Earl Weaver Baseball version 1.5 FAQ
by demystifier (the_demystifier@hotmail.com)
Platform: DOS
Version 1.03
Last Update: 6/04/2003
Emails about the game are highly welcomed, but please put something in
the subject line of the email so I will know it is about the game. This
will help me know it isn't junk and I will probably answer it sooner
than I otherwise would. Also, before emailing me, I ask that you look
at the Table of Contents for this FAQ and Part XI, Frequently Asked
Questions to see if there is a part of this FAQ that deals with what
you are asking about.
Table of Contents:
Part I Introduction/General Description
Part II Starting up on DOS
Part III Starting up on Windows
Part IV Instructions
A. DOS Prompt Instructions
B. Main menu Instructions
C. General Manager Instructions
D. Commissioner Instructions
E. Line up screen Instructions
F. In game Instructions
Part V Stats
A. Hitting Stats
B. Pitching Stats
C. Fielding Stats
Part VI Drafting
A. General Drafting Strategies
B. Special Drafting Strategies
C. How to draft with the commissioner's disk
D. How to draft without the commissioner's disk
E. How to Draft in Windows 95/98/2000/XP
Part VII General Game Strategy
A. Line-ups
B. Offense
C. Defense
D. Starting Pitching
E. Relief Pitching
Part VIII Problems with Windows 95/98/2000/XP
Part IX Passwords
Part X Terminology
Part XI Frequently Asked Questions
Part XII Copyright
Part XIII Acknowledgements
Part XIV Version History
Part I - Introduction
Earl Weaver Baseball v 1.5 was released in 1989 by Electronic Arts. In
its day it was hailed as one of the greatest simulation baseball games
on the market, if not among the greatest ever. It gathered a relatively
loyal following for several years, even spawning a sequel. Some still
consider this to be one of the greatest baseball games ever for PC or
any console system, though because of how outdated it is (and because
it not very compatable with all Windows OS systems after Windows 3.11)
it has more or less died out and isn't played much. The game is for 1
or 2 players at once (like always 2 is more fun), but theoretically
you could have up to 32 teams in a Weaver League managed by 32
different players (Yoiks!). (note: my copy of the game says 1988, but
I don't think it was actually released until 1989 officially). Also,
the game really is harder to ultilize on Windows 95/98/2000/XP, so if
you have an old 386 computer hiding in a closet somewhere, this might
be your time to think about getting it out and dusting it off. I have
included a section Windows problems in the FAQ, so you can still play
even with these problems.
I've tried to create this FAQ in such a way that you can merely high-
light and copy a certain section to print off if that particular
section is giving you trouble, since you can't both look at this FAQ
online and play weaver, unless you have two computers, which most of us
don't. Some stuff may seem unnecessary for some of you familar with
the game, but I've tried to create it as if the person reading it has
never played the game before and is unfamilar with DOS. In other words,
bear with me if you are actually familar with the game. If you want to
skip over a section, I suggest using the find option of your browser to
find the section you want referencing the table of contents.
Part II - Starting up on DOS
To begin with, you must have the game installed on your system (duh).
Get to a DOS prompt. Get to the point where the directory showing
is the one you have the game installed in (usually "weaver" or "ew"
or "ewbb"). Once this is up as the current directory in DOS, type in
"weaver" (just the word weaver, not the quotes) to load up the game.
NOTE: you can type "weaver c" for cga mode that is more compatable with
most Pentium chip computers. This will load the game up with cga
graphics. Of course, if you are on GameFAQs with a Pentium chip or
better (like all of us, you probably need to look at Part III).
Part III - Starting up on Windows
Once you have the game installed in a directory on your system, there
should be an application titled "weaver" in that file. That is your
game. Now, Earl Weaver Baseball (EWB) was never designed for Windows,
and starting it in Windows can cause some problems. To begin with, if
you merely double-click the "weaver" application, the game will look
very bad and will either be too slow to play without being very annoyed
on any speed lower than fast, but will be *way* to fast to play on fast
or super. To solve this, you can either go to the MSDOS prompt and
follow Part II or you can download a batch file for this game at:
http://www.demystifier.org/ewb/ewb.zip
Save the file and then extract the batch file from the zip folder
Double-clicking "weaver" is still fine if you want to merely simulate
weaver games create your own players/stats (see terminology). But to
actually play the game, using cga graphics is necessary on most
machines, which is what _weaver c_ in DOS loads or the batch file
above loads. Also, the batch file has other helpful attributes, namely
that it by-passes the need for passwords.
Part IV - Basic Instructions
A. DOS Prompt Instructions
Other instructions also are available at the DOS Prompt that can select
or deselect various options of game play. As noted before, "weaver c"
will load the game with cga graphics. As follows are other command
line options that can be put after the word "weaver". Note that many of
these options can be accessed from the game internally. Also, if you
want to use several options, you can just put a space between the
variable (ex. if you want a game with DH and no sound, "weaver d q"
should work.
"weaver x" where the following variables are substituted for x:
a - Play in arcade mode (not recommended, full mode is better)
c - Use cga graphics (recommended 9 times out of 10)
d - Use DH
e - Use ega graphics (if this gives you a problem try cga)
f - Go straight to main menu (not a big deal but useful in a batch)
l - Play the 2 default teams repeatedly. Auto lineups/updates.
m - All teams in first league play 1 round robin in fast stats.
n - All teams in second league play 1 round robin in fast stats.
o - All teams in both leagues play 1 round robing in fast stats.
q - No sounds
s - Turn off announcer
t - Use Tandy graphics (um, no...you don't want to)
v - vga emulation mode (same as option e)
% - Play in fast stats mode. Earl manages both teams. No graphics.
B. Main Menu instructions
Once you load the game, either a "pre-game" menu will come up or the
main menu will autoload (if you use the batch or if you use the "f"
DOS line command). Assuming it is the former, you will be asked for
"Arcade Game" (F7) or "Full Program" (F8). Select "Full Program" (you
really don't want to ruin a great game like this by playing the cheesy
"Arcade Game" mode, do ya?). This will bring up the Main Menu.
On the main menu, there are three main columns, left, center, and
right. On the left will be information about the home team, on the
center information about the visiting team, and on the right
information about ground rules and the aptly named "Things to do". If
you load up the game what I mean is extremely obvious and easy to use.
For both the home and visiting teams you can select:
1. The control instrument. Options are keyboard, keypad, joystick,
mouse. It is highly recommended that you use either the keyboard
and/or keypad. The keyboard uses w (up), a (left), x (down), d (right),
and s/enter key for selecting things on the menu. If you can't figure
out the keyboard perhaps you shouldn't be playing (just kidding,
mostly). Other in game commands will be pointed out later.
2. Manager. Options are You manage, Play and manage, Earl manages. I
have never actually know anyone who actually plays this game, so I
ignore option 2, "Play and manage" right off the bat. Earl manages
means that the computer manages and plays the other team, though you
can still set up line ups and even make changes during games (though,
depending on how you set up your league this could be cheating). With
the You manage option you control everything from a managerial
perspective.
