STAT FILES
SYNCHRONIZE STAT FILES (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function can be used to synchronize your stats and rosters after files have been moved from one machine to another.  The function inserts player names from the rosters into the stats files for every team in the league.  Any player found on the team roster who is not in the stats file will be added to the stats file with his statistics set to 0.

This function should be used by league commissioners in play-by-mail leagues before importing game result files for the first time.

If after running this function you find there are still problems with individual players  "multi-team" statistics you can use the Update Multi-Team Players function to correct them.


EXPORT PLAYER STATS TO TEXT FILE
EXPORT PLAYER STATS TO TEXT FILE(Located in the Statistics menu)

This function lets you export your player statistics to an ASCII, comma delimited file.  The resulting files (one for batters and another for pitchers) can be imported into most spread sheet and database programs.  This allows you to take statistics and manipulate them any way you choose. You will find these files in the Export directory.  The files are given the league name followed by ".ex1" for batters' stats and ".ex2" for pitchers' stats.


SUPPLEMENTARY STEAL RATINGS

ENTERING SUPPLEMENTARY STEAL RATINGS When updating player cards one of the screens you will see will allow for the update of supplementary steal ratings. This section will explain how you should enter these ratings.

The supplementary steal ratings appear on the batters cards after the normal steal ratings. The ratings consists of the following parts: The * (not all players have one), the good lead range, the automatic out range, and the safe ranges (located in parenthesis).

For example the rating "*2-11/- (15-13)" would contain the following parts:

The "*" rating (which indicates that this runner is a better than average base-stealer), a good lead range of "2-11," an automatic out range of "-" (the dash indicates there is no automatic out range), and safe ranges which are "15" and "13."  If we were to enter this sample rating it would look as follows on screen:

Sup Steal *           Y

1st Sup Steal #P     15

2nd Sup Steal #P     13

SUP STEAL: L=LEAD O=OUT

Roll 2     L

Roll 3     L

Roll 4     L

Roll 5     L

Roll 6     L

Roll 7     L

Roll 8     L

Roll 9     L

Roll 10    L

Roll 11    L

Roll 12

The "*" rating is located as a Y after the heading "SUP-STEAL(Y/N)," the good lead range is indicated by a series of X's located under the numbers 2 through 11, there is no automatic out range, and the safe range numbers are entered after the heading "SAFE RANGE."

Another example follows which illustrates a supplementary steal rating with no "*" rating, which also has an automatic out range.

Sup Steal *          N

1st Sup Steal #P    13

2nd Sup Steal #P     6

SUP STEAL: L=LEAD O=OUT

Roll 2

Roll 3

Roll 4     L

Roll 5

Roll 6     L

Roll 7

Roll 8

Roll 9

Roll 10

Roll 11

Roll 12    O

The above example represents a supplementary steal rating of "4,6/12 (13-6)."


ABBREVIATIONS

Teams have three distinct names in Strat-O-Matic baseball. There is the city the team plays in, the team nickname and the team code.  The city needs no explanation. The list below shows the cities for past and current major league teams.

AMERICAN LEAGUE ABBREVIATIONS

CITY           NICKNAME  CODE

Anaheim        Ana-AL    ANA

Baltimore      Bal-AL    BAA

Boston         Bos-AL    BOA

California     Cal-AL    CAA

Chicago        Chi-AL    CHA

Cleveland      Clev-AL   CLA

Detroit        Det-AL    DEA

Kansas City    KC-AL     KCA

Los Angeles    LA-AL     LAA

Milwaukee      Mil-AL    MLA

Minnesota      Min-AL    MNA

New York       NY-AL     NYA

Oakland        Oak-AL    OAA

Philadelphia   Phil-AL   PHA

St. Louis      Stl-AL    SLA

Seattle        Sea-AL    SEA

Tampa Bay      TB-AL     TBA

Texas          Tex-AL    TEA

Toronto        Tor-AL    TOA

Washington     Wash-AL   WAA

NATIONAL LEAGUE ABBREVIATIONS

CITY           NICKNAME  CODE

Arizona        Arz-NL    ARN

Atlanta        Atl-NL    ATN

Boston         Bos-NL    BON

Brooklyn       Brk-NL    BRN

Chicago        Chi-NL    CHN

Cincinnati     Cin-NL    CIN

Colorado       Col-NL    CON

Florida        Fla-NL    FLN

Houston        Hous-NL   HON

Los Angeles    LA-NL     LAN

Milwaukee      Mil-NL    MLN

Montreal       Mon-NL    MON

New York       NY-NL     NYN

Philadelphia   Phil-NL   PHN

Pittsburgh     Pit-NL    PIN

St. Louis      Stl-NL    SLN

San Diego      SD-NL     SDN

San Francisco  SF-NL     SFN


STATISTICAL REPORT INFORMATION

PRIMARY PLAYER STATISTICS - BATTERS

BAVG      BATTING AVERAGE

GM        GAMES PLAYED

AB        AT BATS

R         RUNS

H         HITS

2B        DOUBLES

3B        TRIPLES

HR        HOME RUNS

RBI       RUNS BATTED IN

BB        WALKS

SO        STRIKEOUTS

HB        HIT BY PITCH

SH        SACRIFICE HITS

DP        GROUNDED INTO DOUBLE PLAYS

SB        STOLEN BASES

CS        CAUGHT SEALING

E         ERRORS

PRIMARY PLAYER STATISTICS - PITCHERS

ERA       EARNED RUN AVERAGE

W         WINS

L         LOSSES

PCT       WINNING PERCENTAGE

G         GAMES PITCHED

GS        GAMES STARTED

CG        COMPLETE GAMES

SH        SHUTOUTS

SV        SAVES

IP        INNINGS PITCHED

H         HITS ALLOWED

R         RUNS

ER        EARNED RUNS

HR        HOME RUNS ALLOWED

BB        WALKS

SO        STRIKEOUTS

SECONDARY PLAYER STATISTICS - BATTERS

PA        PLATE APPEARANCES

HR-HM-RD  TOTAL HOME RUNS, HR'S AT HOME, HR'S ON ROAD

IBB       INTENTIONAL WALKS

SF        SACRIFICE FLIES

SAC       SACRIFICE BUNTS

SAT       SACRIFICE BUNT ATTEMPTS

SAC%      PERCENTAGE OF SUCCESSFUL SACRIFICE BUNTS

GS        GRAND SLAMS

STREAK    CURRENT HITTING STREAK, LONGEST HITTING STREAK

PINCH     PINCH HIT BATTING AVERAGE

PAB       PINCH HIT AT BATS

PH        PINCH HITS

PHR       PINCH HIT HOME RUNS

SECONDARY PLAYER STATISTICS - PITCHERS

TBF       TOTAL BATTERS FACED

HRA-HM-RD TOTAL HR'S ALLOWED, HR'S HOME, HR'S AWAY

IBB       INTENTIONAL WALKS

GF        GAMES FINISHED

SV        SAVES

OPP       SAVE OPPORTUNITIES

SAVE%     SAVE PERCENTAGE

HIT->     PITCHER'S HITTING STATS FOLLOW

BAVG      PITCHER'S BATTING AVERAGE

AB        PITCHER'S AT BATS

HIT       PITCHER'S HITS

HR        PITCHER'S HOME RUNS

SAC       PITCHER'S SACRIFICE BUNTS

LEFTY/RIGHTY BREAKDOWN - BATTERS

BAVG      BATTING AVERAGE VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

SLUG      SLUGGING AVERAGE VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

AB        AT BATS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

HR        HOME RUNS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

BB        WALKS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

SO        STRIKEOUTS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS

LEFTY/RIGHTY BREAKDOWN - PITCHERS

OPPAV     OPPONENTS BATTING AVG VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

TBF       TOTAL BATTERS FACED VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

H         HITS ALLOWED VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

HR        HOME RUNS ALLOWED VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

BB        WALKS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

SO        STRIKEOUTS VS. LEFT/RIGHT-HANDED BATTERS

MISC/SABERMETRIC STATISTICS - BATTER

OB%       ON BASE PERCENTAGE

SLUG      SLUGGING AVERAGE

SB%       STOLEN BASE PERCENTAGE

RC        RUNS CREATED as defined by Bill James

RC/27     RUNS CREATED PER 27 OUTS as defined by Bill James

TOTAVG    TOTAL AVERAGE as defined by Tom Boswell

PROD      PRODUCTIVITY RATING  On base % + Slug Average

ISOPW     ISOLATED POWER (Total bases - hits) / at bats

TB        TOTAL BASES

AB/HR     AT BATS PER HOME RUN

MISC/SABERMETRIC STATISTICS - PITCHERS

OPPAV     OPPONENT BATTING AVERAGE

H/9       HITS PER 9 INNINGS PITCHED

BB/9      WALKS PER 9 INNINGS PITCHED

SO/9      STRIKEOUTS PER 9 INNINGS PITCHED

HR/9      HOME RUNS PER 9 INNINGS PITCHED

RNSUP     AVERAGE RUNS SCORED FOR A STARTER BY HIS TEAM

IR        INHERITED RUNNERS

ISP       INHERITED RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION

IRS       INHERITED RUNNERS THAT SCORED

IRSC%     PERCENTAGE OF INHERITED RUNNERS THAT SCORED

SO/BB     STRIKEOUT TO WALK RATIO

FIELDING STATISTICS

PCT*      PERCENTAGE OF DIFFICULT PLAYS TURNED INTO OUTS

TOT*      TOTAL DIFFICULT PLAYS

OUT*      DIFFICULT PLAY TURNED INTO OUTS

* These totals print for both the player's primary fielding position and for his overall totals at all positions

ERR       ERRORS MADE

OSB%      OPPONENT STOLEN BASE PERCENTAGE

OSB       OPPONENT STOLEN BASES

OCS       OPPONENT CAUGHT STEALING

BK        BALKS

WP        WILD PITCHES

PB        PASSED BALLS

BADT      BAD THROWS BY CATCHERS ON STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS

STATUS  PLAYER'S STATUS:

INJ# -  This player is injured for # more games.

#/# -   The first number indicates the number of consecutive

        games this pitcher has appeared in.  The second number

        indicates the number of days rest this pitcher needs

        before he is eligible to start a game.

LEADER QUALIFICATIONS In order to be listed in the league leaders report a player must meet the following qualifying amounts.

Batting Leader Categories

QUALIFYING AMOUNT   CATEGORIES

3.1 PA/162 GAMES    Batting average, slugging average, on base pct, runscreate/27 outs, total avg

100 AB/162 GAMES    Batting average vs. left

250 AB/162 GAMES    Batting average vs. right

15 TRIES/162 GAMES  Opponents' stolen base pct

20 TRIES/162 GAMES  Stolen base pct, pinch hit batting average

33 TRIES/162 GAMES  1B X-PCT, OUTFIELD X-PCT, CATCHER X-PCT

49 TRIES/162 GAMES  3B X-PCT

98 TRIES/162 GAMES  2B X-PCT

114 TRIES/162 GAMES SS X-PCT

Pitching Leader Categories

QUALIFYING AMOUNT   CATEGORIES

1 IP/GAME           ERA, Pitcher X-PCT, hits/9 innings,

                    bb/9 innings, Ks/9 innings, HRs/9 innings,

                    opponent bat avg, left opp bat avg, right

                    opp bat avg, run support, K/BB ratio

15 DEC/162 GAMES    Winning pct

15 OPP/162 GAMES    Save pct

20 ATT/162 GAMES    Opponent SB pct, pitcher's bat avg

30 IR/162 GAMES     Inherited Score


OPEN GAME
OPEN GAME (Located in the File menu)

This function will allow you to open a previously saved game.  When you select this option you will bring up the Select game to open screen which will allow you to select the save game file you want.  Save game files are located in the main game directory and have the file extension ".sav".


CLOSE
CLOSE (Located in the File menu)

Closing the game will end the game and return you to the Manager screen.  Before ending the game you will be given the opportunity to save it.


SAVE GAME
SAVE GAME (Located in the File menu)

This Function in found in the "File" menu and will allow you to save the game you are currently playing so that you can finish it at another time. You can name your save game file up to 8 characters with the file extension ".sav".  For example, you can name a saved game "vsboston.sav".

If you are playing a league game then this function will automatically save the game under the name of the league (for example, "1996nl.sav").


SAVE GAME AS
SAVE GAME AS (Located in the File menu)

This Function will allow you to save the game you are currently playing so that you can finish it at another time.  You can name your save game file up to 8 characters with the file extension ".sav".  For example, you can name a saved game "vsboston.sav".


PRINT TO FILE
PRINT TO FILE (Located in the File menu)

This function will allow you to save any screen report to a file rather than printing it on a printer.  When you select to print to a file you will be prompted for the name of the output file.  Then a PRT format file is created.

The PRT format is simply an ASCII text file with simple formatting commands at the beginning of certain lines.  As an example, the characters "[1]" at the beginning of a line are headings.


UNDO LAST PLAY
UNDO LAST PLAY (Located in the Edit menu)

This option will delete back to before the start of the previous play result.  All substitutions made after the play will also be deleted.  This option can come in handy if you have accidentally used the swing function before making a strategic move.  For example, you did not realize that the pitcher was at bat and you accidentally used the swing function before you could pinch-hit for him.  NOTE: This option is not available if the league is locked.


QUICK PLAY
QUICK PLAY (Located in the Game menu)

This option will allow the computer manager to take over for both teams and play up until a specified inning or until after the game is over.


OFFENSE COLOR
OFFENSE COLOR (Located in the Game Screen Layout)

This option will allow you to change the color of the text of the names of the offensive players at bat or on the bases. This option is only available during a game.


DEFENSE COLOR
DEFENSE COLOR (Located in the Game Screen Layout)

This option will allow you to change the color of the text of the names of the defensive players as they appear in the field.  This can be helpful because some colors appear more legible on a specific stadium background picture.  This option is only available during a game.


Draft Selection
DRAFT SELECTION (Located in the Player menu)

If you are unfamiliar with Draft-O-Matic then click here for an explanation.

After Draft-O-Matic has recommended a player you can accept the recommendation by choosing Draft Selection from the Player menu.


DRAFT BEST PLAYER
DRAFT BEST PLAYER (Located in the Player menu)

If you are unfamiliar with Draft-O-Matic then click here for an explanation.

This function invokes Draft-O-Matic, which will determine the best available player in the free-agent pool for the currently selected team.  It will automatically draft this player onto the selected team.

If you would first like to see which player Draft-O-Matic deems the best you can use the recommend function.


SKIP THIS TEAM
SKIP THIS TEAM (Located in the Player menu)

This function is only active during when you are in "Auto Draft Mode."  Please see the Draft-O-Matic topic to find out more about "Auto Draft Mode."


DRAG AND DROP

Drag and drop allows you to easily move players and teams and other items between locations.

For instance, to trade a player simply position the mouse cursor over him and click the mouse (hold the mouse button down, and do not release it until you are ready to drop the player on his new team).  The mouse cursor will now change to a cursor that looks like a player.  Now, while still depressing the mouse button, move the mouse cursor over the team you wish to trade the player to.  This team will be highlighted (a rectangle around the team indicates it is highlighted).   At this point release the mouse button and the player is automatically traded to his new team!

Teams can be dragged to new leagues just as easily.  And there are many other areas in the game where you can drag and drop things.

You can also select multiple items and then drag and drop them all simultaneously.


PLAYOFFS

When playoff time rolls around, you must decide if you wish to maintain the playoff stats separately or as part of your regular season stats.

The Give Team A Day Off function can be used to give a team the appropriate amount of rest before a playoff series begins, if you wish to have the playoff stats added to your regular season stats.

Alternatively you could create a Playoff League and copy the teams involved in the playoffs to this new league.  One advantage of using this approach is that the playoff and regular season stats are separated.  We highly recommend this method for your playoff games.


OPTION
OPTIONS

Using the options choice on the menu bar at the top of your screen will allow you to select a number of different settings that will affect the play of the game.  Please see Recommended Settings if you are new to Strat-O-Matic computer baseball.  The following selections are available under Options:

Game Rules

Lineups And Usage

Game Preferences

Offense Color

Defense Color

Play By Play Color

Play By Play Background

Dice/Cards/Splits Options

Sound Options

Autoplay/Boxscore Options

Event Options

Leaders

Miscellaneous

Game Screen Layout


DRAFT-O-MATIC DESCRIPTION

Draft-O-Matic is our computerized drafting program.  With this feature you can have a draft league with as little as one human participant.  This opens up the great world of draft-league play to many people who, due to time considerations, cannot participate in a normal draft league. Draft-O-Matic may be used for a host of other applications, as well.  Some other things you can use it for include:

- Practice for an upcoming draft in your draft league.

- Use it during your league's actual draft (after you're finished you'll be ready to play right away!).

- Use it to fill in for someone who can't attend the draft.

- If a small group of gamers get together and wish to form a draft league, but don't want to play with "All-Star" teams, Draft-O-Matic can be used to dilute the talent by picking players from teams that won't be used in league play.  And there are many other ways you can use it to add to your gaming enjoyment.

In fact, Draft-O-Matic can be considered a game within a game.  You can spend an enjoyable evening by setting up and drafting a league, and then allowing autoplay to play through your schedule to determine if you were able to beat the computer's teams!

After using Draft-O-Matic you can tell the computer to generate computer managers for all the teams in a league.  This is a great timesaver, so as soon as you finish your draft you can start playing games.  Without this feature you would have to manually set all of the computer manager options for all the teams in the league (which you can do, if you wish).

You will probably want to know a little about Draft-O-Matic's drafting strategy.  It will choose a player based on many variables, which include the talent of the remaining players in the free-agent pool, the home ballpark attributes, the "needs" of the team it's drafting for (the best player left in the pool might be a 1st baseman, but if you already have a 1st baseman your need for this player is diminished), the lefty/righty balance of the team so far, etc.  Consequently, there will be many times that Draft-O-Matic will not choose the player that it has identified as the best remaining player.  Instead, it will pick the player it has identified as being the best fit for the team.

Before you enter Draft-O-Matic you should release all the players who are to be drafted to the free-agent pool.  Then select Draft-O-Matic from the Player menu (when viewing the Manager window, click on "Player" on the menubar that's across the top of the screen), and you can start your draft.

Draft-O-Matic will give you the choice of drafting manually for all teams ("All Manual"), of having the computer manager do all the drafting for you ("All Auto"), or of drafting for some teams yourself, while the computer drafts for the others (there is a list of teams in the left column:  just click on the parentheses to toggle between "Auto" and "Manual" for each team).

Draft-O-Matic gives you three choices for determining the order in which teams will draft:

Straight

Serpentine

Auto Level

"Straight" means that the teams will draft in exactly the same order through every round of the draft.

"Serpentine" means that the order of the draft will wind up and down through the rounds, reversing the order from round to round:  The team that drafted first in the first round will draft last in the second and then first again in the third, and so on.

"Auto Level" is a special feature of Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball, and it can be a good deal of fun to use.  Before the start of each round, the computer determines which teams have the best lineups, and which have the worst lineups.  It then creates an order of teams for the round that has the worst team draft first, the second-worst team second, and so on down to the best team.  Thus the order of the draft can change completely from one round to the next, depending on who has had the best draft so far.  Not only does this feature help to create a well-balanced league, it helps you to see how well your draft is going from round to round.  If you want to see how strong your drafting skills are, Auto Level will help you to find out.


BALANCE RATING

The balance rating tells you the lefty/righty balance of the batters and pitchers.  The balance rating has two components, a number from 1 to 9 and a letter ("L," "R," or "E").

The letter indicates the types of opponents he is stronger against.  An "L" indicates he is stronger against opposing lefties.   An "R" indicates he is stronger against opposing righties.  And an "E" indicates he is about even against lefties and righties.

The number shown is on a 1 to 9 scale with a 1 being just a little bit stronger, and a 9 being tremendously stronger.

Take for example a batter whose balance rating is "1R."  This indicates he is slightly stronger against right-handed pitchers.

A batter rated "5L" would indicate a batter who is significantly better against left-handed pitchers.

A rating of "E" indicates this player has evenly balanced ability vs. left and right-handed pitchers.

A pitcher rated "8R" indicates a pitcher who is much, much stronger against right-handed batters.

When making line-up and substitution decisions, remember that the BAL rating is not as important as the player's primary statistics. It should be used as ONE of the factors in making decisions - NOT as the only factor!


SELECT MULTIPLE

To select multiple players, teams, or leagues by using your mouse is very easy.  Simply click on one that you wish to select, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, and click any more players, teams, or leagues that you wish to select.

You can also select multiple items quickly by first selecting one item.  Then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click on another item in the list.  Both items and all items in between will be selected.


TRADE

In order to trade a player from one team to another simply click on the player and drag him to his new team.  If you wish to trade a player from one league to another you would click on the player, select Edit, select Copy, then select the league and team you wish to trade him to.


DRAFT LEAGUE

In order to hold a draft or to redraft the players in a league you must follow a couple of simple steps.  First, you must Create New League. Second, you must copy the players that you wish to draft into your new league.  Third, you must use the Release Players to free agency function.  You are now ready to create your teams and then draft using the Draft-O-Matic function.

WARNING -- When drafting do not use the "computer only" players who are in the "XA" or "XN" leagues.  These players will never be drafted anyway and will cause problems with your draft.

IMPORTANT NOTE: After your draft has been completed you will need to define computer managers for each team, create a schedule and restart the league before beginning league play.


ROOKIES

Since we base our information on statistics from the previous year, there will often be players who are not included on a roster who are now currently playing for a team.  Many players like to make all of the off season moves so that they can play the current year's rosters.  In order to create any rookies who did not play the previous year we recommend using the Create Fringe Player function.  Since you are forecasting what this player might do, this function will help you create a realistic performance for the player.


PLAYER CARDS

Since the computer version of Strat-O-Matic is adapted from the original board game you can still integrate the use of the player cards into the computer game.  The computer game plays independently of the cards, and you do not have to purchase them.  It is however recommended that you use the player cards if you are unfamiliar with the board game, or you want to understand in detail how the internal functions of the game work.


AS PLAYED FEATURE

Many of the seasons have been set up to play the exact real-life season schedule, using the exact lineups for each game, as well as making all the transactions and roster moves as they happened. This feature is available for seasons on the CD marked as "Setup for As Played" or "Updated, As Played". Beginning with Version 10, you can install as played seasons from the CD which are ready to play directly "out-of-the-box."

To use actual lineups for each game you must check the "Automatic Lineups" for both Visiting and Home teams at the Options/Lineups and Usage screen. To use the actual transactions for the season you must check "Automatic Transactions" under the Minor Leaguers section of the same screen. You can use the actual transactions without the actual lineups if you choose. No other steps are necessary. Just start the season!

The as played feature must be selected at the beginning of the season. DO NOT TURN THIS FEATURE ON IN THE MIDDLE OF A YEAR! In addition, you cannot restart an as played season.  Instead, YOU MUST REINSTALL AS-PLAYED SEASONS IF YOU WISH TO START OVER.

NOTE: Make sure that you do not turn Injuries or the Max Rule Daily Injuries on when you are using the As Played feature.  Injuries are not compatible with this feature as injuries are already accounted for in the As Played transaction files.

IMPORTANT - AS OF VERSION 10 YOU NO LONGER NEED TO FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW.  INSTEAD, YOU CAN INSTALL AS-PLAYED SEASONS WHICH ARE SETUP AND READY TO GO DIRECTLY FROM THE CD-ROM.  IF YOU ARE USING VERSIONS 1-9, YOU MUST FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW:

The as played feature is a very good replay tool which will play the exact real-life season schedule, using the exact lineups for each game, as well as making all the transactions and roster moves as they happened.  This feature is only available on the 1994 through current roster disks.

This feature consists of three main components.  First is the rosters that have special "asplayed" files (these files contain the actual schedule, transactions and lineups).  Second is the Automatic Transactions feature which makes all the trades, etc. that occurred in real life.  The final component is the Automatic Lineups feature which  automatically plugs in the actual starting lineups (note: this third component is  optional - you can use the Automatic Transactions without turning on Automatic Lineups).

In order to use this feature you must run a couple of simple steps.  First install a fresh copy of the rosters (do not simply restart a copy of the rosters that are on your hard drive -- this will not work properly).

Then you must run the "as played" command from a DOS prompt.  Assuming the game is installed in the CDROMBB directory of your C: drive type the following:

At the C:> type:

CD\CDROMBB\ROSTERS [press ENTER]

then type:

ASPLAYED 1996NL [press ENTER]

This of course is an example, and you would substitute whichever league you wanted to use.

After this has finished, run the Merge Extra Players function.

After the merge has finished set the following options:

1. Options/Rules: Do not use injuries

2. Options/Lineup&Usage: Automatic Lineups (both teams), Automatic Trans, Try to limit overusage, Give scheduled days off

3. Options/Lineup&Usage: No Auto Swap-O-Matic


PLAY-BY-PLAY

Please refer to the PBP.TXT file which is located on the CD. This file can be printed through any word processor or using Write.  This file has all information regarding editing and creating play-by-play files.


CONTINUE A LEAGUE

You can continue a league from an older version of the program.  Please be sure to heed the warning below!

WARNING: If you are running a play-by-mail league MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT USE CD-ROM BASEBALL FOR LEAGUE GAMES UNLESS YOUR LEAGUE COMMISSIONER HAS ALSO PURCHASED AND INSTALLED CD-ROM BASEBALL!!!

To continue a league that you started in an older version use the league backup/restore facility of the game.  If that does not work then all of the appropriate files from your old ROSTERS and STATS directories to the new ROSTERS and STATS directories that were created when you installed CD-ROM BASEBALL.

For example let's say you wish to copy the 1996 season from an older version of the proram (installed on the C: Drive), to the CD-ROM Baseball game (installed in directory CDROMBB on the D: drive).  Just go to the DOS prompt and type the following:

copy c:\sombb\rosters\1996*.* d:\cdrombb\rosters

copy c:\sombb\stats\1996*.* d:\cdrombb\stats

It is okay to overwrite files of the same name, so if you receive a message regarding this after issuing the copy command, allow it to occur.


FUNNY CHARACTERS

In some past seasojn rosters you will see funny characters displayed where a batter's or pitcher's name is supposed to appear.

This was done due to licensing restrictions.  However you can use the update player screen to enter in the player's real name before starting your league.


WINDOWS

You can temporarily hide the Micrsoft Windows taskbar down to prevent it from cutting of the bottom of your screen.  Simply position the mouse over the top of the taskbar and a two-headed arrow will appear.   Click your mouse and drag downwards until the taskbar moves down.  You can redisplay the taskbar by moving the mouse cursor to the bottom of the screen until a two-headed arrow appears and dragging the taskbar up into its original location.


INTERLEAGUE PLAYERS

NOTE: The following only applies to the 1995 and 1996 season roster disks.  See  Leagues for a further discussion of leagues included on roster disks.

"Interleague players" are those players who have appeared in games in both the American and National leagues.  On our roster disks these players have a record in each league, indicating the actual statistics from that league.

On the 1995 and 1996 season roster disks we also created an additional record for these players and put them in the "IL" or interleague players league.  The records in the IL league represent each player's total statistics (American and National league combined).

On the 1995 and 1996 season roster disks these interleague players are found on the last team that they played on.  These players also receive a record in the extra's a separate league of  So these players would have three records, one the AL (representing just their American League stats), one in the NL (representing their National League stats), and one in the IL league (representing their total stats). You can choose to use any of these records for that player.


WINDOW MENU

When you are playing a game the Manager screen is disabled and does not show up in the Window Menu.  If it was not disabled then someone could load a game and during the course of that game switch to the Manager screen and trade a player who was in the middle of playing a game, which is obviously not a good idea!

On a related note the game also requires the field backdrop screen to be present at all times.  Therefore do not try to minimize or tile the game screen.  If you do so, unpredictable results will occur.


GAME FINISHED SCREEN

When the game finishes you are presented with a screen that allows you to take one of a number of choices.  You can delete the last play of the game, get a box score (or other printed report), play the same two teams again, or exit the game.

After selecting any of the above options (except delete last play) you will receive a list of subsets you can update if you are playing a league game.  To update a particular subset just check its box.

Manual Subsets (0 through 9) are for your own use and you can define them to be whatever you wish. The first time you select a Manual Subset (0 through 9) you will be prompted to enter a description for it.  Many user will never use Manual Subsets but they exist for advanced users and certain play-by-mail leagues. If you wish to use them for play-by-mail leagues please see this important note

The Automatic Subsets (Team vs. Team, Day vs. Night, etc.) are also shown and you can select them if you want to maintain these statistics.  Checking these boxes will cause the game to use up more hard-drive space as it stores the  statistics.  We highly recommend that you use all of the Automatic Subsets.

If you choose to look at the box score you will be presented with a window with the box-score displayed.  You can choose between different combinations of box score, scoresheet, and play account files.   If you wish to add a comment before saving or printing the box score, just hit the comment button and type it in.  Then you can save it to a file or send it to your printer.  After that you can choose to play the same teams again or to end the game.

If you check Display Game Story On Boxscore you will also see an exciting game story describing the game's major events at the end of the boxscore.  NOTE: This check box setting  is not retained.  If you wish to permanently set this check box you can do so using the Autoplay/Boxscore Options dialog.


LEAGUE REPORT
LEAGUE REPORT (Located in the League menu)

This function allows you to view various reports for a given league.  The reports available are:

LEAGUE OVERVIEW

This report displays an overview of the league.  Among the items listed are the teams grouped by division.

SCHEDULE REPORT

This report displays the league schedule.  Note that an "*" shown next to a game indicates that it is a night game.


DRAFT-O-MATIC
DRAFT-O-MATIC (Located in the Player menu)

This function enters "Auto Draft Mode," which automates Draft-O-Matic so that some teams can make their choices automatically for you and you can concentrate on drafting for your own team.  If you are unfamiliar with Draft-O-Matic then click here for an explanation.

You can drag teams into the order in which you wish the teams to draft.  Double clicking on a team changes its auto/manual setting.  You can use the buttons to change all teams to auto or manual.  The draft order can be set as Straight (for example, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc.) or Serpentine (for example, 1-2-3, 3-2-1, 1-2-3, etc.). Finally you can enter in the number of rounds that "Auto Draft Mode" is to operate.

After all of your selections have been made, the program enters "Auto Draft Mode."  The league turns red to indicate that you are in this mode.  Then the computer starts automatically drafting for any team that you have set to "automatic."  When the time comes for a manual team to draft the computer stops and allows you to draft your players.  During this pause you can issue almost any command, such as sorting the free-agent list or view your team roster.  However you should not start a game at this point.

To cancel "Auto Draft Mode" simply select "Stop Draft-O- Matic" from the Player menu.  If you draft all the way through, then "Auto Draft Mode" will be exited after you or the computer has made the final selection of the draft.


SWAP-O-MATIC
SWAP-O-MATIC (Located in the Player menu)

The Swap-O-Matic function lets you propose trades to a computer General Manager.  It's designed to be a complementary program to Draft-O-Matic which lets you run a draft league with as little as one human GM.  To use this function, simply choose the function from the General Manager menu, select your team first and check the players you wish to trade.  Then select the opposing team and select the players you wish to trade for.  There is a maximum of 3 players per team in a trade.

To select a player to trade, click on his name and drag him to one of the three player slots listed below the player list.  If you double click on his name when he is in one of the 3 player slots, you can bring up the data entry screen.

When you have proposed the trade and entered the data, the computer will give you a message indicating what it thinks about your proposal.  If the deal is accepted, select yes when you are asked to consummate the deal.  Otherwise you can haggle with the computer over players.  Often, the computer will tell you some of the needs it would be looking to fill.  If you can satisfy one or more of its requests, your chances of swinging a deal will improve dramatically.

We also have a feature we call Auto Swap.  This feature lets the computer-run teams make trade offers to you, as well as to make trades between computer-controlled teams!

We have also enhanced Swap-O-Matic by adding a feature that lets you request that the computer suggest trades to you.


SWAP-O-MATIC DETAILED PLAYER INFO
SWAP-O-MATIC DETAILED PLAYER INFO (Available from SWAP-O-MATIC screen)

The entry of data on this screen is optional and depends on the type of league you have.  If your league does not retain  players from year to year, then you should not enter anything in the data fields on this screen.  However, if your league does retain players from year to year, then enter in the player's Age, Years Experience, and Career Totals for each player. In addition, if the current "real life" major league season is under way and the players you are trading have already established statistics this year, then you should also enter the current year totals so that the computer GM is working with the same information as you.  This way you cannot steal a player who is having a great year in real life.


VIEW PRINT FILES
VIEW PRINT FILES (Located in the File menu)

This function will allow you to view any files that you have saved such as box scores, play account  or play-by-play files.  You can also view any file that you used the Print To File function to create.


REPORT FINAL SCORE
REPORT FINAL SCORE (Available from schedule maintenance)

This screen lets you enter details about a game in the schedule that you are setting to "Played."

You should enter all of the information on the screen including the names of the winning and losing pitchers and their updated won/loss records.  Also if a save was awarded, enter the name of the pitcher who recorded the save and the updated number of saves he now has.


SOUND OPTIONS
SOUND OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

This option screen will allow you to customize the music and sound effect which are used in the program.  You can turn sounds on and off or use them in any combination that you wish. The following groups of sound options are available:

Fans

Other Sounds


AUTOPLAY/BOXSCORE OPTIONS
AUTOPLAY/BOXSCORE OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

To access autoplay options you need to be at the game screen (the one with the playing field in the center of the screen).  Click on "Options" on the menubar and then on "Autoplay" in the menu that pops up.  Then clicking on "Autoplay/Boxscore Options" brings up the autoplay options screen.

This option screen will allow you to select which preset lineups to use and what to do with box scores and PAC reports.  The Output options apply to both autoplay and manually played games so that boxscores and PAC reports will be saved with the same naming conventions no matter how a game was played.  The other options will only have an effect during Autoplay (they do not affect manually played games). The following options are available on this screen:

Output-What

Output-When

Output-Where

Display Game Story On Boxscore

View Scores During Autoplay

Creating Game Result Files

Daily Reporter

Save For One Team Only

Subsets


EVENT OPTIONS
EVENT OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

When the computer is autoplaying games from a league schedule you may save the box score of a game when a specific event occurred.  You do this by clicking on the box next to the event you wish to choose.  After you have selected an event, an "X" will appear in the box next to it.  If you wish to select all the events you can do this by clicking on the select all button.


CHECK INFORMATION SCREEN
CHECK INFORMATION SCREEN (Located in the Game menu)

This function allows you to view various reports during the game.  The reports available are:

LINEUP CARDS

Lineup cards give you a quick recap of both teams' remaining players, both in the game, on the bench, and in the bullpen.  It serves the same purpose as a lineup card tacked to a major league dugout wall.  It gives the manager a quick look at both teams.

The first thing listed is the opposing team's remaining pitchers.  The pitcher currently in the game is marked with an "*".  After the pitchers' names, this report lists the side he throws from, the pitcher's balance rating, his actual innings pitched, his actual base runners per 9 innings, his actual strikeouts and home runs allowed, his Strat-O-Matic base runner hold rating (the lower the number the better he does at holding runners on), his Strat-O-Matic closer rating (a true closer is typically 3 or above) and his double-play rating (the higher the number the more likely a pitcher is to induce a double play grounder).

The next 2 sections list this team's lineup and bench players.  The batter due up next for this team is marked with an "*".  After the batters' names, this report lists the position he is currently playing, the side he bats from, his balance rating, his actual at-bats, average, and home runs, his Strat-O-Matic steal, bunt, and hit-and-run ratings, and finally his double-play rating (the higher this number the more likely the batter is to hit into a double play).

ROSTER RATINGS

This report will display a team's complete and detailed roster.  For definitions of any ratings that are unfamiliar please see the Ratings screen.

DEFENSE GRID (part of the draft report)

This report will display detailed information about your team's makeup and balance.  The fielding rating section will show a player's fielding rating at each position he played.  The batters section will show a team's total at bats and team balance as well as each position's primary at bats and balance.  The pitchers section will show a staff's total innings pitched and balance as well as a breakdown of innings by reliever, reliever & starter, and starter.  For more details on the balance rating see the balance ratings screen. The draft report is not available when viewing free agents rather than a team.

REPLAY STATS

This report list actual and replay stats so that you can see how your players are doing vs. their real-life totals.

The percentage listed on the second line indicates how close a player is to his actual innings pitched or at-bats, prorated to the number of games played.  A percentage of 100% indicates he is right on target to get the right number of at-bats or innings.  A percentage higher than 100% indicates the player is being overused.  A percentage lower than 100% indicates the player is being underused.

BOX-SCORE

The current game box score (which includes the scoresheet) can be viewed with this function.

PLAY ACCOUNT (PAC)

The current game Play Account Report (PAC) can be viewed with this function.

MISCELLANEOUS

The computer manager's odds are designed to give you an insight into the inner workings of the computer manager. A reading of 99% or 100% does not indicate that an action will necessarily take place all of the time. It simply indicates that the computer manager would definitely consider making a move IF other factors fall into line. For example, it's the 9th inning with your ace starter on the mound and your best reliever is out due to injury.  In this circumstance it is quite possible that a reading of 100% for relief will not result in the starter being yanked.

If you are using Super Hal bullpen management then another section sometimes shows which described Super Hal's latest decision.  This information includes the batter which Super Hal has decided to "defend" against, the score (for instance -1 means the defensive team is down by 1 run), the number of total outs recorded by the defense to this  point in the game, the Bat Type of the batter that Super Hal is defending against, the Logic line number that matched the situation, the Order ID that was called for by that line of  logic and finally the pitcher selected from that Order ID list.

Other information includes the current matchup percentages (on-base, slugging, and home run), the weather information, and the ballpark singles and home runs.  In this last section the higher the range of numbers the more chance for a home run. For instance a home run range of 1-19 might be used in Colorado while a home run range of 1-3 might be used in Houston.

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD

The Out-Of-Town scoreboard keeps you up-to-date on other games played in your league.  It is only available for scheduled league games.  Additionally, if you choose the Autoplay/Boxscore Options that save all play accounts to disk for all autoplay games (OUTPUT WHAT: include PACs, OUTPUT WHEN: Always, OUTPUT WHERE: Save To File) then you will be able to see detailed play accounts of all Out-Of-Town games.  You can also request to have the Out-Of-Town scores displayed on the game screen at all times by turning on the appropriate option in the Scoreboard Options screen.


AUTOPLAY WINDOW
AUTOPLAY WINDOW (Available during Autoplay)

During Autoplay a small window appears that keeps you up-to-date on which games are being played.  If you choose the Autoplay/Boxscore Option to watch Autoplay scores then as each game is finished the final score is posted.

While autoplay is under way the STOP button is active and it can be selected if you wish to cancel autoplay.

After all games have been finished the DONE button becomes highlighted.  You can scroll back to look at the scores of games if you wish.  Afterwards click on the DONE button to return to the Manager screen.


SORT PLAYERS
SORT PLAYERS (Located in the Player menu)

This screen can be used to sort and filter the players on a team, or those in the free agent pool.

You can sort by a number of different categories, limiting your sorting to batters, pitchers, or all players.  You can limit the sorting to players' names which begin with a certain sequence of characters, by at-bats for batters, and by innings for pitchers.

You can limit the sort to include only players whose year is in a certain range or who played for a given team (using the 3 character team code).  These two options are great when  using the Career Historical data disks.

You can also limit the sorting to only batters who play a certain position or only pitchers who are a certain type (such as closers).

Also, you can set the filter so that only left-handed, right-handed or swith-hitting batters are shown.  A similar filter exists for pitchers.

The combination of sorting and filtering can be quite powerful.  For instance, you can display only middle infielders whose range rating is 2 or better and whose on-base percentage is .370 or above.

The Default button will revert back to the default of all players with no limits.

After choosing the sort parameters click on OK and you will be returned to the Manager screen where only players who qualify will be displayed in the Players list.


UPDATE PLAYER
UPDATE PLAYER (Located in the Player menu)

When viewing the Manager window, highlight a player's name.  Then click on "Player" on the menubar at the top of the screen.  Then click on "Update Player" in the menu that appears.  This accesses the "Update Players" screen.

The list button at the top of the new window will give you access to Basic Information, Fielding Ratings, Other Ratings, as well as column number ratings versus lefties and righties (a familiarity with the card game would help you interpret these).

This function will allow you to edit a player that already exists on your roster.  We at Strat-O-Matic pride ourselves on accuracy but even we can let an error slip through the cracks.  You can use this function to correct any errors that may exist on a players card or stat information.

Note that once a league has started you will not be permitted to change the following items: Player's Name and team code. These items are used to form a unique key that ties the rosters to the stats file.

For more information about the ratings that need to be entered please refer to the Rating Players screen.


CREATE FRINGE PLAYER
CREATE FRINGE PLAYER (Located in the Player menu)

This function will allow you to create a player to add to your roster.  Some of our older rosters do not come with all the players on them.  You can use this function to create the players that you need to fill out your roster.  Fringe Players should not have more than 100 at bats or 60 innings pitched.  NOTE:  Do not use the Fringe Player function to create an everyday player.  Since it is designed to create minimum-use players, this module does contain all super-advanced features such as ballpark effects and clutch hitting.  However, it is pretty accurate and will work very well for minimum use players.  For more information about the ratings that need to be entered please refer to the Rating Players screen.

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum number of players per team, etc.


ENTER PLAYER CARD
ENTER PLAYER CARD (Located in the Player menu)

This function allows you to actually enter a player into a league.  It is recommended that you only use this feature if you are entering an actual Strat-O-Matic card from the board game.  For more information about the ratings that need to be entered please refer to the Rating Players screen.  Also note that you must own the original Strat-O-Matic roster disk for the year that you are entering.  After entering a card you will be  prompted to insert the original master disk if this is the first time you have accessed a player from that year.

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum number of players per team, etc.


DICE/CARDS/SPLITS OPTIONS
DICE/CARDS/SPLITS OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

This screen allows you to customize how dice are rolled and split card numbers are selected when you are playing in Dice Mode.

In addition, if you have purchases the optional Card Image Feature you may enable this option for the notebooks and/or during gameplay.

The options available are :

Dice Input

Card Image

Dice Stop

Split Input

Delay for Dice

Animate SADV Fielding Chart


ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
ELIGIBLE PLAYERS - PROMOTE/DEMOTE MINOR LEAGUERS (Located in the Team menu)

Eligible players are the equivalent of "Major League" players while Ineligible players are the equivalent of "Minor League" players.

Those players who are ineligible (or in the minors) will display in blue.

The "minor league" concept used by the game simply makes certain players ineligible for use in a game.  Even though they are in the "minor leagues" they are still physically located in the team roster file, but are flagged as minor leaguers and are therefore ineligible to play.  You can either set the minor leaguers yourself, or you can let the computer decide the settings for you. If you want the computer to decide you must use the 40/25 method.  For more information please refer to the Minor Leaguers  screen, which is part of the Computer Options screen.

Notes: The eligible players screen will allow you to select a maximum of 25 eligible batters and 15 eligible pitchers.  Refer to Game Limitations to see other maximums.

Towards the bottom of the screen there is a Player Information Box.  To get information on a particular player click the player's name or click his check-box.


GAME SCREEN OPTIONS

Once you have started a game you will find yourself on the game screen.  This screen has a background photo of the home team stadium and allows you to customize the type of information that you can see on the screen by going into the Game Screen Layout Options screen.

There also are options that you can set up from the menu bar at the top of the screen.  To see options that are listed under Game please refer to the Button Palette screen.  For the choices that are listed under Options please refer to the Options screen.


CREATE NEW LEAGUE
CREATE NEW LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

This function will create a brand new league in your game.  You must give a league year and a two character abbreviation.  The name of the league must be unique.  For example you cannot have two leagues named 1996 AL.  In addition to this information you can also enter names for your league, sub-leagues, divisions, the number of sub-leagues and divisions, and League specific information such as the name of the commissioner, president, and umpire crews.

You must also remember to enter the number of games in the league schedule so that the computer can compute the magic number in the standings report.  This number is also needed when the program wishes to display and compare the actual and replay statistics.

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum numbers of divisions, etc.

The following groups show the items that can be entered:

Basic Information: League year, 2 character abbreviation, name and games per team.

IMPORTANT NOTE: FOR MANY FEATURES OF THE GAME, SUCH AS AUTO-SWAP AND CERTAIN STATISTICAL REPORTS, THE GAMES PER TEAM FIELD MUST BE SET PROPERLY!

Sub-league Info: Number of sub-leagues (set to 1 if you are not using sub-leagues), the name and abbreviation for each sub-league.

Divisional Info: Number of divisions (set to 1 if you are not using divisions), the division name for each division and the sub-league that each division will be part of.  If you are not using sub-leagues enter 1 for every division in the sub-league entry box.

Team Divisions, Team Nicknames and Team DH settings: These fields cannot be accessed until teams have been added to a league.  See the update league function for further  details.

Play-By-Play Settings: This is optional information about a team used by the play-by-play system.  You can purchase a diskette from Strat-O-Matic that supplies this information (along with many highly detailed and tailored play-by-play calls for each team).  Alternatively, you can enter in this information yourself with this screen.


UPDATE LEAGUE
UPDATE LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

This function will allow you to change information which you entered in the Create New League information screen.  In addition you can change the following items when updating a league:

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum numbers of divisions, etc.

Team Divisions: Enter in the number of the division for each team.  Division numbers are the same as shown in the Divisional Info section.

Team Nicknames: You can change the team nicknames here.  Perhaps you would prefer the real-life nicknames to those provided with the game (we cannot use the real-life nicknames because of royalty demands).  Type over the existing nick-name to change it.

Team DH settings: You can set the DH rule for each team individually using this item.  This  setting will determine whether or not the DH rule is used in home games for each team.  Enter a

Team Manager Settings  - You can define the default manager (Human or Computer) to be used in manual games for each team in the league.  If you manage just your favorite team set that team Human Manager and the other teams in the league to Computer Manager and you won't have to reset Human/Computer manager before each game. If you enter in "0" then this feature is disabled for that team, and the original logic to determine human or computer manager is used.  If you enter in "1" then the team will always be controlled by the computer manager.  And if you enter in "2" then the team will always be controlled by the human manager.


