In this era of online streaming and YouTube stars, it’s only natural that some enterprising OOTP fans would bring their love of the game to that part of the Internet. Ian Vogt, who runs the Strait Outta Boston YouTube channel, is a prime example of that: He’s a baseball fan who cut his teeth on the MLB The Show and MLB 2K series before turning to OOTP for “a more realistic baseball experience,” as he says. (You can also follow him on Twitter.)
“I started posting YouTube videos in July, 2012,” Vogt recalls. “I had always enjoyed playing sports games like MLB the Show and NBA 2K when I was younger, and found YouTube to be a great way of sharing not only my gaming experiences, but also my knowledge of sports, something I had never really been able to share before.”
When he discovered OOTP, he added that to the video rotation on his channel. “The most attractive part of OOTP to me is the realism,” he says. “The attention to detail for every transactional rule in baseball is astounding, unlike any other game of any other sport I have played. My mind races day in and day out with fake trades and pretend plans for rebuilding and retooling MLB teams, and OOTP provides the best outlet for those thoughts.”
He adds: “I continue to play OOTP because there is no better way to play out my ideas and scenarios for rebuilding baseball teams past and present. OOTP is as realistic and as in-depth as it gets when it comes to baseball simulation, and that is enough to keep me coming back for a long time.”
A 2019 ALCS to Rival Many Real-Life Classics
Asked for his favorite OOTP experience, Vogt replies: “My 2019 playoff run with the Houston Astros has definitely been my craziest OOTP experience yet, highlighted by the crazy ALCS. Facing the Minnesota Twins, a team I had lost to in to in each of the previous 2 AL Championship Series, I came back from down 3-2 in the series to win it in seven.”
He elaborates: “In Game 6, with our backs against the wall, down 7-6 heading into the 9th, pinch-hitter Alexander Guerrero drives in Dee Gordon to tie the game, and then Carlos Correa wins it in the 11th with a walk-off walk.” (The video embedded below begins at that crucial moment.)
“In Game 7,” Vogt says, “Houston again has to come back in the 9th, this time down 5-2. It starts with back-to-back one-out solo HRs from Kris Bryant and Justin Williams. The next batter, Ivan Alatorre, gets hit by a pitch, charges the mound, is ejected from the game, and replaced by Dee Gordon.
“Gordon gets caught stealing, and with 2 outs, for the second night in a row, Alexander Guerrero pinch hits for starting catcher Russell Martin, and this time he leaves the yard with a solo HR that ties the game at 5. The game continues until the bottom of the 14th, when Justin Williams gets a bases loaded walk-off single to win the game and the series.” (The video embedded below begins with the ninth inning of Game 7.)
Vogt adds that in his next series of OOTP videos, he expanded the majors to 32 teams, with the Expos returning to Montreal and Portland adding the Mavericks. He says: “I decided to use an expansion team for my 2nd series to further challenge GM and rebuilding skills by trying to put myself in the hardest situation possible.”
A Lifelong Baseball Fan
Vogt has been a fan of the sport, and the Boston Red Sox, since attending a game at Fenway Park in 2002. “Since that day,” he says, “I’ve been a die hard Red Sox fan, usually attending 10-ish games a year with friends and family, and watching most of the rest on television. I’m not sure what attracted me to the sport in the first place, but it has been my biggest passion in life ever since that first game.”