3. Game level. Options are major league, minor league, semi-pro and
sandlot. I've never played on anything but major league level, but I
presume the lower levels are there if you want to beat up on the Earl.
4. Pitches per at bat. Options are "one pitch" and "full at bat". One
pitch mode means that in an at bat, the computer will generate all but
the last pitch automatically and you only actually play the last pitch
of that at bat (assuming the hitter doesn't foul the ball off to
continue the at bat). Full at bat means you go through every pitch in
an at bat. I personally play one pitch. While you do take about some
of the in game strategy (particularily on stealing bases and pitch
outs), it cuts down on game time *a ton* and makes the game more lively
and fast-paced overall. With one pitch mode you can literally play a
full 9 inning game in 5-10 minutes.
5. League or non-league play. I've honestly never played non-league
play, so I can't tell you what is different about it from League play.
I presume it has something to do with not saving stats officially, but
I could be wrong.
This describes the left and center column. The right column contains
Ground rules and Things to do.
Ground rules options are as follows:
1. Select Park (F3). This option lets you pick any park that is in the
current park.dat stats file. If your system runs anything newer than
Windows 3.11, a fair warning to NOT hit Set Path (F5) at this time.
There is a way around this, which I'll explain later in the FAQ.
2. DH rule. Select whether or not to have a DH or let the pitcher hit.
I personally prefer using DH's, though it does change strategy to have
pitchers hit.
3. Regulation game or Arcade. Lets you pick whether to have the game
be regulation or arcade. Pick regulation or Crom, high on his mountain
will laugh at you.
4. Injuries. Select whether to have injuries on or off. If you are
playing a season, you probably want to select to have them on to
increase realism and add an extra element into the season.
Things to do options are as follows:
1. Play ball (P). Pick this to go to line-up screens, where you pick
your line-ups and starting pitchers and then playball.
2. Practice (F5). Lets you practice hitting, pitching, and fielding. I
once messed with this for a whole 10 minutes. It wasn't terrible, but
if you actually want to play a baseball video game, any of the RBI
series on the NES or Tecmo Super Baseball on the SNES would do you much
better. Managing is much more fun than playing with EWB. Stats and
Strategy are what this game is all about.
3. General Manager (F6). Here you can trade, clone, edit or even
create your own players. I will have an entire sub-section devoted to
the General Manager later. But, if your system runs anything newer than
Windows 3.11, a fair warning to NOT hit Set Path (F5) at this time.
There is a way around this, which I'll explain later in the FAQ.
4. Look at Park (F7). Lets you view the currently selected park.
Whoopie.
5. Display stats (F8). Here you can look at various league, team, and
individual stats. If you go here, it should be pretty easy to figure
out how to use this option. Just remember, if your system runs anything
newer than Windows 3.11, a fair warning to NOT hit Set Path (F5) at
this time. There is a way around this, which I'll explain later in
the FAQ.
6. Continue Game (F9). I've never tried it, so I can't help you here.
Just don't hit Set Path (F5).
7. Commissioner (F10). Here you can create your own league and alter
many league and team factors. A sub-section will be devoted to the
commissioner later in the FAQ. If your system runs anything newer than
Windows 3.11, a fair warning to NOT hit Set Path (F5) at this time.
There is a way around this, which I'll explain later in the FAQ.
Quick Main Menu Commands List
F2 - select visiting team
F3 - select ball park
F4 - select home team
F5 - practice mode
F6 - general manager
F7 - look at park
F8 - display stats
F9 - continue game
F10- comissioner
P - play ball
C. General Manager Instructions
There are several things you can do in the General Manager (GM)screen.
The main functions are trading, cloning, and editing. Trading (F6)
meansthat if you hit enter while on a highlighted player, he will be
selected. Then if you go to the other team and hit enter on one of
their highlighted players, it will trade the players (this is very
easy to figure out if you try the GM screen). Second, you can clone
players (F7). This means if you highlight a player, hit enter, and
then go to an empty slot, the player you initially highlighted will
be cloned to the empty slot. This is useful if you have to draft
using the actual weaver game because you don't have the commissioner's
disk (see terminology under commissioner's disk or "stattool"). There
will be a sub-section for drafting later in the FAQ. The third option
is to edit player (F8). This is an excellent option. With it you can
create your own players, edit existing players, or even create your
own real stats of more current seasons (which is a long, tedius
process but worth it in the end). If you go to a highlighted player or
empty slot and hit enter, the stats screen will pop up, but you can
physically alter the stats. This is helpful in several ways. First,
if you get some stats from a friend or online, and they are outrageous
in just one or two aspects (say they give hitters too high a power
ranking consistently), you only have to go through and edit that one
aspect of the player, and not recreate them completely. Also, if you
wish, you can create completely fantasy players, such as yourself, or
make up your personal dream team with any players from any years you
wish and have them play for your team (How many games will let you have
a 1980 George Brett play with a 1990 Rickey Henderson?). A whole
sub-section will be given to creating players with this option later,
but for now it might be useful to know that www.mlb.com is a very
useful site for getting accurate and complete stats. Also, if you hit
the space bar on a highlighted player, his stats will pop up on the
screen. This is good for draft preparation.
D. Commissioner Instructions
The commissioner option (F10) offers you several functions to create
or alter your own league. These are: customize league, customize
teams, customize parks, grant day off, copy one ball park, erase all
saved games, delete players and teams, create new league on new
disk/path, clear accumulated stats, clear won/loss record. Note that
for all these options if your system runs anything newer than
Windows 3.11, a fair warning to NOT hit Set Path (F5) at this time.
There is a way around this, which I'll explain later in the FAQ.
Commissioner options as follows:
1. Customize league allows you to alter league and division names.
You can either change the currently existing data of a season, or
create league and division names for a newly created league
(which starts up with all blank data). Because of the time in which
the game was created, EWB only allows you to create only upto 4
divisions, techinically. This has never been a problem, because you
will probably never have enough human players to need more than 4
divisions. If you did want to play with more divisions, you could by
merely keeping track of the game records on something else (excel or
even just pen and paper).
2. Customize teams allows you to alter currently existing
teams or create team data for a newly createdly league. EWB allows
you to create upto 32 teams for one season's data. Trust me that is
more than plenty.
3. Customize parks allows you to alter currently existing parks or
create parks for a newly createdly league. EWB allows you to create
upto 32 teams for one season's data.
4. Grant day off lets you give all players one day off. One of the
player stats is "Required Days Off". General, this number is used for
pitchers and ranges from 1 to 4 depending upon how much they pitched in
an outing. Say you start Nolan Ryan in a 1990 season and he pitches
around 100 pitches. He will probably have to take 3 days (i.e. games)
off before he is allowed to pitch again. This option allows you to
give all players in the league to reduce their "Required Days Off"
count by one. Also, note that if a player is injured, the "Required
Days Off" are what keep him from playing. "Required Days Off" reduce
1 per game you play.