ADJUST LEAGUE STATS
ADJUST LEAGUE STATS (Located in the League menu)

This function will allow you to prorate the statistics of the players in a league up or down according to the number that you type in.  This can be helpful when using a league that was played during a strike shortened season like 1994.  Using this function, you can adjust the entire league up to a normal 162-game schedule.  You can also adjust the stats down if your league plays a short season.  To adjust stats up, divide the number of games scheduled by the number of games actually played to get the number that you need to enter.  To adjust stats down, divide the number of games actually played by the number you want to be played to get the number that you need to enter.


LINEUP
LINEUP (Located in the Team menu)

This screen allows you to change your lineups.  You can make changes by using the Drag and Drop method.

You can drag players from the bench into the lineup, players in the lineup to a new position (on the little field displayed below the lineup), and pitchers from the bullpen to the pitching slot (located just underneath the lineup area).   You can even drag the positions from the little field onto a player in the lineup or bench to have him play that position.

Only valid moves are allowed.  For instance, during a game a team on offense can only substitute for the batter or a runner on base.  Also, if an injury occurs and you are presented the lineup screen you can only substitute for the injured player.

Valid moves are shown by highlighting an area on the screen with a rectangle.  So if you are dragging a player from one area (say the bench) to another area (say the lineup), if the area you wish to drag him to is valid a rectangle will appear and you can release the mouse button to move him.  If the rectangle does not appear, then you are attempting to make an invalid move.

Naturally, some moves that are valid before a game begins are not valid once the game has begun.  For instance, you cannot change your DH until he has batted at least one time.

To cancel the DH rule simply drag the pitcher from the pitcher slot (located just underneath the lineup) and drop him on the DH in the lineup.

To change a defensive position drag the player over the position you want him to play on the field picture below the lineup list.  Alternatively drag the position (a little glove cursor will appear) and drop it onto the player.

PITCHER FATIGUE INDICATORS

If a pitcher is tired he will have a "T" next to his name.  If he is tired when using the pitch count fatigue system the pitcher will have a letter "F" followed by his fatigue condition.

During game play there is a "Fatigue" button which allows you to toggle between display Relief Fatigue and Starting Fatigue.  Normally you will need to refer to the Relief Fatigue status during game play.  On occasion you may wish to refer to the Starter Fatigue.  For instance, if you have two pitchers who are rated to both start and relieve, and you are going to need one of them for a spot start, you can toggle the "Fatigue" button to check their  Starter Fatigue before making your decision.

SCHEDULED STARTER SYMBOLS

If you have used the Starter Schedule in Update Computer Manager to assign starting pitchers to particular games then special symbols will appear next to scheduled starters as follows:

/ - This pitcher is scheduled to start the next game.

^ - This pitcher is scheduled to start 2 games from now.

* - This pitcher is scheduled to start 3 games from now.

# - This pitcher is scheduled to start 4 games from now.

Notice that the symbol for the next game is made from one line, the symbol used for 2 games from now is made from 2 lines, the symbol used for 3 games from now is made from 3 lines and  the symbol used for 4 games from now is made from 4 lines.  This should help you remember these symbols.

OTHER BUTTONS - PRE GAME & DURING GAME

The "Visitor" and "Home" buttons let you switch back and forth between the two teams to display their lineup information.

The Compare button will bring you to a player comparison screen.  This screen will let you make detailed comparisons between various batter/pitcher matchups.

UPDATING PRESET LINEUPS (NOT AVAILABLE WHEN A GAME IS UNDER WAY)

When you use the Update Default Lineups dialog in the team menu, the lineup screen allows you to change a preset lineup.  There are 5 preset lineups for each team.  Preset #1 and #2 are the "primary lineups."  Preset number 1 is the default lineup to be used against left-handed pitchers.  Preset number 2 is the default lineup to be used against right-handed pitchers.  The remaining 3 lineups are secondary lineups.

To change a preset lineup, first load it by selecting it from the list of preset lineups. Then make the changes you wish in the lineup.  If you want, type a new name for this preset lineup in the name area located to the right of the list of preset lineups.  Then click on OK.

The "Clear" button will remove all players from the current lineup.

The "Copy" button will allow you to copy one preset lineup to another.  This will come in  handy if you want to create a new lineup while using an existing one as a model.

The Super Hal button at the bottom of the screen brings you to another screen which allows you to create advance computer manager settings.  These settings can be used when you wish to have maximum control over your lineup selections.

The Evaluate button launches the Lineup Evaluator.


GAME PREFERENCES
GAME PREFERENCES (Located in the Options menu)

This option screen allows you to customize the mode of the game being played, the speed of the text and graphics, the size of the text, and the overall display of your game screen.

Please see Recommended Settings if you are new to Strat-O-Matic computer baseball.

The following Game Preferences are available:

Entry Mode

Play-By-Play Level

Results & Options

Computer Manager

Base Delays


MANUAL ENTRY MODE
MANUAL ENTRY MODE (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

The "Manual Entry Mode," also known as "Re-Create Game Mode" is a special mode designed to allow you to enter play results directly.  For instance, you can tell the computer that the batter has hit a double with all base runners scoring.  Although not needed during normal game play, there are many applications for this powerful mode.

One use is when you're involved in a play-by-mail league with others who are using the Strat-O-Matic board game instead of the computer game.  When you receive your games in the mail from them, simply set up the game and enter in all of the play results from the score sheet that they send you.  This will allow you to maintain all of your games in your statistics file, even those games not played with the computer version.  Another use would be "individualized pitcher hitting cards," which are published annually in Strat Fan magazine.  When a pitcher is to hit, simply roll a set of real dice and consult that pitcher's hitting card for the play result.  Then use the Manual Entry Mode to enter the result of this play.  Afterwards you can revert to automatic dice roll for the other batters.

Since this option can be toggled on and off during game play, it can also be used to introduce your own customized rules into the Strat-O-Matic game.  For instance, one creative gamer has recently started an "extremely rare play chart" that he will use with this game.  He can use the Manual Entry Mode to specify what happens to the batter and base runners as a result of his chart.

If you are in Manual Entry Mode you will be prompted to enter in the result of the play.  Choose a play result and also indicate what happened to the batter and any base runners.  If an error has occurred be sure to indicate the player the error should be charged to.

For most play results you will see default baserunner and batter advancement.  If the default is not what occurred then simply override it as needed.

NOTE: This option is not available if the league is locked.


TEAM REPORT
TEAM REPORT (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to view various reports for the teams and or free agents in a league.  You can choose from reports for rosters, computer managers, drafts, and stat leaders.

ROSTER REPORT

This report will display a teams complete and detailed roster.  For definitions of any ratings that are unfamiliar please see the Ratings screen.  The roster report is not available when viewing free agents rather than a team.

DRAFT REPORT

This report will display detailed information about your team's makeup and balance.  The fielding rating section will show a player's fielding rating for each position he played.  The batters section will show a team's total at bats and team balance as well as each position's primary at bats and balance.  The pitchers section will show a staff's total innings pitched and balance as well as a breakdown of innings by reliever, reliever & starter, and starter.  For more details on the balance rating see the balance ratings screen. The draft report is not available when viewing free agents rather than a team.

COMPUTER MANAGER REPORT

This report will display the information which has been entered into the  Update Computer Manager screen.  Note that if the computer manager is locked you will need to know the key before being allowed to view this report.

SUPER HAL REPORT

This report displays all of the Super Hal settings for a given team.  Note that if the computer manager is locked you will need to know the key before being allowed to view this report.

The first section lists the individual pitcher settings that described whether or not to let Hal (the regular computer manager) remove the pitcher whenever he wants to, and also when pitchers should always be removed (after giving up a certain number of runs or after their fatigue drops below a certain level).  A "0" indicates that the option is not being used for that pitcher.

After that bullpen logic lines are displayed followed by pecking orders and preset lineups and depth charts.

SCHEDULE REPORT This report displays the schedule for this team.  Note that an "*" shown next to a game indicates that it is a night game.

LEADERS

This report will display the statistical leaders on the selected team.  You can choose between displays listing all batters, batters by position, all pitchers, starters, relievers, or closers with a +3 rating.

BALLPARK REPORT This report displays important information about a team's ballpark ratings.  See Update Ballpark Information for more details about these ratings.


GAME RULES
GAME RULES (Located in the Options menu)

This screen allows you to customize the Strat-O-Matic advanced and super-advanced rules that are used to play the game.

Please see Recommended Settings if you are new to Strat-O-Matic computer baseball.

The rules available are:

Main Rules - Note this also contains further information about the "Maximum Rules"

Stealing

Miscellaneous

Injuries

Groundball-A

BP/Clutch

Strategy

Closer

Fatigue

The "Default" button sets the factory defaults for all rules, including the Maximum Rules.

In order for the Maximum Rules to  be in effect the "Main Rules" must be set to "Maximum Level" and one or more check boxes must be selected on the "Maximum Rules Settings" dialog which can be accessed by clicking on the "Max Rules" button.


MANAGER SCREEN

The "manager screen" is the main screen that first displays when you load the game.  This screen is composed of the following parts:

LEAGUES - a list of all the leagues found on your machine.

TEAMS - a list of teams in the currently selected league.  This list always starts with the "free agents" and then an alphabetical listing of teams.

PLAYERS - a list of players on the currently selected team (or in the free agent pool if the free agents are selected).  This list can be sorted by using the sort players function located in the Player menu.

INFORMATION BOX - The information box at the bottom of the screen is filled with key information about the currently highlighted selection.

By clicking on a league, its information is displayed in the box.  More detailed information can be found by accessing the Display Reports item of the League menu.

When you click on a team basic team, information is displayed.  More team information can be found by accessing the Display Reports item of the Team menu.

When you click on a player, the Player Information Box is displayed showing  information about that player is displayed.

If you are new to the game click here for more information.


LEAGUE LEADER OPTIONS
LEAGUE LEADER OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

This option screen allows you to select which league leaders are to print on the league leaders report which can be accessed from the Team Reports menu item.

Check the categories you wish to print.  Note that the league leader report is hard-coded to put 4 groups of 3 columns on each page.


SELECT STARTING PITCHER
SELECT STARTING PITCHER (Access at the start of the game from the Pre-game setup window)

This screen shows all pitchers on the staff and lets you choose one of them to start the game. We do not recommend starting a pitcher who is listed as being tired.  Also you should not start pitchers whose first number under the ENDURE column is a 0 because these pitchers were not normally used as starters in real life.

If a pitcher is tired he will have the word "Tired" next to his name.  In addition, if you are using the pitch count fatigue system the pitcher will have a letter "F" followed by his fatigue condition.

This screen will also show the ballpark or weather splits to help you make your decision.  If the wind is blowing out at Wrigley you might want to start your groundball pitcher instead of one that gives up the flyballs.  The information is displayed in a format familiar to those who play the board game:

Singles are shown for both left & right handed batters.  A low split (like "1" or "1-2")  means that this combination of ballpark & weather gives up very few basehits.  A high split (like "1-17") means that many ballpark singles are generated.  An average split may be around "1-8".  The maximum split is "1-20".

Homeruns are shown just like singles and the scale is similar ("1" is relatively very few, and "1-20" means the balls will be flying out of this stadium).

Doubles are shown on a scale where 100 is average.  A number less than 100 means that this park gives up fewer doubles whereas a number greater than 100 means it gives up more doubles.

Triples work on the same scale as doubles.


CREATE NEW TEAM
CREATE NEW TEAM (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to create a new team in a league.  You must input the year the team played in, the 3-letter abbreviation code and the actual won/loss record.  You also may enter optional information for the names of team managers, coaches, and other team personnel.

The team abbreviation should have an 'N' for National or 'A' for American as the last character.   For example, 'NYN' stands for New York National League.

The actual won/loss record is optional.

The optional information (team managers, coaches, etc.) is used by the play-by-play system.

After adding teams you should use the update league function to set the proper division and/or sub-league for the team(s) that were added.

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum numbers of teams in a division, etc.


UPDATE TEAM
UPDATE TEAM (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to edit the information which is listed in the Create New Team information screen.

NOTE: Refer to Game Limitations to see the maximum numbers of teams in a division, etc.


UPDATE BALLPARK INFO
UPDATE BALLPARK INFO (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to update the ballpark information for a given team.  You can change the ballpark's name, code number, ballpark, and condition effects, weather effects,  and the national anthem.  NOTE:  If using an original Strat-O-Matic Roster you should not edit this information.  These ratins are assigned by Strat-O-Matic to accurately reflect  each ballpark's effect on batting average, doubles, triples and homeruns.

BALLPARK INFO BOX Inside this information box you can change the ballpark name, the ballpark singles and home run information, the weather conditions by month, and the ballpark effects by conditions.

The ballpark singles, home runs, weather conditions by month, and the ballpark effects by conditions all fall within a range from 0 to 20 with the higher number indicating a  greater chance for a hit to occur.

BALLPARK NAME This option allows you to edit the name of the stadium.

BALLPARK CODE This option allows you to edit the code number which refers to the background stadium picture which will be displayed on the game screen.  Day and Night game shots have been  provided for most stadiums. For a detailed list of ballpark codes please see the Ballpark Codes screen.  If you have purchased the optional oldtime ballparks disk please refer to the Oldtime Ballpark Codes screen.

BALLPARK SINGLES AND HOME RUNS This option allows you to change the ballpark's single and home run effects for lefty and righty batters.

WEATHER BY MONTH This option allows you to change the possible weather for a game based on what month the game is played in and whether it is a day or night game.

BALLPARK EFFECTS BY CONDITIONS This option allows you to change the ballpark's single and home run effects for lefty and righty batters by the conditions of the weather.

WEATHER EFFECT This information box allow you to select whether you want to use or not use weather effects.

NATIONAL ANTHEM This option allows you to select whether to use the American or Canadian national anthem for the ballpark.


IMPORT BALLPARK INFO
IMPORT BALLPARK INFO (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to copy ballpark information from one team to another.  This is helpful for a draft league where you can draft a ballpark from an American or National League team.  For example, if you draft Camden Yards as your ballpark you would import the ballpark from Baltimore in the American League to your team in your league.


UPDATE COMPUTER MANAGER
UPDATE COMPUTER MANAGER (Located in the Team menu)

This function allows you to customize the decisions that the computer manager will make during autoplay games.  There are specific settings regarding pitchers, batters, and manager tendencies.  There are also specific player settings which can be used by double clicking on a player's name in the box which lists the batter and pitcher names.

Towards the bottom of the screen is a Player Information Box that displays information on the currently selected batter or pitcher from the scrolling list of players.

Note that if the computer manager is locked you will need to know the key before being allowed to update it.

PITCHERS In the pitchers section you can define your starting rotation, setup relievers, and closers.

The starting rotation has room for 7 pitchers.  If you wish to use a 4-man rotation you should leave the #5 spot blank.  You can use the #6 or #7 spots to define a fifth starter or a spot starter.  To set the relief switch refer to Relief Settings chart.

If you double-click on a pitcher in the scrolling box you can make detailed individualized settings for that pitcher -- see Computer Manager Pitcher Settings.

STARTER SCHEDULE If you have a schedule defined for your league you can now assign a starting pitcher for any scheduled game.  To assign a starter simply drag him from the scrolling list on the left side of the screen to the date of the game that you'd like him to start.  Alternatively, you can use the Import Starting Pitchers feature to import starting pitchers into the Starter Schedule.

If a starter has been assigned to a game then he will automatically start that game ignoring the starter that would have been chosen by the computer manager.  The game also looks ahead for scheduled starting pitchers before using a starter/reliever in relief.  Scheduled starters are included when you export or import a computer manager.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the defined starter is injured then the computer will still use him to start the game.  The Starter Schedule overrides all other considerations, including injuries to starting pitchers.

BATTERS In the batters section you can define pinch hitters, pinch runners, and defensive  replacements.  You should list the defensive replacements in priority order.  To properly define double-switches please see Double-Switches.

If you double-click on a batter in the scrolling box you can make detailed individualized settings for that batter -- see Computer Manager Player Settings.

MANAGER TENDENCIES In the manager tendencies section you can define how often you steal bases, bunt, hit-and-run, use relief pitchers, and how aggressively you run the bases.  All these options can be set by on of the following: Very Aggressive, Aggressive, Normal, Conservative, or Very Conservative.

Bunting, hit-and-run, and base-running settings are subjective.  The makeup of your team will dictate how you set these options.  Closer usage should be set to normal unless the team has a closer who gets more than 75% of his team's saves.  Then you would set closer usage to maximize.  To set Using Relief or Intentional BB's please refer to Relief Usage or Intentional Walks screen.

The settings for holding a runner have three components.  The first determines the minimum steal percentage at which to hold.  For instance, if you set the SB at 60% and the base runner has a 55% chance of stealing the base, then he will not be held. The second component determines the minimum lead percentage.  For example, if this is set at 30% and the runner has a lead percentage of 25%, then he would not be held.  The final tendency that can be set is the minimum percentage to steal a base.  This setting simply says the base runner will never attempt a steal unless his safe percentage is at least a given number.  So you could set it to 70%, and no attempts would ever be made unless the runner had a 70% or higher safe percentage.

You can define the maximum slugging percentage you wish to bring the corners in for.  Normally the computer automatically determine when the bring the corner in depending on the situation.  However, you may feel that for batters who have a high slugging percentage you NEVER want to have the corners in.  If you determine this then use the CORNERS - MAX SLUG setting to enter in the maximum slugging percentage that you want to bring the corner in for.  If the batter's slugging average is greater than or equal to your defined limit then the infield will be set all the way back instead of having the corners in.

SUPER HAL BASERUNNING See Super Hal Baserunning for a full description on how you use Super Hal to control baserunning decisions.

SUPER HAL BULLPEN MANAGEMENT The Super Hal button at the bottom of the screen brings you to another screen which allows you to create advance computer manager settings.  These settings can be used when you wish to have maximum control over your bullpen strategy.


COMPUTER MANAGER PLAYER SETTINGS
COMPUTER MANAGER PLAYER SETTINGS (Accessed from the Team/Update Computer Manager dialog)

When viewing the Manager window, click on "Team" on the menubar at the top of the screen.  Then click on "Update Computer Manager" in the menu that drops down.  A scrolling list with players' names will appear on the left side of the screen.  Scroll down to the player you wish to change and double click on his name.  This will give you access to the computer manager's setting for individual players on an individual team.

Some of what you can set are:

You can tell the computer manager to follow the guidelines listed below.  However, please keep in mind the computer manager must sometimes override these guidelines due to player overusage and other concerns.

Avoid lefties or righties - try to pinch-hit a particular batter against a pitcher who throws from the other side.  For instance, try to have a right-handed batter pinch-hit against left-handed pitchers, only.

Bunt, hit-and-run, and steal more or less - these are adjustments from the team-wide settings so you can try to tailor your strategy by player.

Don't pinch-hit for versus lefties or don't pinch-hit for versus righties.

Avoid using as a pinch-hitter during blow-outs - This saves the player's at-bats.

Remove for a defensive substitute with a lead - The computer manager will search the bench for a better defensive player and bring him in if one is found.


COMPUTER MANAGER PITCHER SETTINGS
COMPUTER MANAGER PITCHER SETTINGS (Accessed from the Team/Update Computer Manager dialog)

When viewing the Manager window, click on "Team" on the menubar at the top of the screen.  Then click on "Update Computer Manager" in the menu that drops down.  A scrolling list with pitchers' names will appear on the left side of the screen.  Scroll down to the pitcher you wish to change and double click on his name. This will give you access to the computer manager's setting for individual pitchers on an individual team.

Some of what you can set are:

You can inform the computer manager to follow the guidelines listed below.  However, please keep in mind the computer manager must sometimes override these guidelines due to player overusage and other concerns.

Avoid lefties or righties - try not to bring this pitcher into a game when a left-handed or right-handed batter is at-bat.  Also if this pitcher is in the game already against a batter he should avoid in a key situation then try to bring a relief pitcher in for him.

Quick/slow hook - A quick hook means you'll have less patience with this pitcher when he gets into trouble.  A slow hook means you're willing to stick with him longer.  Typically you might want to quick hook the lousy pitchers on your team and slow hook your ace.

Mop up - try to use this pitcher in blow out games.

Max 6 or 7 innings - If this pitcher gives you only 6 or 7 good innings in a start, then get him out of there and let your bullpen handle the rest of the game.  You might want to use this for starting pitchers who aren't good, especially if you have a strong bullpen.

Can relieve when tired - Typically the computer always tries to avoid using tired pitchers in relief.  However some relief pitchers pitch even when tired and rack up a tremendous number of relief appearances.  For pitchers like those you can put this  setting on.

Avoid using during blowout - Use this with your best reliever so that you don't waste his innings pitching in a blow out game.  However be aware that sometimes even players with this attribute set on will relieve at times during blowout games, because of current status of the other members on the pitching staff (injured, tired, being over-utilized, etc.).

Avoid using before the 6th inning, 7th inning, 8th inning, or 9th inning.

Maximum of 1 to 2 innings in relief or 2 to 3 innings in relief.

Issue fewer intentional walks with this pitcher on the mound - This is great for gopher-ball pitchers.

Do Not Let Hal Remove - The computer manager will not remove this pitcher during an inning on its own.  However, it will remove him if one of the above settings kicks in (for instance, the "Max 7 IP for start"), to pinch hit for him, or if the "Remove after allowing" or "Remove if fatigue" items described below become true.  IMPORTANT: You must be using the Super Hal Bullpen options for this option to be used.

Remove after allowing ? runs - Once the pitcher has allowed the specified number of runs he will immediately be removed.  For relievers this is the number of runs that score while he is in the game, not the number of runs that he is charged with.  For instance, say a reliever enters the game with the bases loaded and you say he should be removed after allowing 5 runs. If that reliever gives up back-to-back homeruns he will be removed since 5 runs crossed the plate while he was pitching.  Enter 0 if you do not wish to use this option, or 1 to 15 if you would like to use it.  IMPORTANT: You must be using the Super Hal Bullpen options for this option to be used.

Remove if fatigue drops below ? - Once the pitcher fatigue has dropped below the specified setting he will immediately be removed.  Enter a 0 if you do not wish to use this option, or 1 to 9 if you would like to use it.  IMPORTANT: You must be using the Super Hal Bullpen options for this option to be used.

The "Do Not Let Hal Remove", "Remove after allowing" and "Remove if fatigue" options can be used in any combination together.  If you leave "Do Not Let Hal Remove" unchecked then the computer manager will relieve pitchers as it normally would, subject to the "Remove after  allowing" and "Remove if fatigue" options (if they are used).

Refer to Super Hal Bullpen Decisions for more information on how the computer manager reaches it's decision of when to remove or bring in a pitcher.

LEFTY SPECIALIST

There are certain bullpen pitchers whose role is to be a "Lefty Specialist".  These are usually left-handed pitchers who face one or two batters in real-life and are removed when facing most right-handed batters.

Real-life lefty specialists tend to pitch to left-handed batters about 40 to 50% of the time. If you wish to define a pitcher as a lefty specialist simple check on the following items:

- Avoid righties

- Quick Hook

- Maximum of 1 to 2 innings in relief

The combination of those switches will tell the computer manager that you are defining a  Lefty Specialist.  The computer will try to remove him vs. most right-handed batters.  However, since a pitcher always needs to face a minimum of one batter this pitcher will probably  face righties at least 50% of the time (just like real life).


RESTART LEAGUE
RESTART LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

This function will restart an league that has already started.  WARNING - Be careful because using this function will erase all of your league statistics.  You  should only use this function if you no longer want to keep statistics for your league.  You should also use this function before playing the first game of a league which you have created.  If you choose this function there are two information boxes, Restart Type and Select Team, which you need to select.   If you wish to change unplayed games status without resetting the statistics you should use  the Schedule Batch Change function.

RESTART TYPE This option gives you the choice of how to set the games in the league schedule.

When restarting the league you can define how you wish to set the games in the schedule.  Games set to Hold will not be played until you change the status to Autoplay or Manual.  Manual games are those that you wish to play.

You can set all the games in the league to one of these settings or select teams and set them one way while setting the other teams in the league to a different setting.  For instance, if you wished to play Cleveland and Boston's games manually  while letting the computer automatically play the other games this is easily accomplished by selecting "Some Teams Manual, Others Autoplay" and selecting Cleveland and Boston as the team.  See select multiple items for details on how to select more than one team.

You can also choose to select Manual games for only home OR only road games.  This will come in handy in a play-by-email league as it allows you to set your team's home games to Manual and all the other games to Hold.


NEW UNSCHEDULED GAME
NEW UNSCHEDULED GAME (Located in the File menu) & MANUAL SCHEDULED GAMES

This function allows you to play one game manually.  This game can be played as a non-league (exhibition) game, or an unscheduled league game (which can be useful for play-by-mail leagues).

Note that this same screen appears before the start of a manual scheduled game which is accessed by the New Schedule Game menu item.  However when the games are scheduled certain items (such as league and teams) cannot be changed.

LEAGUE GAME This box will allow you to select whether you will save all the statistics accumulated during this game.

USE DH RULE This box will allow you to select whether you will be playing with the Designated Hitter or not.

VISITORS This box will allow you to select the visiting team and its lineups.

VISITOR LEAGUE This box will allow you to select the league that contains the visiting team.

VISITOR TEAM This box will allow you to select the Visiting team.

VISITOR MANAGER This box will allow you to select whether the visiting team will be coached by a human player or by the computer manager.

VISITOR ELIGIBLES This button will allow you to select the active players for the Visiting team by going to the Eligible Players screen.

VISITOR STARTER This button will allow you to override the computer's choice and select a new starting pitcher.

VISITOR LINEUP This button will allow you to edit the visiting team's lineup by going to the Lineup screen.

VISITOR COMPUTER MANAGER This button will allow you to update the visiting team's computer manager by going to the Update Computer Manager screen.

HOME This box will allow you to select the home team and its lineups.

HOME LEAGUE This box will allow you to select the league which contains the home team.

HOME TEAM This box will allow you to select the home team.

MONTH (includes DAY OF MONTH and DAY OR NIGHT) There are three boxes here.  All three boxes must be set before a game may be played. The left box will allow you to select what month the game will be played in.  The right box will let you select the day of the month this game is being played on.  The box below that will allow you to select whether the game will be played at day or night.

HOME MANAGER This box will allow you to select whether the home team will be coached by a human player or by the computer manager.

HOME ELIGIBLES This button will allow you to select the active players for the home team by going to the Eligible Players screen.

HOME STARTER This button will allow you to override the computer's choice and select a new starting pitcher.

HOME LINEUP This button will allow you to edit the home team's lineup by going to the Lineup screen.

HOME COMPUTER MANAGER This button will allow you to update the home team's computer manager by going to the Update Computer Manager screen.

CREATE GAME RESULT FILES Game result files will automatically be saved in your export directory if you click this option on.  Note that this option is only valid for league games.  Click here for more information on game result files.

DAYS OFF Clicking this button will allow you to clear the rest and injury information for both teams. This is a convenience button for play-by-mail leagues or for individuals who do not wish to use the Strat-O-Matic injury and rest systems.

WARNING - This function is not reversible.  If you click on this button you will receive a final warning screen that allows you to cancel the request without altering the rest and injury information.


TEAM STATS
TEAM STATS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will display some of the team and player stat files saved during league play.  You can view these reports from the Total Stats or from one of the Subset Stats that you can set to save in the game.

For further information on field descriptions please see Statistical report information

These will automatically display on screen.  In order to print these screens up, just select File then Print.  The following stat reports are available:

TEAM STATS This report will list the following: Team won/lost breakdowns, team/opponent breakdowns, record vs. other teams in the league, and a chart showing the number of runs the team and its opponents scored.

PRIMARY The Primary Player Statistics report contains most of the statistics you are used to seeing on a regular basis. Things such as games, at-bats, batting average, etc. are listed.

SECONDARY The Secondary Player Statistics report supplements the primary report with further information. This report contains things like a home/road breakdown of home runs, grand slams, hitting streaks, pinch hitting stats, save opportunities, and pitcher hitting statistics.

LEFTY/RIGHTY The Lefty/Righty Breakdown has statistics vs. left and right-handers. Basic statistics such as batting average, home runs, walks, and strikeouts are shown.

MISC/SABERMETRIC The Misc/Sabermetric Statistics report shows a variety of statistical measuring sticks. Things like on-base percentage, runs created, extra-base hit percentage, at bats per home run, strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, starting pitcher's run support, relief pitcher's inherited runners scored, and strikeout to walk ratio are shown.

FIELDING - STRAT The Fielding Statistics report shows fielding and related statistics as well as a player status display. The fielding statistics shown are not traditional fielding statistics (please see Traditional Fielding Statistics for those).  Very often traditional fielding statistics do not convey the true value of a man in the field.  Therefore we offer our own fielding statistics which focus on the "difficult" plays.  That's where the men are separated from the boys in the major leagues!

The report lists the number of difficult plays a fielder had to handle (TOT), the number of times he turned a difficult play into an out (OUT), the percentage of difficult plays turned into outs (PCT), errors, opponent steal statistics (for catchers and pitchers only), balks, wild pitches, passed balls, and bad throws by the catcher on steal attempts (BADT).

Also listed is the injury status of a player if he is injured (for example, "J5" means he is injured for 5 more games).  For pitchers two additional numbers are listed, the first number indicates the number of consecutive games this pitcher has appeared in.  The second number indicates the number of days rest this pitcher needs before he is eligible to start a game.  For example, a pitcher who has "1/3" listed next to his name pitched in the team's previous game and must wait 3 more days before being eligible to start another game.

FIELDING - TRADITIONAL We offer this report for those who prefer a more traditional fielding report.  Each position is shown along with all players who played that postion.  Note: players who have been traded will be shown only on their final team along with their seasonal totals. In those cases the team total shown is correct for the team, but it will not add up to the detail shown because of the trade.

TEAM DETAIL The Team Detail reports displays breakdowns of numerous team totals.  Many interesting statistics are included.  For example, you can use this report to find out the batting statistics for each batting slot in your lineup.

LINE SCORES This function will display a report listing all scheduled games that have been played.  You can choose to get this report for one team or for the entire league.  One game is printed per line, listing the date.  The visiting team is listed first along with their runs, hits, and errors.  Then the home team is listed with the same information.  Finally, the winning and losing pitchers are shown.

USAGE DISPLAY This function will provide you with a report listing player utilization.  You can use this information to make sure you keep your player usage in a reasonable range. The report also lists projected statistics compared with the player's actual totals, so that you can see how well your players are performing.

For a batter, the information shown is the player's at bat utilization, remaining at-bats, plate appearance utilization, and remaining plate appearances. The utilization figure is a percentage - 100% means a player is exactly on target to reach his actual total.  A lower percentage means the player is being underplayed and a higher percentage means the player is being overplayed.

For a pitcher, the information shown is the number of games he has pitched in, the number of starts he has had, his remaining starts (number of starts in this replay minus his real-life starts) his innings pitched utilization, and his remaining innings pitched. A utilization of 100% means he is on target to get his exact innings pitched.  The prorated/actual statistics show the pitcher's pace he is currently on if he were to get his exact innings pitched.

DAILY TEAM LOG This report shows a log of every game played for the team.  Information displayed includes the  date, opponent, result (Win or Loss), score & hits (this team first, then opponents), winning, losing and saving pitcher, team record, position in standings and games back.

ALL REPORTS Use this function to display all of the above listed reports for this team.


LEAGUE STATS
LEAGUE STATS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will display statistical reports that involve all teams in a league.  All reports are automatically displayed on screen.  To print any report just click on File and Print.

STANDINGS DISPLAY This report will display the won-loss standings of all of the teams in the league. In addition to wins and losses, the teams' winning percentages, games behind, magic numbers (first place teams only), and actual won/loss records will display.  The wild card standings are also displayed if the league has 2 subleagues and 6 divisions.

Various breakdowns (Home/Road, Left/Right, by month, in/out division, etc.) are shown.  Also, a grid showing games won/lost vs. each team is displayed.  A similar grid showning runs scored/allowed vs. each team is also displayed.

LEAGUE LEADERS DISPLAY This report will display the league leaders in a number of batting, pitching and fielding categories. For a description of the qualifications to be printed with the leaders please see LEADER QUALIFICATIONS in Statistical report information

This is a long running report - it must go through all of the stat files for all teams to determine league leaders in each category. On the slowest machines you should expect that this report will take about 3 minutes for a 12 team league.

When you first enter the league standings report you will be given a screen that lists all of the league leader categories.  You can use this screen to select which league leader categories you wish to print.  Simply hit enter next to the categories you want.

1st GRAND TOTALS DISPLAY This report will display the league's grand-total reports. Each team will be displayed on its own line, and the league totals will appear below the teams.

2nd GRAND TOTALS DISPLAY This report will give you additional league grand totals not covered in the 1st display. Each team will be displayed on its own line, and the league totals will appear below the teams.

FIELDING GRAND TOTALS

MANAGER PROFILES

BOARD GAME BREAKDOWNS

INJURY REPORT By selecting this option you can receive a report that will list all of the players who are either injured or in the minor leagues.  The report will show this information for all teams in the league.

LINE SCORES This function will display a report listing all scheduled games that have been played.  You can choose to get this report for one team or for the entire league.  One game is printed per line, listing the date.  The visiting team is listed first along with their runs, hits, and errors.  Then the home team is listed with the same information.  Finally, the winning and losing pitchers are shown.

NEWSPAPER GAME STORIES supplements the Newspaper Style Recap (described below) by providing a newspaper style game story for each game.  NOTE: Both of these reports are designed to be viewed at the end of the day, after all games for that day have been played.

NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP  The newspaper-style recap will display a screen giving you a quick overview of your entire league.  It's designed to be like your morning paper - just open it up and get yesterday's results, the league standings, the league leaders in some key categories, and today's games and probable starting pitchers.

In addition there is a listing of the previous day's best performances by batters and pitchers.

AWARDS VOTING This report shows is also a simulated MVP and Cy Young points race shown which will update every day.

There is also a listing of all-star "voting" at each position.  These vote totals will continue to accumulate after the all-star game break so that post-season awards can be determined.

The race for the Gold Glove awards are also displayed, along with the race for the Silver Slugger Awards.

Finally, the race for the Rolaids Relief Award and for Manager of the Year are also shown.

RECORD BOOK REPORT This tells you who have had the best games of the season.

ALL REPORTS Use this function to display all of the above listed reports for this league.


UPDATE MULTI-TEAM PLAYERS
UPDATE MULTI-TEAM PLAYERS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will allow you to edit the overall totals of players who have been traded or released.  When a player is traded or released a special record is created called a  "multi-team player record".  This record contains the totals statistics for that player for every team that he appears on in the course of a season.

Sometimes, especially in draft-leagues, these multi-team player records can get out of sync.  When this occurs you may use the Synchronize stat files function to resynchronize these records.  If after running this function you still find problems with certain statistics (such as hitting streaks) you can directly edit these fields on this screen.

When you update a player with this function you are updating his overall totals only.  His  statistical information on each team's stat file is not affected by this editing.


UPDATE STATISTICS
UPDATE STATISTICS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will allow you to edit statistics produced by playing league games. You may wish to edit stats for several reasons.  For instance, you might have started a league using dice and cards before purchasing the computer game, and you wish to continue it with the computer game.

When you enter this function you are presented a menu that allows you to edit 4 different types of stats: Team Info, Pitcher Hitting, Batter Pitching, and individual player stats.

TEAM INFO This option allows you to edit team information in the stat file.  You can edit things like won/loss breakdowns and winning streaks.

PITCHER HITTING This option lets you edit the team total stats for all pitchers' hitting.  Pitchers' hitting statistics must also be entered in the respective categories under the pitchers' names.

BATTER PITCHING This option allows you to edit the team total pitching stats for nonpitchers. When a position player enters the game as a pitcher, his stats are added into these fields.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATS This option allows you to edit the statistics for an individual batter or pitcher.

IMPORTANT- The won/loss record MUST be updated for both the pitcher and in the Won/Loss Record Edit.  In addition, information on the Team Stats Edit must be updated for each win or loss.


ADD TO PRIMARY STATS
ADD TO PRIMARY STATS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function lets you add the stats from a game (or series) into your statistics for your league. This function will come in handy if you (or members of your league) play some of the games without a computer. You can enter in the basic stats for these games with this function.

If you have box scores or series-stats from games played without your computer that you wish to add to your league statistics, this function can be your best friend.  For example, if you are in a play-by-mail league with people who play the board version of the game, they might send you a box-score and/or series stats for your road games which you may enter using this function.

The drawback to using this function is that you will not get to update all of the statistics tracked by the program.  However, if you just want the basic stats this function will serve your purpose.  If you need to update more than just the basic statistics then use the Update Statistics function.


SCHEDULE MAINTENANCE
SCHEDULE MAINTENANCE (Located in the League menu)

Upon entering the screen the schedule associated with the selected league will display.  This screen has a number of components described below:

The first scrolling list box selects which day you wish to edit.  When you select a new day the second scrolling list box is updated.

The second scrolling list box displays all games scheduled on that day.  When you select a scheduled game, its information is placed into the field at the top of the screen where you can edit it.

The first field at the top of the screen allows you to change the status of the game to Auto (this means you wish this game to be automatically played), Manual (this means you wish to play the game manually), or Played.

If you select "Played" the Report Final Score window will appear allowing you to enter in details about the played game.  This option allows you to update your schedule after you have imported game result files.

The other three fields at the top of the screen allow you to change the teams that are to play in this game and the day/night setting.

The starting date of the schedule may also be entered.  This defines the first date of the first day in the schedule (day 1).

The buttons available perform the following functions:

Clear - Clears the selected game from the schedule.

Add - Adds a new game to the schedule.

Generate - Destroys the existing schedule and generates a new one.  If you select this option another screen appears asking you to provide information about the schedule that is to be generated.

Export - Exports the current schedule to a comma-delimited text file.  You can then import this file into another program (such as a spread-sheet or database program).  It can also be imported back into the Strat-O-Matic program into the same or another similar league. If you import it into a different league that league must contain teams with the same 3 letter team abbreviations or the import will not work.

Import - Imports a comma-delimited text file and overwrite the existing league schedule.  The format is as shown in this example:

1,WAA,CHA,N

1,NYA,SLA,D

2,DEA,BOA,N

2,CLA,PHA,D

The above 4 line sample shows 4 games.  The first game is played on day one of the schedule, Washington at Chicago for a night game.  The last line represents a Day game, Cleveland at Philadelphia which is played on the second day of the schedule. In order for the import to work properly all team codes must match an existing team abbreviation in the current league. Note: The Import button only appears if the league has not been started yet.

Advanced users can also use the Import button to Import Starting Pitchers.

Cancel - Cancel all changes and exit the schedule screen.

OK - Accept and save all changes.


NEW SCHEDULED GAME
NEW SCHEDULED GAME (Located in the File menu)

This option will allow you to play your league games that appear on the schedule.  You can play these games manually or let the computer autoplay the games for you.  When you select this option you will bring up the Schedule screen.  The schedule screen will have a number of information boxes on it.

For more information regarding the 4 boxes defined on the top of the screen please see the help topic on Schedule Maintenance.

STARTING DATE This box will tell you on which date your league began its first day.

CLEAR This button will delete all Scheduled Games for a selected day.  In order to use this button you must click on one of the games listed in the Scheduled Games box.

ADD This button will allow you to add a game to the list of games in the Scheduled Games box for a given day.  When you select this button you will activate the four information boxes at the top of the screen.

DAY IN SCHEDULE This box lists the day number and date of that day on the schedule.  Clicking on a day will bring up that day's games in the Scheduled Games information box.

SCHEDULED GAMES This box will list all games scheduled on the day that is highlighted in the Day in Schedule box.

USE DH This box will allow you to select whether you will be playing with the Designated Hitter or not.

CANCEL This Button will allow you to cancel out of playing any scheduled games.

PLAY ALL This button will allow you to play the complete schedule of your league from Day 1 to the end of the schedule.

PLAY TO DAY This button will allow you to play to a certain day in the schedule.  To use this function simply click on the day you wish to play up to by clicking on it in the Day in Schedule box and then click the Play Day button.

PLAY DAY This button will play whichever day is highlighted in the Day in Schedule box.  Manually played games will receive the same pre-game screen that is shown when you  are playing unscheduled games except certain items cannot be modified (the league, for instance).


New Features
WHAT WERE NEW FEATURES IN CD VERSION 2.0

1)  Version 2.0 takes full advantage of 32-bit processing provided by Windows '95 and the Power Mac.  (Both a 16-bit and a 32-bit version of the game are included on the CD-ROM.)  The 32-bit processing improves the game's speed.  The Windows '95 version also offers a nice "chiseled steel" look.

2)  The number one request from players of CD Version 1 was to make the playing field Resizable.  Now you can stretch the field however it suits you!

3)  We have added Auto Swap.  During a season, this feature allows the the computer to make trades between teams it controls, and to PROPOSE TRADES TO YOU!  Do you hear the phone ringing?  Watch out!  It may be a rival general manager hoping to cut a deal!

4)  Player and team Notebooks.  This enhancement graphically displays each player or team, allowing you to view a player's ratings and real-life statistics and replay statistics, or a team's ballpark and its effects on play.  It also lets you add your own notes!

5)  Have you ever wanted to review the details of a player's season all in one handy location?  With Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball, you can!  We have added Player Game Logs!

6)  Who had the most hits in a single game, when was it, and against which team did it occur?  Twenty such questions are now answered in the Record Book!

7)  We have enhanced our already industry-leading play-by-play.  The Play-By-Play now anticipates a host of new situations, commenting appropriately on each.  We have also added a "newsworthy event" category that mentions real-life events as a game unfolds.  Don't be surprised if a Chicago announcer mentions that Michael just scored 50 points!

8)  We allow you more control over Play-By-Play output.  If you wish to create your own play-by-play, then edit the "pbp.txt" file that has been installed in your Data folder (directory).

9)  We have given you more control over the computer manager.  Your Computer Manager Pitcher Settings now include these new options:

Avoid using before the 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th inning.

Maximum or 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 innings in relief.

Maximum of 7 innings for a start.

Issue fewer intentional walks with a particular pitcher on the mound.

We have also added options to your Computer Manager Player Settings now include:

Don't pinch-hit for versus lefties and don't pinch-hit for versus righties.

Avoid using as a pinch-hitter during a blow-out.

Remove for a defensive substitution with a lead.

10)  Draft League lineup mode.  When using this mode, lineups 1 and 2 will continue to be used against lefties and righties, respectively.  In addition, lineups 3 and 4 will be used against "reverse" lefties and righties.

11) Player Comparison mode.  Sometimes you need more than the BAL rating to help you decide what substitution to make. Player Comparison mode will allow to use graphs to compare any two batters versus any opposing pitcher.

12) The Tactile Dice and Split Options option:  This gives you more control over dice rolls when in "dice and card" mode.  You can keep the dice shaking longer by holding your mouse's left button down.  You "roll" them by releasing the button.  This simulates your holding the dice for that big roll when a key moment in the game is reached.  For as long as you "shake" the dice, new random numbers are constantly generated, so you are actually affecting the outcome of the "roll" by how long you hold your mouse button down!  Tactile Splits let you "pick" a split card from the deck and  can be used in conjunction with or apart from the Tactile Dice option.

13) We have separated Ballpark Options from the preferences options. You can now zap all ballparks with the settings you choose so that you don't have to make the same changes for every single ballpark.

14) A convenient toolbar has been added on the Manager screen.  The toolbar is optional if you don't wish to use it.

15) You can make more baserunning decisions than before.  (But you don't have to.)  Check out the "More baserunning decisions" in the Maximum Rules Settings dialog.

16) You can now automatically assign rest during Autoplay and for other scheduled games.  See the LINEUPS AND USAGE options screen.

17) We have added Auto Level to your list options for drafting players.  It changes the order of the draft from one round to the next according to how well the teams have already drafted, with the worst team drafting first and the best team drafting last.  For an explanation of this, as well as other aspects of drafting, please see the Draft-O-Matic Description.

18) You can plug schedules with scores when importing game result files (the same schedule must be used by both computers).

19) New menu items:

Quick Inning

Quick Spectator

Play-By-Play Color option

Play-By-Play Background option

Miscellaneous Options

20) We have changed the name of the Play-By-Play Report to Play Account Report, or PAC Report for short.

21) Other cool stuff:  You can save the DH switch for each league separately, you can toggle Maximum Rules individually, and you have drag-and-drop functionality throughout the menus.  We now have bold printing for headings and mixed case player names throughout.


E-MAIL ADDRESS
STRAT-O-MATIC'S E-MAIL ADDRESS

You can send your suggestions, comments and questions about Strat-O-Matic Baseball to:

som1@ix.netcom.com


Web Page
STAT-O-MATIC WEB PAGE

Strat-O-Matic's home page address is:

http://www.strat-o-matic.com

Please remember to include the hyphens!

This page offers tech support, updates, revisions, and news.  You can find corrections to player cards here, information on the latest Strat-O-Matic products, as well as enhancements for your games.  We are constantly updating our home page, so visit us often!


Auto Swap
AUTO SWAP (Located in the Options/Lineups and Usage dialog)

Auto Swap is a feature designed for when you are playing through a league season.  Imagine yourself watching Autoplay scores scroll by when the phone rings;  it's a call from another team's general manager, who offers you a trade!  With Auto Swap, computer managed teams can offer you trades as a season progresses.  You will hear a phone ring, which signals that an opposing general manager wants to wheel and deal.  Further, the computer-controlled teams can make trades with each other

IMPORTANT: For Auto Swap to work properly league games per team must be set.  This is normally 162, but less in a strike shortened season.  Auto Swap evaluates talent based on the current season only - it does not recognize superstars other than by the fact that they had a great year.  Therefore it might make some trades that look questionable, especially if a superstar player has an off year.

We've also added a feature to Swap-O-Matic that lets you ask the computer to suggest possible trades to you.


