Guide to Batter Attributes

I heard through the vines that some members were somewhat confused with what the attributes did. I am in absolutely no way an OOTP expert, I think the last version of the game I actually own is the 2017 or 2018 one. This is not going to be a guide to how you should update your player or what attributes are better than others, I just intend to make this a guide for members that have no idea what the attributes actually do. Let's kick it off with the batting attributes, then we'll follow with fielding attributes. I am not going to talk about neither the pitching attributes, or the catcher-specific fielding attributes, because I have no idea what these do, so I'll let others explain if they feel like it. This should still give a good idea to newcomers what attributes they may want to focus on if they make batters at any of the following positions: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF.


Batting Attributes

Code:

BABIP L
BABIP R
Avoid K L
Avoid K R
Gap L
Gap R
Power L
Power R
Eye L
Eye R
Groundball Tendency
Flyball Tendency
Speed
Steal
Bunt

First of all, you probably noticed that most of these attributes came in pair, with one of them coming with a "L" and one of them coming with a "R". The set of attributes with a "L" will be used when you face a left-handed pitcher and the set of attributes with a "R" will be used when you face a right-handed pitcher. The attributes that don't have any of these letters are independent to the handedness of the pitcher you are facing. Multiple strategies can be done here with this. You could decide to balance out the pairs, so that your player is about the same against LHP or RHP. Or you could decide to focus on one side, making you a threat against one type of pitcher, but weak against another type of pitchers.

BABIP
BABIP, if I remember correctly, is short for Batting Average from Balls In Play, which basically mean the higher it is, the higher the chances that balls you hit are going to fall safely. The higher the attribute, the higher you could expect you batting average to be. For those of you that are familiar with video games like the older EA Sports' MLB or The Show, I believe this attribute is called Contact over there. This is a good attribute for players that want to get on the bases a lot.

Avoid K
The name here is pretty self explanatory. Avoid K is your player's ability to avoid getting struck out. He'll be less likely to get called on that 3rd strike, meaning he'll possibly stay at the plate for a couple more pitches, giving him more opportunities to put a ball in play or get a walk. Like BABIP, it's a good attribute for players that want high batter averages.

Gap
From my short experience as a member in another baseball sim league, I believe that Gap is one of the attributes that's believed to be the most useless in the batters' arsenal. A higher Gap makes it more likely that balls hit in play will be hit in the gaps between the outfielders. From my understanding, it has a very limited impact on the batting average, but it makes it more likely that singles turn in doubles or triples.

Power
The Power attribute, the golden power hitter attribute. Put bluntly, a higher Power attribute makes it more likely that balls hit in play are hit outside of the stadium. It probably has no effect on the batting average, but a high Power will give you more home runs.

Eye
Eye is good attribute for leadoff batters, players that you want on bases no matter what. The ones that are expected to get on the bases so the cleanup power hitters can get them home. Basically, the Eye attribute determines how accurately your player is reading pitches. A batter with a good eye will be less likely to wait on strikes or swing on balls, making him more likely to be walked. From what I know, it's not a sexy attribute, but getting on bases helps the team scoring runs if the batters coming after you are good hitters, so it has its uses.

Groundball and Flyball Tendencies
For the groundball and flyball tendencies, you basically have the choice between four attributes. They determine on which side of the field you are more likely to hit groundball or flyballs. In order, they are Extreme Pull, Pull, Normal, Spray, ranging respectively from an extremely high tendency to hit balls in your own field (right-handed batters will hit on the third-base line, left-handed batters will hit on the first-base line) to an actual lack of tendency (meaning you are as likely to hit balls in either side of the field).

Speed
The Speed attribute impacts your speed on bases, which means it could help you turn a single into a double, or a double into a triple. It also helps with stealing bases. It has no effect, however, with your speed when you play defense. We'll cover the attribute that impacts it later.

Steal
Put simply, the Steal attribute determines how likely you are to steal bases. The higher the attribute, the higher are the chances that your player will attempt to steal a base and, if he attempts it, the more likely he is to succeed. The Speed attribute is also important in the base stealing process.

Bunt
The Bunt attribute is actually a mix of two in-game attributes, Sacrifice Bunt and Bunt for Hit. They are bundled together because no one would matter with them if not, as bunting is probably the most un-sexy batting attribute, even when they are bundled. A high Bunt will make your player more likely to try and succeed at bunting in all situations, either if the objective if to get on the bases yourself or sacrifice yourself to help your advance baserunners.


Fielding Attributes

Code:

Infield Range
Infield Error
Infield Arm
Turn Double Plays
Outfield Range
Outfield Error
Outfield Arm

You probably have seen a set of three attributes come with both the mention "Infield" and "Outfield". The distinction between the two is fairly simple. "Infield" attributes are used for players playing at the 1B, 2B, 3B or SS positions, while "Outfield" attributes are used for player playing at the LF, CF or RF positions. Only upgrade the one set that relates to your player's position.

Range
Range is what was referring to when I said that the Speed attribute was an offensive-only attribute and that there was another attribute that dictated how far the player could run on the defensive field. A higher Range attribute gives a player a larger range where he is able to catch the ball, meaning they are more likely to catch a ball that is hit in his general direction but not directly on him.

Error
The Error attribute is fairly simple. It says how often your player is likely to commit errors, be it fielding or throwing errors. An error happens when a player doesn't make a play that was deemed doable. It could result in missing an out and having a player on base instead, or on an inaccurate throw that lets a baserunner advance one or more bases than he would have if the throw was accurate.

Arm
The Arm attribute dictates how well fielders throw the ball. A higher Arm rating means your player will be able to make split-second decisions and quickly make an accurate throw to the right fielder, making it more likely to get an out. A poor Arm rating could mean your player either made a late or weak throw and missed an easy out. I am going to guess that the Catcher Arm attribute is pretty much the same as that but specific for catchers. Higher Catcher Arm making catchers possibly more likely to catch players attempting to steal bases.

Turn Double Plays
Turn Double Plays is an attribute that is basically only useful for infielders, specifically for 2nd basemen and shortstops. A higher Turn Double Plays rating will make it more likely for your player to turn a double play, getting a second out on plays when it's possible. A poor rating would probably result in a first out being recorded, but the second one being missed, leaving an extra runner on base.


So that's what I know about the attributes. It's not much, but I'm sure it will help people that don't know OOTP much. Or people that don't know baseball at all. If experts have a better way of explaining the attributes or want to add something, please let me know so I can edit it in. Oh and let me know as well if what I said is just painfully wrong, my objective is not to deceive newcomers by lying to them about the importance (or lack of importance) of some attributes. My objective was simply to giving a short description of various attributes.