5. Copy one ball park allows you to copy an already existing ballpark.
This is useful if you are starting a new league and want to simply
copy as many ball parks as you need for how many teams you have in the
new league. Be careful, though. Doing this requires going through
Set Path (F5), which is very problematic for anything newer than
Windows 3.11, and probably won't work on that system. See the
"Problems with Windows" section later in the FAQ for tips on helping
this.
6. Erase all saved gamed. I actually have never tried this option,
since I've never tried to save games while they were in progress.
7. Delete all players and teams. It does just what it says. Not highly
recommended normally, though it can be useful if you need to create a
new league in Windows 95/98/2000/XP. See the "Problems with Windows"
section.
8. Create new league on new disk/path. If you are playing in DOS or
Windows 3.11 (or before), this is where you go to create a new league.
Hit enter on this and type in the new directory you wish to create for
your new league. It will ask you to create players, parks, and league
data files. Say yes to all. If you are using Windows 95/98/2000/XP,
see the "Problem with Windows" section, and DON'T use this option of
the commissioner.
9. Clear accumulated stats allows you to set all accumulated stats back
to zero. This does not effect real stats. See the terminology section
for more information on real and accumulated stats. Use this option
with great caution.
10. Clear Win/Loss record. Sets the Win/Loss record back to 0 Wins and
0 Losses for all teams. Use this option with great caution.
E. Line-up screen Instructions
Okay, you've picked your teams and hit "playball" (P) from the main
menu. The game now asks for a password (ugh!). If you have downloaded
a cracked version of EW online (they exist), you might be able to put
in anything here and have it work. If not, then you would be in a
world of hurt, except that you can print off pictures of the original
weaver wheel (see terminology) at:
http://www.demystifier.org/ewb/ewbpics.html
Print and cut this out (the holes of the front part too) and it can
function as your password wheel. Make sure that you don't have the two
pictures print at the same size. Keep them at exactly the size they are
for printing purposes. The wheel with all the passwords on it
Anyway, with the password entered, the line-up screen now pops up.
First you are asked to pick the starting pitcher of the visiting team.
You can either pick him yourself, or Ask Earl (F7). If Earl is
managing the visiting team, Earl will autopick a starter, but you can
change the starter if you want to. Hit Finished (F10) when you are
done. Second, you pick the home team's starting pitcher just like you
did for the visiting team and hit Finished (F10). If you need to go
back to any previous screen at any time, this can be done with back up
(F9). The third screen asks you to pick the lineup for the visitor.
You can alter players positions for the game and their order in the
line up. You can Ask Earl (F7) for a suggested line-up. Note that if
anyone is injured, you cannot change the players position until the
main line-up screen. The fourth screen asks you for the home team's
line-up, just as with the visitors. The fifth screen is the main
line-up menu. From here you can alter any position of any players and
change both visiting and home team line-ups. You can also put pitchers
in the bull-pen, though this is usually not necessary at the beginning
of the game, unless you are playing with a strange team strategy (say,
having 12 or 13 really good relievers and no real starters). When you
have finalized all your selections, hit finished and you are ready to
get into the actual game.
A few other things to note about this game include:
1. This is where you go to subsitute players, switch pitchers, pinch
hit, etc. during the game.
2. While your team is hitting, you can highlight your pitcher and he
will tell you how his arm feels (you get the catcher's opinion you need
to do a conference call while pitching).
3. You can send upto 2 pitchers to the bull pen to warm up on this
screen. It is absolutely vital to warm up your relievers before
putting them in the game if you wish to have success with your pitching
staff.
F. In game instructions
In the main game there are many different commands you can do. A list
(perhaps lacking a few things are as follows). Note that the game is
played from a split screen perspective on the pitch, with the field
being on the left side of the split screen and the batter/pitcher on
the right side.
F1 - Change game speed (ranges from slow to super)
F2 - Turn announcer on and off
F3 - Turn sound on and off
F7 - Tells you wind speed (too fast on most Windows run computers)
F8 - Conference call with your pitcher
F10- Leave game
L - Access main line-up menu
Ctrl+Pause-Break - Exits game
Space Bar - Brings up a 2 column menu on the right half of split
screen. More on this as follows:
"Space Bar Menu":
From the "Space Bar Menu" on offense you can:
- Go to the main line-up menu (lineup)
- Ask Earl for advice (Earl)
- Hit Aggressively (Aggr.)
- Bunt (Bunt)
- Hit and Run (H & R)
- Run and Hit (R & H)
- Take a pitch (Take, not recommended for one pitch mode)
- Leadoff the bag (Leadoff, recommended if you want to steal)
- Steal Bases (Steal 2, Steal 3, Steal H, D Steal)
- Suicide Squeeze (Squeeze)
- Cancel out previously selected options (No Play)*
- Hide Selections (Hide)*
*These are very helpful against human opponents. If you don't hide
against a human opponent, they will know exactly what you are doing.
You can also psych out opponents sometimes if you pretend you are
doing something and then actually hit "No Play".
From the "Space Bar Menu" on defense you can:
- Go to the main line-up menu (lineup)
- Ask Earl for advice (Earl)
- Conference call with the pitcher (confer)
- Guard the Line (Guard)
- Hold the Runner (Hold)
- Shift Fielders (IF Shift, IF Depth, OF Shift, OF Depth)
- Pitch around hitters (P Arnd)
- Pitch out (P Out, 4 in a row constitute an intentional walk)
- Charge 1st (Chg 1st, used in certain bunting situations)
- Charge 3rd (Chg 3rd, used in certain bunting situations)
- Cancel out previously selected options (No Play)*
- Hide Selections (Hide)*
*These are very helpful against human opponents. If you don't hide
against a human opponent, they will know exactly what you are doing.
You can also psych out opponents sometimes if you pretend you are
doing something and then actually hit "No Play".
Part V - Stats
EWB is one of the most statistically driven baseball games I've ever
played. To be good at EWB you must understand some basics of baseball
stats. Stats generally break down into three important catagories:
Hitting, Pitching, and Fielding, with both total stats and split stats
(see terminology for more on split stats).
A. Hitting Stats
Basic catagories for total hitting stats:
BA - Batting Average (calculated as H/AB)
G - Games played
AB - At bats
R - Runs
H - Hits
1B - Singles
2B - Doubles
3B - Triples
HR - Home runs
RBI- Runs Batted In
SH - Sacrifice Hits
BB - Walks
SO - Strike outs
SB - Stolen Bases
CS - Caught Stealing
SA - Slugging Average ((HRx4)+(3Bx3)+(2Bx2)+1B)/(PA-(BB+HP+BS))**
OBA- On Base Average (HR+3B+2B+1B+BB+HP)/(PA-BS)**
**For SA and OBA - (HP is "Hit by Pitch" and BS is "bunt sacrifices".
Both are not calculated in EWB, so real stat OBA in EWB may be off a
little when compared to what the hitter did in real life, but not so
much that it really matters. PA is "plate appearances".