Notebooks
NOTEBOOKS (Located in the Player and Team menus)

This feature allows you to view a player's real life and replay statistics, as well as his ratings.  It also allows you to view a team's ballpark and the ballparks effects on game play.  Perhaps best of all, it lets you record notes about a player or team.  Want to record a special event such as a game-winning grand slam?  You can do it, here.  Want to note that a particular batter never hits well against a particular pitcher?  You can do it, here.  Want to note that a particular team needs to trade for a third baseman?  You can do it, here!

When looking at the opening menu, click on a league.  A list of teams will appear.  Double click on a team and the team's notebook will appear. Another way to access a team's notebook is to click on "Team" on the menubar along the top of the screen, then click on "NOTES."  You can also access a team notebook during a game by single clicking on the team's name in the scoreboard.

To access a player's notebook from the Manager screen, double click on an individual player in the next column over from the teams column.  Another way to access a player's notebook is to click on "Player" on the menubar along the top of the screen, then click on "NOTES."

A player's notebook can also be accessed during a game.  Just single click on any player's name you see displayed anywhere on the field or in any information box (like the Matchup Box).  From the lineup screen you can double click any player to get his notebook.

CARD IMAGE TAB If you have purchases the optional Card Image Feature you will be able to view the player's card image in his notebook.

HITTING / PITCHING TABS These tabs show the batter or pitcher's abilities in a balance display (vs. left & right-handed opponents).  They also display the same information on the right side in percentage form.  These percentages are derived from the player cards.

For pitchers, we have a category called "Best Results."  The percentage next to "Best Results" represents a pitcher's chance of getting a ground out double play, a strike out, or another out in which baserunners do not advance. This rating can help you choose the best pitcher for a particular situation. A rating of over 50% is outstanding.

RATINGS TAB Both batter and pitcher notebooks feature a Ratings tab that lets you view the player's ability in a graphical display.

NOTES TAB For "Player's Actual Information" and your notes on a player, click on the "NOTES" bar in the player's notebook.  For both teams and players you can enter in whatever informational notes you desire.  If you enter in team or player notes then these notes can be included in the Team Yearbook.

STATS TAB The Stats tab display pertinent statistical information (replay stats, not real-life stats).  It also shows a log of all of the player's games.  If you double-click an entry in this log the boxscore for that game will be displayed (this only works for games that were scheduled league games, and only for games that were played with Version 11 or later).  IMPORTANT: YOU MUST ALWAYS SAVE BOXSCORES FOR THIS FEATURE TO WORK - see Output-When.

CAREER TAB If you utilize the encyclopedia function you will also see a "CAREER" tab on the notebook.  Click on this tab to receive up-to-date career statistics for your players and teams.


Player game logs
PLAYER GAME LOGS  (Located in the Statistics/Player Stats menu)

Play game logs provide you with a game-by-game summary of any player's performance.

For batters the date and opponent is displayed first, followed by the at-bats, runs, hits, runs batted in, walks, strikeouts, home runs, and stolen bases.  Cumulative season stats for Batting Average, Home Runs and RBIs are also displayed.

For pitchers the data and opponent is displayed first, followed by the pitcher's innings pitched, hits, runs, earned runs, bases on balls, strikeouts, home runs, wins, losses, and saves.  Cumulative season stats for Won-Loss record, Saves, ERA and Strikeouts are displayed.

To access a player's log, highlight the player's name in the manager's window (the window that appears when you start the game), then click on "Stats" on the menu along the top of the screen, and then click on "Player Stats" and "Display Reports" on the menu that appears.


Record Book
RECORD BOOK (Located in the Statistics/League Stats menu)

Who had the best games of the season, so far?  Look in the Record Book to find out!

When at the Manager window, click on "Statistics" on the menubar at the top of the screen.  Then click on "League Stats" to find the Record Book.


Player comparison mode
PLAYER COMPARISON MODE (Available from the lineup screen)

The lineup screen has a "Compare" button.  Just click on it and you can call up graphs that compare any two batters versus any opposing pitcher.  You can anticipate your opponent's next move by displaying not only the current batter versus the current pitcher but by displaying your potential pinch-hitter and your opponent's potential relief pitcher!

Note that this display automatically factors in the clutch hitting abilities of the players when appropriate (that is to say, with 2 outs and one or more runners in scoring position).


Tactile Dice And Split Options
TACTILE DICE AND SPLIT OPTIONS (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

This option allows you to control the dice and splits in a "tactile" manner when you are in "dice and card" mode.  Just hold your left mouse button down, and the "dice" are constantly "shaken" until you release the button, "rolling" the dice.  Other computer baseball simulations determine plays in a sequence of random numbers determined by an algorithm;  this is roughly equivalent to playing a board game with a random number booklet instead of dice.

Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball allows you "shake" the "dice," and when you do, random numbers are continuously generated, changing from moment to moment.  How long you "hold" onto the "dice" and when you roll will determine the play's outcome.

If you use Tactile Split option and a split reading occurs you also get to "pick" the split card.  When a split occurs the split deck animation will continue to display until you click on the split deck;  this  forces a random number to be selected and displayed.  Many players feel this is one of the most exciting aspects of the board game and we have now captured the feeling of the split deck with this new feature.  As you can imagine when you roll a reading like "Homerun 1, Flyout(LF)B 2-20" it is extremely exciting if you pull a "1" out of the split deck!

If you use the Single Die mode along with Tactile Dice you will get an added bonus of suspense!  When you first click on the dice they will continue to roll until you let go of the mouse button.  At that point the first die will stop rolling but the other two dice will continue to roll on the screen.  After you see which column the first die has selected you can stop the other two dice from rolling by clicking the dice again.


MAXIMUM RULES
MAXIMUM RULES (Located in the Options/Rules menu)

Maximum rules may be accessed while viewing the "Manager" window.  Click on "Options" on the menubar at the top of the screen, then click on  "Rules" in the menu that appears, then click on the "Maximum Rules" button on the lower left of the "Game Rules" window.

We recommend that you leave all the options marked with an "X."  This ensures you of the maximum realism Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball can provide.  The only exception might be the "More baserunning decisions" item.

If you wish to maintain 100% board game compatibility then you should make sure your Main Rules are not set to "Maximum".  See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

Improve statistical accuracy

Bunt for base hit

Improve out distribution

Improve baserunning realism

Home field advantage

Starting pitcher clutch

More baserunning decisions

Doubles/Triples options

Force daily injuries

Realistic throwing errors

Allow extra pre-1920 errors

Pitch-Around option

Robbing HR Rule

Correct Board Game Excesses

Allow Errors on Bunts

Allow Errors on Pickoffs


Quick Inning
QUICK INNING (Located in the Game menu)

This quickly plays through an inning, stopping when the baserunning situation changes.  It allows you to play manual games quickly while still enabling you to make all the important strategy decisions.


Quick Spectator
QUICK SPECTATOR (Located in the Game menu)

This is similar to Quick Play, except that all screen displays remain active and you can watch each play as it occurs.

You can exit Quick Spectator by clicking your mouse on the game screen.


Play-By-Play Color
PLAY-BY-PLAY COLOR OPTION (Located in the Options menu)

Clicking on this calls up a screen that lets you choose a new color for the text in the play-by-play display.


Play-By-Play Background
PLAY-BY-PLAY BACKGROUND OPTION (Located in the Options menu)

Clicking on this calls up a screen that lets you choose a new color for the background of the play-by-play display.


Scheduled Days Off
SCHEDULED DAYS OFF (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

You will find this option in the LINEUPS AND USAGE options screen.

Using this option will result in a more realistic injury and fatigue scenario.  In the past Strat-O-Matic had used a game-based system to determine injuries and rest.  But since it is more realistic to view injuries and fatigue in number of days, as opposed to number of games, we created the Give Team a Day Off function in the Team menu.  It allows the user to manually give a team one or more days off.

Now we have extended this option to automatically "kick in" for scheduled games.  You accomplish this  by turning on the "Give Scheduled Days Off" setting.  If you play scheduled games you need not manually give a team a day off because this function will automatically give a team a day of rest whenever that team is not scheduled to play that day.

Since this function adds realism we recommend that you use this option.


PAC Report
PLAY ACCOUNT REPORT (Accessed from check information game screen and at end of game)

We have changed the name of the Play-By-Play Report to the Play Account Report, PAC for short.  Players were confusing the name Play-By-Play Report with other aspects of the game, so we gave it a name that better describes what it does.

If you haven't already, take a look at the Play Account Report;  some people find it easier to read than the score sheet.

We've also added the dice roll and split readings for all results that originate on the player cards to this report.  This will make it easy for you to determine what went right or wrong, and exactly how the game engine has determined the results of each play.


HINTS AND TIPS

Building Your Own Team

Playing a Game

Playing a Season

Playing against Other Sentient Lifeforms


Building a Team
BUILDING YOUR OWN TEAM

A very enjoyable part of Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball is the ability to create your own team by drafting or through trades.  Because Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball simulates real-life baseball very closely, the decisions you have to make are like those real-life general managers must make, and the secrets to building a good team are the same as in real life.  Thus, you should draw on your own knowledge of baseball and what you have seen successful teams do when choosing players.

In general, a well-balanced team has the best chance of success over a long season.  Great players are wonderful to have (and when drafting take the best you can), but a team with good players at every position will usually outperform one that depends on one or two great players for victory.  This was the secret of the great Oakland teams of the early 1970s, and is one reason for the success of the New York club in 1996.

In Strat-O-Matic baseball, everything matters, so look for good offense, good pitching, good defense, and a bench of players who can fill in at more than one position.  Learn from observation:  There is a reason the expansion team that went for offense (Colorado) made it to the playoffs before the expansion team that went for pitching (Florida):  Even with great pitching, if your team doesn't score runs, it is going to lose!  So look for players that will combine for a good attack day in and day out.  You need:

One thing you should be sure to keep in mind to is the fact that about two-thirds of all major league  players are right handed.  Some players are pretty evenly balanced while others are very strong against one side or the other.  Typically left-handed batters are good against right-handed pitchers and right-handed batters are good against left-handed pitchers.  Of course the inverse is true as left-handed pitchers are usually better against left-handed batters, for example.  But there are many exceptions to this rule (can you say "Tom Glavine"?) so you must study the players to find their individual tendencies.  The bottom line is that you must build a lineup that can successfully hit both left-handed and right-handed pitchers.  And your pitching staff should be constructed so that you can counteract your opposing manager's strategy.  That means having a number of "looks" in your bullpen including "normal" and "reverse"  lefties if possible.  One final word of advice in this area- All other things being equal take the batter (or pitcher) who performs better against right-handed opponents because there are many more at-bats that come against righties in a typical season.

FIELDERS (also called "position players")

A leadoff hitter who will get on base often and runs the bases well, giving the batters behind him as many chances as possible to drive him in.  Good basestealing is a plus, but on-base percentage is essential:  Pete Rose was not much of a basestealer, but he was an aggressive baserunner who got on base often and scored often--he was a great leadoff batter.

A skilled batsman is usually wanted for the number two slot in the batting order.  Look for someone who rarely hits into double plays, rarely strikes out, and is good at bunting and the hit-and-run.  During a season, several games will come down your number two batter's ability to move baserunners into scoring position.

The number three batter is traditionally your best all-around hitter, although some managers will move a big home run hitter back to fourth or fifth in the batting order, even if he is the best hitter.  Sometimes a great all-around hitter is batted first because of baserunning skills, as has been the case with Ricky Henderson.  When creating your team, the number three hitter is probably the guy you want to acquire first--great hitters go fast in a draft. Look for a high batting average, a high slugging average, and strength in the clutch.  Good speed is a plus.  (Examples of great number three hitters are Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas.)

Number four is the power guy.  You need a good power hitter, preferably one who hits home runs often.  We're talking Albert Belle, Mark McGwire, Hank Aaron, and Lou Gehrig, here.

The first four batters are called the "first half of the order" and few managers have varied from the formula.  However, managers disagree about what is best for the "second half of the order"--the fifth through eighth place hitters in leagues without the designated hitter, but the fifth through ninth place hitters in league with the DH.

Most teams look for another home run hitter, maybe not as reliable as the guy batting fourth, but still able to put thunder into the ball.  Dave Kingman was a great number five hitter from this point of view.  The batters that follow are arranged more-or-less by their batting averages, although teams often put the best power hitter left in the sixth slot.

Many teams like good "clutch" hitters to populate the middle of the batting order.  One of the most frustrating things for a manager is to get men in scoring position only to have your five-hole hitter choke in the clutch.  Players who get better in the clutch are an important and rare commodity.

Other teams try to put together a second "mini" top of the batting order:  A good baserunner batting fifth (or sixth in leagues with the DH), a good bat handler next, and then a power hitter.  This approach can weaken the middle of your lineup (the third, fourth, and fifth hitters) by moving a power hitter too far away from the high on-base guys in the first three slots.

While considering what you need for a good batting order, you also need to look for strong players by position.  This is hard to do and is one reason why even great teams end up with two or three players who are no better than average.

In Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball, as in real life, you need a good defensive catcher.  Nearly every play begins with a ball being thrown toward the catcher and a poor defensive catcher can make hash out of your defense.  Look for opposing runners to laugh as they take extra bases and steal third against a poor catcher.  If the catcher is not only strong defensively but is a good hitter, too, snap him up!

First basemen are traditionally power hitters.  If you have watched baseball for long you have likely seen many cases where even a great defensive first baseman has been replaced by a weak fielding but good hitting first baseman whenever a team can manage it.  Great hitting with good defense is a plus, but there are only so many Mark McGwires in the world, and you will hear few fans complain about Frank Thomas's defense when they discuss his incredible hitting prowess.

Second basemen are traditionally good fielders.  They and short stops anchor the defense for a team.  Look for defense and a good bat handler, here, someone like Roberto Alomar.  Many a second baseman has made a good number two hitter in a batting order.

Third basemen are often a balance between at least adequate defense and hitting.  Many have been number five hitters in a lineup, although if you bat the likes of Molitor fifth, you should have the likes of Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx ahead of him!

Defense is thought to be essential in a short stop, even if his hitting stinks.  Most batters are right handed, and most of them pull the ball;  this means that short stops field more batted balls than other players.  You want sure hands, here.  If the short stop is a good hitter (Cal Ripken, Jr., for instance), then all the better.  But short stops are usually the bottom hitters in a batting order.

Outfielders are often thought of as interchangeable, but this is not entirely true, even though outfielders often shuttle among left field, center field, and right field.  Most teams look for defensive strength "up the middle," by which they mean the catcher, the second baseman, the short stop, and the center fielder.  One reason there are historically fewer great hitting center fielders than great hitting left fielders and right fielders is that teams want a defensive leader in center field--a take charge guy with great range, and preferably (but not necessarily) a great arm.  If you have crack at a great fielding center fielder who can hit well (Willie Mays, Tris Speaker, and their like) consider taking him right after you have selected the best hitter you can find for the third slot in your batting order.

Left and right fielders have traditionally been good hitters first and good fielders second--still, when the Strat-O-Matic baseball soars high and majestically to the outfield, you may find yourself hoping you have someone out there who can catch it!  Try to make one of these fielders and leftie hitter, to help balance a lineup that probably features mostly righties. Great right fielders include the likes of Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson, and they traditionally have very strong throwing arms (because baserunners are mostly running away from them, requiring very strong throws from right field to get them out).  Great left fielders include Barry Bonds and Ricky Henderson.  These players are often left-handed throwers, which means their gloves are on their right hands, facing the left field foul line, helping  them (so the reasoning goes) to better catch fly balls pulled down the left field line.

PITCHERS

Modern pitching is a complex matter, involving starters, relievers, and set-up men.  Strong pitching is very important to a team's success, and you will need at least two outstanding starters if you hope to compete in a league. Look for five strong starters--guys who can go eight or more inning per outing.  It is possible to go with only four starters, and in the heat of a pennant race in late some teams do, but pitchers wear out and need rest. If you want your starters strong in August, be sure to give them rest in May. A five pitcher starting rotation will give them that rest.  In 1973, manager Yogi Berra on the New York National League club stuck to his rotation through thick and thin, and in a very tight race for the division title he had the strongest starting staff in the league--it made the difference between the championship they won and being just another also-ran.

Try to have both left-handed and right-handed starters, leaning more toward righties.  Some of your opponents will have batting orders that feast on right handers, so you need one or two lefties to put them in their place. Others will feast on lefties, so have righties ready for them.  If every team has had a chance to draft, then you are not likely to have many weak teams in your league, but check out Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball's statistics as a season progresses.  You may find that a particular opponent fares badly against left-handed or right-handed pitching;  it would be nice to have a starter who takes advantage of that weakness.

In modern baseball, having at least one great relief pitcher is essential to a winning season.  In their primes, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Finger, and Bruce Sutter shut down other teams, making an eighth inning lead an almost certain victory.  Make a great reliever an early choice as you build your team, then try to acquire both lefty and righty relievers, for those special situations that arise during a game.  Is there a great right handed hitter up and the bases are loaded and you have a lefty on the mound?  You will want a good right handed reliever to go in and take down that hitter!  (Of course, if the hitter is Frank Thomas, who hits right handers every bit as well as left handers, bring in the righty and then pray for rain.)

The set-up pitcher is the newest innovation in baseball strategy.  Starters start games and are supposed to have good endurance;  relievers go for only an inning or two and are used to close out ball games or to face a particular hitter.  Set-up pitchers generally have moderate endurance, perhaps a few  innings, and they come into games to bridge the gap between a starter taken out early and the reliever who would be burned out if used for too many innings.  Set-up men don't get many wins, and they don't get many saves, but they hold leads until the closer can come in and finish the game.  Guys like Burt Hooten have become essential for victory in big league baseball.  Look for someone who is tough in the clutch, has a low earned run average, and can go for a moderate number of innings.


Playing a Game
HINTS AND TIPS FOR PLAYING A GAME

Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball offers you several choices for playing games. You can have the computer control both teams, you can play one team against the computer, or you may play against a human opponent.  Further, you can choose which innings you want to play, whether to play the game as an arcade game, and some limits on what players may or may not do.  In addition, you may play a scheduled game, meaning one that is part of a progressing season, or an unscheduled game, which would be like an exhibition game.

If you will manage a team, you should first check out your lineup.  The computer will pick one out for you, including a pitcher.  While in the "Manager" window, look your lineup over carefully, especially for an unscheduled game.  During a season, certain players must be rested at certain times, and the computer will make them unavailable, but for an unscheduled game, this does not matter, so pick the pitcher you most want to start the game and pick your position players to suit you.  The computer's batting order may not exactly suit you.  For instance, the computer may be dropping a good power hitter down too low in the batting order, say the eighth slot, and you may wish to place him in the fifth slot.

A good order (but not the only possibility--choose what best suits your personnel) would be (for a more detailed discussion of this topic please see Building a Team):

Lead off (first slot):  High on-bases, good runner.  Good base stealing a plus.

Second:  Good bats-man with low strikeout percentages

Third:  Your best hitter.

Clean up (fourth slot):  A good home run hitter.  Should be tough in the clutch.

Fifth:  Good power.

Sixth:  Good on-bases.

Seventh:  Good on-bases.

Eighth:  If the next batter is the pitcher, put your worst hitter, here.  That guy who is all-field but no-hit will do.  (Please note that many managers place their worst batter seventh, going for someone with a high on-base percentage for the eighth slot.  The idea is for him to be able to get on base when there are already two outs, so that the pitcher becomes the third out and the team can begin its next series of at bats with its lead-off hitter.)

Ninth:  The pitcher, unless you are using the designated hitter rule, in which case your worst hitter goes here.

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of you bench players is a big plus.  You may wish to pinch-hit for a weak hitter with runners on base;  you will need to put in a hitter who may perform well against the opposing pitcher, and you will need to have a player at the ready who can play the position vacated by the player you pinch-hit for.

In late innings, with a lead, you may wish to strengthen your defense at the expense of your hitting.  Try to do this in conjunction with putting in your closer, thereby minimizing the opposition's chance for a rally.

DON'T PANIC!  If you have a good, strong starter getting rocked in the first inning, you are usually well-advised to stick with him.  He will probably settle down in later innings and give you a better performance than a substitute would.  This is especially important if you are playing an entire season.  Continuously pulling your starters early will wear out your relievers and set-up men, possibly making them ineffective late in the season due to over-usage.  Deciding when to take a pitcher out is something of an art, without well-defined rules. As you play your season's games, note what works best for you.  Some pitchers will wilt after a certain number of batters have hit against them;  for some, giving up a few runs all at once means that they have had it for the day.


Playing a Season
HINTS AND TIPS FOR PLAYING A SEASON

Please be sure to look at Building Your Own Team for hints for creating your own team.

Number one:  Create a starting rotation and try to stick with it.  Pay attention to when your team has days off, because they may enable you to skip your fifth starter occasionally and go right to your main starter.  If your rotation isn't doing well, move it around if your can.  See who does best with regular work and who does not.  If you are participating in a league with other people, try a few "what if" scenarios on your own.  Have the computer play some seasons for you and then look over the stats to see which pitchers performed best as your starters.

When you have organized your pitching, hitting, and fielding to suit you, try have the computer run some simulations for you, seeing what results you get over a season.  Strat-O-Matic's statistical model is complex, and you may not catch all of a player's nuances just by looking at his real-life stats.  A few simulated seasons may reveal a good clean-up hitter you didn't know you had, or a player you thought would be a good fielder who turns out to be a menace in the field (trade him to someone who doesn't know the player can't cut it).

Remember that Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball keeps track of players' playing time and that fatigue will affect players.  Be sure your pitchers get the rest they need.  It may be tempting to use your ace closer every game at the start of the season, but this may make him unavailable late in the season when you most need him;  so mix up your relievers even as you keep track of your starters' health.  Position players also can tire.  Make sure they get the breaks they need.  This is especially important for someone who played significantly fewer than the maximum number of possible games in real-life. A player who appeared in only 100 games in a 162 game season could wilt in the late season without proper care.

Many managers in real life as well as in Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball prefer to stick with a basic batting order from game to game.  Others, like Casey Stengel and Tony LaRussa, prefer to platoon their players.  They create lineups specifically to face lefty pitchers and ones to face righty pitchers.  The idea is to maximize the firepower the opposition faces.  When you have a first baseman who hits well against right handers but another who is better than he against left handers, you platoon them so that each faces the pitchers he hits best.  In real life, this annoys some players, but in Strat-O-Matic Computer Baseball you're the boss and the players play when you say they do!  Platooning has the beneficial side effect of resting players, helping them give you a full season's play.  Some of the players most in need of rest will be those who were platooned during the real-life season.


Hints and tips
HINTS AND TIPS FOR PLAYING AGAINST OTHER SENTIENT LIFE FORMS

DO NOT GET ANGRY!  Angry players are losing players.  Besides, anger can result in costly repairs to your computer equipment!  Never let a human (or other sentient being) know that he is getting to you:  It lets him know that he can mess with your mind and distract you from the unfolding events of the game.  It can make a probable loss a certain loss.

Baseball is fascinatingly complex, and its results are unpredictable, no matter how much we study the percentages--Bucky Dent still hits that Playoff home run no matter how unlikely it was supposed to have been, and Eckersley still gives up a game-winning home run to Kirk Gibson in the World Series, even though the odds heavily favored Eckersley.

Remember, a game is nine innings long, and a full season is 162 games long, and as Yogi Berra has said, "It ain't over until it's over."  A mistake in the second inning can be overcome in the eighth, and botched games during a season will be matched by brilliant decisions in other ones.

During a season, human managers will reveal trends in their decision-making. Some like to lead-off bunt with a certain hitter every time they have a chance.  Look for this, make note of it, and CHARGE THAT BUNT! when you have the chance.  Other managers will always use relievers in a particular order or in particular situations, or they will always bring in certain pinch-hitters in particular situations.  Knowing this enables you to plan ahead.  Back in the 1970s, a microphone was put in Cincinnati's dugout during a game;  it captured Sparky Anderson going over the opposition's lineup and choosing a right handed reliever, which would then have the opposition send up a particular pair of batters.  After the first batter had his licks, Anderson brought in the reliever he really wanted in there, forcing the other manager to respond with the batter Anderson really wanted to see;  this gave Anderson the pitcher-batter match up that he had wanted all along.  It came from knowing the tendencies of the other manager.

In general, if your opponent makes a bad decision, make him pay for it.  For instance, if he pinch-hits early on for his good defensive catcher, resulting in his having to play a poor defensive catcher, run like crazy against that new catcher!  Ignore pleas for mercy;  your opponent would do the same to you and will if you make a similar mistake.

Pay attention:  Look closely at substitutions in particular, but also note when your opponent fails to bring in the expected pinch-hitter or does not use the obvious relief pitcher.  These are clues to a team's weaknesses and can be especially valuable in season-long play.  Players may be too tired to perform, or they may have weaknesses you have not noticed.  Is the opposition's ace reliever weak against left-handed power, and that's why he isn't being used?  Maybe you should hold a strong lefty hitter in reserve; his presence on the bench might keep that reliever out of the game.

Your opponents are watching how you play the game.  They may take note of your tendencies.  So, surprise them!  Do the unexpected now and then.  Sometimes taking a longshot chance is your best hope for victory--and if it works, the opposition has a real problem on its hands:  an opposing manager who is unpredictable and who will take the chances necessary for a win.


MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS
MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS (Located in the Options menu)

This screen allows you to select which of the following options you wish to use:

Toolbar on manager screen - If you wish to use the toolbar check this box.  The toolbar is available when you are on the Manager screen.  It allows you to quickly start games, cut, copy and paste teams and players and get help information.

Color headings on reports - If you have a color printer you should check this box if you want your printer to display color reports.  If you do not have a color printer or if you prefer black and white reports then leave this box unchecked.

Bold headings on reports - If you like bold headings to be printed on your reports check this box.  This works in addition to color headings so you can choose color by itself or color and bold.

Save formatting to prt file - When saving reports to a PRT file  you can elect to include or exclude the formatting commands used by the CD-Rom game (a PRT file is short for print file which is an ascii text format).  The formatting commands include brackets surrounding a number and indicates formatting information such as color or bold type.  If you are going to be importing the PRT files to a word processor you probably want to exclude the Strat-O-Matic formatting.  If so remove the check-mark from this box.  However, if you plan to use the CD-Rom game to view PRT files then you should check this box.

Also save print files as HTML - When this option is checked and a print file is saved to disk a matching HTML file will also be saved.  This file will be saved in the HTML directory.  Refer to HTML Output for further information on customizing the HTML output.

Don't Skin Application - You might try  "Don't Skin Application" if you are experiencing compatibility problems with the new interface.  It simply shuts off the skinning and gives you a more bare-bones look to the game.  This will affect things like the fancy scroll bar and buttons that are shown in the skinned version of the game.

Don't show ballpark entry - If you select this option then the ballpark entry picture will not be shown and you will be taken directly into the game instead.

Colors - You can set various colors for the program. ***IMPORTANT NOTE*** Not all colors in the program can be defined (due to skinning), however many can.  The color options are as follows:

- "List" Colors - these are color options that alter the colors used in List Boxes.  The base color is the color of the text in the list box.  The blue line and red line colors are selected items (some functions require two different colors, such as the Super Hal Lineup Depth Chart).  The Mix line colors are a blended color of the blue line and red line colors (the default is magenta).

- "Stat" Colors - these are colors that affect the stats section shown at the bottom of the League Manager screen.  When you select a player his stats are displayed.  The colors that can be defined are the heading, actual (real-life) stats and his replay stats.

- "Restore Default Colors" - Restores all of the Listbox and Stat colors to their original default colors.

- "Main App Font" - You can define a Main App Font that will control the font to be used throughout the program.  This affects dialog text, list boxes, buttons, etc.

Note that after you have changed these colors that you must exit the program and restart it in order for the changes to take effect.


SCORESHEETS
SCORESHEETS (Accessed from check information game screen and at end of game)

Score sheets are handy recaps of the game shown in grid format.  A scoresheet differs from the box score in that you can see every batter did in each at-bat with a scoresheet.  Our scoresheet uses a simple short-hand format that once learned is very easy to use.

The first thing to notice about the scoresheet is that it is divided up into rows and columns.  The rows are numbered 1 to 9 and the columns start at the letter A and proceed from there.  Therefore the first batter's results are always located in column A, row 1 (or A1 for short).

From the second inning on all innings are shown with asterisks to help you identify the start of that inning.  So instead of the saying something like A5 the box that starts the second inning would print as *2*.  Of course by glancing at the scoresheet it's easy enough to determine that the *2* is located in the box called A5.

Scoresheets are always printed with box-scores.  The box-score list the point that each pitcher entered the game (A1 for the starting pitchers, of course) and the point where he left the game.

Each play result is divided up in the following way:  Play result, optional fielder information and optional baserunner information.  The play result is the typical scoring shorthand, for instance K for strikeout and Si for single.  The fielder information is preceded by a / to help you identify it.  The baserunner information is preceded by a >.

On the actual scoresheet plays might be listed over 2 or 3 lines so that they fit in the space allotted for them.  But they should be read as if they were all on the same line.

As an example of a play result take the following:  G-DP/643>23 10.  This play is decoded as a groundout double play that was scored 6-4-3.  The runner on 2nd went to 3rd while the runner on first was out.


PAST SEASON FEATURES

Since we are constantly improving our game not all disks contain the same features.  However all seasons may be played against one another by shutting off any options not common to both teams.  The 1920, 1927, 1934, 1941, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1975, 1978, and  1989-present past season disks are rated for full Super-Advanced play including all standard statistics plus lefty/righty stats, separate range, error and throwing arm ratings on defense, speed, individual balk, wild pitch and passed ball ratings, double plays hit into, ballpark effects, weather effects, clutch hitting factors, etc.  Pitchers are rated in an equally detailed manner.  The 1985-1988 seasons have all of the above listed features except for individual balk, wild pitch, passed ball ratings and weather effects.  The 1930, 1950, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1968-1974, 1976, 1977, and 1979-1984 seasons have all listed features except individual balk, wild pitch, passed ball ratings and Ballpark, Clutch and Weather effects.  In addition to the above listed features our 1992-Present season disks rate players for their actual tendencies to pull the ball, and how often they hit it in the air or on the ground.  Pitchers from these seasons are rated to perform as flyball pitchers or groundball pitchers and how often they induce the double play groundball.  And the 1934, 1954, 1960, 1964, 1967 and 1992-Present seasons rate pitchers individually for base-running and bunting, and rate relief pitcher's effectiveness with a "closer rating".


FILE COMPATIBILITY

Most data files that are used with or created by CD-ROM baseball are portable between different platforms, operating systems and versions of the game. However the following are exceptions:

1. You will need the latest version of the software to run the most recently released seasons. For instance to use the 1996 and 1960 rosters (which were first released in 1997) you will need at least Version 2.0 of the CD-ROM game (which was also released in 1997).

2. Subset stats and game result files are not compatible between release versions of the game.  So Version 2 and Version 3 of the CD-ROM game, for instance,  cannot exchange subset stats.  Also subsets from the DOS game  are only compatible with the CD-ROM game that was released in the same year.  For instance, the DOS Version 6.4 subsets are compatible with the CD-ROM Version 3 subsets because those two games were released in the same year.

3. The following files are not portable between platforms or operating system (including 16 and 32 bit versions of the program running on the same computer): Game logs, team notes & player notes, and certain newer stats categories some of which are listed in the Player Detail Reports, Team Detail Reports and Traditional Fielding Statistics.

Note that the basic stat files are compatible between different platforms, operating systems and releases of the game.


TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If you experience trouble please search the index of this help file for an answer.  Experience shows us that answers to almost half of our tech support calls can be easily found in this help file.  Be sure to look at the frequently asked questions.  You might also want to check out our web page where you can download patches and find other important information.

If you wish to contact us you may do so by e-mail, telephone or regular mail.

If you wish to contact us by telephone the number is 1-516-759-5368. Our technical support hours are 8:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

If you wish to write us the address is Strat-O-Matic Game Co, ATTN: TECH SUPPORT, 46 Railroad Plaza, Glen Head, NY 11545


VISIT MOUND
VISIT MOUND (Located in the Game menu item when a game is underway)

For each pitcher you are allowed one visit to the mound per inning to ascertain the current  condition of that pitcher.  After using your one allotted visit to the mound the next visit would automatically result in his removal.  Therefore instead of allowing for a second visit we post a reminder message indicating that you have already visited the mound for the current pitcher this inning.  If you choose to remove him just call up the lineup screen and make the substitution as normal.

Note: You can visit the mound by selecting the menu item or by clicking the pitch count  displayed on the screen.


CONDITION
PITCH COUNT CONDITION

The pitcher's condition is listed as a number from 0 through 9. 9 means that he is operating on all cylinders whereas 0 indicates that he has nothing left in the tank.  Normally pitchers start their appearance as a 9 and maintain that level until they start to approach their  suggested pitch count.

BEFORE ENTERING THE GAME: Each pitcher has a condition rating that will be used when he is brought into game.  This number is displayed on the select starting pitcher screen and the lineup screen.  (If it is not displayed then that means he is not fatigued at all - his rating would be a 9).  The pitcher's condition is affected by a number of factors including the number of days he has rested since his last outing, the number of  consecutive days he has appeared in and whether or not he is being overutilized.   IMPORTANT NOTE: WHEN A PITCHER IS SHOWN AS BEING FATIGUED, AND YOU STILL DECIDE TO BRING HIM IN, THE NUMBER OF PITCHES HE IS ALLOWED FOR THAT OUTING IS ALSO AFFECTED.  If he is only slightly fatigued then his number of pitches will only be slightly affected.  But if he badly fatigued then he will only be able to throw a relatively few number of pitches before further fatigue sets in.

DURING GAME PLAY: It is highly recommended that once a pitcher's condition has dropped below a 9 that you bring in a reliever to replace him.  Remember the lower the number goes the worse the pitcher will perform.  When a pitcher's condition drops below a 9 he starts to give up more singles, doubles, triples, home runs and walks.

If a pitcher's condition drops to level 0 he will continue to fatigue the longer he stays in the game.  His condition rating will remain displayed as 0, but he will start to give up more and more hits and walks if you leave him in the game.

When on offense you can determine the condition of your pitcher by viewing the  Lineup screen for your team (the numbers listed to the right of your pitcher indicate his current pitch total / suggested pitch count for the game and his condition).

When on defense you can determine the condition of your pitcher by using the  Visit Mound menu item.


SUGGESTED PITCH COUNT

This number may be viewed on the main game screen when playing with the Pitch Count option.  The numbers listed next the pitcher's mound (and separated by a slash) are his current pitch count and his suggested pitch count.  For example, if these numbers read 12/84 then the pitcher's current pitch count is 12 and his suggested pitch count is 84.

This number may also be viewed on the Lineup screen during the game.  Look underneath the players in your lineup and you will see your pitcher listed.  Next to him there will be 2 or 3 numbers which are separated by slashes.  For example, if these numbers read 12/84/9 then the pitcher's current pitch count is 12, his suggested pitch count is 84 and his condition is 9.

The suggested pitch count is the approximate number of pitches that the pitcher may throw before his condition starts to deteriorate.  Actual game conditions and other factors (such  as hot weather) will affect the number of pitches he can throw before his condition is  affected.

It is possible that a pitcher may have his condition altered well before or well after the suggested number of pitches for him.  For instance, if he gets his doors blown off early in the game he might have his condition affected earlier.  Conversely, if he is pitching a gem he might be able to go many more pitches before his condition deteriorates.

The suggested pitch count is the number of pitches that this pitcher might be expected to go  in this outing.  However it is not an exact number and you will have to use your managerial skills to determine when you wish to lift the pitcher.


PITCH COUNT RULES
PITCH COUNT RULES (Located in the Options/Rules dialog)

When you select to use the Pitch Count rules the following changes to the game are made:

1. Each pitcher is assigned a Suggested Pitch Count.

2. During game play the pitcher's actual pitch count will be maintained.

3. You will be allowed to Visit the Mound once per inning per pitcher to determine the pitcher's Condition.   Also note that when using the pitch count fatigue system you will not be notified in the  play by play when a pitcher allows a hit due to his pitch count condition.  This simulates the real life uncertainty that a major league manager must wrestle with.

Play results can be affected by the pitch count rules in a manner similar to the Maximum Rules.  Therefore, this option cannot be selected unless the Main Rules  are set to Maximum Level.  See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for more details.


IMPORT GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS
IMPORT GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS (Located in the Stats menu)

This function is designed to be used by a commissioner in a play-by-mail league.  In addition to reading this please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.

First select the league that is associated with the game result files or subset files that are to be imported.  Select this league using the manager screen.  Then select the "Import Game Results or Subsets" function from the Statistics menu.  At that point you will have to navigate to one of the files you wish to import and open it. If the files you wish to import are on a diskette then insert that diskette and navigate to it with the open file dialog before selecting one of the files.

After you have opened one of these files a dialog will appear that allows you to select which files you wish to import.  This dialog will list all game result files and subset files that are  located in the same directory as the file which you opened.

This dialog has buttons to quickly select "All" or "None" of the files.  When a file is selected for importing it will say "YES" next to it.  If a file is not to be imported it will say "NO" next to it.  To change the status of an individual file click on that file.

In addition a check box appears at the top of the screen.  If you check this box then the injury and rest information will be updated in your statistics files when you import the subsets.  If this option is checked the team streak statistics (such as record in  last 10 games and consecutive wins/losses) and the batter's hitting streak information will be updated as well.  If you use this option then the order in which you import subsets will effect the injury and rest information.  If this box is not check then this information is left unchanged on your hard drive.

After you have selected which file should be imported click on the "Import" button.  All game result files and subsets that have been selected will be processed. After they are processed they will be copied to the Imported directory.

After importing the stats, you can use the schedule maintenance function to  report the final score.  This step is optional and is not necessary if your league plays "nonscheduled league games."


DELETE GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS
DELETE GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS (Located in the Stats menu)

First select the league that is associated with the game result files or subset files that are to be deleted.  Select this league using the manager screen.  Then select the "Delete Game Results or Subsets" function from the Statistics menu.  At that point you will have to navigate to one of the files you wish to delete and open it.

After you have opened one of these files a dialog will appear that allows you to select which files you wish to delete.  This dialog will list all game result files and subset files that are  located in the same directory as the file which you opened.

This dialog has buttons to quickly select "All" or "None" of the files.  When a file is selected for deletion it will say "YES" next to it.  If a file is not to be deleted it will say "NO" next to it.  To change the status of an individual file click on that file.

After you have selected which file should be deleted click on the "Delete" button to perform the deletion.


EXPORT GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS
EXPORT GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS (Located in the Stats menu)

First select the league that is associated with the game result files or subset files that are to be exported.  Select this league using the manager screen.  Then select the "Export Game Results or Subsets" function from the Statistics menu.

A dialog will appear that allows you to select which files you wish to export.  This dialog will list all game result files and subset files that are associated with the selected league.

This dialog has buttons to quickly select "All" or "None" of the files.  When a file is selected for exporting it will say "YES" next to it.  If a file is not to be exported it will say "NO" next to it.  To change the status of an individual file click on that file.

After you have selected which file should be exported you will be prompted to select a folder to export them to.  After the files have been copied they will be moved to the "Exported" folderon your hard drive.

You may find out more by referring to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.


VIEW GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS
VIEW GAME RESULTS/SUBSETS (Located in the Stats menu)

Select the "View Game Results or Subsets" function from the Statistics menu.  Navigate to the file that you wish to view and open it.

After you have opened one of these files a report dialog will appear that allow you to select from a number of reports.  You can also select other game result files or subsets to be viewed  providing that they reside in the same folder as the originally selected file.


EXPORT COMPUTER MANAGER
EXPORT COMPUTER MANAGER (Located in the Team menu)

You can export a computer manager to a file so that a play-by-mail opponent can import it and play your games.  This file can be mailed to your opponent on diskette or e-mailed to him.

In addition to making it easy to send your computer manager to your opponent you can also lock the computer manager so that he cannot see it.  This is little bit of an edge can help swing a game in your favor.

To use this function select the team from the manager screen.  Then select the "Export computer manager" function from the Team menu.  You will be prompted to supply a key to lock the computer manager (enter 0 if you do not wish the computer manager to be locked).  After entering the key click the "OK" button to continue.

You will then be prompted to type in the name of the computer manager file.  If you wish to export the computer manager to a diskette insert the diskette and navigate to it with the save file dialog.  After entering the name of the computer manager file click on the  "Save" button to complete this task.


IMPORT COMPUTER MANAGER
IMPORT COMPUTER MANAGER (Located in the Team menu)

To use this function select the team from the manager screen.  Then select the "Import computer manager" function from the Team menu.  At this point you will have to  navigate to the computer manager file that you wish to import and open it. If the file you wish to import is on a diskette then insert that diskette and navigate to it with the open file dialog before selecting the computer manager file.

After you click "Open" to open this computer manager file the computer manager will be imported and overwrite the existing computer manager for the selected team.

If the computer manager you imported was locked then you will not be able to update it or view it's settings unless you know the key to unlock it.  If the key has been forgotten or  lost then there is no way to unlock the computer manager.  In that case the only way to unlock it would be to use the Generate Computer Manager function for that team which would  wipe out the existing computer manager and generate a new one scratch.


PLAYER STATS
PLAYER STATS (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function allows you to view the following Player Statistics reports:

- Player Game Logs generated by the CD-ROM game.

- Player Detail report

- Player Streaks and Highlights report.   Please Note other player statistics are viewed from the Team Stats and Report Writer menu items.


LINEUPS AND USAGE
LINEUPS AND USAGE (Located in the Options menu)

This screen allows you to customize the Lineups and Usage options used for a league.

Please see Recommended Settings if you are new to Strat-O-Matic computer baseball.

The options you can set with this dialog are:

Visitor and Home Team Lineups

Scheduled Days Off

Auto Swap

Minor Leaguers

Overusage

Use "Super Hal" Bullpen

Use "Super Hal" Lineup Depth Chart

Allow Extra GS For Certain Pitchers


THE REGULATOR
THE REGULATOR (Located in the Options/Game Preferences dialog)

The Regulator option will display a full-screen batter-pitcher confrontation that lets you affect the outcome of the play.  However Strat-O-Matic's Regulator is a revolutionary concept because while you can theoretically affect the outcome of any given play, using the Regulator is statistically neutral at both the team and individual player levels!  So if you're attracted to arcade style games but crave the statistical accuracy and realism that only Strat-O-Matic can provide the Regulator might be your perfect gaming choice.

The Regulator is only used by the team on offense.  If you play games against a human opponent then the person managing the offensive team should have control of the mouse.  If you play games against the computer manager then the Regulator will be available when your team is up, but when the computer's team is up the Regulator will automatically click the mouse for its own team.

Click on the following to find out more about the Regulator:

How do I hit the ball?

How do I read the bullseye?

Frequently asked questions about the Regulator.


HOW DO I HIT THE BALL?

IMPORTANT!!! - When using the Regulator the animated batter will always swing regardless of whether or not you click the mouse.  Clicking the mouse DOES NOT start the swing.  THE MOUSE SHOULD NOT BE CLICKED UNTIL THE BALL MEETS THE BAT. In addition the "target-cursor" should be manipulated with the mouse so that the ball is lined up inside the "target-cursor" at the moment that you click the mouse.

In other words the Regulator uses 3 dimensions (horizontal, vertical and time) to measure your ability.  Ideally, the "target-cursor" is positioned horizontally and vertically on the screen so that the ball ends up "inside" the target exactly when the ball meets the bat.  Additionally, at the precise moment the ball meets the bat you should click the mouse button.

After the animation sequence is complete a bullseye appears and then you are returned to the game screen and the normal flow of the game is continued.


UNDERSTANDING THE BULLSEYE TARGET

After you swing a "bullseye target" will appear momentarily on the screen.  Then the stadium screen shot will reappear and the play result will display.

The target is broken down into 6 sections (which, if you are familiar with the board game, represent the 6 card columns).  The innermost section of this target is the "bullseye" and it represents the best possible advantage for the batter. The outer most ring of the target represents the best possible result for the pitcher.  The closer the result registers to the middle, or bullseye, of the target, the more chance the outcome of the play will be good for the batter.

The LOCATION of the result is indicated by the coloration of one section. The location indicates the potential for a good outcome, as explained above.  In addition the COLOR of the result indicates the following:

RED- A poorly executed mouse click has moved the result one "ring" away from the center.  Poor clicks can occur because of bad timing (not clicking just as the bat meets the ball) or bad horizontal and/or vertical positioning of the "cursor-target."

YELLOW - Average mouse click.  The result of the play has not been altered by your mouse click.

GREEN- Good mouse click.  Your skill with the mouse has helped the batter by moving the result one "ring" towards the middle of the bullseye.

As you can see the best possible outcome would be a green bullseye.  The green indicates your ability with the mouse has helped improve the batter's chances of getting a positive result (hit/walks, etc.) while the bullseye indicates the batter has a very good chance of a positive result.  In fact, you'll find that when a power hitter is up a bullseye result offers a wonderful moment of anticipation as you await the final result of the play to appear.


REGULATOR FAQ'S

I only want to use the Regulator for my team. Is this possible?

Yes.  When the offensive team is being managed by the computer the Regulator is not controlled by the mouse.  Even though the Regulator screen appears for that team, it ignores any click of the mouse.  Instead, since the computer is in charge of running that team, it internally generates a "click" for the batters on its team.

HOW come the batter swings even for walks?

Since the Regulator simply alters the result of the play (which column the result will be read from, in board game parlance), it doesn't know the end result of the play.  It helps serve as the "activator" for the play, much the way that dice do in a board game.

WHY does the batter sometimes make an out when I get a bullseye?

A bullseye simply means the batters chances of getting a hit are greatly increased.  It does not mean an automatic hit.  Conversely, a swing that results in the outer ring being highlighted does not necessarily mean an out.  In fact, in some rare cases it might even result in a home run.

HOW does the Regulator maintain statistical accuracy?

Unlike other computer simulations, Strat-O-Matic is based on an extremely accurate statistical model that has stood the test of time.  With more than 35 years of fine tuning, the model is solid as a rock.  By using measured deviations from that statistical model the Regulator is able to deliver statistical accuracy with relative ease.  The Regulator accomplishes this by dynamically shrinking and expanding the "strike zone" before every at-bat.  In the final analysis the Regulator is a statistically neutral device that allows you to alter the outcome of individual plays but does not alter the expected output of a batter over the course of a season.

