My style of play is managing every inning of every game. My review is based on that style and not on a long term 50 t0 100 year save.

Three patches in (v .52) and OOTP 27 is the best to date. I imported my v26 game at the start of the off-season and have played through that, spring training, and 30 games of my first season.

The new advanced stats along with the redesigned player card to show them is a great addition. More information at a glance to judge the player's abilities and output, with a lot more depth to dig into those stats just a click/screen away.

3d played out games have been improved with more and better animations. The annoying "trailing runner thrown out at 2b" is no more. Diving plays have been tempered to more realistic levels. The camera following the ball has been much improved. It still loses the ball at times, but the instances of that happening have been greatly reduced.

New player models are a big upgrade and looking much better on field. The new detain in the jersey textures just pop. Catcher's gear is also much improved. Batting helmets now have logos and the double ear flap model has been replaced with a single flap.


The biggest problem in OOTP 26 was player churn ie sign/release had become out of control. OOTP 27's latest build has fixed that. No more "Joe Minot-Leaguer" being signed and released multiple times.

The big drawback to OOTP, and this has been going on for a few versions, is the inflated ratings (the players aren't this good, but are only "seen" that way by the scouts) of the draft classes. Eleven 80 overall rated players in my draft when IRL there would be none. This was done to keep the draft "fun" as having to sort through a lot of players all rated 45-60 is "too tedious". Keep in mind these players have almost zero chance of reaching these skill levels. They are just "seen" going into the draft as being supermen, only to fall to their actual ratings shortly after the draft. Once this "regression by design" has occurred that actual talent of the draft ends up being pretty realistic. IE you don't end up with a league full of Bonds, Ohtani, Clemens, or Ryan. It is a bad design decision, that leads to user complaints like "how come my star drafted players never develop?", which makes OOTP look bad IMHO.

There has been a discussion on the OOTP boards pushing back against these inflated draft ratings which I hope leads to a change in direction towards a more realistic draft pool. At the end of the day this is an "eye sore" that one has to mentally account for when drafting but ultimately doesn't affect the over all talent in your game.

Even with this shortcoming in the draft I still believe OOTP 27 is the best baseball simulator on the market and well worth the money.

What's the best simulation for baseball fanatics?

APBA? Strat-o-Matic? The Show (lol)?

None of those. It's Out of the Park.

Not worth the money. Zero skill. Hit swing away and the computer decides what happens. Literally unable to improve players and feel like you have any chance of controlling the outcome.