Basic catagories for split stats for hitters:
Split stats show VsR and VsL stats for players.
BA - Batting Average (calculated as H/AB)
AB - At bats
H - Hits
1B - Singles
2B - Doubles
3B - Triples
HR - Home runs
BB - Walks
SO - Strike outs
SA - Slugging Average ((HRx4)+(3Bx3)+(2Bx2)+1B)/(PA-(BB+HP+BS))**
OBA- On Base Average (HR+3B+2B+1B+BB+HP)/(PA-BS)**
**For SA and OBA - (HP is "Hit by Pitch" and BS is "bunt sacrifices".
Both are not calculated in EWB, so real stat OBA in EWB may be off a
little when compared to what the hitter did in real life, but not so
much that it really matters. PA is "plate appearances".
Basic catagories for rankings for hitters:
POWER - Power is one of the most important offensive stats. Hitters
with higher power rankings tend to have more home runs and extra base
hits, as well as more hits in general (though this last bit doesn't
tend to make much sense).
H&R - The higher the ranking in H&R (Hit and Run) the better the
hitter will perform the hit and run option during gameplay. Not too
important usually.
BUNT - The higher the ranking in BUNT the better the hitter will
perform the bunt option during gameplay. Not too important usually.
RUNS - This ranking affects the general speed of the player, including
the ability of the player to steal bases. This is a moderately
important offensive stat.
General notes on Hitting Stats:
Some stats are much more important than others. In real baseball,
there is a temptation to put a large emphasis on HR, RBI, and BA. In
EWB, one must caution against this. POWER, SLG, and RUNS play larger
roles as catagories, in general, than the raw numbers of HR, RBI, and
BA (though it is by no means bad to have players who have high numbers
in these on your team). Keeping Versus stats in mind while making a
line-up or team can be very important too (more on this later in the
FAQ).
B. Pitching Stats
Basic catagories for total pitching stats:
W - Wins
L - Losses
ERA- Earned Run Average (calculated as (ER/IP)*9)
G - Games
GS - Games Started
CG - Complete Games
SV - Saves
IP - Innings Pitched
H - Hits allowed
ER - Earned Runs
HR - Home Runs allowed
BB - Walks allowed
SO - Strike outs
HB - Hit Batsmen*
BALK - Balks committed*
*some leagues prefer to zero-out these stats as 1)they can happen
seemingly too often in EWB and 2) it can be difficult to find these
stats when creating your own players based on real stats.
Basic catagories for split pitching stats:
BA - Batting average against (calculated as H/AB)
AB - At bats against
H - Hits allowed
HR - Home Runs allowed
BB - Walks allowed
SO - Strike outs allowed
Basic catagories for rankings for pitchers:
SPEED - Speed ranking measures the ability of the pitcher to strike
hitters out. Somewhat important pitching stat.
CONTROL - Measures pitcher's control. The lower the control, the more
walks a pitcher is likely to give up. This is a *very* important
pitching stat.
FATIGUE - Measures how long a pitcher can pitch without getting tired.
The higher the fatigue, the longer they can stay in without getting
tired. In general, starting pitchers should have a 6 fatigue or
better, though having one 5 fatigue starter in a rotation is okay, and
starting a 3 or 4 fatigue pitcher in an emergency is acceptable.
3 and 4 fatigue pitchers are usually "long relievers", while 1 and 2
fatigue pitchers are used for short relief circumstances, usually in
the later innings.
BUNT - How well the pitcher can bunt. Not used at all if you play
games with Designated Hitters (which is probable).
FA - Fielding Average of the pitcher. The higher the better.
C. Fielding stats
Basic catagories for fielding are as follows:
PO - Putouts*
AS - Assists*
ERR - Errors committed*
FA-1- Fielding Average for fielding position 1**
FA-2- Fielding Average for fielding position 2**
*these three stats as entered could be just for PA-1 if player has
two positions
**If you highlight a player and look in the upper right corner of the
display, you will see player positions (in edit mode these will be
"P1" and "P2"). FA-1 corresponds to the first (main) fielding position
and FA-2 corresponds to the second fielding position.
Basic catagories for rankings for fielders are:
RANGE - The higher the range, the more ground the player can cover in
a relative amount of time. This stat is most important for 2B, SS, 3B
and CF.
ARM - The higher the ARM ranking, the faster and farther a player
can throw. This statistic is very important for catchers and
outfielders.
Part VI Drafting
A. General Drafting Strategies
In EWB, drafting is picking your team of 25 players from the list of
players in the league. The draft is when all the teams in your newly
created league (probably between 8 and 12 teams) pick their players
from the general stats of a real season (note: this is just the general
way it goes. You could play an "AL-only" or "NL-only" draft where you
only pick from one league of stats, or you can create your own players
from thin air if you wish....generally, how ever, drafts come from a
full league roster of Major League Baseball stats of a real season). If
you wish to know the physical logistics of drafting (that is literally
how you conduct a draft) skip to Part VI C. and D. For now, I will
provide a basic general strategy for drafting position by position, as
well as some general tips.
Suggestions for your league: I suggest setting a few rules for your
draft before you start drafting. First, I suggest that you make a
rule to set minimums on players that can be drafted. For instance,
in my leagues we usually have a rule that states that no hitter under
100 AB can be drafted and no pitcher under 20 innings can be drafted.
This appears to be more important regarding hitters, as some hitters
with high powers and low at bats can get an extremely high amount of
homeruns that tilts the league unfair toward players that were
marginal or unimportant in real life. For instance, Geronimo Pena had
9 at bats in 1999 for the Kansas City Royals, and hit 1 home run. Even
with a marginal and fair 4 PWR rating, he could probably hit 75 or
more homeruns if he was given 500 to 600 at bats in a full season,
which is a great reason not to let players like him be drafted.
General Tips:
You generally want to try and draft a roster with at least 10 or 11
pitchers. I usually find 10 to be an optimum number, but sometimes 11
can be necessary. You want to draft 2 catchers, at least 4 starting
pitchers (6 FAT or better), and have at least one or two good left
handed hitters per team. 3 or 4 is even better, but 1 or 2 is
absolutely vital. A team full of right-handed hitters is sure Weaver
death. One closer who is an excellent reliever is necessary. You also
need at least 1 left-handed reliever who is good against left-handed
hitters to get clutch outs against the other teams good left-handed
hitters in the late innings. Also, don't be a bit afraid to platoon
(terminology) players if it means you can get better match ups overall.
It will be rare that you can play a full roster without at least a few
platoon positions. If you are really good at it, you can actually
effectively platoon upto 6 positions, although it isn't recommended
unless you are a Weaver veteran.