I'M not good at dexterity type games, so I won't like the Regulator, right?

Actually one of the strengths of the Regulator is adjusting to the dexterity of the person playing the game.  Within a few at-bats the Regulator has already figured out your level of dexterity and it continues to monitor and adjust for it with every at-bat.  So even if you're not good at dexterity type games you can still use the Regulator with the knowledge that you will not distort the statistics.

IF that's so, can't I "cheat" the Regulator by not trying at certain times?

We thought of that, too.  Therefore the Regulator includes logic to prevent such abuses.  The details, for obvious reasons, are only known to us.  But if you try to cheat the Regulator chances are that the only one you'll end up cheating is yourself!

CAN the Regulator be used for play-by-mail and draft leagues?

While there is no underlying statistical reason that the Regulator should not be used in a play-by-mail league we do not anticipate that many leagues will choose to use it.

Most people who participate in play-by-mail leagues are very into the strategy of the game and would probably dislike the idea of using a device like the Regulator for league play.

However some leagues might want to use the Regulator for league play.  If you are going to use the Regulator for play-by-mail league play then you should always use the  computer manager for the visiting team.  This will cause the computer to "click" for the visiting team when the Regulator screen appears.


BUTTON PALETTE
The button palette contains buttons that perform the same functions as the game menu items.  The buttons perform the following functions:

MENU TEXT: Swing Away

ACTION:    Starts the play.

HOT KEY:   S

MENU TEXT: Base Runner Hold

ACTION:    Hold or cancel holding the base runner.

HOT KEY:   B

MENU TEXT: Position Defense

ACTION:    Position defense (in, back, corners in, etc.).

HOT KEY:   P

MENU TEXT: Intentional Walk

ACTION:    Intentionally walk the batter.

HOT KEY:   I

MENU TEXT: Steal Base

ACTION:    Steal a base.

HOT KEY:   1

MENU TEXT: Hit & Run

ACTION:    Hit-and-Run.

HOT KEY:   2

MENU TEXT: Sac Bunt

ACTION:    Sacrifice or bunt for a hit.

HOT KEY:   3

MENU TEXT: Squeeze Play

ACTION:    Try to squeeze home the runner on 3rd.  You'll have a choice of a suicide or safety squeeze.

HOT KEY:   4

MENU TEXT: Visitors Roster

ACTION:    Visiting team's lineup screen.

HOT KEY:   V

MENU TEXT: Home Team Roster

ACTION:    Home team's lineup screen.

HOT KEY:   H

MENU TEXT: Check Information

ACTION:    Lineup cards, roster ratings, replay stats, defense grid, box-score, PAC report and Miscellaneous info.  If you are playing scheduled games then the Out-Of-Town scoreboard info is also shown.

HOT KEY:   C


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 4.0

 1) Super Hal Computer Manager bullpen management.

 2) Model League function.

 3) New Out-Of-Town Scoreboard game display option.

 4) HTML output - All reports can be saved to HTML format so that they can easily be posted on the Internet.  The game comes with a standard HTML shell which gets wrapped around the reports.  You can edit the shell to customize it to your situation.  Also color output is supported - normally a real bear to handle using HTML.

 5) Schedule Maintenance now supports schedule Export and Import from comma delimited text files.  Now you can edit or create a schedule using your spreadsheet program and then import it into the game.

 6) The Usage report in team stats now includes pitcher's Games Started and Starts Left (Actual starts minus Replay starts).

 7) A new bunting rule has been added.  With the bases loaded, and the corners or infield position in, downgrade the bunting rating 2 levels instead of 1.  This is because there is a force play at home plate and on a bunt the runner on third must try to advance if the ball is bunted on the ground.  Issuing an intentional walk to load the bases will now have that advantage in Strat-O-Matic, just as it does in real life.

 8) The Display Encyclopedia function has new "Report All" batters & pitchers reports shows every player in the encyclopedia and allows you to save this to a file.  Great time saver for helping create your own printed encyclopedia.

 9) The current game stats for batters and pitchers can now be displayed on game screen.  Refer to the Game Screen Layout Options screen.

10) New Player Sort and Filter options - "Show outfielders", "Show Middle Infielders", filter by fielding range.  Great for drafts - for instance you can now display only middle infielders whose range rating is 2 or better.  Or you can show all outfielders (instead of just one outfield position) since many outfielders can easily be switched to other outfield positions.

11) New Pitch count fatigue rule - the longer a pitcher stays in at level 0 the worse he gets.  Previously a great closer could have been kept in a game for numerous extra innings if his performance at level 0 was not that bad.

12) Card Image Option - Bunt rating, Hit and Run rating and Power (N or W) ratings now display during game play (Requires purchase of this option).  See the Ratings screen for a description of these fields.

13) Tactile Dice - Single die mode now pauses after the first die stops and allows you to click a second time to finish the roll.  This adds greatly to the suspense of watching the dice on the screen!

14) Eligible Players screen - The minor league players now show in blue.  Also a player info box has been added at bottom of this screen.

15) On the Lineup Screen the Minor league players now show in blue (when editing preset lineups only).

16) On the Lineup Screen a button has been added to toggle bullpen fatigue between relief fatigue and starter fatigue (when playing games only, not when editing preset lineups).  This is useful if you wish to know how soon a particular starter will be rested - you can now access that information without exiting the game.

17) On the Lineup Screen you can now copy one lineup to another (when editing preset lineups only).  This allows you to copy one lineup (e.g., vs. left) to another lineup (e.g., vs. right).  That way if the lineup is nearly the same, it saves a lot of dragging and clicking.

18) Power W/N added to player display area at bottom of screen for batters.    See the Ratings screen for a description of the Power Rating.

19) Player Game Logs report now lists the opponent and cumulative season stats (Average, homeruns and RBIs for batters, Record, saves, ERA and Ks for pitchers).

20) Ballpark and Clutch factors can now be toggled independently.  Some leagues wish to play with just the ballpark option and not the clutch system.  This option is now available.  Note: When using this option statistical accuracy will suffer slightly, perhaps a point or two on the batting average at most.

21) Ability to box out the defensive players has been added to the game screen.  See the Game Screen Layout Options screen.

22) Boxscores are automatically saved for manual games using the same naming conventions as autoplay games (only saved if appropriate Autoplay/Boxscore Options setting is on).

23) When using the Pitch Count Rules pitchers who started more than 25 percent of their teams games will require less rest between starts.  This allows for 3-man rotations, 2-man rotation or even a 1-man "rotation" (Will White started 75 of his teams 81 games in 1879)!

24) New stadium photos of the following stadiums: Tampa and Arizona.  Refer to the Ballpark Codes screen for the new ballpark codes.

25) Play by play improved. Three new PBP symbols added.  All play by play files have been updated this year.  Over 15,000 lines of play by play are included.  And for just $5 more you can enjoy thousands of more lines of team specific play by play, updated to include interesting events from 1998.

26) Kudos included.  The first  three versions of the CD-ROM Baseball game has consistently received great reviews from the leading gaming magazines such as PC Games and Computer Gaming World.  We expect Version 4.0 to continue that tradition.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 3.0

 1) Interleague play fully supported via sub-leagues.

 2) Encyclopedia for your replays.  Fully integrated encyclopedia with many new reports.  Encyclopedia can be linked to an existing replay and doing so will add a "Career" page to the player and team notebooks.

 3) Pitch count fatigue system - pitchers tire based upon the number of pitches thrown.  Just like real major league managers you are allowed one visit to the mound to check the pitcher's fatigue stats when using this option.

 4) New ML, XM and MC leagues.

 5) Printed manual now included with all game orders.

 6) Newspaper style recap improved.  Now shows "Yesterday's best performances" which recaps the best games by batters and pitchers.  Also all-star voting is shown for each position - watch as the votes for your favorite players roll in!!

 7) Greatly enhanced game results & subsets support.  Ability to view these files, export to diskette, import from diskette and delete.

 8) Pre-game setup window greatly enhanced - will only reload eligibles/starting pitchers or lineups when it has to.  "Day of month" listbutton now lets you select this info for non-league games (this is required information that is utilized in some reports).  Computer manager is now accessible directly from pre-game setup.  Button added to clearing rest/injuries for draft league use.  Also eligibles can now be saved from this screen.

 9) SADV injury system - Includes 15 or 60 day injuries (to simulate major leagues), pitchers' injuries occur more frequently.

10) Export and import computer manager functions added.  You can also "lock" your computer manager with a code so that your play-by-mail opponents cannot see your computer manager settings.

11) Ballpark doubles and triples added for every AL and NL season in Major League History.

12) Guard Lines strategy is now available.

13) Excess triple problem solved for players who hit no (or very few) triples.

14) When Fly (RF) B  (deep fly to right field) occurs runner on second can attempt to tag up and move to third.

15) When holding runner at 1st or 2nd base their baserunning speed is adjusted (-1 if held, +1 if not) for realism.

16) New filters added on player sort: Team and Year (great for career historical set).

17) Greatly enhanced color in reports - For instance it's now easy see who's in the minor leagues on reports because they display in a different color.

18) Support for dead-ball era teams with new computer manager setting.

19) New "ALL REPORTS" selection from Team and League stats reporting screens allows you to display all reports for the displayed team (you can even display all reports for all teams!)

20) The Matchup box is now customizable - you select the number of players display (from 1 to 9)

21) X-Chart detail display added when using SADV fielding chart and the "Show board game information" box is selected.  You can see what fielders with different ratings would have done with the same split reading!

22) Comp manager changes: hit-and-run and bunt "less often" setting has been changed  to "never".   Steal "less often" setting has been changed to "don't steal if held".

23) New stadium photos of the following stadiums: Atlanta, St. Louis, Oakland,  San Diego, Anaheim.

24) Help file improved to tell you which menu various items can be found in.

25) Support for 5 rated fielders added for Advanced game fielding chart.

26) Team code and year added to main screen for players.

27) New report: schedule report by team.

28) Improved reports:  	· Totals of batters and pitchers primary statistical categories added to the draft report. 	· List of minor leaguers added to the computer manager report. 	· Positions of bench players added to lineup cards. 	· Games lost due to injury is now tracked in the injury report. 	· Standings: show interleague record, vs. left, vs. right, extra innings, 1 run 	· Newspaper recap now has scheduled starter's E.R.A. listed

29) Play by play improved. All play by play files have been updated this year.  Over 15,000 lines of play by play are included.  And for just $5 more you can enjoy thousands of more lines of team specific play by play, updated to include interesting events from 1997.

30) Improve schedule generator.  Schedules can now be reviewed before generating and you can allot more time if needed to generate a better schedule.  Schedules are much more compact then they were in previous editions.

31) Improved computer manager -- see Double-Switches.

32) Restart league now allows selecting multiple teams for special treatment (for instance you can specify both Chicago teams as manual and all other teams as autoplay).

33) Schedule batch change - lets you change the status of all unplayed games in your league.

34) Force Daily Injuries - This option simulates the real-life drama of not knowing who's  available for a game until you show up at the ballpark.

35) New Overusage setting available to limit player usage.

36) Kudos included.  PC Games recently awarded Strat-O-Matic CD-ROM Baseball Version 2.0 their A-List designation which is given to the "best of the hottest new games in the industry".  Prior to that Computer Gaming World gave Version 1.0 a 4-star rating.  Of course Version 3.0 includes everything that was in these two versions and much, much more.


LEAGUES
LEAGUES - ML, AL, NL, XM, XN, XA, MC and IL

The following is a list of the leagues that are found on Strat-O-Matic season roster disks. Starting with the 1997 season roster disk we are including an ML, XM and MC league for  current seasons.  For re-created past season disks and also for current season prior to 1997 we include AL and NL leagues and (optionally) XN, XA and IL leagues.

NOTE: Strat-O-Matic "cards" (prints a card for) all players who were regulars and backups. This includes players who had a certain number of at-bats or innings pitched (the exact number varies by season).  Players who are "uncarded" are players with very few at-bats or innings pitched.

ML - All major league players that were carded by the Strat-O-Matic company.  This includes players from both the American League and National Leagues.  ML leagues are created for  current season roster from 1997 onward.  Seasons that do not include an ML league will  include separate AL and NL leagues as described below.

XM - All uncarded major league players.  These players can be merged into the ML league using  the Merge Extra Players function.  We recommend you do this if you are not using the Strat-O-Matic cards and you want to have every player in your replay (even those with only  a couple of at-bats or innings pitched).  NOTE: For some seasons certain players have been moved from their original team to the free agent pool.  This is because that team had too  many players to fit on the Strat-O-Matic roster after a merge has been done.  The players in question are typically pitchers with very few (usually less than 10) innings pitched.

MC - Multi-carded players. This league is included mainly for convenience for those who play our game with the board game cards.  The MC league contains records for players that were  given multiple cards by Strat-O-Matic. For instance, Mark McGwire played with both Oakland  and St. Louis during the 1997 season.  He received three cards in our 1997 card set. One card represented his total season performance (this matches the Mark McGwire found in the ML league).  A second card for his performance with Oakland (found in the MC league). And a third card for his performance with St. Louis (also found in the MC league).  Please note that only select players receive multiple cards from Strat-O-Matic.

NL - All National League players that were carded by Strat-O-Matic.  Uncarded players for the National League are included in the XN league described below.

AL - All American League players that were carded by Strat-O-Matic.  Uncarded players for the American League are included in the XA league described below.

XN - Extra National League players (uncarded players) that can be merged with the NL league using the Merge Extra Players function.

XA - Extra American League players (uncarded players) that can be merged with the AL league using the Merge Extra Players function.

IL - Inter-league Players.  For the 1995 and 1996 seasons we included a separate league of  players called the IL.  When a player was traded between leagues they would receive two records - one with their National League club and one with their American League club.  But  there was no place where their entire season was represented.  So we created the IL league and placed records based upon their season totals (both NL and AL data combined) into this league. We no longer create roster disks with IL players because for the current seasons we now put the total records in the ML league described above.


SUB-LEAGUES

With the advent of interleague play teams from different leagues now play "league games" with each other.  These games count in the official league statistics.  In order to support this we have introduced sub-leagues into the game.

The easiest way to understand them is with an example.  The 1997 season we distribute uses sub-leagues so we'll use that as an example.  The name of the main league is 1997ML (ML stands for Major Leagues).  There are two sub-leagues in this main league - the AL and the NL.  By placing both the AL and NL in the same league they can play "league games" against each other.

To support this system we have added a new list-button on the stats reporting screens that lets you select which sub-league you wish to view stats for.  So, for instance, if you wish to see the league leaders you'll have a choice of seeing them for the AL, the NL or for the ML (both leagues combined).

You can define sub-leagues using the create league function.


Doubles/Triples
DOUBLES/TRIPLES (Located in the Options/Rules/Max Rules menu)

By selecting this maximum rule the following items are added to the game:

1) Ballpark doubles and triples are added for all AL and NL seasons.

2) The ability to guard the lines to prevent extra base hits late in the game is available.

3) Excess triple problem is resolved.  Players who hit below 1/2 the league mean of triples will now perform properly as these extra triples will be replaced with doubles.  For instance a player who hit no triples will not get any triples directly off a pitchers card (these will be turned into doubles), however the small possibility of a triple occurring from the fielding chart still remains.


SCHEDULE BATCH CHANGE
SCHEDULE BATCH CHANGE (Located in the League menu)

This function will change the status of all unplayed games in the league.  If you wish to restart the entire league, wiping out statistics, you should use the Restart League function.

TYPE This option gives you the choice of how to set the unplayed games in the league schedule.

When running this function you define how you wish to set the unplayed games in the  schedule.  Games set to Hold will not be played until you change the status to Autoplay or Manual.  Manual games are those that you wish to play.

You can set all the games in the league to one of these settings or select teams and set them one way while setting the other teams in the league to a different setting.  For instance, if you wished to play Cleveland and Boston's games manually  while letting the computer automatically play the other games this is easily accomplished by selecting "Some Teams Manual, Others Autoplay" and selecting Cleveland and Boston as the team.  See select multiple items for details on how to select more than one team.


MANUAL DICE/SPLIT ENTRY

If you use either manual dice entry or manual split entry then the following features will be disabled:

1. Ballpark doubles and triples.

2. Pitch count fatigue point of weakness.

3. Home field advantage.

4. Starting pitchers' clutch ability.

5. Statistical adjustments for players below 1/2 the league mean.

6. Pitchers' hitting card adjustment.

7. Realistic throwing errors.

8. Allow extra pre-1920 errors.

9. Pitch-Around option.

A description of features 3 through 6 can be found in Maximum rules.

These features are disabled because to work they require dice to be "re-rolled"  internally in order to make an appropriate adjustment.  As an example the starting pitchers' clutch feature will turn certain outs into hits (at times) and turn hits into outs (at other  times).  This cannot be accomplished with manual entry of dice or splits.  Because of this  we highly recommend that you do not use manual dice or split entry with any of the above features.


CARD IMAGE FEATURE
CARD IMAGE FEATURE (Located in the Options/Dice-Cards-Splits dialog)

If you have purchased the optional "Card Image Feature" then you will have access  to the following features of the game.  Please see Card Image Abbreviations for a complete list of abbreviations used in these card images.

ACCESSING A PLAYER CARD IMAGE

You can access a player's card image anytime the player's notebook is  available.  The card image will display as the first page of the notebook.  To activate this feature select the "Show Cards In Notebook" option in the  DICE/CARDS/SPLITS OPTIONS dialog.

Plays where the offensive player can reach base are highlighted in blue to make them easier for you to see.  The players board game ratings are indicated at the top of the card.

DISPLAYING THE PLAYER CARDS DURING GAME PLAY

If the "Show Cards In Game" option in the DICE/CARDS/SPLITS OPTIONS dialog  is set, and you are using dice mode, then the batter and pitcher cards will display during the game.  When using this very exciting option you will see card results "light up"  as the dice are rolling.  When the dice stop rolling the final result is highlighted and  a pause occurs giving you a chance to view the final results before the play by play box is updated to reflect the play.  The length of the pause is determined by  Base Delay for Dice option.  After the play by play box is updated the next  batter's card image will display so you can look at it before rolling the dice.

We highly recommend that you use Tactile Dice and Splits along with the  Single Die With Best Column mode when using the cards during the game.  By using these settings you will experience the closest possible sensation of playing the board game.


CARD IMAGE ABBREVIATIONS

The following is a complete list of the abbreviations used by the optional  Card Image Feature.

UNDERSTANDING THE SHORT-HAND USED IN THE CARD IMAGES

In order to enable the card images to fit on the screen we have employed a short hand method of displaying results.  Some results are nearly identical to the readings you will find on the printed player's cards.  Others are highly abbreviated in order to fit within the available screen real estate.  Most results will be easily recognized by anyone familiar with the board game but certain results (notably split readings) are highly abbreviated and will look foreign until you have become used to them.

All readings, including splits and open triangle readings, fit into one line of text.  When a split reading is displayed it shows the first result followed by a number (which indicates the highest split number to achieve the first reading) followed by the alternative reading (which occurs if the first split reading is not achieved).  For example, a reading of "HR18fbB" is a homerun 1-18, flyoutB 19-20.

Open triangle readings are a special case because the secondary split reading that occurs with them is always a single or a lineout.  Take the example of the reading ^2-Si/S5.  The ^ character indicates this is an open triangle reading.  The 2 followed by a dash indicates this result occurs on a dice roll of 2.  The Si is the primary reading of this play, the one to be used if you are not using the ballpark/clutch rules (in this case it is a single).  A slash follows to separate the alternate reading which in this case is S5.  The S5  means that (if you are using the ballpark/clutch rules) the result is Single 1-5, Lineout 6-20.

The following characters are used in lieu of the special characters used on the printed cards:

@ Pitcher point of weakness bullet

> Ballpark single reading

# Ballpark homerun reading

^ Open triangle reading

$ Clutch hitting symbol

The following abbreviations are used (Note: ?? is replaced with the proper position where space permits.  If no room exists to display the position then it is not displayed on the card image.  When playing the game the play by play box always indicates the position the ball was hit to):

lo(??)  Lineout

lmax    Lineout into as many outs as possible (subject to being overridden by SADV rules)

fo(??)  Foul out

po(??)  Pop out

gb(??)A Hard groundout

gb(??)B Medium groundout

gb(??)C Slow groundout

GB(??)X Tough groundball (possible out, hit or error)

CATCH-X Tough play for the catcher (possible out, hit, error, wild pitch or passed ball)

FB(??)X Tough flyball (possible out, hit or error)

fb(??)A Very deep flyout, all runners advance

fb(??)B Deep flyout, runner on third scores

fb(??)? Deep flyout, runner on third might score (this is a flyball B? reading)

fb(??)C Shallow flyout, runners hold

Si(??)  Single, runners advance one or two bases

S*      Single, runners advance one base

S=      Single, runners advance two bases

DO(??)  Double, runners advance two or three bases

D=      Double, runners advance two bases

TR      Triple

HR      Homerun

WALK    Base on balls

HBP     Hit by pitch

K       Strikeout

g(??)A+ Same as gb(??)A except if the fielder is positioned in or involved in holding a runner

g(??)B+ Same as gb(??)B except if the fielder is positioned in or involved in holding a runner


RECOMMENDED SETTINGS

Strat-O-Matic computer baseball has many options and settings.  An area of confusion for new players is which settings they should use.  This short explanation should provide some help with this problem.

First you should be aware that most rules and preference screens contain a "Default" button. Clicking this button sets the options to the recommended settings.

The second thing you should be aware of is that Strat-O-Matic is enjoyed by many people who have been long-time board game players and by many others who have never played the board  game.  These two sets of users usually have differing opinions as to what are the best settings to use when playing the game.

The third thing that should be pointed out is that trial and error should be used liberally until you customize the game to your specific tastes.  Don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty by experimenting with all of these various settings.  You will probably find, like many have, that you can increase your enjoyment of the game tremendously just by toggling one or more features from their default setting.  When you go out to eat you don't wish to have only one choice on the menu, and so it should be with your computer baseball game.  We at Strat-O-Matic encourage you to "sample" from our entire menu until you find the settings that are most pleasing to your particular tastes.

GAME PREFERENCES

The Game preferences dialog is the main area of difference between "board game players" (those who will be using the cards along with the computer game) and "computer only players" (those who play the computer game without cards).  On this screen the "Default" button is set for those who are computer only players to make it simpler for them.  Actually, there are many variations even amongst computer only players and trial and error is the only way to be sure that you have found your ideal settings.  The "Default" button is set up for a detailed play by play which many gamers seem to enjoy.  You can change the speed of the play by play with this screen and you can limit or almost eliminate the play by play that the program will produce.  Board game players will probably not be as interested in the play by play and for them we recommend they select the following settings: Dice Mode, No Play By Play, Show flight of ball, Show Board Game Information and Display Trivia Questions (if you are into baseball trivia).  Also board game users will have to set the Dice/Cards/Splits Options.

RULES

The Game rules should be familiar to you if you are a board game player.  If so, you already have enough knowledge to choose the level of rules you wish to play with.  Help is available for each of the option screens and that should clarify anything that you are not sure about.  The main area of concern for board game players is to read and understand about the Maximum Rules.

If you are not a board game player we recommend that you choose the "Default" button on the Options/Rules and Options/Lineups And Usage dialogs.  This will give you the highest level of the rules and these are the rules that make most sense for most users.

For all users one area that must be given careful consideration to is the Injuries setting.  Some people love the realism that injuries add to the game while others seem to feel that injuries are a major annoyance.  Because of this we allow 3 main level of injuries and also a separate Force Daily Injuries  system that can be selected independently.

LINEUPS AND USAGE

For the Lineups And Usage we recommend that all users start by selecting the "Default" setting until they are comfortable with the other aspects of the game.  At that  point you may wish to experiment with the many ways that various settings can be used.   The following gives a little insight into various issues related to these settings.

The manner in which players are utilized by the game is highly configurable.  Because of this there is some overlapping of similar controls that may sometimes be confusing.  The areas that are most commonly confused is the interaction of the Lineups (Visiting and Home),  Minor Leaguers and Overusage (all located in the Lineups And Usage dialog).  The mix is also altered by the Injury and Pitcher Fatigue settings you make on the Rules dialog.  Here is how they relate to one another:

1. Injuries have the top priority because if a player is injured he cannot be used in the game.

2a. FOR POSITION PLAYERS: Player Rest (the "With Rest" settings in the Visiting Team and Home Team Lineups) has the next priority because this decides whether or not a player will be rested at the start of a game.  If he is being overused then he might be rested with this setting.  When rested he is still available for pinch hitting and other duties.  This setting only applies to the starting position players and has no effect during the game on substitutes.

2b. FOR PITCHERS: Pitcher Fatigue has the next highest priority because it affects which  pitcher the computer manager will select.  This setting applies to both starting pitchers and relievers.

3. Overusage has the next priority because it alters the way that Player Rest and Pitcher  Fatigue works (more rest will occur with "Fully Control Overusage", for instance).  This setting also affects strategy during the game because if a player or a pitcher is being overused it is less likely that he will be used as a sub if you are trying to control overusage.

4. The Minor Leaguers setting also comes into play because it determines whether or not an injured player will be substituted for by a minor leaguer.  This will only occur when using the 40/25 method.

NOTE: The Overusage setting only affects decisions made by the computer manager.  It does not directly effect the game engine in any way but it avoids using players that are overused for more realistic season totals.  You may wish to set this to "Ignore Overusage" if you are looking to play against the most competitive computer manager.


SUPER HAL BULLPEN
SUPER HAL BULLPEN (Accessed from the Team/Update Computer Manager dialog)

IMPORTANT: WHEN USING SUPER HAL YOU SHOULD STILL SETUP YOUR REGULAR COMPUTER MANAGER INCLUDING DEFINING YOUR CLOSERS AND SETUP MAN.  THESE SETTINGS, ALONG WITH THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYER  SETTINGS, ARE STILL UTILIZED WHEN USING SUPER HAL.

When you use the Update Computer Manager screen there is a button called "Super Hal". Clicking on the button brings up the "Super Hal" Bullpen computer manager screen.

The name "Super Hal" was coined by a group of fanatical Strat-O-Matic players who desired a way to have more control over the computer manager, especially in competitive draft leagues.

The current system lets you tell Super Hal which pitcher should be brought into a game in any relief situation.  It does not let you define when a pitcher should be removed -- but certain Computer Manager Pitcher Settings will let you influence that decision.

By using the combination of Super Hal along with the Computer Manager Pitcher Settings you will gain tremendous control over your bullpen management.

BULLPEN MANAGEMENT

The Super Hal bullpen management screen is divided into two main areas - Orders and Logic.

When the Orders section is active the currently selected pitcher is displayed at the bottom of the screen in a Player Information Box.  When the Logic section is active the currently selected logic line is displayed in a group of data entry fields that replaces the Player Information Box.

The left side of the screen displays the bullpen "Orders".  There are 15 different orders (A through O) that you can define.  For each order you can type in a name, such as "Early blowout" or "Late vs. Righties".  You use these orders to define the order in which you wish to bring pitchers in from the bullpen.  For example, in an order that will cover an early blowout you would probably want to start the order list with your worst relief pitcher and finish it with your closer.  To create or update a bullpen order click on it's  code letter (at the far left of the screen).  Then type in it's name (in the entry field above the scrolling list of pitchers).  Finally, drag the pitchers into the desired order.  Remember that the player at the top of the list will be the first one out of the  bullpen when using this order.

The right side of the screen displays the bullpen "Logic".  This section describes the exact situation in which you will want to utilize a particular bullpen order.  For example, you can tell the computer that from the 1st to 5th innings if your team trails by 5 or more runs you wish to use the "Early blowout" bullpen order.  You can define up to 50 different situations.  Bullpen orders can be used in as many situations as you wish.  For example, you may wish to use the "Early blowout" bullpen order not only when you are behind by 5 or more runs, but also when you are ahead by 10 or more runs.

The following is a list of data entry fields that are required for each situation:

Score: List the range of scores.  For instance, -4 to 4 would mean from 4 runs down to 4 runs ahead.

Outs:  List the range of outs.  For instance if you wish this use this line of bullpen logic from the first to the fifth innings then type in 0 to 14 (refer to the chart below).  Using outs instead of innings lets you fine-tune your bullpen management late in the game, especially if you have a closer whose closer-rating allows for 4 or 5 outs.  Here is a list of outs by inning for your reference:

 OUTS	INNING

 ----   -------------

 0- 2   1st Inning

 3- 5   2nd Inning

 6- 8   3rd Inning

 9-11   4th Inning

12-14   5th Inning

15-17   6th Inning

18-20   7th Inning

21-23   8th Inning

24-26   9th Inning

27-99	Extra Innings

Bat Type:  Check the batters this line of logic will be used against.  The five possibilities are "R" for standard righties, "r" for reverse righties (right-handed batters who are better against right-handed pitching), "L" for standard lefties, "l" for reverse lefties (left-handed batters who are better against left-handed pitching) and "S" for switch hitters.

Order Id: Select the bullpen order to be used with this line of logic.

Force: This item was added at Version 6 of the game.  In order to use this all 5 bat types must be checked.  Using this will force the computer manager to use this line of logic whenever you get into to the proper score and out ranges.  This was primarily designed to be used to force a closer into the game, however it can be in other circumstances as well.   Keep in mind that this is a very powerful item -- the computer manager will follow this to "the letter of the law" so if you check this item it will even remove a starter who has a no-hitter going!  VERY IMPORTANT: You should not use this feature until you have a solid grasp on how it works.  Please see Super Hal Forced Bullpen Logic  for a detailed explanation of how to use this feature.

Bullpen pecking orders can shared by multiple logic lines.  In the case where a single  bullpen pecking order is used by both a forced and a non-forced line of logic remember that only the first pitcher will be used when a force situation is being evaluated while the  entire bullpen pecking order will be used for the non-forced line.

Note that a "Delete" button also appears when viewing the bullpen logic code.  You can delete the currently selected line by clicking on this button.  IMPORTANT: You can also drag-and-drop the lineup logic lines into any order that you desire.  You should always put your highest  priority logic at the top of the list (such as your closer logic) and your lowest priority logic at the bottom of the list (such as the "catch-all" logic described below).

You must be aware of some important details in order to properly utilize this system.  Here they are:

1) In order to utilize the Super Hal Bullpen Management logic "Use Super Hal Computer Manager" must be checked in the Lineups And Usage screen.

2) When using this system the program uses the following procedure.  First it scans the logic lines for a matching situation.  If it does not find a matching situation then it defaults to the standard Strat-O-Matic computer manager logic to determine which pitcher to bring into the game.  Logic lines are scanned in the same order that they appear on the screen.  In this way you can create some "catch-all" logic lines that should appear at the end of the list.  After finding a matching situation it scans the appropriate bullpen order and checks the first pitcher on that list.  If that pitcher is available and not tired (or if he is tired but his "Can relieve when tired" switch is set on) then that pitcher will be brought into the game.  If the first pitcher on the list is not available it tries the second pitcher, and so on and so forth.

3) In order to provide maximum control, player usage is totally ignored by this system.  In addition, the "Avoid Lefties", "Avoid Righties", "Mop Up", "Avoid Using During Blowout" and "Avoid using before 6th-9th inning" switches are ignored at certain times when using this  system.  (For instance, when deciding which pitcher to bring in, the bullpen order has precedence over individualized player settings).  NOTE: EVEN THOUGH CERTAIN SWITCHES ARE SOMETIMES IGNORED BY SUPER HAL IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU STILL PROGRAM THE REGULAR COMPUTER MANAGER JUST AS IF YOU WERE NOT USING SUPER HAL.  THAT INCLUDES ALL INDIVIDUALIZED PLAYER SETTINGS SUCH AS "AVOID LEFTIES".

4) The "Bat Type" is perhaps the trickiest part of this system.  In real-life baseball the first batter a reliever faces is statistically the most important batter he will face.  If he retires that batter chances increase dramatically that his team will get through the inning  unscathed.  The "Super Hal" bullpen management system utilizes this information by allowing you to define your opponent's batter by 5 different categories (See Bat Type above).  However, the offensive team always gets the last say after a reliever is brought into the game (because a reliever cannot be removed until he faces at least one batter).  Due to this fact, the most important player to be aware of is not necessarily the current batter,  but perhaps a pinch hitter who is on the bench.  Therefore the logic of this program compares every bench player with the current batter before determining which is the most dangerous batter versus left-handed and right-handed relievers.  It then goes through a series of checks before determining which player would more likely hit in the current situation.  After  making these determinations the computer chooses the particular batter (either the current one or a potential pinch-hitter) which it is going to try to "defend" against.  It will check that  player for his Bat Type (L, R, S, l or r) and that is the Bat Type that will be used when checking the Logic Situation entries.

5) You can gain a little insight into Super Hal's latest decision by viewing the  "Miscellaneous" report on the Check Information screen.  Most important to notice is the batter that Super Hal decided to "Watch".  That's the batter which Super Hal will use when determining which "Bat Type" will be needed when searching the program Logic lines. Most times it will be the current batter, but sometimes it will be a potential pinch-hitter.

6) Super Hal information is transferred along with other computer manager information when you Export the computer manager.  Interestingly, this system can be used as a "decoy" when sending the computer manager to a play-by-mail opponent.  For instance, say you have a good closer who has a low innings allotment, and you don't want to waste his innings versus a  particular opponent.  To decoy your opponent, leave this reliever as "Enabled" in your computer manager and simply "bury" him at the end of all of your bullpen orders.  In this way he probably won't be used, but your opponent will never know that, and will still have to plan his pinch-hitting strategy like he might later be brought into the game. If you use this method to decoy you will want to define "catch-all" lines of logic as described below.

7) If you wish to prevent the original Strat-O-Matic computer manager bullpen logic from being used then you must provide a "catch-all" line (or lines) at the end of the logic.   For example, you might want to use the following three lines, which provide for a catch-all versus lefties, righties and switch-hitters.  Note: Order ID's J, K and L are used for this example but you would use whichever Order ID's you setup for this purpose:

SCORE       OUTS        BatType     ID                    Force?

---------   -------     -------     -------------------   ------

-99 to 99   0 to 99     L  l        J-Default vs left     No

-99 to 99   0 to 99      R  r       K-Default vs right    No

-99 to 99   0 to 99       S         L-Default vs switch   No

Warning - The "Clear" button is only to be used when you want to completely wipe out the Super Hal Bullpen information for the team.  This can be handy when the Super Hal information is incorrect such as the wrong pitchers being listed.  This situation can occur in draft leagues under certain rare circumstantces.  The "Clear" button will also wipe out the logic information, so when there is too much to delete one line at a time you can use the clear button to start over.


MODEL LEAGUE
MODEL LEAGUE  (Located in the League menu)

NOTE: THIS FUNCTION MAY TAKE A VERY LONG TIME TO RUN!

This function can be used if you wish to maintain a draft league from year to year.  Without this function you must re-draft all players from the real-life teams onto your draft teams every year.  With this function you can save all that time each year.

In the "League to Model" area select last year's draft league.  In the "League with Data" area select this year's real-life major leagues.  In the "New League Name" area type in the name of this year's draft league.

Then select if you want your ballpark ratings to come from the "League to Model" or from the "League with Data".  If your league maintains the same ballparks year-to-year then select the "League to Model".  However, if your league uses the newly updated ballpark ratings from Strat-O-Matic each year, then select the "League with Data".

After doing this click on the "Model" button and the program will model the new draft league based upon the old  draft league.  If it cannot find a player anywhere in the "League with Data" league then it will add that player's name to an error report.  It will also report whether or not it has found the ballparks if you selected to get them from the "League with Data".


HTML OUTPUT
HTML OUTPUT (Located in the Options/Miscellaneous menu)

Refer to Miscellaneous Options screen for basic information about HTML output.  If you wish to customize the HTML output please follow these directions.

The shell for customizing the HTML output is contained in two files which reside in the DATA folder.  You can use any text editor to edit these two files.  You will need to know how to code HTML in order to alter these shell files.  If you are not familiar with HTML you should search the Internet for a beginner's guide to HTML.

The file "htmlpre.txt" is the prefix for the HTML output and the file "htmlpost.txt" is tacked onto the end of the HTML output file.  The actual report text is sandwiched between the text in these two files.  If you request Color Headings (from the Miscellaneous Options screen) then the resulting HTML file will have color codes integrated with the report text.


SCOREBOARD OPTIONS
SCOREBOARD OPTIONS (Located in the Options/Ballpark dialog)

These options allow you to customize your game by selecting which information boxes will appear on the game screen.

DISPLAY SMALL SCOREBOARD This information box will display a minimized scoreboard which will show the runs, hits, and errors for both the visiting and home team.

DISPLAY LARGE SCOREBOARD This information box will expand the display of the small scoreboard by showing each inning and the runs scored for each team per inning.

OUT-OF-TOWN SCOREBOARD This displays the large scoreboard, described above, along with the Out-Of-Town scores.  This option is only valid during scheduled league games, on days when other games have been autoplayed.

As the game progresses the scoreboard will automatically be updated with out of town scores. Not all scores are updated at the same time, so you'll be checking the scoreboard frequently when you are in the middle of a pennant drive.

The information shown on this scoreboard is the same information that is shown in the Check Information screen.

If you choose the Autoplay/Boxscore Options that save all play accounts to disk for all autoplay games (OUTPUT WHAT: include PACs, OUTPUT WHEN: Always, OUTPUT WHERE: Save To File) then you will be able to see detailed play accounts of all Out-Of-Town games.  This information can be accessed from the Check Information screen.

When using the Out-Of-Town Scoreboard we recommend that you turn off the  View Scores During Autoplay option.


PLAYER INFORMATION BOX

The "Player Information Box" is a boxed-off area located towards to bottom of many screens in the Strat-O-Matic game.  This area contains the player's name and numerous player ratings and statistics.

The first line of info is the player's actual stats (shown in black).  If the league has started, a second line, shown in blue, displays the replay stats for this player.

The last line shown is the player's Strat-O-Matic ratings.  A few headings on these ratings might be confusing so for clarity sake they are documented here:

BATTERS

PWR     Power rating

B       Bats (R=Right, L=Left, S=Switch hitter)

BAL     Balance rating

Vsl     Percent of actual at-bats that came vs.Left-Handers

BNT     Bunting rating

H&R     Hit and Run rating

STL     Basic Stealing rating

RUN     Running rating

DP      Double Play combinations (a higher number means more GIDP)

CLAv    Batting Average in Clutch situations

PITCHERS

T       Throws (R=Right, L=Left)

BAL     Balance rating

Vsl     Percent of actual BFP that came vs.Left-Handers

Endure  Endurance (Fatigue) ratings (Starter/Reliever/Closer)

HLD     Hold rating - ranges from -6 (best) to +9 (worst)

BK      Balk rating

WP      Wild Pitch rating

DP      Double Play combinations (a higher number means more GIDP)

FIELD   Pitcher's Fielding rating

BAT     Pitcher's Batting rating (Hitting Card Number/Power/Bats)

BNT     Bunting rating

STL     Basic Stealing rating

RUN     Running rating


DOUBLE-SWITCHES

AUTOMATIC DOUBLE-SWITCHES

The computer manager automatically makes double-switch moves during the following situations (in these cases double-switches only occur at appropriate times).

1. When the pitcher is due up in the next inning the computer manager determines that a double switch is appropriate in some cases when bringing in a reliever.

2. When a pitcher has been pinch-hit for the computer manager will see if it makes sense to slot the new pitcher in a different batting slot by making a double-switch.

3. When a position player has been pinch-hit or pinch-ran for the computer manager will see if it can keep the replacement player in the game by moving the position of another player when that team takes the field again.

MANUALLY DEFINED DEFENSIVE DOUBLE-SWITCHES

You can manually define specific defensive double-switches in the  Update Computer Manager screen.  To do so please follow these rules:

First, double-switches must be defined as a pair.  They can be defined as the first and second defensive replacements or as the third and fourth defensive replacement.  Any other combination will not work.  For instance, a double-switch cannot be defined as the second and third replacements because the computer manager will not recognize that you wish to make a double-switch.

Secondly, the player who is typically in the game should be listed last.  For instance, say that your starting lineup includes smooth-fielding "Slick" Smith in centerfielder and defensive liability "Lunk-Head" Loiselle in leftfield.  On your bench is "Highlight-Film" Harry, a great defensive centerfielder.  When leading late in the game you would sometimes want to take Lunkhead out of the game, bring Highlight in to play centerfield and shift Slick to leftfield.  That would be accomplished as follow:

Defensive Replacement 1 - "Highlight-Film" Harry    CF

Defensive Replacement 2 - "Slick" Smith             LF


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 5.0

Strat-O-Matic listens to you!

Most of the following new features were suggested to us by game players like you.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) NEWSPAPER GAME STORIES - Provides an exciting game story describing each game's major events.  Available as part of the boxscore or as a separate report.

 2) Super Hal Lineup Depth Chart allows you to set up a depth chart for lineup replacements.  Also allows you to shut off rest for a given player in a given preset lineup which lets you define platoons.

 3) Computer manager now allows you to assign starting pitchers to every game in a league's schedule.  For more information see the STARTER SCHEDULE section in the Update Computer Manager screen.

 4) An exciting new play has been added where catchers will sometimes try and block a runner from scoring.  On certain close plays at the plate the catcher's ability to block the plate will be challenged.  His ability can make the difference between the runner being called safe or out.

 5) Realistic throwing errors have been added to the cut-off play as part of the maximum rules.

 6) A Pitch-Around option has been added to the game.  This has been one of the most frequently requested features (no wonder, with the likes of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa terrorizing the league)!

 7) Traditional Fielding Statistics have been added to the statistics package.  Now you can view putouts, assists, errors, fielding average, for each player (by position) and for each team in the league.

 8) Nine new fielding reports have been added to the default report writer reports.  You can use the Report Writer function (found in the Statistics menu) to view these new fielding reports.

 9) Exciting new Player Detail Reports and Team Detail Reports have been added to the statistics package.

10) BACKUP LEAGUE FUNCTION - A quick and easy way to back up an entire leagues rosters and statistics.

11) Replay statistics have been added to the player notebooks.

12) Option to allow extra starts for pitchers who recorded more than 25 percent of their team's starts can now be toggled separately from the other fatigue options.  This will allow for pitching rotations with less than four men.

13) Box Score now lists game time.  The time of game is adjusted by era so that a typical 9-inning game might take under 1:30 in 1909 while the same game might take 2:30 in 1999.

14) Box score now lists blown saves and holds.

15) UPDATE MULTI-TEAM PLAYERS - Allows you to edit the overall totals of players who have been traded or released.

16) Print files are now stored in separate folders for each league.  In previous versions of  the game all print files were stored together which made it difficult to locate items related to a particular league.

17) Pitch Count system improved to be more aware of game-to-game effect.  For instance, a pitcher who throws a large number of pitches in one game will not be able to throw as many the very next game.

18) Computer manager Import/Export functions now display a verification message when successful.

19) Allow extra pre-1920 errors - Adds support for seasons prior to 1900.

20) Rebuild league from gamefiles function allows you to rebuild your entire league's statistics database if you have the Game Result Files.  When rebuilding a league's stats from game result files this function will also properly reconstruct hitting streaks etc., so this function may be used by play-by-mail leagues to correct these statistics.

21)  Fonts may now be selected from the options menu.  Please read the help file documentation before using this feature.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


ALLOW EXTRA GS FOR CERTAIN PITCHERS
ALLOW EXTRA GS FOR CERTAIN PITCHERS (Located in the Options/Lineups And Usage dialog)

The original Strat-O-Matic fatigue system was not designed to handle pitchers who started more than 25 percent of their team's games.  It was designed to handle a rotation comprising of four or more pitchers.

Sometimes, particularly in the early years of baseball history, teams went with a rotation of less than 4 pitchers.  For example, Jack Chesbro starting 51 games for New York in 1904.  As an extreme example, Will White started 75 of his teams 81 games in 1879!

Using this option allows for 3-man rotations, 2-man rotation or even a 1-man "rotation".  If you check this option then pitchers who had more than 25 percent of their team's starts will be able to approach their real-life number of starts, and they will not be penalized by being tired for those additional starts like he would have been under the original fatigue system.

We do not recommend using this option in draft leagues where a team's roster might compose of starting pitchers whose total of starts would be unusually large.  For instance, on some draft league teams the total GS of all pitchers on the roster might exceed 200  starts.  Using this option on such a team would produce undesirable results.


NEWSPAPER GAME STORIES
NEWSPAPER GAME STORIES (Located in the Options/Autoplay&Boxscore dialog, also available in the League Stats reports)

One of the best feelings in the world is opening up the morning newspaper and reading about your favorite team's victory.  Now you can experience that same feeling with our "Newspaper Game Stories" feature!

You can choose to have a game story added to each boxscore or you can choose to view all game stories for a given day with the Newspaper Game Stories Report.  Either way you'll get an exciting game story that summarizes the major events for that game.


BACKUP LEAGUE
BACKUP LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

Backing up your league is now 'one-click' away.  When you select this function all of a league's files will be copied into the "LZP" file in the "Backup" folder (this is a sub-folder contained in your game folder).  From there you can copy  the league onto floppies, recordable CD-MEDIA, etc.

League commissioners will love this feature and it also makes archiving your replay league much easier.  Previously all of a league's files had to be "hunted down" by looking in the various Strat-O-Matic folders.

You can define which folders will appear in each backup that you do.  For example, you may wish to backup only your rosters and stats on a weekly basis and all folders on a monthly basis.

You can back up multiple leagues by selecting the leagues and running this function.   Each league will be backed up into it's own LZP file.  The LZP file name also indicates the  current date so that you can have mulitple backups of the same league in the Backup folder.

The "LZP" file extension stands for "League Zip" file.  It is actually a standard zip file that can be opened by any zip program.

See the Restore League function for information on restoring this backup.


TRADITIONAL FIELDING STATISTICS
TRADITIONAL FIELDING STATISTICS (Located in the Statistics/League Stats menu under 'Fielding Grand Totals')

Traditional fielding stats added to the game!  They include Games, putouts, assists, outfield assists, errors, total chances, double plays, double plays (total), groundout double plays, passed balls, Opponent stolen bases, opponent caught stealing, opponent stolen base percentage and fielding average.