Position by position analysis:
Catchers:
Drafting 2 catchers is an optimum number. Your primary starting
catcher should be relatively offensively adept and have an ARM rating
that is at least 4 or 5. Catchers with a 3 ARM or less are incredibly
easy to steal bases against. Catchers with an 8 ARM or higher are
very hard to steal bases against. Your back-up catcher will probably
not be too good, but should have some redeeming quality so that he is
actually occasionally useful. For instance, he could have a good ARM
or be above average against left-handed pitching. Also, catcher is a
good position to platoon (see terminology), especially if you don't
get a top tier catcher. There is usually high position scarcity (see
terminology) at catcher, so this is one position to stay concerned
with. The ARM ranking of Defense is very important for catchers.
1st Base:
Generally there are many good offensive First Basemen available,
including some good power-hitters. What this means is that you can
often afford to gamble a little bit with the first base position,
hoping to get a good quality starting in the later rounds. Be careful
though. You don't want to let great hitters pass you by in earlier
rounds if they are available. Often, the 1B position is a good place
to get DH's from, since there are so many good hitters at first base.
1B is not usually a good position to platoon, but occasionally you can
get two good platoon players at first in the later rounds who are
offensively better as a platoon than a player picked much ealier in the
draft. Defense for 1st Basemen isn't too important, but is nice if you
can get it anyway.
2nd Base:
Second base is more often than not a position at which some teams are
going to get marginal at best players. There often simply are not
enough quality starting second basemen for everyone to get one. This
means you might have to get a second basemen earlier than you would
like sometimes, while there are still better offensive players left at
other positions that are have more quality at them in general. Be
cautious not to jump the gun too much, because you still don't want to
squander a quality upper round pick on a marginal middle round player.
2nd Base is a good position to platoon, especially if you can find
players that excel in OBA versus right handed pitching in the middle
rounds, but are marginal enough in other catagories that they aren't
worth drafting early. Usually there will be a few guys to get against
left-handed pitching in the middle to late rounds, especially if they
are bad against right-handed pitching. Defense is pretty important for
2nd Basemen.
Shortstop:
Much like 2nd base, this position can be hard to fill in later rounds.
It is generally a good idea to scout both 2nd base and Shortstop well
before the draft to see which position is weaker. There are some years
in the late 1990s where an 8 PWR Alex Rodriguez as a SS is far better
than a similar 8 or 9 PWR outfielder because there are so few great
players at SS. Whichever position between SS and 2B that has fewer
good hitters means that each good hitter at that position is relative
worth more because of position scarcity (see terminology). Also a
good position to platoon. Usually there isn't much power at SS, so
catagories like OBA and speed become even more important. Defense is
very important at shortstop, which will become apparent if you draft a
really bad defensive SS.
3rd Base:
Third Base usually has more power hitters than 2B or SS, but often
lacks hitters with high OBA (save for Wade Boggs in late 1980s, early
1990s stats). This is a decent position for hitters in general, but
you can get stuck with quite a stinker if you are not careful (don't
get stuck with Travis Fryman in the late 1990s...he is Weaver death).
If you really want to commit Weaver Blasphemy, just draft a 4 or 5 PWR
right-handed 3rd Basemen with about a .352 OBA and .455 SLG and 110Ks.
There are about one or two of these drafted every time, because they
are usually about the 11th and 12th most attractive 3rd basemen. And
almost exclusively they hit a .300 OBA with a .400 SLG and 160+ Ks,
effectively tanking that line-up spot for a team. 3rd Base is an OK
spot to platoon. If you can get a left-handed good OBA 3rd basemen to
bat 2-hole for your team, it can be better than gold. Defense is fairly
important for 3rd basemen.
Outfield:
Finally there are the 3 outfield spots. There are often alot of very
good hitters in the outfield. Usually I suggest trying to get at least
one really good left-handed hitter in your outfield. Platooning one
outfield spot can also work out very well. There should be plenty of
good outfielders to fill your roster with, offensively speaking. You
should be very careful not to draft outfielders with 2 or 3 ARMs if at
all possible. A 2 ARM Tim Raines toward the end of his career might
have a great .400+ OBA, but your pitching staff will greatly suffer by
all the easy runs and extra base hits his weak arm allows since he can
*never* throw anyone out. A great ARM in the outfield is also a great
help, since Weaver tends to have guys run home *alot* on hits if they
are taking off from second. A good/great ARM in the outfield will lead
to alot of outfield assists, which will greatly help your pitching
staff. RANGE is important too, but doesn't seem to come into play
quite as much, excepting that if you have an exceptional RANGE in one
of your outfielders, then he rob some hitters of home runs by leaping
and putting his glove over the fence to catch balls that other OFer's
couldn't reach. Defense is most important for Center fielders, least
important for Right fielders.
DH:
If you are using the DH rule, you will get to put one extra hitter in
your line up that doesn't have to play in the field. There are often
a few good "DH-only" players who are great hitters. I recommend against
drafting them early, but you can sometimes get a great hitter later
because of his "DH-only" status. Edgar Martinez and Jose Canseco in
the late 1990s are good examples of DH-only players who should
rightfully start. The advantage to drafting such a player is that you
can sometimes get more value out of a draft pick than you otherswise
would (i.e. the player you select is by far the best hitter left in the
draft), but the major disadvantage is that a DH-only hitter can limit
team flexibility overall. First basemen are also often used at DH. I
caution against filling your DH slot too early, since you can usually
get some really good hitters in the later rounds, but starting pitching
can dry up relatively early.
Starting pitching:
Getting a few good starting pitchers is vital to your team. One could
argue that starting pitching is the most important position on your
team. I've seen mediocre offensive teams make the playoffs by having
two dominate starters and a good number 3 and 4 man. It is imperative
that you draft at least four starters. Unlike many newer baseball
games, you can have a four man rotation in EWB, where as you usually
have to have a five man rotation. I suggest that you draft 4 or 5
starters, but use a four man rotation of your best four starters. You
should have at least 1 decent left-handed starter, as some teams will
be very weak against left-handed pitching (this can become extremely
important in the playoffs, as your marginal left-hander in the regular
season can become the difference in a seven game series). If you only
draft 4 starters (remember, pitchers with over a 6 FAT), you should
try and draft at least one long reliever (3-5 FAT) to keep in case one
of your starters gets rocked in a start or injured. You need at least
one guy around for an emergency start. Above all, you absolutely can't
wait forever for starting pitching. If you get stuck with 3 or 4
mid-level starters after the draft, you are going to be in for a long
season and a world of hurt.
Relief pitching:
One closer who is an excellent reliever is necessary. Two or
three is an excellent thing to have (and can occur in Weaver leagues
as there are usually only 12 Weaver teams, but more like 30 real
teams to draft from). You also need at least 1 left-handed reliever
who is good against left-handed hitters to get clutch outs against the
other teams good left-handed hitters in the late innings. If you can
snag two of these, you can really dominate the late innings. Also,
having a right-handed reliever who is better against left-handed
hitting can come in very handy as well.
B. Special Drafting Strategies
This section is devoted to providing alternative strategies for
general drafting. These strategies will show you how to build various
non-traditional teams. This can be a tactic you might want to try if
you are in a league in which certain types of players are always
undervalued, or if you just want to try something different. Note also
that these strategies may not be legal according to your specific
league rules (i.e. some leagues require you to have a certain number of
starting pitchers, or to only play a person out of a qualified position
in an emergency and never as a starter, etc.)
1. The Relievers Orgy:
This strategy is rather strange, but I have seen it executed
effectively. To begin with, the basis of this team is to draft around
12-14 extremely good relievers, with no real starters. This can be an
interesting thing to try in either leagues that undervalue relief
pitchers, or in seasons which there are many bad starting pitchers, but
an excess of good relief pitching. If you are to try this, it is very
imperative that you get good hitters early that can play against both
sides of the plate. You cannot platoon much at all if you try this
strategy, since you must draft more pitchers than normal. Also, try
to get a few 2-3 FAT pitchers that can pitch more than just 1 inning.
I've only seen this tried once, and it worked very well. By the time
it was figured out by other drafters what the person drafting this type
of team was doing, he already had like 7 or 8 relievers, and there were
too many middle range relievers left to keep him from getting them. He
finished second overall in record and fell just a game shy of
reaching the world series in a very close league championship series.
The strategy can only work if there is only one person trying it, and
if it doesn't get snuffed out early. Therefore, it is a risky
strategy, but does has potential for high payoff. Be warned, though,
it could be Weaver death if you end up trying this and get like 4 good
relievers and a bunch of bollocks to fill out your pitching staff with.
2. Ignore Positions:
This strategy is when you pick the best hitters left, irrespective of
their positions. The general effect of this strategy is that you will
end up with alot of 1B and OF, and a really bad defense. I once saw a
guy who drafted and started four 1B in his infield. He had the 2nd
most home runs in the league, but finished under .500 and out of the
playoffs because he gave up so many errors and extra hits because of
his bad defense. A more moderate variation on this is to draft one
or two players out of position that are really good defense players in
general. For instance, you might draft J.T. Snow as a 1B and play him
at SS or 2B in some late 1990s seasons. While he does commit more
errors than normal, it is actually better since his offense against
right handed pitching is often better than the lesser SS and 2B
players.
3. All out for starting pitching:
This strategy is to get four really good starting pitchers really early
in the draft. This can actually be a good strategy in general, as
good pitching tends to be harder to come by than good hitting
(especially if you are playing with real stats from the 1990s). One
problem with this strategy is that it tends to be snuffed out as soon
as you get your 2nd great starter, and almost always if you get 3
starting pitchers with your first 3 picks. This can cause a run on
starting pitching, which can defeat the whole purpose if you have to
draft a mid-level starter for your 4th pitcher. However, if you can
nab 2 great starters and then start a run on starting pitcher, this can
work to your advantage too, since you can get some really good hitters
while everyone else is panicking over starting pitching...and still
have 2 great starters that will be better than most other teams.
4. Great OBA
This strategy is best suited for leagues that over-value POWER and HRs,
and undervalue OBA, but can be used at any time. The basis of this
strategy is to attempt to get high OBA players at all positions. This
means that you will probably have to draft some positions earlier than
you might otherwise (C, 2B, SS, 3B) and let some good hitters go to
other teams in (1B, OF), since you can still get good OBA hitters in
these positions later. Remember, it is still vital to get good
pitching if you do this, because no matter how much you get on base, a
team with 4 medium to bad starters is going to get pounded.
C. How to Draft with the Commissioner's Disk
To begin with, you will need the Commissioner's Disk software for the
EWB 1.5. If you have this, open up the software (usually stattool.exe)
and you will see a "Draft A League" option at the bottom of the screen.
You will want to have created a league before performing this option.
You can do this either here in the Commissioner's Disk or in the main
EWB program. To do it here, select create new league. Enter in the
new path for the new league. Then edit the league and team information
to be as you wish. Now, go to "draft a league". This brings up a
screen where you are given select draft order and draft type, as well
as set the number of players per team. Set all three of these numbers
to 25. Set the "source" path to the directory which has the stats of
teams you will be drafting from, and set the "Destination" path (F6)
to the directory which is your newly created league (note: doing this
in post Windows 3.11 will cause problems...blah, there is a possible
way to do this in Windows 95/98/2000/XP, but it is a pain, and
will be address this in Part VI E and in the "problems with Windows"
section). You can pick to have either a regular or bid draft. 0
With a bid draft, each team gets a certain amount of money to spend,
and players are brought up to be bid on. Teams must bid a minimum of
$1 (as a standard) with no maximum, other than the fact that teams
must fill out there 25 man roster without going over budget. A team
owner is arbitarily picked to start the bidding. He/She brings up a
name and a price and the bidding begins. The highest bidder gets the
player. The next owner introduces another player and the process
continues until all teams have 25 players. The regular draft (which
you will probably use more often) has 25 rounds. Each team gets one
pick per round. Order of picking can be either Same each round,
reverse order each round, or random. I prefer random, though reverse
order each round tends to be most fair, except that the teams with back
to back picks tend to have some advantage. Same each round is a bad
idea, unless you have a mixed league of veterans and newbies, in which
you might want to give the newbies early round picks each time (okay,
it is *still* a bad idea). With this type you just have whomever goes
first start and you keep picking until all teams have 25 players.
D. How to Draft without the Commissioner's Disk
Okay, so you don't have the Commissioner's Disk. Create your new
league in the commissioner (F10) part of the main menu of the EWB
program. Create your new teams/league data here. Either copy ball
parks with the "Copy one ball park option" or through copying the
"parks.dat" file from the main stats directory to the directory with
your new league data. Now, do a draft on pen and paper with your
league (yes, I'm sorry but that is part of it). Go to the General
Manager part of EWB (F6) and clone players (F7) from the original teams
in the year you are drafting from to the teams they are supposed to be
on in the newly created league. Continue to do this until all teams
are filled. Yes, it is a boring process, but does the job. Also, if
you try this with Windows 95/98/2000/XP, it won't work, which is why
you need to look into the next section.
E. How to Draft in Windows 95/98/2000/XP
If you delve into the following and it doesn't make sense, go and read
the "Problems with Windows" section. That should help explain it some.