Team and league totals for these statistics can be displayed by selecting  Statistics/League Stats/Fielding Grand Totals.  Individual totals for players by position can be displayed with the Player Detail Reports.  Team totals for players by position can be displayed with the Team Detail Reports.

In addition to these traditional fielding statistics, Strat-O-Matic tracks proprietary fielding statistics which can be display with the team stats reports.

If you are in a play-by-mail league please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.


PLAYER DETAIL REPORTS
PLAYER DETAIL REPORTS  (Located in the Statistics/Player Stats menu)

Many new statistics have been added to the statistics package, including  Traditional Fielding Statistics by position, relief holds and blown saves, separate starting/relieving pitching stats, pitches thrown, groundballs, flyballs, RBI allowed, pickoffs, GWRBI, stats by batting order position, stats in clutch situations, stats with bases loaded and stolen base breakdowns (2b/3b/home) and more!

These statistics, along with others already maintained by the statistics package, have  been combined into one powerful new report called the Player Detail Report.  This report displays one batter or one pitcher at a time.

Note: To get the most out of these reports be sure to configure your  Autoplay/Boxscore Options to use the Team vs. Team, Day vs. Night, Home vs. Road and By Month Subsets.

The report uses normal abbreviations for the fields but there are a number that might be  confusing.  Here is a list of some that you might not recognize at first glance:

If you are in a play-by-mail league please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.

BATTER DETAIL REPORT:

PA - Plate Appearances

CI - reaches base on Catcher's interference

PAVG, PAB, PH, PHR - Pinch hitting statistics

GS - Grand Slams

TB - Total Bases

Streak - current and longest hitting streaks

GB, FB, G/F - groundballs, flyballs and groundball/flyball ratio

Pitch, P/PA - Pitches seen, Pitches per Plate Appearance

RC, RC/27 - Runs Created and Runs Created per 27 outs as defined by Bill James

TotAvg - TOTAL AVERAGE as defined by Tom Boswell

Prod - PRODUCTIVITY RATING  On base % + Slug Average

IsoPw - ISOLATED POWER (Total bases - hits) / at bats

SB2, CS2, SB3, CS3, SBH, CSH - Stolen bases and caught stealing of 2nd, 3rd and home

BRC, BRA, BRO - Baserunning chances to advance, advancements and outs trying to advance

PITCHER DETAIL REPORT:

CI - opposing batters that reached base on Catcher's interference

PkOf - Pickoffs

SB, CS - Stolen bases and caught stealing against

RBI - Runs batted in vs. this pitcher

GB, FB, G/F - groundballs surrendered, flyballs surrendered and groundball/flyball ratio

GDP-Opp - Ground ball double plays induced and opportunities (man on 1st less than 2 outs)

BFP- Batters faced pitcher

Pitch, P/BF - Pitches thrown, pitches thrown per batter faced

K/BB - Strikeout to walk ratio

GDP/9, H/9, BB/9, K/9 and HR/9 - Groundball double plays, hits, walks, strikeouts and homeruns per 9 innings pitched

QS- Quality Starts

RnSup - Average Run Support per game started

SIP - Innings pitched as a starter

IP/S - Innings pitcher per start

Pitch, Pit/S - Pitches thrown as a starter, average pitches thrown per start

GR, GF - Games relieved, games finished

BS - Blown saves

Hld - Saved held

Rol - ROLAIDS award points (saves*3 + wins*2, - losses*2, -blown save*2)

IR - Inherited runners

ISP - Inherited runners in scoring position

IRS - Inherited runners that scored

IRSC% - Percentage of Inherited runners that scored

RIP - Innings pitched as a reliever

IP/R - Innings pitcher per relief appearance

Pitch, Pit/R - Pitches thrown as a reliever, average pitches thrown per relief appearance


NEW FIELDING REPORT
NEW FIELDING REPORT (Located in the Statistics menu)

This function will allow you to create your own statistical reports for fielding in your league.  You can choose from a detailed list of fielding stats that you can display within the report you create.  You can also choose which categories you would like your reports sorted by.

To select a category to put in your report simply double click on it and you can select it by selecting it as a sort criteria or just hitting the continue button.  When finished, remember to give your report a name by typing it in the upper left-hand corner box with the word REPORT next to it.

If you are in a play-by-mail league please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.


SUPER HAL LINEUP DEPTH CHART
SUPER HAL LINEUP DEPTH CHART (Accessed from the Team/Update Default Lineups dialog)

When you use the Update Default Lineups screen there is a button called "Super Hal". Clicking on the button brings up the "Super Hal" Lineup Depth Chart screen.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE ARE NO FACTORY DEFINED SUPER HAL SETTINGS.  THIS IS AN ADVANCED FEATURE THAT YOU MUST SETUP IF YOU WISH TO USE IT.

The name "Super Hal" was coined by a group of fanatical Strat-O-Matic players who desired a way to have more control over the computer manager, especially in competitive draft leagues.

CREATING A LINEUP DEPTH CHART

To create a lineup depth chart select a team and bring up its Default Lineup screen.  Then read in the preset lineup that you wish to create a depth chart for.  After it has been loaded click the "Super Hal" button and you will see the depth chart for that preset lineup.

This screen has positions listed on the left side, an area where players who are rated at the selected position are listed and an area that list the starting lineup for that preset lineup.

Select the position you want to work with.  The players who are rated to play that postion are then displayed.  Notice that they are color coded.  The color code is printed on the screen for your convenience.  If a player is displayed in red he is in the starting lineup  (although not necessarily at the position you selected).  If he is  blue then he is  currently in the minor leagues.  If he is colored magenta then he is both in the starting lineup and in the minors (you may wish to correct this situation before proceeding with setting up your depth chart).  If he is listed in black he is available to substitute for the starter.

Drag the players into "pecking order" priority.  You'll want to list your starter first  followed by the first player you'd like to start at that position if your starter is  to be rested.  Continue prioritizing so that the player who will by your "last resort" as a starter at that position is at the bottom of the list.

Repeat this process for each position and then click the "Save" button to save your depth chart.

DEFINING A PLATOON

Using this same screen you can also define platoons.  To illustrate, let's say that you wish to platoon Richie Righty with Larry Lefty at third base.

First load preset lineup #1 which is the preset lineup used against left-handed pitchers. You'll want to use Richie Righty at third base against lefties, so make sure he is listed as your third base starter in this lineup.  Then click the "Super Hal" button.

On the far right of the screen is a list of starting players.  Double-click Richie Righty  and you will see "***NO REST***" appear next to his name.  Now click the Save button.

Repeat this process for Larry Lefty using preset lineup #2 (this is the preset lineup that is used against right-handed pitchers).

That's it - you have defined your platoon by telling Super Hal that these players are never to be rested when using that particular preset lineup.

PREVENTING PLAYERS FROM BEING RESTED

The capability of telling Super Hal that he should not rest players is not limited to defining platoons.  It is a powerful tool that can be utilized to maximize your chances of winning in a play-by-mail league.

If you think about it, there are a number of things that this can be used for.  For instance you could use it to make sure that certain players are not rested for a key series.  And, conversely, you can force your lousy third-baseman to get his at-bats against the last place team in your league.

This same concept could be used on a seasonal basis.  Say that you want to save your hot-shot rookie (who's got great stats but only 100 at-bats) for the September run. Just put him in the minor leagues to start the year, and leave him there until you are certain you won't exceed his at-bat limitations (as imposed by your league rules).  Then bring him up and tell Super Hal that he should never be rested.


TEAM DETAIL REPORTS
TEAM DETAIL REPORTS  (Located in the Statistics/Team Stats menu)

Many new statistics have been added to the statistics package.  Please refer to  Player Detail Reports for a list of these new statistics.

Note: To get the most out of these reports be sure to configure your  Autoplay/Boxscore Options to use the Team vs. Team, Day vs. Night, Home vs. Road and By Month Subsets.

If you are in a play-by-mail league please refer to this important note regarding exporting and importing statistics.


PLAY-BY-MAIL STATISTICS

One of the more confusing aspects of the game, especially for newcomers, is participating in a "play-by-mail" league.

NOTE: "Play-by-mail" is a generic term that we use to describe any league where games are played on more than one computer.

When games in a league are played on more than one computer there must be a method of  consolidating the statistics files on both machines.  This section of the help file will describe how that is accomplished.

In order to consolidate leagues statistics from multiple machines the CD-ROM game provides two methodologies.  Each has it's own strengths and weaknesses and you will have to decide which one better suits your needs.

The original method, still used in the DOS game, is called "Manual Subset Stats".  To use  this method the gamer must manually create a subsets file at the end of each game.  When it is time to update the statistics he exports the  manual subset stats to a diskette.  On the other machine the import function is used to merge the subset stats into the statistics on that machine.  If you are in a large play-by-mail league you will need to pass these diskettes around to all the machines if you want them all to have up-to-date statistics.  Of course if you are only interested in your own teams stats then you will only need to import the subset stats for your road games.

The new method is called "Game Result Files".  This method varies significantly because it requires a league statistician who updates and sends out the statistics at regular intervals.  When you select to have game result files created you do not need to manually update your subset files at the end of each game.  Instead the game result files are automatically created for you (and placed in the Export folder).  At the end of a predefined block of games you export the game result files to a diskette and send it to the league statistician.  He gathers game result files from all the league members and once he has them he uses the import function to update the league statistics.  He then sends everyone a new set of league statistics.

Which method should your league use?  That depends on you, but we can help you decide by listing the strenghts and weaknesses of each method for you:

1.If you plan to use a predefined schedule you will probably want to use Game Result Files.  They automatically update your schedule file with additional information (like final score of the game) that would have to be entered manually when using Subset stats.

2.If your league is less structured and your main goal is simply to make sure all the games get played then you might prefer subset files.

3.Game result files are easier for the league members.  Subsets are easier for the commissioner (who usually gets stuck being the league statistician).

4.Subsets are subject to more user mistakes.  You have to remember to save the subsets at the end of each game and you have to import them properly.

5.If you still have DOS users in your league then you will have no choice but to use Subset files since the DOS game does not create Game Result Files.

6.Game result files keep track of more statistics than subset files do.  If you want the game to keep track of Player Detail Reports, Team Detail Reports or Traditional Fielding Statistics you'll need to use game result files.

7.Game result files will allow you to keep accurate hitting streaks in a play-by-mail league.  To do this you must use the Rebuild league from gamefiles function.

Our recommendation is for new leagues to use game result files.  They are more powerful and are easier to learn how to use.  It's true they require the use of a predefined schedule and a good league statistician, but we still feel they are the way to go.  For existing leagues that use subsets it may be easier to stick with them (since the league users are comfortable  doing it that way) but as the years go by subsets are becoming more and more obsolete.

TO FIND OUT MORE

More information about creating game result files and subsets can be found in the  autoplay options create game result files, the Pre-game setup window and the end of game screen.

In addition you can find out more about   exporting game results and subsets, and  importing game results and subsets.

You can also view and delete game results and subset files.


IMPROVE STATISTICAL ACCURACY
IMPROVE STATISTICAL ACCURACY (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option improves overall statistical accuracy and realism.  A number of adjustments are made to accomplish this.  Strat-O-Matic does not publish a list of these changes for competitive reasons.

Since this option is somewhat of a "black box" you may not feel comfortable using it.  We have made this a separate option so that you can shut it off if you feel this way.

So you can get a better idea of the type of things that are being done, here is one example of an adjustment that is used if you select this option:

Both George Brett and Roger Maris experienced tremendous pressure while chasing major statistical achievements.  Brett was unable to hit .400, while Maris endured just enough to hit the magical 61 homerun mark.  But even for Maris, the pressure was so great that he was losing his hair down the stretch.  To improve the realism of our game we mimic  the tremendous pressure that players experience during attempts at setting these marks.

If a batter comes down the stretch run of a season either challenging the .400 mark or the home run record then this option will make it harder for him to reach that milestone.  Use of this option does not preclude him from reaching the mark, but the pressure does affect his performance and makes it more difficult to reach it.

Again, this option is not for everyone.  If you want a totally exposed game system then you  will definitely not want to use this option.  But if you like the idea that we have taken the time to account for the nuances of baseball (as shown in the above example) then you may wish to use this option.

This option is closely associated with Board Game Excesses -- which was split out from this rule as part of the Version 10 release.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


BUNT FOR BASE HIT
BUNT FOR BASE HIT (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option will allow you to try and bunt for a base hit when the bases are empty.  The players ability to reach base safely on this bunt is affected by a number of factors including his bunting ability, his speed and the position of the infield defense.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


IMPROVE OUT DISTRIBUTION
IMPROVE OUT DISTRIBUTION (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option overrides some of the default outs assigned by the board game for a more realistic distribution of outs.  For example, ballpark chart outs can become fly outs, pop outs, ground outs, etc. instead of just lineouts.  This option also causes foul outs to be distributed amongst other players including second baseman and short stops.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


IMPROVE BASERUNNING REASISM
IMPROVE BASERUNNING REALISM (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option can alter the location of base hits for more realistic baserunning results.  In addition using this option will allow for more baserunning realism including a few additional coaching decisions such as deciding whether or not to send a runner home on certain ground balls.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option forces a statistical advantage of approximately 10 points on the batting average for the home team.  This is the traditional major league difference between batting averages at home and on the road.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


STARTING PITCHER CLUTCH
STARTING PITCHER CLUTCH (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option implements the starting pitcher clutch system.  An internal clutch rating is determined for each starting pitcher based upon a number of factors including his "expected ERA" compared to his actual ERA.  During game play the system alters the results so that pitchers who pitch poorly in the clutch give up more of their hits with men in scoring position while pitchers who are good in the clutch give up more of their hits with the bases empty.  The total number of hits added and subtracted for each pitcher is computed so that their basic stats (hits to innings pitched) is not skewed. Every starting pitcher receives his own clutch rating individually computed to match his real-life ability.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


MORE BASERUNNING DECISIONS
MORE BASERUNNING DECISIONS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

Using this option allows for more baserunning decisions because it does not follow the board game rules for baserunning.  For instance, using this option you will often be asked if you wish to send a runner from first to third on a Single* or a Single** reading.  In the board game Single* means a single with runners advancing one base and Single** means a single with runners advancing two bases (it is automatic in both cases, no option exists).   PLEASE NOTE:  This option is not included in the DOS version of the game so draft leagues which mix DOS and CD-ROM gamers should not use it.

This option also allows certain basehits to be stretched.  For instance, some singles will have an option to be stretched into a double, some doubles to triples and some triples to inside the park homeruns!

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


DOUBLES/TRIPLES OPTIONS
DOUBLES/TRIPLES OPTIONS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option adds a number of realistic improvements regarding doubles and triples.  Click here to find out more details.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


FORCE DAILY INJURIES
FORCE DAILY INJURIES (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option simulates the real-life drama of not knowing who's  available for a game until you show up at the ballpark.  If you choose to use this option then players (both batters and pitchers) will occasionally be listed as injured even though they did not suffer an injury in the prior game.  When this occurs the computer will use the Minor Leaguers setting to determine whether or not to replace this player with a minor leaguer.  Players who are being overused are the ones who will be affected by turning on this option.  Please note that this option operates independently of the Injury Option.  If you use injuries and you use the 40/25 Method for minor leaguers then injured players will automatically be replaced by minor leaguers.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


REALISTIC THROWING ERRORS
REALISTIC THROWING ERRORS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

Throwing errors by outfielders can be introduced to the cutoff rule by using this option.  By using them the defense will have a more difficult decision to make on the cutoff play - do you risk the chance of an error or do you have the outfielder hold the ball?  If the outfielder is prone to making errors you might want to think twice before making that throw!

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


ALLOW EXTRA PRE-1920 ERRORS
ALLOW EXTRA PRE-1920 ERRORS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

During the "dark ages" of baseball (before 1920) fielding errors were much more prevelant than they are today.  There were sometimes as many as 12 errors  committed per game, quite an extraordinary number by today's standards.  Due to these extremes we have normalized the pre-1920 teams to 1920 levels which will keep the number of errors under  control (this makes for a faster playing game that might be preferred by some).  However, for realism sake you may wish to allow these teams to commit errors at their historical rate.  If that is the case then you should use this option.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


PITCH AROUND OPTION
PITCH AROUND OPTION (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

It's late in the game, the score is tied, and the opposing team's slugger is at the plate.  First base is open but you're not convinced you should issue an intentional walk.  Now's the perfect time to use the new "Pitch-Around" strategy!  This strategy will cut the offensive player's power and batting average down dramatically.  However, using this strategy will also dramatically increase the chances that you will walk the batter.

The pitch around strategy may only be used from the 7th inning on when there are 2 outs, first base is open and the tying or go-ahead run is on base or at bat.  When the pitch around option is available the message "PitchAround" or "PA" will appear on the screen around the pitcher's mound.  To pitch around a batter click on the icon used for intentional walks or select the "Int Walk or Pitch Around" menu item.  You will then be asked if you wish to intentionally walk or pitch around the batter.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

To use the pitch around option it must be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


FREQUENT PROBLEMS

PROBLEM: ERROR MESSAGES OCCUR WHEN TRYING TO PRINT  You must have an up-to-date printer driver installed for your printer.  Contact your printer  manufacturer and ask them how you can obtain their latest printer driver for your model printer and your OS.

PROBLEM: ERROR 3, ERROR 6 or ERROR 7 WHEN LOADING THE GAME These errors indicates there is a software or hardware conflict with the game and your machine.  Please call technical support while you are at your machine and we will assist you in correcting the problem.

PROBLEM: NEWER COLOR BALLPARKS DO NOT DISPLAY Please check the release notes distributed with the game.  You must follow the procedures outlined in "If you purchased the optional Color Stadiums disk..." on the release notes.

PROBLEM: FATAL ERROR 54 STARTING A GAME This error occurs when you have not properly setup your computer manager and default lineups.  Please make these are set properly for every team in your  league.  If you use the "Generate Computer Manager" function (located in the Team menu) be sure to verify that all lineups have been successfully generated.

PROBLEM: ORIGINAL ON DISKS NOT WORKING PROPERLY Before being distribued on CD-ROM we sold add-on features on diskette. If there are problems with these add-on disks not working remember that it  is important to copy the files off the floppy data disks into the correct  location where the game is installed.  If you are getting black and  white pictures than the files have not been copied correctly.  They  must be copied into the folder called DATA which is inside the folder  CDROMBB.  If using Win95 check inside the folder called PROGRAM FILES  if you do not see CDROMBB.  If you have copied the files properly you  may get an error referring to "Missing BMP File" or "Fatal Error XVT".   This means that the ballparks have not been installed off the CD-ROM  into the DATA folder inside CDROMBB.

PROBLEM: WHEN USING ENCYCLOPEDIA STATS ARE SHOWING UP TWICE IN THE NOTEBOOK This problem occurs because the stats should not be merged into an encyclopedia until a season is totally completed.  So, for example, if you have 1996 and 1997 completed and your current season is 1998 you should create an encyclopedia that includes 1996 and 1997 only.  Do not merge 1998 into this encyclopedia.  Assign this encyclopedia to your 1998 season.

PROBLEM: I FORGOT MY COMPUTER MANAGER PASSWORD, WHAT SHOULD I DO? The only way around this is to use the "Generate Computer Manager" function (located in the Team menu).  This will completely overwrite your computer manager with a new generated one and in the process the password will be shut off.

PROBLEM: I ORDERED THE CARD IMAGE OPTION BUT THE CARD IMAGES ARE NOT DISPLAYING There are two common problems with the Card Image Option.  First, some people do not realize that you must turn on this option in the Options/Dice,Cards,Splits dialog.  Secondly, some people do not realize that in order to see the card images during gameplay the Options/Game Preferences dialog must have the "Dice Mode" option selected as the Entry Mode, and "Cards" must be checked on the Game Screen Layout Options.

PROBLEM: SOUND SOMETIMES GETS CUTOFF If playing on a low level of play-by-play and using all the sound you  need to be patient with your mouse clicks on the swing icon.  If you  click on swing too quickly you will not give the crowd noise enough  time to finish playing which will effect when you hear the crack of the bat noise.  If you are hearing the crack of the bat after the ball has  gone into the field then you need to pause for a second before clicking on the swing icon.

PROBLEM: FONTS NOT DISPLAYING PROPERLY If you are experiencing font problems first select another font. If that does not work then contact your video card vendor and make sure you have the latest device drivers installed.  This is especially important if you have upgraded your operating system. Some Font problems have been reported but have not been able to be  duplicated.  A handful of people have reported fonts being to large on  the screens in their game.  Check to see that your fonts are standard  Windows fonts and have not been changed.  For example you may be using  a larger font if you have a large monitor.  If they can be resized you  should make your fonts smaller.

Another problem is the DPI setting.  Our game supports the standard DPI setting.  If you use "large size DPI" then certain text elements might get clipped.

PROBLEM: WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT A BOARD GAME RULE? In the CDROMBB folder where you installed the game there should be a text file called boardgam.txt.  This file contains the complete set of rules for the board game.  If you still have questions you might consider ordering the board game and playing with it.  That is the best possible way to learn all the nuances of the computer game.


REBUILD LEAGUE FROM GAMEFILES

This function enables you to rebuild an entire league's statistics database from the Game Result Files.

To start you'll need to have a copy of the rosters with the players on their current teams.  If you must use an older backup of the roster files (as might happen if you had a hard drive crash) then you will need to drag all the players onto the teams that they currently should be on.

Then place all of the game files into the Import folder.  After that simply run this function and your league statistics will be rebuilt.

This function can also be used by play-by-mail leagues to correct the streak data (hitting  streaks, won/loss streaks, etc.).  This data is normally incorrect in a play-by-mail league because games are not played in calendar order in these leagues.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This function can take a very long time to run!


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 6.0

Strat-O-Matic listens to you!

Most of the following new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) Create Playoff League function has been added - easily create leagues specially designed for your playoff games.  Injury and pitcher fatigue are carried forward from your regular season schedule, and statistics are maintained in separate subset stats for each round of the playoffs.

 2) Bullpen/Bench Lines - Ability to view the bullpen, bench and lineups of either team on the main game screen.  This display is similar to the Matchup Box, but is much more comprehensive in that it allows you to view either team, and it displays the adjusted balance rating of every eligible player on both teams.

 3) New baserunning plays - Stretch singles to doubles, doubles to triples, triples to inside-the-park hr's.  This option is part of the More baserunning decisions  maximum rules.

 4) Robbing homeruns at the wall - on certain deep flyballs that have a chance to be  a homerun this rule allows for an exciting play where the outfielder goes back to the wall and has a chance to rob a homerun.

 5) Computer Manager Pitcher Settings - New options are "Do not let Hal remove" a pitcher, "Remove a pitcher after allowing ? runs" and "Remove a pitcher if his fatigue drops below" a defined level.

 6) Super Hal Bullpen Improvement - Force Logic line setting - Can be used to force your closer to come in when you want him to.

 7) Copy Super Hal Bullpen Logic - Now you can easily copy logic lines from one team to another.

 8) Hal now considers making its pitching change before the human manager tries for a  steal, hit and run or bunt.

 9) New Team Report displays all Super Hal computer manager settings.

10) Manager Profile report - Get the scoop on each manager's tendencies.

11) Board Game Breakdown report - Take a peak inside the internal workings of the game engine!

12) Newspaper style recap improved.  It now includes a list of injured players.

13) Wild card standings have been added to the League Standings report.

14) Commissioner can now lock the league.  This prevents "undo last play", manual dice, manual splits and manual entry modes from being used.

15) Two new modifiers, @:XB and @:XP have been added to Play-By-Play system.  These  modifiers allow individual player to be identified in the team play by play files. This allows very specific pbp to be written, for instance, "Big Mac hit 70 homers in 1999", etc.

16) Includes pictures of five new Ballparks - Comerica (Detroit), Edison (Anaheim), Enron (Houston), Pac Bell (San Francisco), Safeco (Seattle).

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


COPY SUPER HAL BULLPEN LOGIC
COPY SUPER HAL BULLPEN LOGIC (Located in the Team menu)

This menu item allows you to copy the Super Hall Bullpen Logic lines from one team to another.  Select the league and team to copy from and the league and team to copy to.  The Logic lines and the Order Names will be copied, however the individual pitchers who are displayed will remain unchanged.


MATCHUP BOX
MATCHUP BOX (Located in the Options/Game Screen Layout menu)

The information shown in the Matchup Box for position players is their actual batting average, actual homeruns, the side of the plate they bat from (Left, Right, or Switch), their balance rating, and their adjusted balance vs. the current opposing pitcher.

The information shown for pitchers is their actual ERA, actual saves, their throwing arm (Left or Right), their balance rating, and their adjusted balance vs. the current opposing batter.

The adjusted balance is figured by adding the batter's and pitcher's balance ratings together.  This total will be between -18 to a +18.  An adjusted balance of +5 or more represents a substantial advantage for the batter and a -5 or less represents a substantial advantage for the pitcher.  An adjusted balance of +10 or more favors the batter dramatically while -10 or less favors the pitcher dramatically.

There are six small buttons at the bottom of the display.  Their meanings are as follows:

VL - Display the Visiting team's Lineup

VB - Display the Visiting team's Bench

VP - Display the Visiting team's Pen (bullpen)

HL - Display the Home team's Lineup

HB - Display the Home team's Bench

HP - Display the Home team's Pen (bullpen)

In addition, there are two check boxes.  The first check box "Cl" displays only if you are using the clutch hitting rules.  This  box lets you display either the batter's actual batting average (when the box is unchecked) or his batting average as adjusted by the clutch hitting system.

The second check box is used to toggle information.  When checked the Balance information area of the Matchup Box is replaced with an information area that includes  Bunting, Hit&Run, Power (left&right) and Stealing ratings.


MANAGER PROFILES
MANAGER PROFILES (Located in the League Stats reports)

The Manager Profiles report displays manager tendencies for each team.  The fields displayed are Games Played, Stolen Bases, Caught Stealing, Stolen Base Percentage, Sacrifices and Sacrifice attempts, Squeeze bunts (successful and attempted), Hit and Run (Hits, Attempts and number of times baserunner(s) advanced) and Intentional Walks.


BOARD GAME BREAKDOWNS
BOARD GAME BREAKDOWNS (Located in the League Stats reports)

This report allows you to take a peak inside the game engine.  Counts of certain "board game" categories are maintained both for offense and defense for each team.  If you have never  played the board game this report may not be of much interest to you.  Those who have played the board game will probably love it!

This report lists games played, the number of dice rolls that came on the batter's card, the number of dice rolls that came on pitcher's card, the number of homeruns and opportunities for a homerun from the ballpark chart, the number of singles and opportunities for a single from the ballpark chart, the number of hits and outs that resulted from the clutch hitting system, the number of hits that resulted from the pitcher fatigue rules, the number of hits that resulted from the infield being positioned in or the corners in and the number of hits that resulted from a runner being held.


SUPER HAL BULLPEN DECISIONS

The computer manager uses many factors to help it decide when to remove a pitcher and which reliever to bring in.  The original computer manager logic uses such information as the current score, inning, base situation, batter, on deck batter, available bench players, etc. to reach its decision.

Built on top of that layer of logic are the optional Computer Manager Pitcher Settings and the Super Hal bullpen logic.  These two items either supersede or complement the original computer manager, depending on how they are configured.

Care must be used when creating these settings so that an undesired result does not occur.  We recommend that you practice the various combination of settings and play against the computer manager with those settings to see the results.

With a little practice you should be able to master the system, and you should be able to  customize the computer manager to make virtually any pitching change that you desire.

To help enhance your understanding of how the computer manager reaches its decision you can consult the priority order of the Super Hal bullpen decisions that follows:

1. "Force" a Super Hal Logic Line to be used (this overrides all other settings)

2. Max innings pitched exceeded for starter or reliever

3. *Don't remove unless he allows ? runs and/or falls below ? fatigue level

4. *Do not let Hal remove

5. Logic lines in Super Hal settings - used to determine which pitcher to bring in

6. Specialized settings such as "avoid lefties", "quick hook", etc. are consulted

7. Original computer manager logic is used, as altered by above items

* - in these cases the pitcher will still be removed if the computer manager decides a pinch hitter should be used for him.

Refer to Super Hal bullpen and Computer Manager Pitcher Settings for more  details regarding bullpen usage.


LOCK LEAGUE
LOCK LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

The commissioner of the league can use the Lock League function to prevent the  undo last play, manual dice, manual splits and  manual entry mode from being used.

This function has been requested by play-by-mail leagues as a security measure.  We do not recommend it be used for any other purpose.

This function may not be used after a league has started.

Use this function with extreme caution!  There is no way to undo this setting other than restarting the entire league.


CREATE PLAYOFF LEAGUE
CREATE PLAYOFF LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

Note: To use playoff leagues with older roster disks you will need to perform certain steps before beginning the league.

After the regular season is complete you can select the Create Playoff League menu item to create a Playoff League.  Injury and pitcher fatigue are carried forward from your regular season schedule.  Statistics are maintained in separate subset stats for each round of the playoffs.

Here are the steps you need to take to create a playoff league:

First, completely finish out your regular season.  If two teams are tied at the end of  the regular season and a one game playoff is needed to determine the winner then that game is considered part of the regular season (the stats count towards the regular season stats) so play that game to determine the winner.

Second, select the teams that are going to the playoffs.  Then select "Create Playoff League" from the League Menu.  You will be prompted to answer a number of questions.  First you will need to provide a name for the playoff league.  Typically this will have "PO" as the abbreviation (in other words, the 2000ML would have 2000PO for the playoff league).  Then you will be asked to enter the date of the first playoff game (type the date exactly as shown in the example).  Finally, for each team you will be asked the number of days rest they should receive before they play THEIR first playoff game.

As an example, say the regular season ended on Oct 2nd, 2000.  Say that Atlanta played a game that day.  The first day of the playoffs is Oct 4th but it is an American League game. Atlanta's first playoff game is Oct 5th.  In this case you would enter in 10/04/2000 for the date of the first playoff game.  For Atlanta you would enter in 2 days rest (Oct 3rd and 4th).

The playoff league will be created.  You can play either scheduled or unscheduled playoff games.  Both are described below, choose whichever method you feel more comfortable with.  (NOTE: You cannot restart Playoff leagues.  If you need to restart the playoffs then delete the playoff league and create a new one).

UNSCHEDULED PLAYOFF GAMES

Unscheduled games can be played by simply starting an unscheduled game at this point. Before the game begins you will be asked to select a description that best describes this playoff game.  This choice will be used to automatically save subset stats at the end of the game.  You must manually give teams a day off as needed when playing unscheduled playoff games.

Subset statistics are automatically maintained for all Playoff League games.  The statistics of all post-season games are maintained in the main league database and statistics for each individual series is maintained in its own subset.

SCHEDULED PLAYOFF GAMES

Scheduled playoff games take another minute or so to set up, but they are easier to use once the schedule has been created.  An automated series generator helps speed the process along.  By using scheduled playoff games you do not need to manually give teams a day off as  this will automatically be done for you.

To setup for scheduled games select the playoff league and select League/Schedule  Maintenance.  You will see the playoff schedule screen.  Click on the "Add Series" Button to add a series to the schedule.  You will be allowed to choose the visiting team, the home team (this is the team that gets the extra day at home during  the series), the series type (choose the text that best describes this playoff series), the Hm-Rd-Hm which describes where the games will be played (for instance, the traditional 7 game series is described as 2-3-2 for 2 at the home team, 3 at the visiting team, and 2 back at the home team) and the Starting Date of the series.  Click "Create" after these fields have been selected.  You can verify the games have been added by clicking each day in the  schedule.  Click OK on the Schedule Maintenance screen to save the series.

You can now play the first game of your playoffs.  All games in the series have been  added with the "Hold" status.  That way, games that are not necessary will not be played.  Select the game you wish to play and change the status the "Manual" or "Autoplay" to play that game.  After a team wins the series you can manually delete the extra games if you wish (this step is not necessary, however, since the games will not be played since their status will still be "Hold").

Subset statistics are automatically maintained for all Playoff League games.  The statistics of all post-season games are maintained in the main league database and statistics for each individual series is maintained in its own subset.


PREPARE FOR PLAYOFF LEAGUE
PREPARE FOR CREATE PLAYOFF LEAGUE

To use playoff leagues with older roster disks you will need to perform certain steps before beginning the league.

If the season you are using is already setup so that the AL and NL teams all reside within one league (each as a separate subleague) then you are ready to proceed with league play. However, if the AL and NL leagues are separate you will need to create a single league, called the ML league, before proceeding with your regular season games.

In the procedures that follow the 1996 season is being used as an example:

1. Highlight the 1996AL league then select the "League/Schedule Maintenance" menu item. Click the "Export" button, then cancel out of schedule maintenance.  Repeat for the 1996NL league.

2. In the Export folder you will find two files, the 1996alsc.txt and 1996nlsc.txt.  Open both of these files and copy and paste the NL schedule onto the end of the AL schedule.  Save this updated 1996alsc.txt file.

3. Using the "League/Create New League" function to add a new league.  League year=1996, abbreviation=ML, name=Major Leagues, games per team=162.

4. Select subleague info, number of subleagues = 2, subleague 1 name=American League, abbrev=AL, subleage 2 name=National League, abbrev=NL

5. Select divisional info.  Add divisions as described in the 1996 leagues.  For 1996 this would be AL East (subleague 1), AL Central (subleague 1) AL West (subleague 1),  NL East (subleage 2), NL Central (subleague 2), NL West (subleague 2).  Enter in the total number of divisions at the top of this screen.

6. Click on the 1996 National League, select all the teams and copy them to the new league.

7. Use the "League/Update League" function to change the team divisions.

8. Repeat steaps 6 and 7 for the American League.

9. Highlight the new league then select the "League/Schedule Maintenance" menu item. Click the "Import" button, then import the 1966alsc.txt file (this is the text file that contains both the american and national league schedules).

10. Use the "League/Update League" function to set the Team DH switch for each team.  Type in a "1" if the team uses the DH rule for home games and a "0" if it does not.

11. Play your season and have fun!  When the season is over you will be able to use the league.


GAME LIMITATIONS

CATEGORY                          MAXIMUM

Teams per league                     30

Divisions                            10

Teams per division                   14

Subleagues                           6

Batters per team                     35

Pitchers per team                    25

Batters eligible for a game          25

Pitchers eligible for a game         15

Minor leaguers per team              35

Total players on team during season  75

Fringe players per team              12


SUPER HAL FORCED BULLPEN LOGIC

The ability to force a line of logic in the Super Hal bullpen screen is a powerful feature of the game.  However, you should carefully consider the implications of using this  feature, and have a full understanding of how it works before attempting to use it.

First, it is important to understand that when you force a line of logic it will be used regardless of the situation.  Because you are forcing it to bring in a pitcher the computer manager will not stop and consider things it normally does.  For instance, the  computer manager does not normally remove a pitcher who is throwing a no-hitter, however it will do so if the force option dictates this action.

The force option also requires that every BatType (LRSlr) be selected on the line of logic where it is used.  The reason for this limitation is that checking BatTypes requires  an extensive amount of time -- too much to be done before every at-bat.

The force option can be a very valuable tool.  If you have a dominant closer it can be a tremendous asset to your team.

HOW TO FORCE A PITCHER INTO THE GAME:

When a logic line has force checked only the FIRST pitcher in the associated bullpen  pecking order will be brought into the game (the other pitchers listed in the bullpen pecking order will not be forced into the game).  The other pitchers are listed in the bullpen  pecking order because pecking orders can be shared by multiple logic lines.  We will be  showing that in the examples that follow.

Since the Force Logic Line will only use the first reliever listed, it is important that you create a separate, identical or overlapping non-force logic line that covers the same situation as your force logic line just in case your forced reliever is unavailable.  In other words, a Force Logic line is a one-man pecking order.  If that man is unavailable HAL will check the next logic line.  For example, using the 1999 Dodgers, assume you create the following force logic lines and reliever pecking orders:

Logic Lines

               SCORE       OUTS    BatType   ID        Force?

Line  1:      1 to  3   24  to 26   LRSlr    A-Closer   Yes

Line  2:      1 to  3   24  to 26   LRSlr    A-Closer   No

Pecking Orders

A-Closer    J.Shaw  A.Mills P.Borbon O.Masaoka M.Maddux J.Arnold

Notice how the same bullpen pecking order ("A-Closer") is used by both lines of logic. In the 9th inning (outs 24-26), with a 1 to 3 run lead, J.Shaw will always be forced into the game (by Logic Line 1), if he is available.  If Shaw is not available then no closer will be forced into the game.

However, should HAL decide a reliever is needed, logic line #2 will be used.  Without line 2, if J.Shaw were unavailable and HAL wanted to bring in a reliever, he would find no logic line!

Essentially, with the above logic lines you are telling HAL that in the 9th inning and a 1 to 3 run lead, regardless of your starter's condition, you want J.Shaw in the game. If J.Shaw is unavailable, you want HAL to stick with your starter and evaluate his condition  before picking a reliever.  In other words, HAL will not be forced to remove your starter automatically.  If  HAL decides the starter should be removed, logic line 2 will be used.  In that case A.Mills would be the first man out of the bullpen since Shaw is not available.

INSTRUCTIONS IF YOU HAVE 2 CLOSERS YOU WISH TO FORCE:

If you want to force two closers setup two identical lines of logic - one for each closer. Setup bullpen pecking orders for each of these lines.  If the primary closer (the one who is listed in the first forced line) is not available then the secondary closer will be forced into the game.  Again, using the 1999 Dodgers as an example:

Logic Lines

               SCORE       OUTS    BatType   ID           Force?

Line  1:      1 to  3   24  to 26   LRSlr    A-Closer      Yes

Line  2:      1 to  3   24  to 26   LRSlr    B-2nd Closer  Yes

Line  3:      1 to  3   24  to 26   LRSlr    A-Closer      No

Pecking Orders

A-Closer      J.Shaw  A.Mills P.Borbon O.Masaoka M.Maddux J.Arnold

B-2nd Closer  A.Mills J.Shaw  P.Borbon O.Masaoka M.Maddux J.Arnold

In the 9th inning (outs 24-26), with a 1 to 3 run lead, J. Shaw will always be forced into the game, if he is available.  If he is unavailable, logic line #2 will be used and A. Mills will be forced into the game. If both J.Shaw and A. Mills are unavailable, HAL will not force anyone into the game.  However, should HAL decide a reliever is needed; logic line #3 will be used.  Without line 3, if J.Shaw and A. Mills were unavailable and HAL wanted to bring in a reliever, he would find no logic line!  Essentially, with the above logic lines you are telling HAL that in the 9th inning and a 1 to 3 run lead, regardless of your starter's condition, you want J.Shaw in the game. If J.Shaw is unavailable, you want A. Mills in the game (regardless of your starter's condition).  If both J.Shaw and A. Mills are unavailable, you want HAL to stick with your starter and evaluate his condition before picking a reliever.  In other words,  HAL will not be forced to remove your starter automatically.  If  HAL decides the starter should be removed, logic line 3 will be used and P. Borbon would be the first pitcher out of the bullpen since both Shaw and Mills are unavailable.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 7.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) A Web Builder function has been added - Publish your league on the Internet with this fantastic new feature!

 2) Report Writer - A new, much more powerful, report writer has been added to  the game.

 3) Net Play, our Internet version of the program, is now included with  the game.  Previously, it was a $15 annual option.  See the Net Play release  notes that are delivered with the game.

 4) A new X-Chart dialog has been added which dislays for fielding chart plays when using the Show Board Game Information option.

 5) Robbing homeruns at the wall - this is now an optional rule.

 6) Improved AI regarding pitcher usage.  Starters who are rated "never" will only be used as relievers  if there are no other pitchers available.  Starters who begin a  game tired will now usually be left in the game until their fatigue  level drops further.

 7) Includes pictures of two new Ballparks - Miller Park (Milwaukee), PNC Park (Pittsburgh).

 8) Support added for NTFS file system & Windows XP.

 9) Play-by-play - Now over 20,000 lines and growing.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


REPORT WRITER

The new Report Writer feature replaces the older (Pre Version 7) Report Writer. The replacement offers a much more powerful reporting environment and is loaded with new functionality.  Here is a list of features with the new Report Writer:

- You define which order the stats appear on the reports.  With the old report writer you had to accept the pre-defined order.

- Team reports for batting and pitching are now available.

- You can request that totals ("Sums") be placed at the end of the report.

- You can request that averages ("Avg") be placed at the end of the report.

- You can click on a column heading to sort by that column.

- You can change the colors and fonts of all fields withing reports.  You can define separate fonts for the headings and for the data.  You can define separate fonts for columns and for rows (including the Sum and Avg row).  You can even define a separate font for a single cell in the grid, if you wish.

- You can copy the contents of any cells to the clipboard and then paste them into other programs, like a spreadsheet (note: only text is copied, not the cell formatting).

- You can view the data with or without gridlines.

- You can save the report output in any number of ways including text files, html files and Strat-O-Matic .prt files.

When you access the Report Writer the RM.EXE program is loaded.  The following menu items are presented by this program:

File Menu

Edit Menu

View Menu

Window Menu

Help Menu

Context Menu

The following options are available:

Report View Options

All dialogs within the application have OK and Cancel buttons. OK confirms the changes made within the dialog and applies them. Cancel exits the dialog without applying any of the changes made.  The following dialogs are available:

Column Attributes Dialog

Report Properties Dialog

Report Type Dialog

Row Attributes Dialog


REPORT WRITER FILE MENU

File Menu

New - Create a new report. This option will first display the Report Type Dialog, then the Report Properties Dialog to allow the user to configure their new report.

Open - Open an existing report. This option will display a standard open file dialog and allow the user to select the report to be opened.

Close - Close the currently active report.

Save - Save the currently active report. If the report has not been previously saved, the application will open a standard save file dialog and allow the user to name the report.

Save As - Save the currently active report with a new name. This option will show a standard save file dialog and allow the user to rename the report.

Save As HTML - Export the currently active report as an HTML document. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the HTML document as they choose. HTML documents are saved into the game's HTML directory.

Save As Text - Export the currently active report as a text document. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the text document as they choose. Text documents are saved into the game's Print directory.

Print - Print the currently active report to the user's printer.

Print to File - Export the currently active report as a Strat-O-Matic print document. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the print document as they choose. Print documents are saved into the game's Print directory.

Print Preview - Display the currently active report in a standard print preview pane. The print preview offers the option to print the report or view it in various formats.

Print Setup - Set up the user's print preferences. This option allows the user to select the printer they want to use and set custom printer options. Options available depend on the user's printer.

Recent Files - Displays a list of recently viewed reports. Selecting an entry from this list opens the chosen report if it is still available.

Exit Application - Exit the Report Writer, closing any open reports. The user will be prompted to save any open reports prior to closing the application.


REPORT WRITER EDIT MENU

Edit Menu

Copy to Clipboard - Copy selected text from the current report to the clipboard. Text on the clipboard can be copied into any other application that accepts pastes from the clipboard.


REPORT WRITER VIEW MENU

View Menu

Toolbar - Show or hide the standard toolbar.

Status Bar - Show or hide the standard status bar.

View Grid Lines - Toggle the currently active report's grid lines on or off.

View Sums - Toggle the currently active report's statistics sum line on or off.

View Averages - Toggle the currently active report's statistics average line on or off.


REPORT WRITER WINDOW MENU

Window Menu

Cascade - Cascade all open report windows.

Tile - Tile all open report windows.

Arrange Icons - Arrange the icons of all minimized report windows.

Window List - This list shows all currently open report windows. Selecting any report off of this list opens and activates the appropriate window.


REPORT WRITER HELP MENU

Help Menu

Help - Show the help file for the Report Writer.

About - Shows standard About dialog.


REPORT WRITER CONTEXT MENU

Context Menu

The context menu is displayed when the user right-clicks within the report itself. All available options are listed below. The options available depend on where the user right-clicks within the report.

Edit Row Attributes - Selecting this option displays the Row Attributes Dialog for the current row

Edit Column Attributes - Selecting this option displays the Column Attributes Dialog for the current column.

Remove All Text Formatting - Selecting this option removes all special formatting from the document. The user is prompted to confirm this choice.

Primary Sort (ascending) - Use the current column as the primary sort value for the report in ascending order.

Primary Sort (descending) - Use the current column as the primary sort value for the report in descending order.

Secondary Sort (ascending) - Use the current column as the secondary sort value for the report in ascending order.

Secondary Sort (descending) - Use the current column as the secondary sort value for the report in descending order.


Report Writer View Options
REPORT WRITER REPORT VIEW OPTIONS

Report View Options

League Selector - Allows the user to narrow the scope of the current report to a specific league. There must always be a league selected.

Sub-League Selector - Allows the user to narrow the scope of the current report to a specific sub-league with the current league. There is always an option to show 'All Leagues' in the sub-league selector.

Properties - This button brings up the Report Properties Dialog, which allows the user to edit the current report's setup in detail.


Report Writer Column Attributes
REPORT WRITER COLUMN ATTRIBUTES DIALOG

Column Attributes Dialog

This dialog has the following options available:

Font - Selecting this button brings up a standard font dialog that allows the user to select the font and text color for the current column.

Color - Selecting this button brings up a standard color dialog that allows the user to select the background color for the current column.

Filter on this Column - If this box is checked, the current column will be used as a filter for the report. The Minimum Value and Maximum Value fields (or the Matching Text field in the case of a text column) are used to reduce the visible rows of the report. Only rows that are between the minimum and maximum values (inclusive), or that match the matching text field in the case of text columns, are displayed.

Hidden Column - If this box is checked the column is still active in the report, but it is not displayed. This can be used to create a filter column without displaying the data used to filter.

Primary Sort Column - If this box is checked, the column will be used as the primary sort for the report data. Only one column at a time can be used as a primary sort.

Secondary Sort Column - If this box is checked, the column will be used as the secondary sort for the report data. Only one column at a time can be used as a secondary sort.

Sort Order Combo Box - This sets the current sort order for the column to either ascending or descending. This value is ignored if the report is not used for sorting.


REPORT WRITER PROPERTIES DIALOG

Report Properties Dialog

Title - This is the title of the report used for printing, HTML, and text output.