This is pain, sorta. The main issue is that you can't use the set path
function (i.e. switch directories) in either EWB or the commissioner's
disk without it making an error. There is no way to fix this, but
there is a way to work around it. For drafting, you will have to
conduct a draft in such a manner so that the source and destination
files are the same. First of all, there are a few things you can do to
make this possible. This suggestions takes time. First, copy a folder
with the real stats to a new directory in windows. Change the name of
the directory (just to prevent confusion). Now copy all of the game
files (graphics file, the program itself) to this newly created
directory. Be careful to NOT copy stat files, because you don't want
to save over the stats files with the old-timers stats. Just copy in
the actual game flies (as well as the stattool if you have it). Now
go into the EWB game, and edit teams so that one league is called
"draftees" and that the other league is called whatever you want your
new league to be called. In the "draftees" league, rename all the
teams either numbers or letters (1-16, A-P). Then go through and trade
all the draft worthy players to teams in the "draftees" league and
delete the other players. Then start a draft with one of the above two
methods (this does limit your overall possible teams to 16, but since
8-12 teams per league is standard, this shouldn't be a problem). Other
possibilities are that you just simply choose to only draft from one
league (AL or NL), or you just simply draft using the same source and
destination folders (you still need to create a separate folder for
this to not screw up the real teams/stats on the original stats). If
you only want to draft from either the AL or NL of a certain year (not
a bad idea, btw), you simply need to copy the stat directory (with game
files, of course) and then change the team/league data for the league
you don't want to play with, changing the data into your league's team
and league names. Then you can draft using either the Commissioner's
disk or EWB game without having to switch directories via "set path".
You can also try and just draft on the commissioners disk, using the
source file as the same destination disk, only drafting for as many
teams as you want to, and changing the team name data. This will get
the players you want on the teams you want through the draft, but any
players not drafted on the teams you alter will now be gone and the
players you draft that were not on the teams you alter will still be
on their original teams. If your league doesn't allow you to have
reserves or injuries roster replacements, this doesn't matter at all,
so you can actually save yourself a great deal of time if this is the
case by drafting this way.
Part VII General Game Strategy
So you finally have your league drafted and are ready to play with your
own team. Here is some general stategy to help.
A. Line-ups
Selecting a good line-up is generally very important. Your line-up
has nine players, with all 8 defensive positions being filled and
another spot for either a DH or pitcher, depending upon whether or not
you play with a DH (you should, it is more fun). I'm going to assume
you play with a DH, and thus have nine real hitters. First, you make
sure that the first 3 batters of your line-up have a relatively high
OBA. Generally, having speed in the top spot is good, but having a guy
with high OBA and low speed is better than a guy with great speed and
a low OBA. Having power in the 3-hole (3rd hitter) is nice too, but
OBA is very important. You want to have good sluggers at spots 4-6, to
drive in those hitters who are always getting on base for you in the
1-3 spots. Power isn't the only attribute here, but it is an important
one. Often you want your best power hitter hitting clean up (4th
hitter), but having him hit 3rd or 5th is sometimes okay too,
especially in the 3-hole if they have a high OBA and in the 5-hole if
they have a mediocre OBA. Good OBA in the middle of the line-up is
also quite important, and sometimes if you a good power hitter with a
subpar OBA, you will want to bat him lower in the line-up, like 7th or
8th. The 7-9 spots of your line-up are reserved for your worst hitters
overall. You generally want to put your worst hitter last, but
sometimes you might put a guy who is a little better of a contact
hitter/OBA guy in the 9 hole and put a power hitter with strikeouts in
the 8-hole who has a low OBA. This is so that the 9-hole hitter can
more often start something in front of the high OBA 1-3 hitters, while
the power hitter can more often drive guys in (or strikeout, thus not
having a Double Play) from the 8-hole. Of course, if you are a really
good drafter, you might have good hitters up and down the lineup, but
you should still follow the general suggestions. In addition, you want
to make sure to have a few left-handed bats in your starting line-up
against most right-handed pitching. Having at least 1 or 2 left-handed
power hitters is very important for winning alot of the time.
Starting pitching:
You want to have 4 or 5 starters per team, with a FAT above 6. You
should try and get atleast one left-handed starter who is a quality
pitcher. Getting starters with low control can kill your team in the
long run. In the game, you should stick with your starters as long as
they are throwing well, but stay sensitive to pitch counts. Also,
don't be afraid to do conference calls, but realize that 2 conference
calls in one inning means that you have to take your pitcher out. I
recommend doing a conference call in clutch situations or if your
pitcher walks two batters to begin an inning (which is also a good sign
to get the bullpen working.
Bullpen:
You want to manage your bullpen wisely. Have atleast one good closer,
and try to snag one good 2 or 3 FAT reliever. Having a pitcher who is
right-handed and good against left-handed hitting helps, as does having
one left-handed pitcher who is good against right handed hitting. They
tend to have many situations in which they are at an advantage. Having
one left-handed pitcher who is good against left-handed hitting is
vital for late innning match-ups, to either face the other teams best
left-handed hitter or make the other manager pinch hit for him. In
game, you want to make sure to get your bullpen guys on ready "Rdy"
before putting them in. Also, try not to overuse your relievers, and
do all you can to not put in your closer until the 9th inning. Also,
don't waste your closer in a game that you are clearly going to lose.
Part VIII Problems with Windows 95/98/2000/XP
The fatal flaw of EWB is that the "set path" function in the game isn't
compatable with Windows 95/98/2000/XP. This is truly unfortunate. As
follows are a few ideas to try and get around this.
First, when you put weaver on your machine, you need to copy the files
that run the game (i.e. the graphics, application files, etc.) into
*each* folder where you keep stats. This means that if you want a new
season, create a new directory, copy all the files that run the game
into this new directory, and then copy the stats of the year you want
your new season to be drafted from (more on drafting later). For
example, if I wanted to play a season using 1998 season data that I
have, I would create a new directory, copy all the regular game files
(not counting stats) from the main weaver directory, then copy the
1998 season data files (parks.dat, players.dat, leagname.dat) into the
new directory as well. Then go to the newly created directory, and
click on either the "weaver" application file or the ewb batch file (if
you have it). This will then bring up the game, with the 1998 stats
in that folder. If you just want to play with real teams, just play
and save as normal, never switching directories through the "set path"
function.
**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE**
If you are going to do this, DON'T replace your data files by accident!
This can accidently do this if you simply hit copy and paste of all the
files. This should be avoidable because you should get a prompt asking
you to override the data files if you accidently try to replace season
data files. One way to help this is to make a folder called
"gamefiles" in which you put all the game files in except for
players.dat, parks.dat, and leagname.dat. Then you can copy all these
files (the files, not the folder itself) into your newly created
directories for new leagues.
Now if you want to draft in Windows 95/98/2000/XP, it is as follows
(copied from above incase you want to print out just Part VIII):
How to Draft in Windows 95/98/2000/XP
If you delve into the following and it doesn't make sense, go and read
the "Problems with Windows" section. That should help explain it some.