Report Type - This field displays the type of report the user is working with. This value cannot be edited.

Header Color - Selecting this button brings up a standard color dialog that allows the user to select the default background color for the header row.

Header Font - Selecting this button brings up a standard font dialog that allows the user to select the font and text color for the report header.

Data Color - Selecting this button brings up a standard color dialog that allows the user to select the default background color for any row or column that does not have custom formatting.

Data Font - Selecting this button brings up a standard font dialog that allows the user to select the default font and text color for any row or column that does not have custom formatting.

Available Fields - This list box shows all report fields that are available but not used in the current report.

Used Fields - This list box shows all report fields in use in the current report. Fields are listed from top to bottom in their left to right display order within the report.

Move to Used (->) - Move the currently selected available field to the used fields. Fields are added to the bottom of the used field list.

Move to Available (<-) - Move the currently selected used field to the available fields. Fields are added to the available list in alphabetic order.

Move all to Used (>>>) - Move all available fields to the used fields list.

Move all to Available (<<<) - Move all used fields to the available fields list.

First - Move the currently selected used field to the first position in the used field list.

Up - Move the currently selected used field up one position in the used field list.

Properties - Display the Column Attributes Dialog for the currently selected used field.

Down - Move the currently selected used field down one position in the used field list.

Last - Move the currently selected used field to the last position in the used field list.


REPORT WRITER REPORT TYPE DIALOG

Report Type Dialog

When the user creates a new report, this dialog allows them to establish the type of report they are creating. Users select a report type from the list presented, either by selecting an entry then clicking the OK button, or by double-clicking the entry in the presented list.


Report Writer Attributes Dialog
REPORT WRITER REPORT ATTRIBUTES DIALOG

Row Attributes Dialog

This dialog has two options available:

Font - Selecting this button brings up a standard font dialog that allows the user to select the font and text color for the current row.

Color - Selecting this button brings up a standard color dialog that allows the user to select the background color for the current row.


WEB BUILDER

Web Builder is a simple, easy to use interface design to build complete, professional looking web site that displays your league and it's associated statistics.  Creating your league web site is as simple as selecting the league of your choice.  Then just sit back and within a few minutes you'll be browsing your new League web site on your computer.

Your new league web site folder will contain all the files you'll need.  Images, HMTL, and JavaScript files will all be placed in a new web site folder.

Once created you can view new web site locally from your hard drive or upload it to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that provides a web hosting service.  To update your statistics just run Web Builder again.

To read more about Web Builder click on one of these links:

Running Web Builder

Customizing Web Builder

Uploading Your Web Site

Note: Web Builder has been designed to work with Internet Explorer 5.0+, non-frame websites.


RUNNING WEB BUILDER

When you first run Web Builder it will display a dialog that give you the choice to Build, View or Upload your league.  The build function lets you create the web site on your hard drive.  Once created, you can view it or upload it to the Internet so that others can see it.

To Build a league select the  league then click the "Build" button and Web Builder will automatically build the league and place it inside the HTML folder located in the CD-ROM Baseball folder.  For example, if your league is 2001ML you will find a folder called 2001ML with a number of files inside of it.  To view the Web Builder output on your machine just double-click on the index.html file.  You can also use the built-in  "View" button to do this.

You can navigate throughout the Web Builder league by clicking on any link that you find.  Just about every place you see a player or team name can be clicked on as a link.  You can also click the league logo to get to the league's home page.


CUSTOMIZING WEB BUILDER

Some of the HTML and JavaScript used to create League Web Sites are stored in the "data" folder.  These files are required and should not be deleted. You're welcome to make changes to these files but we recommend you only do so if you have adequate knowledge.  Be sure and create back-up copies of these files before making any changes.  We cannot provide support for html or javascript changes that you make.

One file custom.js has been designed specifically to allow personalization of your web site. This file includes references to images and colors used by web pages.

The text between the double quotes impacts all or most of your web pages. Changing this text allows you to personalize your web pages.

Change myLeague to more personal name.

Example:	var myLeague = "Bill's League";

Change myLogo to your own graphic to represent your own league image.

Example:  	var mylogo = "billface.gif";

Change backColor to adjust the color on many of your pages. You can use many standard color name or define the exact Red, Green Blue color values. An example of #RRGGB  usage would be

var backColor = "#336699"

Other custom variables such as bargraph are included for future updates.


UPLOADING YOUR WEBSITE

First you will need to sign up for a free web site.  Here are two ways you can locate companies that offer this:

1) Goto http://www.freewebsiteproviders.com/index.htm

2) Go to www.google.com and type in the following search: free FTP website hosting

There are many free website host providers to choose from.  You can check out what each offers and select one, but make sure it offers free FTP.

Caution: These services stay in business by providing ads that appear on your website.  We have been informed that some of these services display offensive material.  If you  are worried about ads for bad stuff appearing on your page you might  consider using one of the religous based free services.  As an example, you might use the following search at www.google.com:

free FTP Christian website hosting

After selecting a free website provider which supports FTP, register with them and make sure you write down  your user name and password.  You will also need to find out the name of the FTP Server (or Host Name).

After you have signed up, you can upload your league using either the built-in Upload Button or the freeware FTP Commander.


Uploading Your Website
UPLOADING YOUR WEBSITE - Using Upload button

Once you've built your league and signed up for your free web page you can use the Upload button to publish your league on the Internet.

Select the league that you wish to upload and click the Upload button.  When the dialog appears follow these steps :

-	Name: (enter your league name)

-	Host Name: (FTP Server name from your website provider)

-	Login User ID: (from your website provider)

-	Password (from your website provider)

-	Optional Initial Directory - leave blank (this is for advanced users)

-	Select the league you wish to upload.

-	Uncheck both check boxes.  These are for advanced users.

-	Connect to the Internet using your normal procedure for doing so.

-	Click the "Upload" button.

If you experience trouble first select the "Passive Mode" checkbox and then try again.

If your system still has trouble uploading using the built in Web Builder Upload button then  you can use the freeware FTP Commander which is also included.

For advanced users we provide an Optional Initial Directory and a check box to upload your league to a folder based upon the league name.  Using this capability, you can upload mulitiple  leagues to the same website.  You can then use your knowledge of html to create a league index page which would include links to each of the leagues that you have uploaded.


Uploading Your Website
UPLOADING YOUR WEBSITE - Using freeware utility FTP Commander

Note that we cannot provide support for FTP Commander.  If you experience trouble with this software then you can do a search on the Internet for another free ftp software package.

-	Install FTP Commander (the installer can be found in the FTP folder of the CD-ROM game).

-	Use Web Builder to build the web site on your hard drive.

-	Start FTP Commander.

-	Click on "Connect", type the following:  Name: (your league name), FTP Server: (from your website provider), USER ID: Your User Name, Password (your password), Click "OK" button

-	On the right side of the screen you will see your web site come up.  Right now the only thing in there should be the index.html file.

-	On the left side of the screen click on the folders until you open up your league folder which is located underneath the HTML folder.  You should see a number of files displayed along with two folders -- "players" and "teams"

-	Select all of the items on the left side of the screen and click the red right-arrow button.  This will transfer all of your files from your hard drive to the web site.  This may take a while -- please be patient.

-	When the transfer is complete you should be able to go to your web site on the Internet and see your published league.


typedef struct s_xvt_help_info {long*  fake;}  *XVT_HELP_INFO;

typedef enum e_xvt_help_flavor { 	XVT_HELP_FLAVOR_NONE, 	XVT_HELP_FLAVOR_NTVSRV, 	XVT_HELP_FLAVOR_NTVBND, 	XVT_HELP_FLAVOR_PORTSRV, 	XVT_HELP_FLAVOR_PORTBND } XVT_HELP_FLAVOR;

extern   XVT_HELP_INFO                          XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_open_helpfile                 XVT_CALLCONV2          (             FILE_SPEC*  hfile,             unsigned long  flags          );

extern   void                                   XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_close_helpfile                XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi          );

extern   void                                   XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_display_topic                 XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             XVT_HELP_TID  topic          );

extern   void                                   XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_search_topic                  XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             XVT_HELP_TID  topic,             char  *pattern          );

extern   void                                   XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_set_menu_assoc                XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             MENU_TAG  tag,             XVT_HELP_TID  topic,             unsigned long  flags          );

extern   XVT_HELP_TID                          XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_get_menu_assoc               XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             MENU_TAG  tag          );

extern   void                                  XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_set_win_assoc                XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             XVT_HELP_TID  topic,             unsigned long  flags          );

extern   XVT_HELP_TID                          XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_get_win_assoc                XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win          );

extern   void                                  XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_assoc_all                    XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             long  rid,             WIN_DEF  *wdef          );

extern   void                                  XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_disassoc_all                 XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win          );

extern   void                                  XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_begin_objclick               XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             unsigned long  flags          );

extern   void                                  XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_end_objclick                 XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi          );

extern   BOOLEAN                              XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_process_event               XVT_CALLCONV2          (             XVT_HELP_INFO  hi,             WINDOW  win,             EVENT  *ev          );

extern   XVT_HELP_FLAVOR                      XVT_CALLCONV1          xvt_help_get_flavor                  XVT_CALLCONV2          (             void          );


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 8.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) Chart Maker - Now display, print and save colorful charts.  There are 20 great-looking charts included with the game.

 2) The play-by-play has a fantastic new feature.  Player's nicknames, biographical and other information now appears as part of the pre-pitch play-by-play.  Our play-by-play team has created over 10,000 lines of this type of this personalized play-by-play!!!  Here's a small sample of this great new feature:

-Here's the senior Lumber Company member Pops Stargell strolling to the plate

-"Wee Willie" is now batting

-And the graceful lefthander is into his windup, here's the relaxed delivery... (used for W.Spahn)

-The 6'1", 150 pound, Dominican-born Jose Vizcaino is making his way to the plate

 3) Super Hal Baserunning - You can now have full control over baserunning decisions by programming them in Super Hal.  Control the lead and trail runner in different categories such as "Lead runner trying to score with 1 out".

 4) Computer manager now supports defining a "Lefty Specialist".  Real-life lefty specialists tend to pitch to left-handed batters about 40 to 50% of the time.  Previous versions of our game would use these pitchers about 25% of the time against left-handed batters.  Now when you define a relief pitcher as a lefty specialist he will be removed much more often when  right-handed batters are up.  See Computer Manager Pitcher Settings for details on how you define a Lefty Specialist.

 5) Improved new "look and feel" to the game.  The main screen, notebooks, card images and  report screens have been improved.  To change the default color scheme select the  Fonts and Colors item from the Options menu.  Note: This feature can be totally shut off if you prefer the older interface.  See Miscellaneous Options for more information.

 6) Zip file support has been added to the Backup League function - simply select the league and a zip file is created which contains all files associated with that league.  Now multiple leagues can be backed up at the same time.

 7) Restore League function has been added.  Using a zip file created by the "Backup League" function you can now restore a league in seconds!

 8) A new "Awards Voting Report" has been added to the League Stats.  This report shows the mvp,  cy-young, all-star, gold-glove, rolaids relief, silver slugger awards.

 9) A new "Traditional Fielding" report has been added to the Team Stats.  Each position is shown along with all players who played that position.  Note: players who have been traded will be shown only on their final team along with their seasonal totals.

10) Over 30 new Ballpark pictures including "Stadium Entry" pics.  When you first start a game you will see a picture of the outside of the stadium or some famous scene around the ballpark.  The entry pics are included for most stadiums.  In addition, we've added a bunch of new ballpark pics.  Note: This option can be overriden.   See Miscellaneous Options for more information.

11) The Sort Players feature has been improved to filter batters by batting style (left, right or switch-hitter) and pitchers by throwing arm (left or right).  This makes it much easier to search the free-agency pool when looking for a particular type of player.

12) The Show Board Game Info option has been improved.

- Dice rolls and split card readings found directly on the player cards are now displayed in pbp area.

- Game now displays split chance for the Catcher Blocking Plate.

- Game now displays split chance for the Outfielder Robbing Homerun rules.

- When using "Show board game info" show batter's running speed when trying for a bunt base hit.

13) Tactile Splits improvement - hitting a key while Tactile splits are rolling now causes the split to be picked.

14) Dice Mode improvement - for flyball-B RF readings with runner on 2nd, split deck draw is now show on screen.

15) Ballpark & weather chart information have been added to the pre-game Starting Pitcher Selection dialog.

16) Find Player function has been added to the League Menu

17) Support for more than 255 walks has been added to the game.  Barry Bonds has redefined this statistical category, and although he did not exceed 200 walks in real life, it is possible in  draft league play that 255 walks might be exceeded.  The game as been improved so a batter can have up to 255 walks vs. right-handed pitching (and up to 255 walks vs. left-handed pitching). In practical terms, this means the game can now support about 330 total walks for a single batter.

18) The old Report Writer has been removed from the game.  All standard reports have been  ported over to the new Report Writer and are included with the game.

19) The Lineup screen now indicates scheduled starting pitchers (those who were defined using the Starter Schedule in Update Computer Manager).

20) Support for the 2002 and 1963 baseball seasons

21) Bugs fixed

- The home crowd would boo when the visiting team's baserunner was thrown out trying to steal 2nd

- Various Web Builder and Report Writer glitches

- Various NetPlay Bugs

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


MAXIMUM RULES VS. BOARD GAME

One of the beautiful things about the Strat-O-Matic computer game is that you as a gamer have the ability to view the game engine.  This is because the computer game is the same game as the board game.  Unlike other computer games, you get to see not only the final results of a play, but also how those results were derived.

That being said, we at Strat-O-Matic have not held back the progress of our computer games because of their board game heritage.  In order to allow the computer baseball game to move ahead while at the same time supporting a strict port of the board game we developed the "Maximum Rules" as optional extensions to the game.  This allows you to decide if you wish to use these extensions.

Most newcomers to Strat-O-Matic use all of the Maximum Rules.  They add a whole host of desirable features, and most of these folks want to play with the most advanced and realistic level of the game.

For the long time Strat-O-Matic board game player the tradeoff is getting an improved game at the cost of a slight loss of game engine visibilty.  This group of users are somewhat split on whether or not to use the maximum rules, but it is clear that most are using some, if not all, of them.

So, just how is the game engine altered?  Well, this depends upon the mix of Maximum Rules that you have selected, but the game engine changes fall into one or more of the following categories:

DICE ADJUSTMENTS - Random numbers are used with a series of complex calculations to determine whether or not to override certain play results.  If this determination is made another dice roll is made internally and the final play result is displayed on the screen.  The on screen dice do not animate until the final play result has been determined.

SPLIT ADJUSTMENTS - Random numbers are used, again with a variety of calculations, to determine whether or not split card readings are to be overriden.  The split result is not animated until a final determination is made of the play.

CARD ADJUSTMENTS - Certain portions of card results are overriden.  For example, say you turn on the "More baserunning decisions" Maximum Rule.  If you get a Single* result the "*" (which means that all baserunners advance just one base) is ignored and a more complex and realistic baserunning system is used.

COMPUTER ONLY RULES - Certain rules only appear in the computer version of the game -- no board game counterpart exists.

SOME EXAMPLES - While it is not possible to describe all adjustments in detail we will provide a couple of simple examples so that you may understand more clearly.

Say that the "Starting pitcher clutch" Maximum Rule is turned on.  In this case certain play results that would have been outs turn into hits and vice-a-versa.  If the pitcher is good in the clutch then he will allow less hits with runners in scoring position and more when the bases are  empty.  If he is poor in the clutch the opposite will occur.  The overall effect is balanced so that his hits allowed are still correct.  However, his E.R.A. will be more accurate because the clutch rating is designed to get pitchers closer to their real-life E.R.A.  These changes occur "behind the scene" as random numbers are rolled and compared to the pitcher's internal clutch rating, only "kicking in" in a relatively few instances.

As another example, say you are using the "Doubles/Triples" Maximum Rule.  Say that the batter had 2 triples in 500 real-life at-bats and the following split is rolled on the pitcher's card:  "Triple 1-3, Double 4-20".  A random number would be used along with his real-life triple percentage to determine if a triple would be allowed to occur on this split.  If it is not allowed then the double would be used. If you think about it, that would result in more doubles for this batter than he hit in real-life.  So further adjustments must be made to account for that.  Add to the mix the adjustments that are made for ballpark double and triple effects and, as you might imagine, the calculations that have been developed to perform this work are very complex.

As a final example, if you turn on the "Bunt for a basehit" Maximum Rule you are adding a rule where you cannot see what generates the result.  We studied real-life baseball to determine how often bunts for basehits are successful (given a number of variables) and we programmed that information into the computer game.  We do not publish our computer code, so in this case you must rely on your judgement (and game playing experience) to decide when to bunt for a base hit.

OTHER INFORMATION - Note that all adjustments are made strictly with random numbers and are equally applied to all players in all situations. There is a great deal of computer code dedicated to insure that the desired effects are obtained, and to statistically balance the changes that have been made. While it takes extensive code to implement these rules, only about 5% of plays will be affected even if all Maximum Rules have been turned on.

OUR RECOMMENDATION - In most situations we highly recommend the use of the Maximum Rules.  They have been tested extensively to insure accuracy and realism, and have been "battle tested" in the field for a number of years.  They improve statistical accuracy and provide additional strategical choices.  Most people who use them love them.  However, if you are bothered by these rules then you always have the option to turn them off.  That's another beauty of the Strat-O-Matic Game!


CHART MAKER

Chart Maker can display colorful, three dimensional charts that you can view, print or save to a graphic file.  There are 20 charts from which you can choose from.

When you access the Chart Maker the CM.EXE program is loaded.  Here is a description of the Main Window Controls:

Chart Selection Pulldown List - Selecting an item from this list will change the currently displayed chart, using the same league, subleague, team, and player as applicable.

League Selection Pulldown List - Selecting a different league from this list will redisplay the current chart using the new league's data. When switching leagues the subleague, team, and player are all set to the default values for the new league.

Subleague Selection Pulldown List - Selecting a different subleague from this list will redisplay the current chart using the new subleague's data. When switching subleagues, the team, and player are set to the default values for the new subleague.

Team Selection Pulldown List - Selecting a different team from this list will redisplay the current chart using the new team's data. When switching teams, the player is set to the default value for the new team.

Player Selection Pulldown List - Selecting a different player from this list will redisplay the current chart using the new player's data.

Close - Clicking on this button exits Chart Maker.

MENU ITEMS The following menu items are presented by this program:

File Menu

View Menu

Help Menu

The following Toolbar Options are available -

Print - See File Menu / Print

About - See Help Menu / About Chart Maker


CHART MAKER FILE MENU

The File Menu of the Chart Maker program includes the following items:

Save as JPG - Save the current chart as a JPG format graphics file. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the JPG document as they choose. JPG documents are saved into the game's Charts directory.

Save as PNG - Save the current chart as a PNG format graphics file. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the PNG document as they choose. PNG documents are saved into the game's Charts directory.

Save as BMP - Save the current chart as a BMP format graphics file. This option shows a standard save file dialog and allows the user to name the BMP document as they choose. BMP documents are saved into the game's Charts directory.

Print - Print the current chart to the user's printer.

Print Preview - Display the currently active report in a standard print preview pane. The print preview offers the option to print the report or view it in various formats.

Print Setup - Set up the user's print preferences. This option allows the user to select the printer they want to use and set custom printer options. Options available depend on the user's printer.

Exit - Close Chart Maker.


CHART MAKER VIEW MENU

The View Menu of the Chart Maker program includes the following items:

Toolbar - Hide / show the standard application toolbar.

Status Bar - Hide / show the standard application status bar.


CHART MAKER HELP MENU

The Help Menu of the Chart Maker program includes the following items:

Help Contents - Show the help file for Chart Maker.

Search for Help on - Show the help file for Chart Maker in search mode.

Help using Help - Standard help on help.

About Chart Maker - Shows standard About dialog.


SUPER HAL BASERUNNING

This option is available from the Update Computer Manager screen.  Simply select "Super Hal Baserunning" as the Category and you will be presented with a screen that lets you define how Super Hal will control your baserunning.

The original computer manager only lets you select how aggressive you want to be with  baserunning (See Manager Tendencies).

If you want to excercise more control over your team's baserunning you should use the Super Hal Baserunning feature.

To use this feature select "Super Hal Baserunning" from the Update Computer Manager screen.

You will be presented a grid that allows you to select the MINIMUM percentage at which a  baserunner will be sent in a variety of circumstances.

Please keep in mind that these percentages are minimum, and if a player qualifies for the  minimum then he will always be sent.  For example, if you set a particular category to "50%" the baserunner will ALWAYS be sent if his safe percentage is 50% or higher.  He will NEVER be sent if his safe percentage is 45% or lower.

The grid keys off of the Lead Runner.  If he is the tying run then that particular line of the grid will be used to determine whether or not to send the baserunner.

Notice that another key component of the decision is the number of outs.  You will probably want to be much more aggresive with 2 outs then with 0 outs.

Once the line to be used and the number of outs has determined which section of the grid is going to be used the computer will use the two number you have programmed to determine when to send runners.  Notice the first number is labeled "Lead" for lead runner and the second number is labeled "Trail" for trial runner.

The lead runner is the guy trying to score or move up to  third base on the play.  The trail runner is the next baserunner available.  This can sometimes be a man who was on first play and it can sometimes be the batter.

The game computes the safe percentage of each runner and compares it to your definitions.  Then it either sends or holds the runner(s) based upon that comparison.

Here are a couple of notes:

"Insurance run" is any run that adds to the lead, even if the game is early.

"Other run" is any run that does not fall into "tying", "go ahead" or "insurance".  That would be a run that cuts down on your opponent's lead.  Example:  If you trail 7-3 the lead runner would be considered an "other run".

"N/A" means that you are not defining this segment of the grid.  You can define some and leave others set to "N/A".  When the program sees "N/A" it simply reverts back to the original computer game logic which will use your baserunning aggresiveness setting that is defined on the "Manager Tendencies" screen.


RESTORE LEAGUE
RESTORE LEAGUE (Located in the League menu)

This function can restore a "LZP" file that was created byt the Backup League function.

Actually, "LZP" files are standard "ZIP" files.  We use the "LZP" extension for these files so that regular "ZIP" files are not accidentally restored by this function (results would be unpredictable if that were to happen).

To restore a league simple run this function and select the LZP file you wish to restore.  You will be given a list of all folders that are in the LZP backup -- you can choose which ones to restore. If the league already exists on your hard drive it will be overwritten by the backed up version.

Note: For backups that were done before Version 10, you will not be given the choice of what to restore.  All league files will be restored including rosters, stats, subsets, etc.


FIND PLAYER
FIND PLAYER (Located in the League menu)

To find a player simply run the function and type in the player's name and you will be told where the player is located (either on a given team or in the free agent pool).


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 9.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) Encyclopedia - Wow -- the encyclopedia innovation of the century!  That's how we describe the new Version 9 encyclopedia functions.  This awesome new encyclopedia function will actually display your replays statistics so that they look just like the real-life encyclopedia that you love.  With support that you have always dreamed about!  Over 50 NEW REPORTS!!!

 2) New  Build/View League Database Stats function. This function builds a Microsoft MDB Database from a single season's statistics and allows you to access the same reports as displayed for encyclopedia functions.  That's over 50 new league statistical reports!  And as a bonus, if you are familiar with using Access or other programs that can read an MDB database, you can open the database and create your own reports!

 3) Lineup evaluator - a great new tool to help you determine your team's optimum lineup!  At the click of a button you can now play 15,000 games with your lineup to see how many runs you score and surrender.  Besides using it to optimize your lineup, this is an excellent "what-if" tool to determine the impact of potential trades on your team.

 4) Each player can now be assigned his own picture.  The picture will be displayed in the player's notebook.  Due to licensing restrictions pictures are not included.  If you assign player pictures there is another bonus:  the batter and pitcher's pictures will appear during game play on the screen!  You can toggle this option on and off, and you'll be able to move the pictures around the screen independently to position them just where you like them.

 5) Boxscore Improvement: "Web Gems" (great defensive plays) are now shown on the boxscore.   Now you'll never forget that game-saving rob of a homerun, the time your catcher blocked the plate preventing the tying run from scoring or the fabulous fielding gem that a lesser defensive player wouldn't have made!

 6) The Card Image option now displays in the player's notebook the player's real-life totals at the bottom of the card image in the same format as shown on a Strat-O-Matic player card.

 7) Each player can now be assigned an individual web page.  This great new feature makes it easy to follow how your players are doing in real-life.  When a player has been assigned a website and you click on the "Web Page" button in his notebook your web browser will launch and display his web page.  As an example, you could assign a player's web page to be his stats page on a major sports site like www.sportingnews.com.  Historical players might be assigned their career totals page on a site like www.baseballreference.com   The design of this feature will enable gamers to share these links with each other easily as all links are listed in a text file.

 8) A League website can now be defined.  Perhaps the commissioner or league statistician runs a website for disseminating league information.  Just define that website in the program and league members will have easy access to it by selecting a menu item that displays the website.

 9) League email address can now be defined.  A new menu item allows you to dispatch your email client to send an email to the defined address.  This could be used to send a message to the entire league (if you setup a group for this purpose).  Alternatively league members could use this email address to email the commissioner of the league.

10) Each team can now be assigned its own web page. Perhaps this is a page within the league web site or an entirely different site.  For instance, you can assign the team's web page to their real-life team's website.  Or, in a draft league, you can assign it to your team page on the league's website.

11) Each team can also be defined with it's own email address.  If you are viewing a team's notebook and you wish to email that team's manager simply click on the EMail button and your email client will launch enabling you to email him.

12) Game stories on boxscore have been improved -- over 200 new phrases have been added.  This will make the game stories more unique and varied.

13) New ballpark pictures - Great American Ballpark and 11 new entry pictures including the Harry Caray statue in Chicago, some great shots of Fenway and some colorful shots of the Sternwheeler riverboats in Cincinnati.  The game now supports up to 3 entry pictures per ballpark.

14) New play-by-play nickname file - over 5000 new lines of nicknames and player-specific descriptions have been written to add realism to the commentary - from 1900 to present!   That's a total of over 14,000 lines of play-by-play just related to individual players alone.

15) Play-by-play Improvements:

- The USERPBP.FIL has been has been edited to remove repetitious lines, re-phrasing them for more variety.

- Many new lines of play-by-play have been added, including newsworthy events for 2003

- Many new play-by-plays have been written using the new symbols and modifiers added for this CDROMBB update - these reference the pitcher's "current pitch count" vs his "target pitch count" resulting in a variety of interesting comments.

- Adjustments have been made in the program itself that result in a significant increase in the variety of play-by-play calls seen in every game.

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2003 season (including play-by-plays written with the new Cincinnati ballpark in mind) - player milestones referenced in many instances.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

- Overall, approximately 7,000 lines of play-by-play have been written for the CDROMBB 9 release.

16) Bugs fixed

- On rare occasions the game would substitute for a "lefty specialist" who had not faced the required minimum of 1 batter.

- The Super Hal Report was not displaying bullpen lines where the score was defined as 0 to 0.

- Sometimes when a pitcher in the field was injured (while using the DH rule) a problem would occur with the substitution. 	  Note: Some of this year's new features will not be available in Netplay due to technical restrictions.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


ENCYCLOPEDIA

The numerous functions of the old encyclopedia have been replaced with two menu items.  One menu item lets you launch the encyclopedia program (described below) while the other allows you to assign a particular encyclopedia database to a league.

The creation of an encyclopedia is a multi-step process.  First you select existing Strat-O-Matic leagues and create an encyclopedia database from them.  Then you select the encyclopedia database and create an encyclopedia from it.  Next you populate your encyclopedia with reports.  Finally, you can view, print and FTP (upload to the Internet) your  encyclopedia displays.

To launch the encyclopedia program, select a league and then select the  Statistics/Encyclopedia menu item.  The Encyclopedia program will load.

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU RECEIVE "INTERNAL APPLICATION ERROR" MESSAGE WHEN YOU LAUNCH THE ENCYCLOPEDIA YOU MUST INSTALL DAO.  PLEASE SEE THE DAO FOLDER ON THE CD-ROM FOR MORE DETAILS.

Browser Compatibility Note:  Our Encyclopedia uses Alternate Media Stylesheets which are supported by Internet Explorer 5+.  Other browswers (such as Netscape 6+, Mozilla, and Opera 7+) might work as well, but we develop and test compatibility with IE 6+.

The screen is divided into these areas:

Top - the database and league section.  You use this part of the screen to create encyclopedia databases from existing Strat-O-Matic league statistics.

Middle - The encyclopedia management section.  You use this part of the screen to create, display and manage your encyclopedias themselves.

Bottom - Status box - this is used to display messages as the program performs various functions.

OTHER ENCYCLOPEDIA RELATED HELP TOPICS

The encyclopedia program consists of the main dialog (described above) along with these  other dialogs:

Encyclopedia Definition Dialog - Define which reports are to be included in the encyclopedia.

Manage Database Alias Dialog - Lets you fix data errors caused by players who's name has changed or who have the same name as another player.

Manage Database Teams - Lets you match teams in the database when a team changes cities.

Encyclopedia Choose Report Type Dialog - Lets you define the specifics of a particular report that is to become part of the encyclopedia.

Encyclopedia Display Dialog - Lets you display the encyclopedia.

Encyclopedia Error Messages and Restrictions - Has important information regarding this topic.


PLAYER PICTURES

Player pictures can easily be assigned for each player.  These pictures can appear during  the game (see Game Screen Layout Options), and will also appear in the player's notebook.

To assign a player picture you simply need to place his picture in the appropriate folder:

For batters - put the pictures in Player\Batters folder (located inside the game folder). For pitchers - put the pictures in the Player\Pitchers folder.

The file name should have an underscore between the first and last name.  For example, a  picture for Alex Rodriguez could have the name: "Alex_Rodriguez.jpg"

The player image must be 90 wide by 135 high.  The file format and extension name should be .jpg or .bmp.  We recommend jpg format because this will save space on your hard drive,  especially if you are using a large number of player pictures.

In some cases you might have two batters or two pitchers with the same first and last name. In that case you can use the "alias.txt" file to allow for separate pictures for each player.  An example is shown in the "alias.txt" file that is shipped with the game.  Sandy Alomar Jr. was called "Sandy Alomar" from 1990 to 1999 on the Strat-O-Matic disks.  Of course this might confuse him with his father who went by the same name on Strat-O-Matic disks.  The example "alias.txt" file shows how to make the program look for "Sandy Alomar Jr." as the picture file name instead of looking for "Sandy Alomar".  That way you can have separate pictures - "Sandy Alomar" for the father's picture and "Sandy Alomar Jr." for the son's picture.

The program will strip all periods out of the names before creating the file name to be searched for.  As an example, "Sandy Alomar Jr." has the period stripped out to make "Sandy Alomar Jr".  Then all spaces are converted to underscores to make "Sandy_Alomar_Jr". Then the file extension (".bmp" or ".jpg") is appended to determine the final name to be searched.  In this case it would be "Sandy_Alomar_Jr.bmp" or "Sandy_Alomar_Jr.jpg".   As another example, a jpeg picture for U.L. Washington must be named "UL_Washington.jpg" in  order for the program to find it.

Note: Due to licensing restrictions pictures are not included.


EMAIL

You can setup email addresses for both your league and your team.  Simply use the Update/League or Update/Team dialogs to enter in an email address.  You can email the league from the "League/EMail League" function.  A team can be emailed by using the "Team/EMail Team"  function or by clicking the EMail button on the team's notebook.

When you click to send an email your system email client will launch (quite often this is Microsoft Outlook).  The email address of your league or team will already be filled in and you should be ready to send an email.

Some leagues may wish to setup a group on the Internet so that when you choose to email the  league all league members (those who are registered with the group) will recieve a copy of the email.  Other leagues may wish to use the EMail League function to email the commissioner.


WEB PAGES

LEAGUES & TEAMS You can setup web pages for both your league and your team.  Simply use the Update/League or Update/Team dialogs to enter in a website.  You can view the league from the "League/Display League Website" function.  A team's webpage can be viewed by using the "Team/Display Team Webpage" function or by clicking the Web Page button on the team's notebook. When you do this your default web browser will launch and (if you are connected to the Internet) appropriate page will be displayed in the browser.

PLAYERS This feature makes it easy to follow how your players are doing in real-life.  When a player has been assigned a website and you click on the "Web Page" button in his notebook your web browser will launch and display his web page.  As an example, you could assign a players web page to be his stats page on a major sports site like www.sportingnews.com.  Historical players might be assigned their career total page on a site like www.baseballreference.com.

The design of this feature will enable gamers to share these links with each other easily as all links are listed in a text file.  The file that contains the player website definitions is called "playurl.txt" and it is located in the Players folder.  To assign a webpage to a player simply edit the playurl.txt file and add an entry for that player.  Use the format shown in the example file.  The first field is B for batter or P for pitcher.  Next comes the player's name and finally his web page.  Be sure to follow the format exactly including using commas between the fields.


LINEUP EVALUATOR

This tool will help you determine your team's optimum lineup.  At the click of a button you can now play 15,000 games with your lineup to see how many runs you score and surrender.  Besides using it to optimize your lineup, this is an excellent "what-if" tool to determine the impact of potential trades on your team.

Note: Before using the Lineup Evaluator you need to make sure that all teams in the league have valid computer manager settings including good pitching rotations.

When you click on the "Evaluate" button from the Update Default Lineups dialog all lineup changes will be saved and the lineup evaluator dialog will display.

You have three options on this dialog.  You can choose to evaluate your lineup vs. the entire league, vs. a particular team or vs. an individual starting pitcher.  You can also choose to select how many games you want the evaluator to run for.

After making your selections click the "Vs. League", "Vs. Team" or "Vs. Pitcher" button and the evaluator will begin to work.  You will see games scrolling by in a similar fashion to autoplay.  However, instead of seeing scores for each individual games you will see a display that lists the following items:

Games - total number of games played with this lineup

Off- average number of runs scored by this lineup

Def - average number of runs surrendered by this lineup

Diff - The difference between Off and Def.  This can be a positive or negative number.  Of course the higher the number the better.

The evaluator forces certain league options to particular settings for purposes of the  evaluation.  For example, player overusage is ignored in order that the same players are always used in your lineup when the evaluation is done.

Note: the runs scored for and scored against should be used as relative numbers for comparison purposes only.  The actually runs scored and against may vary in regular season play due to various computer manager settings, other team's lineups, substitution patterns that differ from the evaluator, etc.

When running against the entire league, the lineup evaluator does not use the schedule at all.  It plays an even number of games vs. every left-handed starter in the league (or righty starters if you are testing against right-handers).  It simply cycles through each team looking for all of the lefties (or righties) in the rotation and when it finds one it plays a game against him.  Then it moves on to the next lefty on that team, and when it runs out it moves onto the next team.

When running against a team or a player the lineup evaluator will cycle through your rotation as it plays each game so that all pitchers on your staff are represented in the results.

On an average machine, it may take about 10 minutes for the 15,000 game evaluation to occur. After the Evaluator is finished the Update Lineup screen will close (all changes having previously been saved).  There may also be a delay at this point since the evaluator uses a large amount of memory and that memory needs to be freed back to the operating system.


Build/View League Database Stats

This function builds a Microsoft MDB Database from a single season's statistics and allows you to access the same reports as displayed for encyclopedia functions.  That's over 50 new league statistical reports.  And as a bonus, if you are familiar with using Access or other programs that can read an MDB database, you can read in the database and create your own reports.

To use this function select the league you wish to work with and then select the  "Build/View League Database Stats" item from the Statistics menu.  The program will proceed to read in all league statistics and create a database from them.  This process will take a while - perhaps a minute or more.  After the database has been built you will be presented  a dialog that allows you to select the  report you wish to view.  There are a number of options on this dialog -- please refer to Encyclopedia Choose Report Type dialog for more information on this dialog.


ASSIGN ENCYCLOPEDIA

After you have use the Encyclopedia function to create an encyclopedia database you can assign that database to be used by a given league.

As an example, say you are in your fourth year of your league.  Use the encyclopedia functions to create a database consisting of the first three years of your league.  After you have done that use the Assign Encyclopedia function to assign that database to your current season.

After you have done this player and team career stats will be available on the Careers tab of the notebooks.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The encylopedia must not be opened when assigning the encylopedia database to a league.


ENCYCLOPEDIA DATABASE AND LEAGUE SECTION

This describes the top most portion of the Encyclopedia dialog, the Database and League section.

When creating an encyclopdia you must first create a database file from the existing  Strat-O-Matic statistics.  That is what this section of the dialog allows you to do.  In a  nutshell, it reads in all of the league's Strat-O-Matic statistics files (for as many leagues as you wish) and builds them into one large database.

After you have created the database you can use the encyclopedia management section of this dialog to create and display encyclopedias.

The following buttons are available for your use in the top section of the dialog:

CREATE DATABASE: To use the button first select the leagues you wish to assemble into a database file then click this button.  This function will take a while as building a database can be a time consuming process.  As the database is built messages will appear in the Status Box at the bottom of the screen.  After the database is build you should review these messages to look for errors.  If an error occurs you may be able to fix it using the Manage Database Aliases dialog described below.

MERGE LEAGUE(S) INTO DATABASE: After a database has been built there may be occassion where you wish to merge further season statistics into it.  For example, say you have built a  database that contains the first three years of your league's data.  After you finish playing the fourth season for your league you may wish to merge the fourth season into the existing database to bring it up-to-date.  To use this function first select the database you wish to  work with then select the league(s) you wish to merge into that database.  When you have done  this click the Merge button and the merge will begin.  Error messages will appear in the  Status Box at the bottom of the screen.

MANAGE DATABASE ALIASES - This button launches the Manage Database Alias dialog.

MANAGE DATABASE TEAMS - This button launches the Manage Database Teams dialog.

DELETE DATABASE - Databases, by their very nature, take up large amounts of disk space.  If you no longer have a need for a particular database you can use this button to delete it. First, select the database to be removed then click the Delete button.


ENCYCLOPEDIA MANAGEMENT SECTION

This describes the middle portion of the Encyclopedia dialog, the Encyclopedia Management Section.

When creating an encyclopdia you must first use the database and league section of  this dialog to create a database.  Then you can use this section of the dialog to create and display your encyclopedia.

The following buttons are available for your use in the top section of the dialog:

CREATE ENCYCLOPEDIA: To create an encyclopedia you must first select the database your are going to use.  Then click the Create Encyclopedia button.  You will see a dialog that lists the existing encyclopedia names at the top.  At the bottom is an area to enter in the name of your new encyclopedia.  A default name is already entered in this area (it is the name of the database).  You can either accept the default or you can type in another name for your encyclopedia.  After this click the OK button.  You will be presented with the   Encyclopedia Definition dialog.  After you have added reports to the encyclopedia you will click OK on the definition dialog and you will be returned to this dialog.

MODIFY ENCYCLOPEDIA: To modify an existing encyclopedia first select the encyclopedia then click this button. This button works much in the same way as the Create Encyclopedia button,  however instead of creating a new encyclopedia you select an existing one to modify.

DISPLAY ENCYCLOPEDIA: When encyclopedias are created they are stored on disk until there  are deleted.  That's so that you can return to an encyclopedia and browse through it whenever you like without having to repeat all of the steps you took to create it again.  To display an existing encyclopedia simply select it and click the Display button.

DELETE ENCYCLOPEDIA: If you no longer need an encyclopedia you can delete it by selecting it and clicking the Delete button.


ENCYCLOPEDIA MANAGE DATABASE ALIAS

This describes the functionality of the "Manage Database Alias" button found on the  Encyclopedia dialog.  You do not need to use this dialog unless you have discovered that there is a problem that needs correcting.

When you click "Manage Database Alias" a new dialog appears.  The Manage Alias Dialog is provided in order to handle those situations that arise when a player is known by more than one name or two or more players have similar names.  This screen will allow you to fix alias problems in your database and it also allows you to assign new local alias's to players so that you can avoid these problems in future builds of your database.

These problems should occur much less often than in the original (pre-Version 9) Encyclopedia. Starting with Version 9 we ship an master database that includes every player who ever appeared in the Major Leagues -- this database automatically links player records together  in most cases.  However, we include the "Manage Database Alias" feature for those times when the automatic link does not work, or for when you are not using major league rosters.

Database On the left side of the screen is your current database name and a list of all the players in that database as well as their id numbers.  This id numbers provide a guaranteed unique was to identify players.  There is only one entry per player in your database.

Alias Database

The BBPedia program ships with an alias database that contains a very extensive list of all baseball players, up to the current season, and any alias's they have.  It also contains some of our matching criteria such as the last year played, last team, and some of their statistics from that year.  This is some of the data that we use when trying to identify a difficult player, one whose name does not exactly match.

When creating a database, the player's name, actual team and stats are matched up against the alias database so that we can match them to the correct player.  This way, even if a player's name changes over the years, we can total up their stats correctly.

Selecting players

The bottom left of the screen is an informational area called "Last Selection".  Information is shown about the last player that you clicked on in either the database or alias list.  All of the alias's for that player as well as every team they played on and the years played are also shown.

Matching Players

By double clicking on a player in the database list or selecting a player in the database list and then pressing the arrow pointing right, the alias list will scroll to that player's alias in the alias list.  The same thing works if you select a player from the alias list and press the arrow pointing left.  If you select a player from the alias list that is not in the current database an error dialog will appear.

Fixing problems

If there is a problem such as a player's name is incorrect in your database or they are matched to the wrong player from the alias list, this screen provides the methods to rectify this situation.

Switching the Alias

Example: Tom Smith played in 1905 and a different Tom Smith played in 1999, your database incorrectly has matched your 1999 Tom Smith to the 1905 Tom Smith.  This is very easy to fix. First find the correct Tom Smith in the Alias list, just scroll through the alphabetical list until you find the correct player.  Select the two correct players and once they are both selected (Tom Smith 1999 in the database list and Tom Smith 1999 in the alias list), press the Change Encyclopedia Database ID button.  This will match them and that's it.

Using a different Alias Name

Example: Tom Smith has two alias's in the alias database and both are correct.  One is Tom Smith and one is Tommy Smith.  They are both correct and both refer to the same player. But in your database it's using Tommy Smith and you want your encyclopedia reports to use Tom Smith.  Just follow the procedure above, select the match that you want and press the Change Encyclopedia Database ID button.  Since the program will realize that the id's of the two selections already match it will ask you if you want to change the database name.  Just press yes and your done.  Tommy Smith will change to Tom Smith and that's how they'll be referenced on all of you encyclopedia pages.

Local Alias's

Local Alias's are alias's that you want to use in your reports but are not necessarily common alias's for a player or they may be oversights in the alias database.

Example: Tom Smith has his Tommy Smith and Tom Smith record in the alias database, but for some reason this year he's referred to as Tom Smith Jr. in all of the data.  So that every time you create your database he's incorrectly matched to no one.  The BBPedia program provides a solution for this, just create a local alias.  Select the player from the alias list that you want to create a new alias for.  Then type a new first and last name in the lower right hand corner of the screen.  Then press the Create new Local Alias button.  A new alias for the selected player will be created and show up in the alias list with an (L) next to his name.  This shows that this entry is a local alias and can be deleted by pressing the Delete Local Alias button (regular alias's cannot be deleted).  Now every time you create your database it will find the local alias for Tom Smith Jr. and correctly match him with all of the other Tom Smith records.

You only have to do this once, you're changes are saved in a database all their own and will be referenced every time a database is created.


ENCYCLOPEDIA DEFINITION DIALOG

This dialog is displayed when the Create or Modify button is clicked on the  encyclopedia management section of the Encyclopedia Dialog.

ENCYCLOPEDIA DESCRIPTION

An encyclopedia consists of one or more reports as defined by you.  The encyclopedia can include as many reports as you wish to add to it.  The right side of the screen displays all of the reports that you add.  When you display the encyclopedia an index page is created that lists all of the reports in your encyclopedia.  You can click on this index page in the browswer to navigate between reports.

REPORTS LISTED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF SCREEN

The ride side of the screen lists all the reports in the encyclopedia.  Again, an encyclopedia is simply a collection of reports.  If you wish to display the entire encyclopedia (all of the reports listed on the right side of the screen) then you click the Display button.  All reports will be built along with an index page.  You will see the index page first, and that will link to all of your reports.

However, if you are working on an encyclopedia and you wish to display just one of the  reports listed on the right side of the screen you can do so by double-clicking that report.

Note that when you add a report to the right side of the screen the data selection for that report is permanent.  If you want to use the same report on a different set of data do not use the Modify button as it cannot alter the data selection.  Instead, if you want to use the same report on a different set of data then create another report.

It is important to note that some reports will take a while to display.  The reports are built by reading a large database of all information and this can be a time consuming process.  Also, the memory requirements for database support are sometimes large.  You may need to increase the size of your virtual memory.  Please see your Operating System help file for more information.

FILTERING RECORDS

The definition dialog is very powerful in that it lets you add multiple reports to your encyclopedia using either the entire database or any subset of it that you define.

For example, you might want to filter the data so that only the players on your team appear in a particular report.  Or perhaps you want to limit this report to a given   season or player.  By filtering you get to define exactly what you want to see in each report.

By using the Batter/Pitchers/Teams radio button in concert with the Years and Teams pull-downs you can define which players you wish to add a report for.  By default, all years and all teams are selected.

As an example, say that you only want this report to include batters on a given team for a given year.  To do that select the year, the team and click the "Batters" radio button.  Then create the report and it will include only the data you wish to report on.

You can use the Search field if you wish to report on a single player.  Just click the  batter or pitcher button then type in his last name into the search box and select the player you wish to report on.  After that create the report and it will be added to  the encyclopedia.

Remember, you can add as many reports as you want to the right side of the dialog, but each time you add a report be sure that the filtering is set as you desire for the report you are about to add.

OTHER BUTTONS

The following describes the other button avaialable on this dialog:

CREATE - Using the currently selected data (see filtering above), you will be able to add the encyclopedia report of your selection to the encyclopedia.  After it is added it will appear on the right side of the screen.  When you click this button you will be presented  with the Choose Report Type dialog.

DELETE - This deletes the selected report from the encyclopedia.  Highlight the report to be removed on the right side of the dialog, then click delete.

MODIFY - If you've already created a report and you wish to modify it then highlight the report on the right side of the screen and click modify.  Note that you cannot modify the filtering.  Filtering can only be defined when you create a report.

DISPLAY - This will build and display the encyclopedia using the  Encyclopedia Display Dialog.

OPTIONS - Bring up another dialog that lets you define options for your encyclopedia.  You can change the title of the encylopedia, define which folder the encyclopedia is saved in, and specify your FTP options.  Here is a list of the FTP options you will need to define if you wish to upload your encyclopedia:

-	Server: FTP Server name from your website provider.  For example, if your website is "www.somleague.com" you would enter in "somleague.com"

-	User Name: Your Login User ID from your website provider

-	Password: From your website provider

-	Folder - The folder on the server where you wish to upload the encyclopedia.  For example, say that your site has an existing folder called "stratstuff" at the top level.  If you want to upload the encyclopedia to a new folder called "myleague" and place that within the existing  "stratstuff" folder you would type "/stratstuff/myleague".

You will also need to find check the "enable FTP" box if you wish to use the built in FTP support.  After you have filled in the other fields and checked this box then display the encyclopedia.  When you click the "Close" button you will be given an opportunity to FTP the encyclopedia.

CLOSE - Closes this dialog.


ENCYCLOPEDIA CHOOSE REPORT TYPE DIALOG

The top portion of the screen allows you to select which report you want to create and  specify options that are unique to that report.

The bottom porition of the screen displays a simplified view of the report so that you have some visual indication of what the report will look like.  It does not display any actual data, just the shell so you can see what the report will look like.

Here is a description of this dialogs components:

TITLE - You can type in a report heading or just accept the default, which is the same name that is shown in the Format field.

DATA TYPE - Displays the data source that is being used for this report.  You cannot change this field as it is for informational purposes only.

FORMAT - This field is a large pull-down that allows you to specify which report you wish to  add.  As you select different reports from this pull-down you will notice that the bottom section of the dialog changes so you can have an idea of what the report might look like.

LEADER COUNT - For some leader reports you can specify how many leaders to show in each category. Other leader reports show a predetermined number of leaders due to the format of the report.

MIN IP/PA - Certain reports (like leader reports) will allow you to specify a minimum number of innings pitched (for pitchers) or plate appearances (for batters).  If you are  running this report for a single season 162 IP and 502 Plate Appearances are traditionally used.  If you are running this for multiple seasons you will need to decide what would be an appropriate number to use.

POSITION - If you want to filter by position you can do that here.  That way you can determine your leading hitters by position.

LINES PER PAGE - You might need to adjust this number to get printing to work out properly on your machine.  If page breaks are not occuring where you think they should then adjust this number up or down until the results are more satisfying.

OK - Accept all of the setting for this report and save the report as an item that will be  displayed on the Encyclopedia.

CANCEL - Exit without saving this report.


ENCYCLOPEDIA DISPLAY DIALOG

This dialog works like a web browser.  You will first be presented with the index page which lists all of the reports in your encyclopedia.  You can click on any link to display reports.

The Back and Forward buttons work similar to a standard browsers buttons.  Print Preview and Print buttons are also available so that you can make hard-copy printouts of your encyclopedia.  However,  please be aware that these reports can use large amounts of paper and ink if you print them!

You should use the Print Preview feature to check on page breaks.  If they don't look proper then use the Encyclopedia Choose Report Type dialog to adjust the number of lines per page.


ENCYCLOPEDIA RESTRICTIONS AND ERROR MESSAGES

The following error will sometimes occur when creating or merging encyclopedia databases:

"The changes you requested to the table were not successful because they would create duplicate values in the index, primary key or relationships.  Change the data in the field or fields that contain duplicate data, remove the index or redefine the index to permit duplicate keys and try again"

This error message can occur in one of two ways:

1) You are trying to add the same team/league combination multiple times. The database can only have one league abbreviation for any given year (for example, you cannot add two leagues to the database which are both called "1978 AL")  Note: If you have subleagues the encyclopedia uses the subleague abbreviation, not the main league abbreviation.

2) You are trying to add the same team/year combination multiple times. You can only have one team abbreviation for any year in the database (For example you cannot add two teams to the database that both are  "1978 NYA").

Other Encyclopedia Database Restrictions: 1) You cannot have two different copies of a player in the same league.  For example, say you have a 1957 Mickey Mantle on one team, and on another team IN THE SAME LEAGUE you have a 1956 Mickey Mantle.  In this case the database cannot differentiate the two players and their statistics will be added together.

2) Hall of Fame Rosters Restrictions: Note that you should only create an encyclopedia for one year of a Hall of Fame roster.  We do not support multiple HOF seasons in a database (or merging a HOF league into any other database).  When creating a database for one season's worth of HOF data you can safely ignore the "can't find" player error message.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 10.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

 1) Authorization system - A 3.5" diskette drive is no longer required except for the optional Play-By-Play diskette.

 2) Roster Installation - All rosters are now distributed on the CD-ROM and are installed with this new feature.  In addition, updated rosters that have been improved by the user community are also included on the CD-ROM.

 3) Tournament Mode - Imagine playing a mega-tournament including every Strat-O-Matic Roster that you own!  Who would win?  Now you can find out.  Tournament mode allows you to assign teams to participate in an elimination tournament.  You can either autoplay or manually play individual games during each round of the tournament.  Also, a round can consist of a single game or a 3, 5 or 7 game series.  Tournament mode automatically saves basic stats for each team and can optionally save a box score for each game.  There's even a tournament recap report that gives you the complete story of what happened in each round along with a list of tournament leaders.

 4) Batch Statistical Reporting - You run the same reports each month, and it takes you half an hour to do them all.  Well, not anymore!  Batch Statistical Reporting allows you to define a batch of reports that can you can run anytime in a matter of seconds.  A great time saver for league commissioners.  And output can be defined to be either regular Strat-O-Matic PRT files or HTML files.

 5) Automatic All Star Game - You'd love to play an All Star game but it is a pain to assemble the rosters.  Here's a feature, that given two leagues (or two subleagues), will determine the All Stars, create a new league, add two teams and program the computer manager for those two teams - all with the click of a mouse!  The only thing left for you to do is the fun part - playing the All Star game!

 6) Daily Team Log - New report that list each team's daily performance including the score of each game, winning, losing and saving pitcher along with the team's place in the standings and how many games back they were on each date.

 7) Individual Team Lineup and Usage Options - You set your league options one way, but you really wish you could have a different set of options just for one team - the team that you are managing.  Now this is possible.  For example, every other team can have their eligibles controlled by the computer while you control them for your team.

 8) Import Team Nicknames - This feature will allow you to import nicknames for teams. Strat-O-Matic cannot distribute the team nicknames due to licensing restrictions.  Instead of manually typing in nicknames every time you buy a new league now you'll be able to do this once, then import the nicknames for each league in a matter of seconds.

 9) Import Starting Pitchers with Schedule - The import schedule now supports optional assignment of starting pitchers.  This feature will plug the team starting pitchers into the computer manager when the schedule import is done.

10) Ballpark Report - A Ballpark Report has been added to the Team Reports dialog.

11) Backup/Restore Improvements - Now you can backup and/or restore various league files - for example, you can select to backup just the print files.  Or you can backup everything in a league but just restore the subsets.

12) Netplay - More information has been added to the Quicksub feature to facilitate quicker play.  Note: As with previous releases, other new features are not available for Netplay.

13) Manual Entry Mode - New automatic default actions for the batter and baserunners makes entering in game results much faster than before.

14) New Max Rule - Board Game Excesses is now split out from Improve statistical accuracy.

15) Boxcore - The teams up-to-date won/loss record is now shown.

16) Encyclopedia Improvements - added Manage Database Teams dialog, added Wins to "BBEpitcher Lifetime Leaders" report.

17) Over 30 new ballpark and entry pictures!

- San Diego - Day and night shots of the new PETCO stadium plus 3 entry pictures.

- Philadelphia - Day and night shots of the new Citizens Bank Park plus 3 entry pictures.

- New York NL - Day and night shots of Shea stadium

- Los Angeles - Day shot of stadium plus 2 entry pictures

- San Francisco - Night shot of Pac Bell plus 2 entry pictures

- Anaheim - Night shot of stadium plus 1 entry picture

- Texas - Night shot of The Ballpark in Arlington plus 1 entry picture

- Oakland - 2 entry pictures

- St.Louis - 2 entry pictures

- Tampa Bay - 2 entry pictures

- Seattle - 2 entry pictures

- Kansas City - 1 entry picture

- Texas - 1 entry picture

- Houston - 1 entry picture

18) Play-by-play Improvements:

- Many new lines of play-by-play have been added, including newsworthy events for 2004.

- The nickname file has been expanded greatly -- there are over 4,000 new player specific play-by-plays.

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2004 season (including play-by-plays written with the new Philadelphia and San Diego ballparks in mind) - player milestones referenced in many instances.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

19) Bugs fixed

- No RBI's should be credited when Catcher's Interference is called.

- Various Play-by-play trivia questions and other glitches have been corrected.

- Various Game Recap bugs where wording sounded funny.

- Various statistical reporting glitches have been corrected.

- Various Alias Database problems have been corrected.

Note: Most of this year's new features will not be available in Netplay due to technical restrictions.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 9 - new features.

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM

The authorization system employed by the game is a state-of-the art Internet based system that allows a game or season roster to be active on one machine at a time.

The first time you start up a game you will be prompted to enter in your Product Code.   When you purchased the game you should have received your Product Code with your order.  This code uniquely identifies your ownership of the product.  IMPORTANT: Do not let anyone else know what your Product Code is!  It is your private "key" to open up your ownership of a game or season roster disk.  Also do not lose your Product Codes.  You may need them in the future.

INSTALLING GAME AUTHORIZATION

Before installing the authorization you must first connect to the Internet.  If the machine cannot be connected to the Internet then you must follow the Manual method described below. After your Internet connection is established start the game and enter in your Product Code.  Then click OK.  The authorization to run the game will be transferred from the Strat-O-Matic server to your machine's hard drive.  You will now be able to run the game.  You only need to do this once -- subsequent runs of the game will start without prompting you for your code.  Note that you can only do this transfer one time.  If you want to install on another machine you must follow the procedures found below to remove the authorization from your machine.  IMPORTANT: If you are running Norton Internet Security or other similar products (such as firewalls) then you might receive a warning message when you click OK.  It is safe to ignore this warning message.  If you cannot get around your firewall then you will need to use the Manual method described below.

REMOVING GAME AUTHORIZATION

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before removing game authorization from your machine first remove any season authorizations you have installed.

If you want to remove the authorization (for example, to move the game to another machine) then connect to the Internet and select the File / Remove Game Authorization menu item.  Again, you must type in your Product Code.  The authorization will be moved from your hard drive back to the Strat-O-Matic server.  You can then install the software on another machine and transfer the authorization to that machine.

AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM FOR SEASONS

Authorization for seasons works just like the game.  You get a Product Code for each season you purchase.  The first time you access the season the game will prompt you to enter in your Product Code and the authorization for it is transferred from the Strat-O-Matic server to your machine.  To move the authorization back to the server select the File / Remove Other Authorizations menu item and enter in your product code.

IF YOU OWN OLDER 3.5" DISKETTE SEASONS

We no longer sell season disks on 3.5" diskette.  However, if you own an older season that is on 3.5" diskette you can activate that season by clicking the "Diskette Transfer" button.  You will be prompted to insert the original Strat-O-Matic season diskette.

Note: You cannot transfer back the authorization for a 3.5" diskette because you do not have a Product Code.  Therefore, you should hold onto your 3.5" diskettes for use with future versions of the program.

MANUAL METHOD FOR INSTALLING AUTHORIZATIONS

If the machine that has the game cannot be connected to the Internet, or you are having trouble with the Automatic method, then you must install the authorization using the manual method.  Follow the directions above but instead of clicking OK click the Manual Transfer button.  You will be given a User Code.  Take this code to a machine that can be connected to the Internet and go to:

www.w3admiral.com/som/activate.htm

Enter in your User Code and you will be given back an Activation Code (the authorization has been transferred from the Strat-O-Matic server at this point).  Now, go back to the machine that has the game installed on it and run the Manual Method again.  You will be prompted to enter in your Activation Code.  Do so and click OK.  The game or season will now work on your machine.

MANUAL METHOD FOR REMOVING AUTHORIZATIONS

If the machine that has the game cannot be connected to the Internet, or you are having trouble with the Automatic method, then you must remove the authorization using the manual method.  Follow the directions above but instead of clicking OK click the Manual Transfer button.  You will be given a Remove Code.  Then the game will exit (you can no longer play games on this machine).  Take this code to a machine that can be connected to the Internet and go to:

http://www.w3admiral.com/som/deactivate.htm

Enter in your Remove Code and your authorization will be transferred back to the Strat-O-Matic server.

IF YOU EXPERIENCE TROUBLE WITH THE AUTHORIZATION

If you are still experiencing trouble even after trying the manual method then please e-mail or call  Technical Support for help.

IF YOUR HARD DRIVE CRASHES    If you have lost an authorization due to hard drive failure and you are not able to play the game (or seasons) then you will need to contact  Technical Support.  They will help you get back up and running.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES

We no longer ship seasons on diskette.  However, if you have an old 3.5" season diskette that fails you can exchange it for a Product Code card for a $2 replacement fee, per diskette.  Mail back the diskette(s) and enclose $2 per diskette and we will ship back to you the replacement Product Code card(s).

We no longer support the old 3.5" "All Star disks" and "World Series disks" since they are not compatible with the new Authorization system.


INSTALL ROSTERS FROM CD-ROM
INSTALL ROSTERS FROM CD-ROM (Located in the League menu)

All rosters are now distributed on the CD-ROM and are installed with this new feature.  Also, seasons that include AS PLAYED data (which follows the real-life lineups and transactions for your replay) are much simpler to use.  You just install the AS PLAYED version of the data and you are ready to start your replay.

In addition, updated rosters that have been improved by the user community are also included on the CD-ROM for your convenience (see UPDATED ROSTERS below).

INSTALLING A ROSTER

When you select the "Install Rosters From CD-ROM" menu item a dialog will appear that allows you to select one or more Rosters to install.  For each roster to be installed you will receive a warning message which allows you to cancel out if needed.

You will be prompted for your Authorization Product Code the first time you use each season.

Note: If you own an older roster diskette you can also use the duplicate league function to install that diskette instead of using the "Install Rosters From CD-ROM" feature.

UPDATED ROSTERS

Strat-O-Matic has released over 100 seasons in the past 15+ years.  As each season is released it includes the latest and greatest features.  However, the older season rosters do not include all of the newer features.  For example, at some point in the past we added RBIs for batters and GS for pitchers to the "actual stats" which are displayed for each player.  Every season that has been released from that point has this information.  But seasons released prior to this point do not.

A group of dedicated users decided to do something about this.  So they started releasing patches with improved rosters on Gary Simond's web page.  For various seasons they added  the following items:

- Actual statistics such as RBI, SB, GS, etc.

- Super-Advanced ratings such as e-ratings, balk, wp and pb

- AS-PLAYED data (actual lineups and/or transactions)

- Play-by-play information (such as the team's broadcaster)

- Fringe players (players with very few at-bats or innings that were not included by Strat)

***IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ACTUAL PITCHER'S BATTING CARDS*** As of Version 13 these Strat enthusiasts also created Actual Pitcher Batting Cards for many seasons.  These rosters are given the *PHC* designation (for Pitcher Hitting Card) so that you know which seasons include this feature.  In order to install these pitcher hitting cards you must install the entire season, so be careful not to overwrite an existing season when trying to install them!  If you want to install only the pitchers hitting cards, and you are familiar with zipping an unzipping files, you can open the Rosters folder on the CD-ROM and unzip the appropriate "99" files to the Rosters folder on your hard drive.

Len Durrant and Gary Simonds helped coordinate the effort to bring these improvements to  the CD-ROM version of the game.  For updated seasons we always include the original Strat- O-Matic data.  That is because that data most closely matches the card set that we released. But unless you are using the physical cards from that year, you might wish to use the updated version of the data instead.

Over the years a number of gamers have volunteered their efforts to assist in making these improvements.  We, along with the entire Strat-O-Matic community, wish to thank these gamers for their contributions to these efforts.  A complete list of contributors to this project is located in the Credits section.


TOURNAMENT MODE
TOURNAMENT MODE (Located in the Team menu item)

Tournament mode allows you to setup exciting tournaments using as many teams as you like.  You can specify which teams will be in your tournament, how many games each round consists of,  and which games are autoplayed or played manually.

To create a tournament use the  Start New Tournament menu item.

Once a tournament has been created, you can use the Open Existing Tournament dialog to reopen it at a later date.

When you have finished the tournament you can use the Delete Existing Tournament dialog to remove it from your  hard drive.

NOTE: Tournament mode will slow down if large numbers of teams are used.  If you are going  to be using more than 1000 teams then you will need a very fast computer.

TOURNAMENT MODE RESTRICTIONS: Tournament mode is not maintained as a league because it is not possible to maintain a league of thousands of teams.  The current league design is limited to just 30 teams.  Since it is not a league Tournament Mode does not maintain fatigue or injuries between games.  Because of this, injuries are limited to the remainder of the current game for tournament mode.  The date is always set to July 1st for Tournament games for similar reasons.  Tournament mode automatically selects starting pitchers before each game.  If you wish to override the selection you may do so, but it will then be up to you to maintain a realistic rotation for your team if you do so.


STARTING A NEW TOURNAMENT
START NEW TOURNAMENT(Located in the Team menu item)

When you select this menu item a Setup dialog appears that lets you define the following parameters for your tournament:

TOURNAMENT NAME: Type in the name of your new tournament.  This must be a valid file name. Spaces and special characters are not allowed.

NUMBER OF TEAMS: Select the smallest number that can hold the number of teams you will be using.  For example, if you plan on having a tournament with 7 teams select "8 Teams (3 rounds)".  If there are not an exact number of teams then some teams will receive a bye in the first round of the tournament.

MATCHUP CONSISTS OF: Select the number of games that will be used throughout the tournament.

TOURNAMENT OPTIONS: These are buttons that allow you to define various options that will be used for your tournament games.

OK - when you have completed entering in the basic tournament information click the OK button to proceed.

You will now proceed to the main Tournament dialog.  This is the same dialog that is shown when you use the Open Existing Tournament menu item.


OPEN EXISTING TOURNAMENT
OPEN EXISTING TOURNAMENT (Located in the Team menu item)

When you select this menu item the main Tournament dialog will appear.  All tournament features are accessed from this dialog.  The dialog consists of the following components:

CURRENT VIEW - There are three types of views.  The Select Teams view shows all teams that have been added to the tournament.  The Rounds view shows the various rounds of the tournament.  And the Games view lists the result of each and every game that has been played in the tournament.

DISPLAY AREA - The main display area works in conjunction with the Current View.  As you select different Current Views this area will be updated accordingly.  Note: if you save boxscores for each game to a file then when the Current View is "Games" you can view the boxscore for each game by double-clicking the game.

RULES BUTTON - The Rules button will re-open the Start New Tournament and allow you  to access the tournament rules.

TEAMS BUTTON - The Teams button allows you to define which teams are going to be in your tournament.  When you are ready to do that click on this button and the  Add Teams To Tournament dialog will appear.

ALL MANUAL BUTTON - Set all teams to "MANUAL" so that their games will be played manually.

ALL AUTOPLAY BUTTON - Set all teams to "AUTO" so that their games will be played via autoplay. Note: if either team is set to "MANUAL" then that game will be played manually.

PLAY ROUND BUTTON - Start or continues playing game with the current round.  Use the Current  View button to select the round first.

TOGGLE AUTO BUTTON - Allows you to toggle a single team from AUTO to MANUAL and vice-versa.

TEAM STATS BUTTON - You can use the Team Stats button to access the statistics that are saved for each team in the tournament.  Since there is no "league" to save stats tournaments use the subset stats mechanism to allow you to view the stats.

RECAP BUTTON - Displays a recap report of the tournament which shows leaders, and tournament  standings.

RESTART BUTTON - Restarts the entire tournament, resetting all games to unplayed status.

CLOSE BUTTON - Closes the tournament dialog.


DELETING AN EXISTING TOURNAMENT
DELETING AN EXISTING TOURNAMENT (Located in the Team menu item)

This dialog lets you delete a tournament.  All data and folders associated with the tournament will be removed.


ADD TEAMS TO TOURNAMENT DIALOG
ADD TEAMS TO TOURNAMENT DIALOG (Located in the Team menu item)

IMPORTANT NOTE: TOURNAMENTS CONTAIN POINTERS TO THE TEAMS, NOT COPIES OF THE TEAMS. THIS IS  DONE TO CONSERVE DISK SPACE.  BECAUSE POINTERS TO TEAMS ARE USED, DO NOT DELETE ANY LEAGUES (OR TEAMS) THAT ARE INCLUDED IN YOUR TOURNAMENT OR THE TOURNAMENT WILL NOT WORK ANY LONGER.

This dialog will allow you to add a team to a tournament.  To do so follow these steps:

1) Select the league (in the middle of the dialog)

2) Multi-select (with Ctrl-click) the teams from this league then click the "ADD TEAMS(S)" button.  They will be added to the list of tournament teams (on the left side of the screen).

3) Repeat this process until you've added the teams that you wish to participate in this tournament.

Other buttons that are available are:

MOVE UP BUTTON - Move the selected team up one slot in team list.  The teams towards the top of the list get home field advantage.

MOVE DOWN BUTTON - Move the selected team down one slot in the team list.

REMOVE TEAM BUTTON - Remve the selected team from the tournament.

REMOVE ALL BUTTON - Remove all teams from the tournament.

RANDOM SEED - Randomly assign the seed (team order) in the team list.  This will make it fair for all teams since home field advantage will be randomly determined.

CLOSE BUTTON - Close this dialog and return to the Main Tournament Dialog.


BATCH REPORTING
BATCH REPORTING (Located in the Statistics menu)

Batch Reporting allows you to define a batch of reports that you can run anytime in a matter of seconds.  This is a great time saver for league commissioners or anyone who wishes to run the same group of reports on a regular basis.  Output can be defined to be either regular Strat-O-Matic .PRT files, to .HTML files or to the Printer.

When you run this function the "Batch Reports" dialog will appear.  You can define one batch per league.  When the dialog appears the batch for the selected league will appear (it will an empty batch the first time you run it for each league).

Here are the components of the dialog:

LEAGUE REPORT - If you wish to define a league report to be added to the batch select the report here, then select the SUB LG (if desired) and then click the ADD LEAGUE REPORT  button to add it to the batch.

TEAM REPORT - To define a team report to be added to the batch select the report here, then define the TEAM and STATS you wish to report on and then click the ADD TEAM REPORT button.   The report you defined will be added to the batch.

CLEAR BATCH - Deletes all reports from the batch.

RELOAD BATCH - Restores the batch back to the last copy that was saved.  If you accidentally hit the Clear button or you messed up in some other way you can use this button to revert back.

MOVE UP & MOVE DOWN - Select a report from the BATCH REPORTS display area then click one of these button to move the report around within your batch.  Reports listed at the top of the batch will display first.

DELETE - To delete reports from the batch select the report(s) in the BATCH REPORTS display area then click the Delete button.

SAVE & CLOSE - Saves your batch definitions to disk and closes the dialog.

PRINT ALL - Prints all batch reports.  If you wish to print just a single batch report then use the View Reports button to view that report and then print it.

VIEW REPORTS - View the reports on your screen.  Depending on how you have defined the View Report Type you will view them in either Strat-O-Matic PRT format or in HTML format.  You  will also be given the opportunity to print the reports while viewing them.

VIEW REPORT TYPE - Select either PRT or HTML format.  PRT is the Strat-O-Matic proprietary format for displaying reports.  HTML format reports will be displayed using your web browser.


CREATE ALL STAR GAME
CREATE ALL STAR GAME (Located in the League menu)

This function is a great time saving device for playing an All Star game. You define two leagues (or two subleagues) and it will determine the All Stars, create a new league, add two teams and program the computer manager for those two teams - all with the click of a mouse!  The only thing left for you to do is the fun part - playing the All Star game!

When you run this function the "Create All Star Game" dialog will appear.  Here are  the components of the dialog:

FIRST LEAGUE - Select the League (and subleague if appropriate) for the VISITING all-star team.

SECOND LEAGUE - Select the League (and subleague if appropriate) for the HOME all-star team.

ALL-STAR LEAGUE DISPLAY AREA - When an All Star game is created it is placed into a new league.  This display area shows you the information that will be used to create this  league.  You can override the information, but be sure that you don't use a year/abbreviation combo that is already in use.  You can alter the name of the teams and their abbreviations.

OK - Create and save the All Star Game league.  You play the all-star game at a later date by selecting either playing a league or non-league game.

PLAY - Create, save and play the All Star Game league.

CANCEL - Exit without creating an All Star Game league.

Note: This function is designed to be used around mid-season, after an adequate number of games have been played by each team.  It may malfunction if teams do not have sufficient games played.


BOARD GAME EXCESSES
BOARD GAME EXCESSES (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option improves overall statistical accuracy by adjusting for minor variances that cannot be accounted for in the board game.

Turning on this option improves the statistical accuracy of certain players who had extreme performances.  For instance certain pitchers such as Greg Maddux allow very few walks. Using this option will enable Maddux to duplicate his real-life dominance in this area. A number of categories are affected by this option including home runs, walks and strikeouts. Also pitchers hitting will be affected by using this option, resulting in less walks and extra base hits by pitchers.

This option was split out from Improve statistical accuracy -- as part of the Version 10 release.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


TEAM LINEUP AND USEAGE OPTIONS
TEAM LINEUP AND USEAGE OPTIONS (Located in the Team menu)

You set your league options one way, but you really wish you could have a different set of options just for one team - the team that you are managing.  Team Lineup and Usage Options allow you to do this.

Now this is possible.  For example, every other team can have their eligibles controlled by the computer while you control them for your team.

When you select this function you will see dialog that contains many of the same items displayed on the League Lineups And Usage dialog.  The items shown on the Team version of this dialog will override the League settings if the OVERRIDE LEAGUE OPTIONS box is checked.

For example, say your league's lineup setting is "Primary With Rest" but you always want to use "Primary" for your team.  All you need do is to select your team in the  Manager Screen, click "Primary" and check the OVERRIDE LEAGUE OPTIONS box.


IMPORT TEAM NICKNAMES
IMPORT TEAM NICKNAMES (Located in the League menu)

This function will allow you to import team nicknames for one or more leagues.

To use you need to first edit the TEAMNICK.CSV file which is located in the main game folder.  Edit and/or add lines to this file as needed.  We have include the text "NICKNAME" for team nicknames that we are not licensed to distribute.  However, you can simply  replace the "NICKNAME" with the proper team nickname.  Note that Year1 is the starting year and Year2 is the ending year that this nickname should be used.  For current seasons you can use "9999" for Year2.  Example: For the NY(NL) team use 1962 as Year1 and 9999 as  Year2.  That means the range of years will be from 1962 to 9999 which obviously would include the current year.

Once you have edited the file start the game and select the leagues you wish to import the nicknames for, then click select the "Import Team Nicknames" menu item to import the nicknames.  The program will search for a match and when it finds it, it will use the nickname specified in the program.


IMPORT STARTING PITCHERS

This feature allows you to define starting pitchers in a text file to be imported by the Schedule Maintenance function.  The Starter Schedule in Update Computer Manager will list the starters after they have been imported.

To use this feature first use Schedule Maintenance to Export a league's schedule to a text file.

Use a text editor to edit the text file and add the starting pitchers full name to each line.  First list the visiting teams starter and then the home team's starter.  Use commas to separate the data.   Here is an example:

Line as exported by Export Schedule:

1,NYA,TBA,N

Same line after starters have been added:

1,NYA,TBA,N,Mike Mussina,Mark Hendrickson

Note that the exact spelling and punction must be used so that it matches exactly how the CD-ROM game display the player's name.

When you have finished adding starters to the schedule text file you can use the  Schedule Maintenance Import button to import the starters.

NOTE: If a player is not currently on the team but he will appear at a later time (for example, when you are using AS PLAYED data and the pitcher is due to be traded to another team at some future point) then the pitcher's name will be imported but not shown on the Computer Manager "Starter Schedule" tab until he is traded to that team.


NETPLAY

NET PLAY - INTRODUCTION The Net Play feature allows you to play a game of Strat-O-Matic baseball with a friend over the Internet.  You may play SOM Baseball against another human opponent, either as a simple one-off game, or as part of a league.  Please read all of these notes before beginning - it will save you time and potential headaches!

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT FIREWALLS, ROUTERS, TECH SUPPORT, ETC.

FIREWALLS - You must disable any firewalls that would block the port that you are listening on. 6501 is the default port, but you can choose any other valid port.

ROUTERS  - If you are using a router you will need to use Port Forwarding.  Explaining port forwarding is beyond the scope of our documentation.  Please refer to www.portforward.com for instructions on Port Forwarding, or seek out help from a friend who is familiar with these issues.  Note that you must forward the port for both TCP and UDP.  If you can only do one or the other, then add two port forwarding commands for the same port.  Example: If you are using Game Port 6501 then Port Forward 6501 for TCP and also Port Forward 6501 for UDP.

ANTI-SPYWARE, ANTI-VIRUS, ETC. - Sometimes these utilities can interfere with programs that transmit information across the Internet.  You may need to either disable them, use a Game Mode (if they support that), define exceptions that allow our game to access the Internet, or take some other action in order to play.

NOTE ABOUT TECH SUPPORT - We are not able to provide technical support for the above situations since they relate to other manufacturer's hardware and software that is running on your machine.  If you experience trouble running Netplay please sign on to the Strat-O-Matic Fan Forum at http://www.stratfanforum.com/forums/ and ask for help from the user community.

NET PLAY - VERSION 14 ENHANCEMENTS There are many exciting changes to Strat-O-Matic Baseball multiplayer mode in Version 14.  We have added a Game Lobby to make it easy to find opponents to play against, the ability for the host team to be the visiting team (to help those less technically inclined guys who can't figure out how to port-forward), a Spectator Mode so that other people can watch multiplayer games, and the ability to specify the server port so that those with routers can just open one port to host games.  Also note that clients who are joining a game don't have to open any ports.

NET PLAY - PRE-GAME SETUP Before playing a Net Play Game both players (and any spectators) must have installed and unlocked the season disk(s) that will be used for the game.  If playing a league game both teams should be using the latest league files that were shipped out by the commissioner.

SETTING GAME OPTIONS Before starting the game, users must agree which options will be used.  The home team manager MUST make these settings before the game starts by selecting the League from the League Manager and then using the various Options dialogs to make the agreed upon settings (such as play-by-play level, dice settings, etc.).  These options will affect both his display and the visiting team's display.  Once the game starts the only options that can be changed are the speed of the animation and play-by-play, the sound and the Game Screen Layout elements all of which can be different on each machine.

STARTING A GAME WITH THE GAME LOBBY Follow the directions in the Game Lobby instructions to start your Netplay games.

STARTING A GAME VIA DIRECT CONNECT

We recommend starting Netplay games by meeting your opponent in the Game Lobby as this is the most convenient way to play.  However, if you wish to directly connect to your opponent without the Game Lobby then follow these steps:

HOST TEAM Directions: Select "File / Host Game", then answer the prompt when it asks if you want to be the home team or not.  A dialog will appear with these fields:

Machine Name: The name of the machine, as defined by the Operating System.

Server IP: Your IP address.

Game Name: You can type in any name here, for instance "Playoff game".

Game Port: If you can't use the default port number (6501) for some reason you can choose another port number here.  Make sure the port is open if you are running a firewall.

Player Name: Type your name or nickname here.

Now click "Okay" and you should receive the message that you are the Host and you need to wait.  At this point contact your opponent and tell him you IP address and your port number (you can contact him by phone, chat room, etc.).  Keep an eye on the Chat Window to see when the other user has joined.

JOINING TEAM Directions: Select "File / Join Game" and a dialog will appear with the following entries:

Machine Name: The name of the machine, as defined by the Operating System.

Client IP: Your IP address.

Server Address: Your opponent's IP address.

Server Port: Your opponent's port number.

Player Name: Type your name or nickname here.

Client Port: The port number to be used on your machine.  The default is 0, which chooses any open port.  If you can't use the default port number for some reason you can choose another port number here.  Make sure the port you select is open if you are running a firewall.

After filling in the field click okay and you should receive a message indicating you have connected with the host in your Chat Window.  You must now wait until the other player selects the teams to be used.  After he does that you will see some messages indicating the files are being sent to your system.  When that is finished you will see the Game Setup dialog.

GAME SETUP SCREEN  No matter what method you use to hook up with your opponent (the Game Lobby or Direct Connect) the host team now needs to start the game itself.  He should use the File Menu "New Scheduled", "New Unscheduled" or "Open Game" (for saved games) to launch the Game Setup screen.

Once the Game Setup dialog is displayed the user can click the "Client" or "Server" buttons to transfer control back to the other player.  Players should take turns, each setting (in order) their eligibles, starting pitcher and lineups.  After this has been accomplished the Host team can click on the "Play Ball" button to launch the game.

After the game screen is display you are ready to play!  The main difference from the regular game is that the defensive player must click on the 'Defense Set' icon to pass control to the offensive player. When he does so the defensive team's icons will become disabled and the offensive team's icons will become enabled. When the offensive team is ready, the 'Swing' icon is clicked and the play will occur. If there are any lineup changes made by the team that is up to bat, control will go back to the team in the field, so that this team has the chance to counteract any moves by the team that is up to bat. Other than this, the game acts much the same as the standard version, so . . . HAVE FUN!

INTERRUPTED GAMES In the event the game is interrupted (for instance, one of the players gets disconnected from the Internet) simply restart the programs and use the File/Open Game menu item to open the "autosave.gam" file.  The game is automatically saved to this file after every play, so you should be able to pickup right where you left off.

DISCONNECTING If you wish to disconnect follow these steps.  First, you need to exit the game if play has began.  The Host team should do this.  Then both players should use the "File / Disconnect Multiplayer" menu item to finish the Netplay session.  Selecting this menu item will cause the Chat Window to automatically close ceasing all multiplayer activity.

OTHER NOTES

-Dice mode (especially tactile dice and splits) works slightly differently in Netplay games. This is not a bug but is done by design in order to keep both computers in sync.

-You cannot use Manual Entry" or "Regulator" as the Entry Mode for Netpay games.  If those options are selected then Entry Mode "None" will be used instead.

-The following features are not supported for Netplay games: Undo or Delete Last Play, Quick Play, Quick Spectator.

-When starting league games, games marked as Autoplay in the schedule will be ignored since Autoplay is not compatible with Netplay.

-Both teams' Manager settings are forced to be "Human" for Netplay games.


ENCYCLOPEDIA MANAGE DATABASE TEAMS

This describes the functionality of the "Manage Database Teams" button found on the  Encyclopedia dialog.  You do not need to use this dialog unless you have franchises that have changed cities or abbreviations.

When you run this dialog you will see two lists of teams.  The left-side shows a list of all teams in the database.  The right side shows a list of how the teams are grouped together into franchises.

Say you have a team called Commack with an abbreviation of COM.  Let's say that one year the franchise moves to Plainview with a team code of PLV.  As far as the encyclopedia is concerned, these are two different francises.  But you can use this function to combine them into one franchise for purposes of reporting.  The way you would do this is to select the Plainview (PLV) team on the left side of the screen, then select Commack (COM) on the right side of the screen.  Then click the arrow button in the middle of the screen.  You will notice the Plainview is now grouped with Commack as part of the same franchise


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 11.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

NEW FEATURES

 1) Support for League Blogging has been added! Having a League Blog is a great way to get your league on the Internet.  And it also can serve as a league "hangout".  You can even "Print To Blog" your reports and post comments.  Whether you are in a draft league or doing a solitaire replay, blogging is a great way to share your enjoyment with the world!

 2) A Team Yearbook function has been added.  Wouldn't it be cool to have a Team Yearbook for your team?  We've created a neat new feature that does just that.

 3) The Daily Reporter has been added - A new feature that automatically creates a daily html report including the Newspaper Recap, Daily Game Stories (shrunk down to fit more per page) and the day's boxscores (formatted to fit 4 boxscores per page).

 4) The Lineup Evaluator has been improved.  You can now choose to evaluate your lineup vs. the entire league, vs. a particular team or vs. an individual starting pitcher.  This will be of great benefit when trying set your lineups vs. your opponents!

 5) A new Player Streaks and Highlights report has been added.

 6) A "Who's Hot / Who's Not" section has been added to the Daily Newspaper Recap.

 7) A new "Manager of the Year" award has been added to the Awards Voting report.

 8) The naming convention for Boxscores and Play Accounts has been improved.  Instead of looking like "BOX0007" the boxscore name will look like this: "BOX 04-07-2004 NYN @ ATN".  This will make it much easier to find the particular boxscore you are looking for.

 9) When running the Model League function you now have the choice whether you want to use the ballparks from the "League to Model" or from the "League with Data"

10) On the Super Hal Computer Manager Report, the Starter's Assigned Games section has been improved to include the total number of starts in addition to the game number of each start.

11) The Sort Players feature has been improved to allow sorting of batters by Stolen Bases and pitchers by Ks/9 innings.

12) An HTML Viewer has been added  - View, Print or Print to Blog your Strat-O-Matic HTML reports.

13) Player Notebooks - You can now double-click a game from the player's game log in his notebook and the boxscore for that game will be displayed.  IMPORTANT: YOU MUST ALWAYS SAVE BOXSCORES FOR THIS FEATURE TO WORK - see Output-When.

14) Tournament Mode now support 2-2-1-1-1 format for seven game series.

15) Up to 26 Ballpark Entry pictures are now supported.  If you are adding your own, we recommend that you start at Letter Z and work your way backwards in order to avoid conflicts with the pictures that we will be adding over time.  For example, the first entry picture you add for Arlington (ballpark 24) should be named "EntrZ024.BMP", the second should be named EntrY024.BMP, etc.

16) Support for the new 2005, 1957 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1900, 1897 and 1894 seasons has been added.

17) BALLPARK PHOTOS

- New ballparks pictures for Yankee Stadium night, Kansas City night, Minnesota day, Toronto day, Florida night, Colorado day, Atlanta night and Washington day and night.

- 25 new ballpark entry pictures!

18) PLAY-BY-PLAY IMPROVEMENTS

- The nickname file has been expanded greatly -- there are over 1000 new player specific play-by-plays!

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2005 season.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

19) ROSTER IMPROVEMENTS

- 1901U: Starter Schedule, PBP added, NL lup improved

- 1908U: Starter Schedule, PBP added, Trn files improved

- 1911U: Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1913U: NL Caught stealing actual #s added + NL Adv s/b ratings redone, Adds Trn files (only, not lups), Starter Schedule, Adds PBP

- 1930U: Adds AP, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1948U: Adds AP, Starter Schedule, PBP corrected, Minor player stat line corrections

- 1951U: Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1959U: Extra players redone (AL ONLY), AP for AL improved, Pitcher as hitter ratings modified  Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1960U: Starter Schedule, AP improved, PBP improved

- 1961U: Extra players redone, Pitcher as hitter ratings added, Starter Schedule, AP improved, PBP improved

- 1962U: Extra players redone, Pitcher as hitter ratings added, Starter Schedule, AP improved, PBP improved

- 1963U: Minor card + BP corrections, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1964U: Corrects various player e-0 ratings, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1965U: AP corrections, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1966U: Starter Schedule added, PBP improved

- 1967U: Extra players redone (AL ONLY), Pitcher as hitter ratings added, Starter Schedule, AP improved, PBP improved

- 1968U: AP for NL added, Extra players redone (NL ONLY), Pitcher as hitter ratings added, starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1975U: Extra players redone, Pitcher as hitter ratings modified, Starter Schedule, PBP Improved

- 1976U: Extra players redone (AL ONLY), Improved AL AP, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

- 1991U: Extra players redone, Corrected lup, Starter Schedule, PBP improved

20) ROSTER CORRRECTIONS

- 1914: Tilly Walker, St. Louis (AL) was missing

- 1916: Ray Shook added to Chicago (AL)

- 1918: Ray Shook removed from Chicago (AL)

- 1948: Gene Mauch, Chicago (NL) at-bats s/b 151

- 1955 + 1955U: Sal Maglie, New York (NL) was showing his stats from Cleveland, not NY

- 1961U: New York (AL) rotation was missing a pitcher

- 1963: NL was missing two ballpark files, also missing the NL Schedule, Dick Green's (KC) card was incorrect, Gene Stephens (CHA) ab should be 18

- 1964: Bill Mazeroski s/b e-23, Leo Cardenas s/b e-32, Dave Bennett (PHN) needed an * appended to make him unique from Dennis Bennett

- 1964U: Bill Mazeroski s/b e-23

- 1968U: Chicago Don Kessinger had incorrect Steal rating

- 1971U: St.Louis closer Frank Linzy started pitching again on 7/13 in as played data.

- 1976U: Free agent file was corrupt for NL

- 1978: Schedule for AL & NL had wrong starting date, also three game series CLA @ BOA should have been in August, not July.

- 2002AP: The starts for Bud Smith and Travis Smith on St.Louis for 7/14 & 7/15 were reversed.

- 2004/2004AP: Updated to include following errors:Royce Clayton (COL) steal rating s/b C.  Doug Glanville (PHN) steal rating s/b B.  Hideki Matsui (NYY) should not have a injury reading on his card. Carlos Beltran (HOU) should not have a injury reading on his interleague combined card. Also, his steal lead s/b 2-5,12. Jae Seo corrected card image (advanced side).  Paul Abbott (PHN) multicard walks should be 31.  Rigo Beltran MON s/b LHP.

21) BUGS FIXED

- Web Builder had a problem showing the standings for certain leagues.

- The Restart League function was not deleting all of the old files for the league.

- The Restore League function would sometimes malfunction when restoring a league over an existing league already on disk.

- Draft-O-Matic would sometimes crash when the free agent pool had batters with 0 at-bats.

- Sometimes following a dropped foul ball the Pitch Count would be incorrect.

- On rare occasions the Daily Team Log would show the wrong place in the standings for a team.

- The Career Tab on the Player Notebooks would sometimes not show a player's data.

- When Duplicating a League the players in the free agency pool would disappear.

- The Show board game information should not have been displaying fielding results from the Advanced fielding chart (this feature is designed just for the Super-Advanced fielding chart).

- Earned runs were not being calculated properly in certain rare circumstances

Note: As with previous versions, most of this year's new features will not be available in Netplay due to technical restrictions.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 10 - new features.

Version 9 - new features.

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


League blogging
LEAGUE BLOGGING (Located in the File menu)

Note: Support has been added for the new blogger format.  The blogger format was changed after Google(tm) aquired www.blogger.com.  If you are creating a brand new blog make sure to select "New Blogger" in the "Blogger Version" section.  Existing blogs created on the old blogger, before the acquisition and changes by Google(tm), should use the "Old Blogger" setting.

League blogging is a cool new feature that allows you to post reports and comments about your league to a blog.

What is blogging, and how can it enhance your Strat-O-Matic gaming experience?  A Blog is simply a place on the Internet where one or more people can post their observations about any number of topics.  Having a Strat-O-Matic League Blog is a quick and easy way to get your league published on the Internet.  And it can also serve as a league "hangout".  Support has been added to the program so that you can now "Print To Blog" your reports.  Imagine playing a great game, then being able to post the boxscore and your comments about it immediately to the Internet. Whether you are in a draft league or doing a solitaire replay, blogging is a great way to share your league with the world!  You can tell your friends about your league blog site and they can follow along as you post results and add comments about your league.  You can make announcements or any other kinds of observations by using the built in "Post to Blog" function.  Blogging is easier than maintaining a league website, provides nearly real-time posting, automatically archives your posts (so others can return to it a later date and read through your comments) and is free to use.

To use this feature you must first sign onto www.blogger.com and create a blog for your league.  You will need to create an account.  Then you must create a blog.  Your username, password and blog name are required to use this feature -- so make sure you write them down.

Once your blog has been created you can post reports along with your comments about them to your blog.  To do so display the report on the screen, and then choose "Print To Blog"  from the file menu.  When you do so you will be presented a dialog where you can enter in your user name, password and blog name.  This information will be saved so that the next time you want to print to blog you won't have to enter it again.  You can enter in a title for the blog thread that will be started with this post.  You can also enter in a comment that will appear before the report.

If you wish to post a comment to the blog without sending a report then choose "Post To Blog" from the file menu and you will be presented a dialog that allows you to post a message to the blog without having to sign onto www.blogger.com.

All posts from our program will start a new thread on your blog.  If you wish to respond within an existing thread then you should sign onto blogspot.com directly and enter in your responses there.

IMPORTANT NOTES After you've made a post to blogger.com, you may have to go to the site and submit your blog to their spam police.  If you receive a message about this follow the directions provided.  Once they review your blog it will be marked as non spam and you should not have any more problems.  You might also receive a message that your post has been saved as a draft.  In that case, go to the link that is mentioned and request a review.  While you are waiting for the spam police to review your blog, you can still post your message by following the link given, then going to the "edit post" tab and sending the messages that are listed as drafts.

Errors are sometimes returned by blogger.com.  When this happens our program will post an error dialog and launch the Internet Explorer to display the detailed error information from blogger.com.  Sometimes you may need to simply retry the post in order to get it to work.

We recommend that you use the "Simple II" template.  To use this sign onto blogspot.com.  You'll be on the "Dashboard".  Select your blog.  Then click the Template tab.  Click "pick new". Scroll down and click the "Use This Template" button for the "Simple II" template.  Click "OK" to the warning.  Then click "Republish".

The "Print To Blog" button on the "File / View HTML Files" dialog is only for printing the in-game statistic reports.  It should not be used with the Yearbook, the Report Writer, the Encyclopedia, etc.

You must be at Version 6 of the Internet Explorer for the blogger to work properly.  To install, go to www.microsoft.com and search for "Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1".  This will let you can download ie6setup.exe, which will examine your machine and install the appropriate version of the Internet Explorer.