This is pain, sorta. The main issue is that you can't use the set path
function (i.e. switch directories) in either EWB or the commissioner's
disk without it making an error. There is no way to fix this, but
there is a way to work around it. For drafting, you will have to
conduct a draft in such a manner so that the source and destination
files are the same. First of all, there are a few things you can do to
make this possible. This suggestions takes time. First, copy a folder
with the real stats to a new directory in windows. Change the name of
the directory (just to prevent confusion). Now copy all of the game
files (graphics file, the program itself) to this newly created
directory. Be careful to NOT copy stat files, because you don't want
to save over the stats files with the old-timers stats. Just copy in
the actual game flies (as well as the stattool if you have it). Now
go into the EWB game, and edit teams so that one league is called
"draftees" and that the other league is called whatever you want your
new league to be called. In the "draftees" league, rename all the
teams either numbers or letters (1-16, A-P). Then go through and trade
all the draft worthy players to teams in the "draftees" league and
delete the other players. Then start a draft with one of the above two
methods (this does limit your overall possible teams to 16, but since
8-12 teams per league is standard, this shouldn't be a problem). Other
possibilities are that you just simply choose to only draft from one
league (AL or NL), or you just simply draft using the same source and
destination folders (you still need to create a separate folder for
this to not screw up the real teams/stats on the original stats). If
you only want to draft from either the AL or NL of a certain year (not
a bad idea, btw), you simply need to copy the stat directory (with game
files, of course) and then change the team/league data for the league
you don't want to play with, changing the data into your league's team
and league names. Then you can draft using either the Commissioner's
disk or EWB game without having to switch directories via "set path".
You can also try and just draft on the commissioners disk, using the
source file as the same destination disk, only drafting for as many
teams as you want to, and changing the team name data. This will get
the players you want on the teams you want through the draft, but any
players not drafted on the teams you alter will now be gone and the
players you draft that were not on the teams you alter will still be
on their original teams. If your league doesn't allow you to have
reserves or injuries roster replacements, this doesn't matter at all,
so you can actually save yourself a great deal of time if this is the
case by drafting this way.
Hopefully the above information can make it so you can effectively play
EWB in Window 95/98/2000/XP.
Part IX Passwords
Without the right batch file, EWB requires passwords in order to play.
They are as follows, with the second number being one to try if the
first number doesn't work (my printed wheel is hard to read in spots,
and I have the batch file so these aren't tested yet). This might not
be all of them, but should be enough to get you playing. Also, you can
download the wheel for these from:
Dugout: 6168
Upper Deck: 6154
Right Field: 44638 (44680)
Reserved: 66694
Grandstand: 37820
Lower Deck: 60454
Left Field: 320527
Luxury Box: 113086 (could be off)
Bleacher: 538435 (598435)
Part X Terminology
Accumulated stats: As you play games, you can save stats if you wish.
As you save games, stats of your players accumulate based on their
performance, giving them accumulated stats.
Commissioner's disk: This is additional software produced to be used
with EWB 1.5. With the commissioner's disk, you have more options on
some things (such as variable for creating ball parks and displaying
stats).
Platoon: To platoon players means that you have two players that start
at one position for your team based on what starting pitcher you face.
For instance, you might have a 1B who is really great against
right-handed pitching, but is terrible against left-handed pitching. So
you get a second 1B player who hits well against left-handed pitching
to start against left-handed pitchers. This is a platoon. Generally
platoon players excel against either righties or lefties but are not
good against the other side.
Position Scarcity: Position scarcity is when there are less good
players at a position than there are teams drafting in a draft. Often
this occurs at 2B, SS, and C. The less good players per position, the
higher the position scarcity.
Real Stats: Real stats are their actual stats from real data, that are
not based on their performance in EWB, but rather on the data that is
entered in for them.
Split Stats: Split stats are their stats for VsL and VsR. For hitters,
this means stats versus right and left handed pitchers, and vice versa
for pitchers. This are often hard to find when making stats.
Stattool: See Commissioner's disk
Total Stats: These are just the players total stats, irrespective of
how they did versus right and left-handed opposition.
Weaver game: This is a simulated game where both teams are run by the
computer.
Weaver wheel: This wheel has all the passwords you will need for EWB.
Download at:
http://www.demystifier.org/ewb/ewbpics.html
Part XI Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Where can I buy this game or stats?
A1. Unfortunately, no where, unless you find it by chance. You can,
however, find stats online at a few sites, which is legal to download
according to www.dombrower.com/EWBSupport/, a website owned by the
maker of the game.
Q2. Stats, I need stats! Where can I go?
A2. Good stats are by far the hardest thing to come by. Here is some
help:
Q3. I tried playing this game and kept getting a "stats not found"
error when I tried to set path. Why is this?
A3. Check the "Problems with Windows" section of this FAQ.
Q4. How can you play this game, the graphics are so old looking?
A4. Die.
Q5. That game is so old! Ha, ha, you still play it.
A5. See Answer 4.
Q6. Aaaagghhh! I finally found this old game after many years but
don't have the password wheel. What can I do?
The wheel can be found at:
http://www.demystifier.org/ewb/ewbpics.html
Also, there is a passwords section of this FAQ you can check out.
Q7. Is there a sequel to this game?
A7. Yes, Earl Weaver Baseball II. It was not as popular as the
original, and most people didn't like it nearly as much.
Q8. Stats not found? What the spank do you mean stats not found?
A8. Again, look at the "Problems with Windows" section of this FAQ.
Q9. You told me that this game would be fun, but it was so STUPID and
the graphics and sounds were all old and crappy. I hate you.
A9. Refer to Answer 4.
Q10. Is there any way I can simulate games faster than actually having
them run at super speed?
A10. Yes, if you open the game in DOS. Look at the DOS Instructions of
this site for more information. There is a fast stats mode, and ways
to skip several games in a row....still too long for simualation, but
better than the alternative.
Q11. I downloaded this game from a commercial site online and now I can
get it to work. There are graphical errors (or) the game will never end.
Is there any place I can get this game from..I am willing to buy it if I
can find it from a legitimate source.
A11. Unfortunately this game is hard to find for sell. When you do it
will probably be cheap, but it is still not an easy task. Places like Ebay
are probably your best bet to find it for sell. Personally, I suggest you
check out my website to download the game and stats. I have a "clean" version
of the game on my site and it should work on any operating system (look
elsewhere in the FAQ if you have problems on 95/98/XP). As the game is no
longer for sale anywhere, I don't see the harm in making it available for
the few faithful fans who still want to play.
http://www.demystifier.org/ewb/weaver.htm
Part XII Copyright
Feel free to post this on your site, in part or whole, as long as you
give credit to Demystifier (the_demystifier@hotmail.com). Please don't
link to the text file on GameFAQs, however.
Part XIII Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Eddie Dombrower for making such a great game,
Electronic Arts for producing it, Earl Weaver for being such a
fiery and great manager who lent his name to the game, and my older
brothers who introduced me to EWB when I was around 10, as well as my
friends who have played in leagues against me over the years (even
though we haven't had any leagues in a few years now).
Part XIV Version History
Version 1.00 (2/11/2003)
- Primary FAQ completed, with limited terminology section. Posted the
bulk of everything that will ever be posted on this FAQ
Version 1.01 (3/18/2003)
- Updated some of the links on the FAQ, as I have redesigned my site
in such a way so that the earlier links no longer work.
- Added a "Suggestions for your league" to Part VI Drafting.
Version 1.02 (5/31/2005)
- Updated my links as my old site is no more. Hopefully my new site will
be permanent and up for many years.