Player streaks and higlights
PLAYER STREAKS AND HIGHLIGHTS  (Located in the Statistics/Player Stats menu)

This reports will show you a player's streak information and information on his best games (by category).

For batters streak information is shown for longest hitting streak, longest homerun streak (most consecutive game with at least one homerun), longest stolen base streak, etc.

Also shown are the best efforts by batters in categories such as most hits in a game, most walks in a game, etc.

For pitchers streak information is shown for longest winning streak, longest losing streak, longest streak of games not allowing a homerun, etc.

Also shown are the best efforts by pitchers, for example most strikeouts recorded in a game and most homeruns allowed in an outing.

Best Peformances have been added for each player.  These are the top seven best performances that the player has recorded throughout your season.  The best performances are the same as shown on the Newspaper style recap.


Team yearbook
TEAM YEARBOOK  (Located in the Team menu)

Wouldn't it be cool to have a Team Yearbook for your team?  We've created a neat new feature that does just that.  You'll get a cover page, an introductory page where you can add your comments, a few pages of team stats and one page for each player on your team.  We've even included support for player pictures in the yearbook (pictures not supplied, but are readily available on the Internet).

To get started, select the "Create Team Yearbook" menu item.  You will see a dialog box that offers you various options.

If you would like to include your own comments on the team or player pages you can do so by checking the appropriate box.  If the box is checked then the Yearbook generator will pick up the comments that you have typed in that team or player's notebook (in the NOTES section).

If you have placed Player Pictures into the appropriate folders on your hard drive the pictures will be used in the yearbook.

If you have an encyclopedia assigned to your league you can also include career totals in your yearbook  by checking the appropriate box.

Finally, you can select a background and foreground color.  This would typically be the  team's colors.  For example, you could use Orange and Blue for the New York (NL) team colors.

After you've created the yearbook you can view it with the Team / View Yearbook menu item.  You can also print it (BUT PLEASE SEE NOTE #2 BELOW BEFORE PRINTING).

We've also designed these feature to make it relatively easy to upload the yearbook to your website (if you run one).  The yearbook consists of a single html file and a folder that includes all necessary images.  Just uploading these two items using FTP Commander or any other FTP utility will allow you to share your team's yearbook with the world!

NOTES

1) You cannot blog the team yearbook since it includes images.

2) If you want to see the background colors when you print this report you will need to access the Tools / Internet Options / Advanced tab and check the "Print background colors and images" box (this is for Internet Explorer, but most other browsers should have a similar setting).


Daily reporter
DAILY REPORTER  (Located in Options / Autoplay/Boxscore dialog)

This feature automatically creates a daily html report including the Newspaper Recap, Daily Game Stories (shrunk down to fit more per page) and the day's boxscores (formatted to fit 4 boxscores per page).

This is just like getting a newspaper delivered that includes the complete daily recap of your league's action!  (Note: this feature will not be available for e-mail leagues since all games must be played on the same computer for this feature to be used).

To turn on the Daily Reporter use the Autoplay/Boxscore Options dialog and select the appropriate check box.  The Daily Reporter will then create a single HTML file for each day on your schedule, after the game has been played.

IMPORTANT - You must play your games in sequential order for this feature to work properly.  In other words, you can't put certain games on hold and then go back and play them after you've played games from a later date.  The Daily Reporter is not designed to work with play-by-mail leagues since all games must be played on the same computer, in proper sequence, in order for this feature to work.


VIEW HTML FILES
VIEW HTML FILES (Located in the File menu)

This function will allow you to view any html files that you have saved such as the output of the Daily Reporter.

While viewing you have the option to print the report or to print it to your League Blog.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 12.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

NEW FEATURES

 1) Version 12 features an exciting new Graphical User Interface!

 2) Support for Microsoft Vista(tm) Operating System.

 3) Support for Actual Pitcher Batting Cards has been added.

 4) The Player Streaks and Highlights report has been improved to include a new Best Performances section.  You can see the top seven best performances that each batter and pitcher recorded in your season.

 5) Support has been added for the New Blogger format.

 6) Support for Team and League Logos has been added.

 7) Ballpark Information is now available to be shown directly on the Game Screen.

 8) An Animation Adjustment feature has been added.

 9) Support for the new 2006, 1971 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1887, 1889 and 1895 seasons has been added.

 10) BALLPARK PHOTOS

- 16 New ballparks pictures for Chicago-AL(day and night), Cincy(day and night), Houston(day and night), Los Angeles-AL(day), Los Angeles-NL(night), Milwaukee(day and night), Pittsburgh(day and night), St. Louis(day and night), Texas(day and night).

- 25 new ballpark entry pictures!  Atlanta(2), Chicago-AL(3), Chicago-NL(2), Cincy(2), Florida(1), Los Angeles-AL(2), Los Angeles-NL(1), Milwaukee(2), Minnesota(2), Philadelphia(1), Pittsburgh(3), St. Louis(4).

 11) ROSTER IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRECTIONS

- 1894U NL: Adds lineup file, Improves transaction file, Minor roster edits.

- 1911U AL + NL: Minor name corrections.

- 1930U AL + NL: Minor name corrections, Minor AP edits.

- 1934U NL: Minor name correction.

- 1941U AL + NL: Improved AP.

- 1950U AL: Minor stat edits.

- 1955U AL + NL: Adds AP, Corrects stat line.

- 1959U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Improved Pitchers' hitting, Improved PBP, Improved Starter schedule, Minor stat corrections.

- 1961U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved PBP, Minor name corrections, SLN code fixed.

- 1962U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved PBP, Minor name corrections.

- 1967U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Improved Pitchers' hitting, Error Ratings corrected.

- 1968U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved PBP, Minor name corrections.

- 1969U AL + NL: Improved PBP, Minor name corrections, Error Ratings corrected.

- 1970U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved Pitchers' hitting, Improved Pitchers' fielding rating, Minor name corrections, Error Ratings corrected, Edited AP files, Improved Starter schedule.

- 1973U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved Pitchers' fielding rating, Minor name corrections, Edited AP files, Improved Starter schedule.

- 1977U AL + NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Improved Pitchers' hitting, Improved Pitchers' fielding rating, Improved PBP, Improved Starter schedule, Minor name corrections, Error Ratings corrected.

- 1978U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Improved PBP, Minor name corrections, Minor stat corrections.

- 1979U AL + NL: Improved Pitchers' hitting, Improved Pitchers' fielding rating, Improved PBP,  Improved Starter schedule, Minor name corrections, Error Ratings corrected, Edited AP files.

- 1982U NL: Adds Pitchers' Holds, Minor name correction, Error Ratings corrected.

- 1985U AL + NL:SAdv extra players, Adds Pitchers' Holds, E ratings upgraded to SAdv, Improved PBP, Corrects PIN W/L record.

- 1986U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Adds Pitchers' Holds, E ratings upgraded to SAdv, Improved PBP.

- 1988U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Adds Pitchers' Holds, E ratings upgraded to SAdv, Improved AP, Improved PBP.

- 1991U AL + NL: SAdv extra players, Corrected stat lines, Corrected lup, Minor name corrections.

 12) PLAY-BY-PLAY IMPROVEMENTS

- The nickname file has been expanded yet again by our nickname guru Ren Petrie -- there are over 1,000 new player specific play-by-plays!

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2006 season.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

 13) BUGS FIXED

- Board Game Breakdowns - the ballpark homeruns and single data had some bugs.

Note: As with previous versions, most of this year's new features will not be available in Netplay due to technical restrictions.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 11 - new features.

Version 10 - new features.

Version 9 - new features.

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


GRAPHICAL INTERFACE

The game now features a graphical user interface that is skinned. This interface is a major upgrade over the old Legacy Version of the game.

The current game is "SOMBB.EXE" and it replaces the Legacy Version of the program which was "Baseball.EXE".

The new screen design is graphics based, not text based like the Legacy Version of the program was. Please note that the game screen has changed substantially. Refer to Game Screen Layout for a full description of the graphical game screen.

REQUIREMENTS

Windows XP or above.  Note: As previously announced, we have dropped support for older versions of Microsoft's Windows Operating systems (such as Win 2000, '98, '95 and ME).  While the game may work on older OS's we do not officially support them nor can we guarantee future compatibility.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RETIRED LEGACY VERSION AND THE GRAPHICAL INTERFACE

1) Card Image during game has a new display mechanism when using the Automatic Game Screen Layout.

2) Options / Miscellaneous Dialog

- Toolbar on Manager Screen - has been eliminated, the toolbar always displays.

- Use "Old Style Interface" - has been replaced with "Don't Skin Application". You might try  "Don't Skin Application" if you are experiencing compatibility problems with the new interface.  It simply shuts off the skinning and gives you a more bare-bones look to the game.  This will affect things like the fancy scroll bar and buttons that are shown in the skinned version of the game.

3) Ballpark/Weather Chart Information (such as ballpark splits, weather effects, etc.) can be displayed with the new interface directly on the field.

4) The Game Screen Layout offers both a fixed layout (Automatic) and a Custom layout that allows you total freedom for designing the screen layout of your own.

5) Options / Ballpark has change as follows:

- "Show Ballpark Information" option has been added (see above).

- The "Matchup Box" and "Bullpen/Bench" options have been merged into a single option called Matchup Box.  This option operates like the "Bullpen/Bench" option of the original game.  All of the information available on the original "Matchup Box" is still shown.

- "Move Field... to factory default positions" has been eliminated.

- The "Point Sizes" and "Number of Lines" options have been eliminated.

6) Some colors in the new interface can be defined using the Miscellaneous Options dialog.


ACTUAL PITCHER BATTING CARDS

***Note*** As of Version 13 the ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM  have provided actual pitcher's hitting cards for numerous seasons.  These can be installed by using the Roster Installation function.

This feature, while having its limitations, provides support for those who wish to use actual pitcher batting statistics instead of the standard 8 categories of pitcher hitting cards.

To use this feature follow these steps:

1. Create a league to contain the pitcher batting cards.  The league name must have a league abbreviation of "99".  For example, if you are creating a league for the "2006ML" season you would create a league that has "2006" as the year, "99" as the 2-character abbreviation and "Pitcher's Hitting" as the name.  In this example the league would appear as "2006 Pitcher's Hitting" in the league list on the League Manager screen.

2. Add a temporary team to this league, then create pitcher player cards using the Create Fringe Player function.  CAUTION: WHEN ASKED, BE SURE TO SAY YOU ARE CREATING A BATTER, NOT A PITCHER!  Fill in the Basic Information for this pitcher's hitting.  Do not include anything on the Fielding Ratings tab - leave it blank.  Include the information shown on the Other Ratings tab.  Pitcher hitting statistics are available at www.baseball-reference.com  NOTE: The user community will likely create these cards as a group project.  Be sure to check Dan Patterson's Strat-O-Matic Fan Forum for more information.  The website address is www.stratfanforum.com/forums/  In the future Strat-O-Matic may distribute these user-community pitcher hitting cards as part of the CD-ROM game installation.

3. Release the pitcher hitting card to the free-agent pool in the "99" league. If you are doing multiple cards just continue creating fringe player hitting cards and then releasing the cards to free agency until you are done.

4. In your league check the "Use Actual Pitcher Batting Cards" item on the "Lineups and Usage Options" dialog.

That's it.  When a pitcher is due up at-bat it will check to see if an actual pitcher batting card is available for him.  If it is it uses that card for his at-bat.  If not it will use the original pitcher hitter card that was assigned to him.

Notes:

1) This feature does not affect the stats package, which maintains a minimal amount of information regarding pitcher's hitting.  In the future we hope to increase the amount of batting information that is tracked for each pitcher.

2) Some players, such as 1927 Red Lucas of Cincinnati, was given both a pitching card and a hitting card by Strat-O-Matic.  For these players simply copy the original Strat-O-Matic hitting card for them into the Free Agent pool of the special "99" league.

3) All ratings are drawn from the original pitcher's card with the exception of the Power rating (W or N) which is drawn from the "99" league along with the body of the card used for the at-bat.  Other ratings entered in the "99" league cards (such as Hit and Run) are ignored.


TEAM AND LEAGUE LOGOS

Team and League Logos can be assigned.  These display on the main League Manager screen when either the team or league is selected.

The team and league logo images must be 90 wide by 135 high.  The file format and extension name should be .jpg or .bmp.

To assign a logo you simply need to place the logo picture in the appropriate folder:

FOR TEAMS - put the pictures in "Player\Team Logos" folder (located inside the game folder).  Here are examples of the file names: "2006nyn.jpg" and "nyn.jpg".  When looking for the 2006 New York (NL) team logo, the program will first look for an image with the name "2006nyn".  If it is found it uses that.  However, if it is not found then it will look for and image with the name "nyn".

FOR LEAGUES - put the pictures in the Player\League Logos" folder.  An example of the file name would be "2006ml.jpg".


Vista Support
MICROSOFT VISTA(tm) SUPPORT

We have added support for Microsoft's new Vista(tm) Operating System.

In order to install the game and any patches for Vista your user sign-on should have Administrator privileges.  This will allow the DLLs to be registered properly.

Also, when installing you might see an "Unknown Publisher" warning message.  If so you should click "Run" to proceed.

Vista(tm) no longer supports Winhelp which our program uses.  We hope to convert our help file to a newer format in the future.  In the meantime, you can download the Winhelp viewer for Vista(tm) at the following link:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148


Animation Adjustment
ANIMATION ADJUSTMENT FEATURE

There is now a system to allow you to fine-tune where the batter & pitcher animation appears on the screen for each ballpark.

The Data folder now contains a file called "bpadjust.txt".  By editing this file with a text editor you can move around the batter and pitcher animation on the field.  Besides optimizing the animation for existing Strat-O-Matic issued ballparks, this allows you to position the  animation for user created ballparks so that the batter and pitcher appear in the best spot.

Each ballpark has its own line in "bpadjust.txt" file.  There are five fields for each ballpark, and each field is separated by a comma.  You must carefully follow this layout or you can cause a problem with the program.

The first field is the ballpark name.  For example, "Bp000" for the Yankee Stadium black and white ballpark (color ballparks have a "D" or an "N" appended for day or night pictures).

The next two fields position the pitcher animation.  The first number positions it left or right on the screen.  To move the animation left use negative numbers, to move it right use positive numbers.  The next number moves it up and down - negative numbers to move it up on the screen, postive numbers to move it down.

The final two numbers are for the positioning of the batter animation on the screen.  They work the same way as the pitcher animation does.

Trial and error will be needed to get the animations positioned just right.  The easiest way to do this is the switch to another field backdrop picture with the Options / Game Preferences dialog (change the field number).  Then edit the "bpadjust.txt" file and save it.  Then use the Options / Game Preferences dialog to switch back to the field you are working with.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 13.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

NEW FEATURES

 1) PLEASE READ THIS IMPORANT NOTE ABOUT THE LEGACY VERSION OF CD-ROM BASEBALL.

 2) Interface - The new Game Screen Layout allows complete customization of the Graphical Interface Version including  moving and resizing game screen components as well as adjusting font sizes on the Game Screen.

 3) Interface - Additionally, the new Miscellaneous Option Main App Font can be used to alter the font size for the rest of the Graphical Interface Version of the program.  This affects everything other than the Game Screen.

 4) Animate SADV Fielding Chart - watch the result flash on the Fielding and the Error sections of the X-CHART!

 5) Computer Manager - Ability to define the default manager (Human or Computer) to be used in manual games for each team in the league.  See the update league dialog for more information.

 6) Standings - Added Runs For/ Runs Against grid to the League Standings report.

 7) Hard-Coded Computer manager improvement. With runners on 1st and 3rd the decision whether or not to throw to 2nd on a delayed steal has improved logic.

 8) Super Hal Bullpen - A "Clear" button has been added to the Super Hal Bullpen dialog to clear out the entire Super Hal logic and player list for ease of starting over from scratch.

 9) Errors on Bunts - Fielding errors on bunts have been added as an option for sacrifice bunts, squeeze bunts and bunts for hits. (Max Rule option)

 10) Errors on pickoffs - Errors on pickoff attempts have been added as an option. (Max Rule option)

 11) Hit and Run - When using the SADV Hit and Run chart, if a lineout reading is rolled on the pitcher's card override the result to lineout-max.

 12) Play Account Report - The PAC (Play Account Report) now displays the dice roll and split readings for all results that originate on the player cards!    13) Boxscore output - The ability to save boxscores for one team only has been added to the Autoplay/Boxscore Options dialog.

 14) The Player Streaks and Highlights report has improved so that the start and end date of streaks are now shown.

 15) Update Computer Manager - A new option has been added to the  computer manager to allow you to define the max slugging average for bringing the Corners in.  If the batter's slugging average is greater than or equal to your defined limit then the infield will be set all the way back instead of having the corners in.

 16) Support for the new 2007, 1951 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1877, 1888 and 1896 seasons has been added.

 17) The Cy Young voting on the Awards Reports has been improved based upon user feedback.

 18) BALLPARK PHOTOS

- 17 New ballparks pictures for Baltimore (night), Boston (day and night), Chicago-NL (day and night), Chicago-AL (day and night), Detroit (day and night), Houston (night), Oakland (day and night)

- 31 new ballpark entry pictures!  Chicago(NL)-4, Chicago(AL)-2, Colorado-2, Detroit-2, Florida-3, Houston-4, Kansas City-2, LA(NL)-2, Oakland-2, St.Louis-6, Texas-2.

 19) ROSTER IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRECTIONS

- An amazing effort by the ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM brings you these upgraded rosters.  Each of these seasons had their Computer Manager listings corrected, and their Starter Schedules verified and corrected as needed.  In addition, each season had other changes as described in this list:

- 1887U : Fixed minor schedule error; Edited Buffinton fielding rating

- 1889U : Edited Zimmer fielding rating

- 1897U : Dowd name corrected

- 1911U : Reisigl name corrected

- 1912U : As played files added

- 1916U : As played files added

- 1918U : As played files improved; Shook removed from roster

- 1920U : Roster corrections, minor name corrections, minor schedule correction

- 1921U : As played files added

- 1922U : As played files added

- 1927U : Minor rating and name corrections

- 1930U : Combs name corrected

- 1932U : As played files added

- 1934U : Pepper name corrected

- 1936U : As played files added

- 1941U : Vaughan name corrected

- 1948U : Improved starter schedule

- 1950U : As played files added, minor name corrections

- 1954U : SAdv extra players replacements

- 1956U : Pitchers' holds, improved pitchers' hitting, Dickson name corrected

- 1959U : Minor name corrections

- 1960U : BAL code corrected to BAA

- 1962U : Bertoia name corrected

- 1963U : Improved transaction file, Cowan card corrected

- 1964U : Improved AP, minor name corrections

- 1965U : Belanger rating corrected

- 1967U : PAH corrections

- 1968U : Minor names corrections; Rose RBI corrected

- 1969U : Francona name corrected

- 1971U : Pbp added; Torborg card corrected

- 1972U : Miscellaneous changes

- 1974U : Pitchers' Holds; Improved Pitchers' Range

- 1975U : Minor name corrections; BAL code corrected to BAA

- 1976U : Pitchers' Holds; Improved  Pitchers' Range; Minor name corrections

- 1977U : Miscellaneous changes

- 1978U : Minor name and team code corrections

- 1979U : Minor name corrections; D'acquisto games started corrected

- 1980U : Cannon name corrected

- 1983U : Brookens HBP corrected

- 1984U : Blyleven and Bannister * added

- 1985U : McCullers Hold corrected

- 1987U : SAdv extra players replacements, SAdv E-ratings

- 1991U : Komminsk team code corrected

 20) ACTUAL PITCHER BATTING CARDS

- The ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM not only made the above corrections, but they also have provided an enormous service to the Strat community by making available  Actual Pitcher Batting Cards for the following 73 seasons (note - these are packaged along with the rosters and are designated as *PHC* for Pitchers Hitting Cards when using the Roster Installation function):

1887

1889

1894

1895

1897

1900

1901

1902 - AL only

1903 - NL only

1904 - AL only

1905 - NL only

1906 - AL only

1907 - AL only

1908

1909 - AL only

1910

1911

1912

1913

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1927

1932

1933 - NL only

1934

1936

1938 - NL only

1941

1948

1949

1954

1955

1957

1958

1959

1960

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1971

1975

1978

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

 21) PLAY-BY-PLAY IMPROVEMENTS

- The nickname file has been expanded yet again by our nickname gurus Ren Petrie and Scott Nichols -- there are over 200 new player specific play-by-plays.

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2007 season.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

 22) BUGS FIXED

- When playing a non-league game if As-Played was set in the league then an error would occur.

- Bug where games were disappearing from the schedule has been addressed.

- League that had "gaps" in them (due to deleted teams) were experiencing serious problems with the new interface.

- If the winning run was on third base on a sac-fly to rightfield, and there was a runner on second-base, the option to have him advance to third-base was still showing up.

- When using the Lineup Evaluator, if a pitching slot was not correctly defined in a team's computer manager there was no way to exit (the error message would continue to appear).

- Fixed a divide by zero when viewing the League Leaders report.

- Fixed a divide by zero when viewing the Team Usage report.

- Fixed a divide by zero when starting a Netplay Playoff game.

- Fixed a lineup dialog bug where a position player could accidentally end up being shown both at his position and on the mound if a particular sequence was followed during a double-switch.

- When using Actual Pitcher Batting Cards the wrong batting information was sometimes showing in the Matchup box.

- Anaheim Stadium had no fence distances or heights specified in the notebook.

Note: As with previous versions, most of this year's new features will not be available in Netplay due to technical restrictions.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 12 - new features.

Version 11 - new features.

Version 10 - new features.

Version 9 - new features.

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


LEGACY VERSION

As we announced two years ago, support for the Legacy Version (the old interface version of the game) has been dropped as of Version 14.  We now ship only the Graphical Interface Version of the program.  The Graphical Interface is "SOMBB.EXE".  Your old Legacy version ("BASEBALL.EXE") might still exist on your  hard-drive from last year's intsall, however that version of the program cannot access any new data that is being released from 2009 onward.


Save for one team only
DAILY REPORTER  (Located in Options / Autoplay/Boxscore dialog)

Using the Autoplay/Boxscore Options dialog you can now define a single team to save boxscores for.

To use this feature check the appropriate box and then select the team you wish to save boxscores for from the drop-down list.

It is important to understand how this option works.  A boxscore will only be saved if all other critera are met.  For example, if you define boxscores to be saved only in the event of a no-hitter, and you define to save only St.Louis boxscores, then a boxscore will only be saved if there is a no-hitter in a game involving St.Louis.

If you wish to save every boxscore for a particular team make sure that Output-When is set to "Always".


GAME SCREEN LAYOUT
GAME SCREEN LAYOUT (Located in the Options menu)

This option screen will allow you to customize your game screen to your personal preferences.

LAYOUT OPTIONS

There are two basic ways in which the game screen can be displayed.  They are called Automatic Layout and Custom Layout.

AUTOMATIC LAYOUT

Automatic Layout is the default game screen layout that appears when you first install the game.  It features a fixed layout which provides for 800x600 and 1024x768  resolutions.  The larger layout will automatically become available if you are in 1024x768 or above and you size the screen large enough.

If you purchase the Card Image Option, and you utilize the Automatic Layout, you will notice that when you move your cursor into the hot-spot (the Dice area) you will now see the cards.  They will replace the information displayed on the right-side of the screen.  You can easily toggle back and forth between the information display and the dice display by simply moving your cursor back and forth.  When you click on the dice to roll them the results will flash on the card images.

When using Automatic Layout you can toggle display features on and off using the Show/Hide Items section of the dialog.  You can also adjust Game Screen fonts, and use the other features of the Game Screen Layout dialog.  However, you cannot move the various screen elements around or resize them - they are fixed in location and size.

CUSTOM LAYOUT

This layout provides complete control over the Game Screen.  When utilizing Custom Layout you can not only define what you want to display, but you can also define where you want it displayed, and for certain screen elements (such as the ballpark) how big it is displayed.

When you select this option and click OK you will return to the Game Screen.  You may not notice a difference between Automatic Layout and Custom Layout at this point.  But if you click on a border around any of the screen elements you will now notice that the item becomes selected.  While selected you can move and/or resize that screen element.  Each screen element can be separately worked on until you are happy with the screen layout.  When you are finished you can click directly on the Swing Away button to resume normal play.

Note about resizing and moving the screen elements: Standard Windows resizing techniques are used.  Just click the border once and let go.  Then when you are positioned on the border you will see either a "2 arrow" cursor or a "4 arrow" cursor.  The "2 arrow" cursor resizes the screen element when you click, hold down and drag.  The "4 arrow" cursor  moves the screen component when you click, hold down then drag.  The resizing indicators that allow you to see the "2 arrow" cursor are little black dots found along the border.

Special note about the Button Palette:  You can resize this screen element so that the buttons appear either in the original format, or vertically or horizontally.  That allows you to design a screen where, for example, the buttons run up and down the side of the screen.

IMPORTANT: When moving items around do not overlay any screen element on top of any other screen element.  Each item requires its own unique (non-overlapped) area of the  screen.  The only exception to this are the Card Images.  If you have purchased the Card Image Option you may overlap the Card Images with other screen elements.  If you do so then the Card Images will be displayed via the hot-spot as described above under "Automatic Layout".  Since overlapped card images are difficult to move (as they disappear unless the cursor is positioned over the dice) here are the proper steps for positioning them in Custom Layout mode:  First, use the Options/Game Screen Layout dialog to hide all optional items except the Cards.  Second, position and size the ballpark image.  Third, position the card images.  Finally, turn on the other optional items and position them.

SHOW/HIDE ITEMS - The Game Screen Layout Options can be set using these check boxes.

FONTS - You can set the fonts for the various elements of the Game Screen.  Note that the Main App Font also affects the size of some items (such as the Matchup Box on the Game Screen.

The best approach to is to try a number of different fonts and sizes to see which one works properly on your system.   Note that only certain font and font sizes will be usable with this program.  You will need to use trial and error to find an appropriate font that is suitable for use with this program on your specific machine.

COLORS - You can set the Offense Color and Defense Color for the player information that displays on the field.

LOADING AND SAVING LAYOUTS - After working to perfect a layout you don't want to lose it.  In fact, you may wish to share it with a friend if he has a similar screen resolution to yours on his system.  The Load Layout and Save Layout provide a way for you to do this.


ANIMATE SADV FIELDING CHART
ANIMATE SADV FIELDING CHART (Located in the Options/Dice dialog)

This option is available only for the Super-Advanced Fielding Chart (see the Main Rules setting).  When you turn this option on it will display a dialog whenever an X-Chart reading is about to occur on the Super-Advanced Fielding Chart.

The X-CHART RESULTS section shows basic information about the play including, the player and his ratings and the percentages of various outcomes.

The RANGE section shows the player's range column from this chart (his range will be adjusted when necessary via the rules) and his error column.

The ERROR section shows the player's error column.

Click the SHOW RESULT button when you are ready to see the results animate on the charts.  First the range result is displayed, then after a short pause the error result is displayed.

NOTE: When in Manual Dice Entry Mode this dialog will not automatically flash the results.  Instead, it pauses and waits for you to click on the Range and Error sections before you can click the OK button to proceed.


ROBBING HR RULE
ROBBING HR RULE (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

The ball is drilled deep and the outfield is closing in on it. But the he's running out of real-estate!  He leaps, and tries to rob a homerun - is it caught?

With this optional rule you can now experience that same exciting play in your games.  The fielders range rating determines whether or not he robs the homerun.

See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


ALLOW ERRORS ON BUNTS
ALLOW ERRORS ON BUNTS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option will generate fielding errors on all types of bunts when used.  The original bunting charts did not allow for errors, so this option has been added to address that shortcoming.

When you use this option errors from the fielding chart occur less freqently to keep the statistical balance of the game intact.  See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


ALLOW ERRORS ON PICKOFFS
ALLOW ERRORS ON PICKOFFS (Located in the Options/Rules/Maximum Rules dialog)

This option will generate errors on pickoff attempts when used.  The original pickoff system did not allow for errors, so this option has been added to address that shortcoming.

When you use this option errors from the fielding chart occur less freqently to keep the statistical balance of the game intact.  See Maximum Rules vs. Board Game for a description of how maximum rules are implemented.

This option can be selected on the Maximum Rules dialog.


MAIN APP FONT
MAIN APP FONT (Located in the Options/Miscellaneous menu)

This feature lets you select an application font to be used throughout the program.  This affects dialog text, list boxes, buttons, etc.

Note that you should use the Game Screen Layout to alter the fonts and colors of the game screen.  The Main App Font is used everywhere else in the program (although it does effect some elements of the Game Screen as well).

The best approach to is to try a number of different fonts and sizes to see which one works properly on your system.   Note that only certain font and font sizes will be usable with this program.  You will need to use trial and error to find an appropriate font that is suitable for use with this program on your specific machine.


New Features
NEW FEATURES FOR CD VERSION 14.0

Most of our new features were suggested to us by game players like yourself.  If you have a suggestion or feature you would like to have added to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, please e-mail us.

PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE LEGACY VERSION OF CD-ROM BASEBALL.

NEW FEATURES

 1) Netplay has been rewritten and is directly integrated into the Graphical User Interface version of the program.  A key new feature allows the visiting team the ability to host games.

 2) A Game Lobby has been added.  The Game Lobby will be a place where you can meet up with friends for games, or make new friends to play against.

 3) Spectator Mode has been added.  Now you can watch as other guys in your Netplay league go head-to-head in regular season or playoff games!

 4) Actual To-Date Won/Loss Records - For replays the League Standings report will now show the team replay record, actual to-date won/loss record and the actual total won/loss record.  Actual To-Date won/loss data is included for all seasons that we sell!  (Note: you must replay the schedule in proper chronological order for this feature to work)

 5) The Matchup Box now includes a checkbox to toggle information.  When checked the Balance information area of the Matchup Box is replaced with an information area that includes Bunting, Hit&Run, Power (left&right) and Stealing ratings.

 6) Comparison report - The Team Stats Comparison Report shows the players actual stats and replay stats so that you can compare stats.  The report is similar in nature to the Utilization report, however the actual stats are the players seasonal totals instead of his pro-rated totals and there are additional fields shown.

 7) When using Actual Pitcher Batting Cards, all of the hitting ratings such as Bunt, H+R, S/B, Run, Power are now read off the Pitcher's Hitting card.

 8) Context menus are available on the League Manager dialog via right-clicking the mouse.

 9) New options have been added to the Restart League and Schedule Batch Change dialogs to choose Manual games for only home OR only road games.  This will come in handy in a play-by-email league as it allows you to set your team's home games to Manual and all the other games to Hold.

 10) A filter has been added to the Sort Player dialog to filter players by actual league.  Leagues that can be selected are American League, National League, Federal League, Player's League, Union Association and American Association.  This will come in handy anytime you have a mixed pool of players, for example when drafting from the current seasons Major League pool which includes both American and National league players.

 11) The "Export Game Results or Subsets" function has been improved to allow you to select the folder you wish to export the files to instead of forcing it to a floppy diskette in the A: drive.

 12) The Team Statistics Usage Display report has been improved so that it now display in red (to draw attention) whenever a player has reached 0 left in either at-bats, plate appearances, games started, or innings pitched.

 13) On the game screen the player positions have been added to the lineups displayed in the Matchup Box.

 14) Player pictures - Pictures for pitcher who are at-bat are now searched for in the Pitchers folder instead of the Batters folder.  This avoids the necessity of copying all pitcher pictures to the batters folder in order to see the pics when a pitcher was at-bat.

 15) BUGS FIXED

- Update Lineup Dialog - This dialog incorrectly allowed Preset Lineup names to be entered that were greater than 14 characters long - this caused corruption of league information.

- In rare circumstances a pitcher would start the game but not be listed as the opposing pitcher on the other team's lineup dialog.

- Super Hal Bullpen dialog - The player information box was sometimes overlayed so you couldn't see all of the information.

- Player Sort Dialog - Text was cutoff on left side of screen in the Player Sort dialog.

- Injury Report - The team with the least amount of injuries was being left off the report.

- Import Schedule - Importing sch/pit info of pitchers traded during the season didn't work properly.  These pitchers didn't show up properly on his first team's rotation.

- Give Team Days Off - This function did not work properly for certain teams.

- Lineup Dialog - An invalid condition could be caused by dragging a replacement from the bench to underneath the ninth slot in the lineup area.  This has been fixed.

- Playoff Leagues - Ballpark double and triple information was not being properly copied to the playoff league teams.

- "PC Fatigue error" would sometimes appear for leagues using the pitch count rule.

- Batch reports now use ".htm" instead of ".HTM" extensions.  The upper case extension name caused problems when trying to publish the files online.

- Rare bug was corrected where a player was "cloned" and appeared on the mound and in another position simultaneously.

- When skinning was not being used a graphic was still showing at the bottom of the League Manager screen.

- Tactile Dice have been fixed so that when using single-die stop first mode the dice will continue rolling until you release the mouse, then the final two dice will roll until you click again.

- Fatal error 38 appeared when all players were used and a pitcher had to be replaced.  The game now asks if the user wants to try to continue instead of automatically crashing.

- When trying to export stats the dialog would swap file names around as you clicked on them to alter the Yes or No setting.

- After exporting player statistics the .EX1 and .EX2 files in the export folder would prevent the Export Subsets function from functioning properly.

- When using the Actual Pitcher Batting Cards and a triple resulted on the pitcher's card while using the "triple modified to double" Max Doubles/Triples Rule the game forced a double even if the pitcher had hit a triple in real life.

- When a trade was consummated via the Cut and Paste technique numerous problems were possible including problems with player multi-team stat totals, and possible data corruption of league stats.

- A bug that sometimes caused players from one team to appear on another team's statistics reports has been found and corrected.

 16) Support for the new 2008, 1924 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), 1878, 1883, 1890, and 1898 seasons as well as the upcoming Negro League set (ETA:  Spring of 2009) has been added.

 17) BALLPARK PHOTOS

- 12 New ballparks pictures - Baltimore(day), Cleveland(day and night), Los Angeles(day), New York-NL (day and night), New York-AL (day and night), San Francisco (day and night), Washington (day and night)

- 38 new ballpark entry pictures!  Arizona-1, Baltimore-4, Cleveland-4, Florida-1, Houston-1, Los Angels(NL)-2, New York(NL)-13, New York(AL)-4, San Francisco-5, Texas-1, Washinton-2

 18) ROSTER IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRECTIONS

- An amazing effort by the ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM brings you these upgraded rosters.  Each of these seasons had their Computer Manager listings corrected, and their Starter Schedules verified and corrected as needed.  In addition, each season had other changes as described in this list:

- 1887   CHN Flynn AB correction

- 1888   BON team year correction

- 1894   Transaction file improved

- 1897   Lineup file added; transaction file improved; edits to names

- 1900   Lineup file added; transaction file improved; PBP improved

- 1902   CHN Schlafly name correction

- 1909   BRN Myers name correction

- 1911   PIN Won-Lost record correction

- 1919   BRN Myers and SLN Fisher names correction

- 1925   BRN Myers name correction

- 1906U  Lineup and transaction files added; NYN Hannifin name correction; PBP added

- 1907U  Lineup and transaction files added; WAA Schlafly name correction; PBP added

- 1913U  Lineup and transaction files added; NYN Schupp arm correction; BRN Fisher name correction; PBP added

- 1914U  Lineup and transaction files added (NL and AL only); NYN Schupp arm correction; BRN Myers, BUF Schlafly, CHN Fisher names correction; PBP added

- 1915U  Lineup and transaction files added (NL and AL only); NYN Schupp arm correction; BRN Myers, CHN Fisher names correction; PBP added

- 1916U  NYN Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1917U  Lineup and transaction files improved; BRN Myers name correction; NYN Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1918U  BRN Myers and SLN Fisher names correction; NYN Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1920U  SLN Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1921U  BRN Myers name correction; BRN Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1922U  BRN Myers name correction; CHA Schupp arm correction; PBP added

- 1923U  Lineup and transaction files added; SLN Myers name correction; PBP added

- 1926U  Lineup and transaction files added; PBP added

- 1927U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1928U  Lineup and transaction files added; PBP added

- 1951U  BON Nichols arm correction; SLA Rapp bat correction; PBP improved

- 1954U  New extra player set as SAdv; Lineup file correction; MLN team code correction; PBP improved

- 1955U  Lineup and transaction files improved; CHN Amor name correction; PBP improved

- 1959U  Minor edits to names and transaction file; PBP improved

- 1960U  Adds Range ratings for pitchers; PBP improved

- 1961U  MLN Antonelli name correction; KCA Lumpe SS rating added; CHA Larson card redone; PBP improved

- 1964U  Adds Range ratings for pitchers; NL transaction file correction; PBP improved

- 1965U  Lineup files improved; PBP improved

- 1967U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1968U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1969U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1970U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1972U  Adds Hold rating for pitchers; Minor name corrections; PBP improved

- 1973U  Various name corrections

- 1974U  AL transaction file improved; Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1976U  Minor name corrections; PBP improved

- 1978U  Minor name corrections; PBP improved

- 1980U  Adds Hold rating for pitchers; Adds Starter schedules; Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1981U  Adds Hold rating for pitchers; Transaction files improved; Adds Starter schedules; Extra players s/b re-rated; Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1982U  Adds Hold rating for pitchers; Lineup and transaction files improved; Adds Starter schedules; CLA Castillo name correction; PBP improved

- 1983U  Various name and team code corrections; PBP improved

- 1984U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1985U  CLA Castillo name correction; PBP improved

- 1987U  Various name corrections; PBP improved

- 1988U  Various name and team code corrections

- 1989U  Adds Starter schedules; Various name and team code corrections; PBP improved

- 1990U  New extra player set as SAdv; Adds Starter schedules; PIN Bair Hold correction; MLA Hamilton name correction; PBP improved

- 1991U  MNA Castillo name correction

- 1992U  LAN Gross name correction; PBP improved

- 1993U  Adds Starter schedules; Various name and team code corrections; PBP improved

- 1994U  Adds Starter schedules

 19) ACTUAL PITCHER BATTING CARDS

- The ROSTER CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TEAM not only made the above corrections, but they also have provided an enormous service to the Strat community by making available  Actual Pitcher Batting Cards for the following 73 seasons (note - these are packaged along with the rosters and are designated as *PHC* for Pitchers Hitting Cards when using the Roster Installation function):

- 1877 expanded

- 1887c expanded

- 1888 expanded

- 1889 expanded

- 1894 expanded

- 1895 expanded

- 1897 expanded

- 1900 BON Dinneen name corrected

- 1906 NL added, V 13 AL unchanged

- 1907 NL added, V 13 AL unchanged

- 1911 NL redone (splits), V 13 AL unchanged

- 1914 NL and AL added, only

- 1915 NL and AL added, only

- 1917 PHN Fittery CF rating added

- 1920 CHA Cicotte name corrected

- 1923 added

- 1926 added

- 1927 PHN Sweetland name corrected

- 1928 added

- 1934 DEA Auker name corrected

- 1953 added NL, only

- 1954 NL, AL redone (splits)

- 1955 NL, AL redone (splits)

- 1956 added

- 1957 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1959 expanded

- 1961 added

- 1962 added

- 1963 expanded

- 1964 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1965 expanded

- 1966 expanded

- 1967 expanded, minor name correction

- 1968 added

- 1970 added

- 1971 expanded, minor name correction

- 1972 added

- 1973 added

- 1974 added

- 1975 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1976 added

- 1978 expanded

- 1979 added

- 1980 added

- 1982 added

- 1983 added

- 1984 expanded

- 1985 expanded

- 1986 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1987 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1988 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1989 expanded, minor name corrections

- 1990 added

- 1999 added

- 2007 adds ATN Reyes

 20) PLAY-BY-PLAY IMPROVEMENTS

- The nickname file has been expanded yet again by our nickname guru Ren Petrie -- there are 1,000 new player specific play-by-plays.

- All 30 teams files edited and updated for 2008 season.  Note: this requires the purchase of the optional team specific play-by-play disk.

NOTE: TO REVIEW THE NEW FEATURES INCLUDED IN OLDER VERSIONS FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

Version 13 - new features.

Version 12 - new features.

Version 11 - new features.

Version 10 - new features.

Version 9 - new features.

Version 8 - new features.

Version 7 - new features.

Version 6 - new features.

Version 5 - new features.

Version 4 - new features.

Version 3 - new features.

Version 2 - new features.

Version 1 - features.


GAME LOBBY

A most exciting new feature is the addition of a game lobby, which also includes Spectator Mode.  Strat-O-Matic has been working with Power Lobbies in order to provide you a place to meet other players and hook up for Netplay games.

To launch the Game Lobby use the "File / Enter Game Lobby" dialog.

Requirements: If you are experiencing problems getting into the Game Lobby (such as crashes or hangs) then run Windows Update and make sure you have the latest version of the .NET Framework installed.

Also, on the CD-ROM there is an installer named "vcredist_x86.exe" which you may need to run in order to access the Game Lobby.

Creating an Account: When you first start the lobby you will have to create an account.  Just type in a user name, password, and confirm your password and press the Create Account button.  In most cases, this will then bring you into the lobby, but if the name you chose is already in use, you will be notified and have to try another name.  After you have created your account you will only have to press the Logon button when you reach this screen in the future, you only have to confirm your password when creating an account.

Security Note: The password that you select is saved in an ini file in the baseball folder.  It is not encrypted in anyway.  So if your computer is used by multiple people, please choose something that is low sensitivity.  This also allows you to recover your password if you forget it, but once you type it in, it will be filled in automatically for you in the future.

Entering the Game Lobby: When you first enter the lobby you will be in the main room.  Here you can chat with other players.  You will see a list of who is online and what rooms are available.

Creating a Room to Launch Games: In order to launch a game you must either create or enter a room.  Rooms are staging areas for games.  To create a room, just click the create room button.  Here you set the server port that you want to use, and optionally set a password.  The password will prevent unwanted people from entering your room and therefore your game.  If you use the password the other you will have to know it, so you can either have a pre-determined password selected or you can email the password to the other players as needed.

Spectator Mode: If more than two people are in the room when you launch the game then the extra people will launch in Spectator Mode.  That mode allows the others to watch the action as the home and visiting team play the game.  Spectator mode is great for League Playoffs and other exciting events!

Launching a Game: When everyone that you want is in the lobby you click the launch game button.  If more than two people are in the room, yourself included, then you must specify which person is the other player.  Select the players name from the Room Users list and press Set Opponent.  This will make sure that you are playing the correct person.  Everyone else in the room will automatically become an observer of the game, using Spectator Mode.

Once you press launch game, the lobby screen will close and you will be brought back to the main game screen.  Here you will set the game parameters, then you will press Launch in order to start the game.  Once the opponent joins, the game will start.  Observers will also join, but will not see the game until you press the first in game button.

The big difference between launching a game through the Game Lobby rather than manually is that you won't see the server IP screen.  The lobby automatically fills in the correct IP for the server and the clients.  So if you launch a game through the lobby you do not have to send your IP or port number to the other players.

To join a game you must first enter a room.  Either double click on the room name or select the room and press Enter Room.  Once you are in the room you can participate in the room chat, viewable only to those people in the room.  If the room creator has set a password you must enter that password before you will allowed to enter the room.  A dialog will prompt you if the room is password protected.  When the room creator presses the Launch Game button, the lobby dialog will close and you will be brought back to the main screen.  Here, if this is a local game, you will select your local team and then press the launch button.   You will be automatically connected to the server, with no need to enter the server IP address or port number.  If you have not been designated as the opponent (in other words, you are a spectator), you will be automatically connected right to the server.  You can chat, but will not see the game until the next game action is performed.  To verify whether you are the client or not, just check the opponent name displayed above the Room Users list.  If there are only two people in the room when the game is launched, you will automatically be the opponent.

Note: Strat-O-Matic Baseball only supports multiplayer games between the same versions of the software.  That means that you will not be able to enter rooms that have been created with a different version number.  The lobby will automatically append the room name with the version number.  Your version number is displayed on the title bar of the lobby dialog.

Chatting in the Game Lobby: To chat, just type your text in the appropriate edit box and hit enter or press the appropriate Send button.  You can only participate in room chat if you are currently in a room.  Even when you are in a room, you can participate in and view the main lobby chat.  If you are in a room, the current room name will be displayed above the Room Chat window.  Even if you don't want to play a game, this is a great place to meet and greet other Strat-O-Matic Baseball players.


Help on Operating Help
You operate the help system by selecting items from the  help menu.

Common operations include:

- Searching for help

- Contextual help

- Keyboard help

- Click help


INDEX
No index available, please use search function.


INTRODUCTION
STRAT-O-MATIC CD-ROM BASEBALL

Welcome to the big leagues!  Click on one of the following:

New Features in Strat-O-Matic CD Version 14.0

Authorization system - how to unlock the game and options.

The Strat-O-Matic Story

Research and Realism set Strat-O-Matic apart

Getting Started

What are the Recommended Settings?

Playing a New scheduled game or a New unscheduled game

The game Buttons defined

How to Save a game

Setting Game preferences

Setting the Game screen options

Customizing the Game rules

Drafting

Trading

Autoplaying a season

Creating game result files (for playing by mail)

Importing game result files (for playing by mail)

Frequently asked Questions

Hints and Tips

Do you have a  Suggestion?

Visit us at our  Home Page

Do you need  Technical Support?

Credits

Copyright Notice


About Help Viewer
XVT Help Viewer

Copyright (c) 1996 XVT Software.


Help/On Context
The "Help On Context" menu item provides context dependant help. Help is retrieved according to location of the input focus within  an application.  Typically, controls or windows are highlighted in a  special (and object specific) manner; this shows the input focus.

By pressing the help or F1 key, help is retrieved from the application help file for the currently focused object.


Help/Search
The search help menu item, and the "Search..." button in the help viewer both activate the topic search dialog.

The search dialog is an easy way to see what topics are available within a help file, and to quickly activate a topic.

You can search either by keyword, or in some cases by the help topic title.


Help/On Window
This help item displays help for the current window.


Help/Object Click
Object click help allows the selection of various application objects -- once an object is selected, help for that object is displayed in the help viewer.