MLB 10: The Show

[johnnyshaka]

I'm using the Rookie setting for hitting because since it's my first time playing the game...I'M A ROOKIE!!!

I figure once I get the timing down then I can start worrying about location and all the rest of it.

Like Sun Tzu suggested, watching a pitch or two never hurts (still no walks yet...lol) unless you've guessed everything correctly then you better get your trigger finger ready!!

[gi]

My brain tells me it's a ball, my fingers just want to press buttons....taking me a long time to get the timing down.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by gi

My brain tells me it's a ball, my fingers just want to press buttons....taking me a long time to get the timing down.

I know the feeling. I eventually dropped back down to Veteran hitting and am doing a bit better now - I guess in relation to the Phillies' offensive woes of late, I'm actually doing well.

[MikeVic]

I played a few games in my hitter's RTTS career. I struck out slightly less than half the time (which is an improvement, trust me) and even had a 2-for-5 game with 3 RBIs. This will take a lot of work.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I played a few games in my hitter's RTTS career. I struck out slightly less than half the time (which is an improvement, trust me) and even had a 2-for-5 game with 3 RBIs. This will take a lot of work.

Out of curiosity, are you primarily using the power swing (square button) or the contact swing (x button)?

On rookie there is no power swing option so that takes out another variable that can complicate the situation but, I guess the trade off is that I'm currently batting .300, with only 4 extra base hits out of 20 or so hits...all of them being doubles.

Finally ran through the base running training session and man, is it ever tough to steal...yikes!! I haven't focused much on speed (essentially maintaining what I started out with) but even with great speed, do you need to take that second step leading off AND get a better than average jump on the pitcher to make it? Also, I'm wondering if changing the steal button from L2 to, say L1, might help as the L2, for me at least, seems like it takes a bit more pressure to depress fully whereas L1 seems much easier...am I overthinking this a little too much?!

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Out of curiosity, are you primarily using the power swing (square button) or the contact swing (x button)?

On rookie there is no power swing option so that takes out another variable that can complicate the situation but, I guess the trade off is that I'm currently batting .300, with only 4 extra base hits out of 20 or so hits...all of them being doubles.

Finally ran through the base running training session and man, is it ever tough to steal...yikes!! I haven't focused much on speed (essentially maintaining what I started out with) but even with great speed, do you need to take that second step leading off AND get a better than average jump on the pitcher to make it? Also, I'm wondering if changing the steal button from L2 to, say L1, might help as the L2, for me at least, seems like it takes a bit more pressure to depress fully whereas L1 seems much easier...am I overthinking this a little too much?!

I'm primarily using the contact swing button. I tweaked the sliders to ones I found on the OS forums, and even with stealing being set to be easier, I find I need a good jump. I use the analog stick to steal as well. I find if I take an aggressive lead, I get picked off too often. Right now I'm 4/8 in stolen bases.

[Sun Tzu]

The whole choice between power and contact is very important IMO, especially if you guess right on pitch and location. If lowering the settings to rookie gets you hitting as high as .300 in your first year in AA, you've made it too easy. It's supposed to be difficult to do well as a hitter starting out.

As far as stealing goes, MLB 10 is extremely difficult compares to MLB 09. You need speed & baserunning in the 80's combined with a good jump to be able to steal often. Again, if you're stealing all the time with ease in the minors (or really doing anything with easy in the minors) starting out, then you've adjusted the settings too far in the easy direction. This game is all about patience and dedication. As your stick skills improve, so will your player. It's much more rewarding when you've had the difficulty up on Veteran or All-Star throughout the entire journey and you're hitting .300 in the bigs with solid all around numbers.

[johnnyshaka]

I hear ya, Sun Tzu, and, just for the record, I'm using Rookie for hitting but have turned off pitch guessing altogether...really, all I do is hit the X button and hope I hit it where they ain't. So, pretty much any contact I do make results in the odd liner, an easy popup, a routine grounder, or a seeing eye single. At this point, timing and trying to pickup the speed and trajectory of the ball seems more important. Why muddle everything with trying to guess what and where the next pitch is going to be as well as deciding if I should swing for the fences or not? Like I said, with a slugging percentage a mere 40 points higher than my average and an on-base percentage exactly the same as my average, I hardly feel like I'm cheezing out...but maybe that's just me.

Actually, the more I think about it, wouldn't my approach be more realistic if we were to compare it to "real life" baseball? I would think a "AA" ball batting coach would have his rookies work on making solid contact and trying to get a feel for the strike zone before anything else, right? Especially considering that my RTTS player has little to average power, why even bother trying to swing for the fences when the ideal payoff, a homer, will happen so rarely while striking out and not making good contact will happen even more? Just a thought...

My guess is that I've been the recipient of plenty of good dice rolls and expect to regress back below .300 rather quickly.

I haven't dialed down any other settings with regards to fielding or base running. I've fielded so-so to this point but still haven't got the timing down to dive for a ball heaven help when I try to jump for a liner over my head...LOL!! Base running has been brutal so I've strictly been a station to station runner over the last month or so and have only tried stealing once and was caught rather easily.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

I hear ya, Sun Tzu, and, just for the record, I'm using Rookie for hitting but have turned off pitch guessing altogether...really, all I do is hit the X button and hope I hit it where they ain't. So, pretty much any contact I do make results in the odd liner, an easy popup, a routine grounder, or a seeing eye single. At this point, timing and trying to pickup the speed and trajectory of the ball seems more important. Why muddle everything with trying to guess what and where the next pitch is going to be as well as deciding if I should swing for the fences or not? Like I said, with a slugging percentage a mere 40 points higher than my average and an on-base percentage exactly the same as my average, I hardly feel like I'm cheezing out...but maybe that's just me.

Actually, the more I think about it, wouldn't my approach be more realistic if we were to compare it to "real life" baseball? I would think a "AA" ball batting coach would have his rookies work on making solid contact and trying to get a feel for the strike zone before anything else, right? Especially considering that my RTTS player has little to average power, why even bother trying to swing for the fences when the ideal payoff, a homer, will happen so rarely while striking out and not making good contact will happen even more? Just a thought...

My guess is that I've been the recipient of plenty of good dice rolls and expect to regress back below .300 rather quickly.

I haven't dialed down any other settings with regards to fielding or base running. I've fielded so-so to this point but still haven't got the timing down to dive for a ball heaven help when I try to jump for a liner over my head...LOL!! Base running has been brutal so I've strictly been a station to station runner over the last month or so and have only tried stealing once and was caught rather easily.

Well, if you've signed a professional contract, you should already have a good feel for the strike zone . What separates the big boys from the guys who muddle around is the ability to be patient at the plate, see the ball/pitch type out of the pitchers hand, have a quick bat/still head, and above all else be consistent. I've been lucky enough to have been able to chat it up with a healthy amount of former ball players. Apparently the talent level between the guys in the minors and majors is minimal at most. The biggest difference they say is the ability to perform at a high level on a day in and day out basis. Anyways...

The power swing in MLB 10 isn't necessarily about swinging for the fences, at least IMO. I feel like a ground ball is more likely to squirt through the infield with a power swing, whereas a contact swing will result in more bloops and standard 150-175 foot singles. Again, just my opinion. I love the "perfect slider" set on OS on All-Star settings. I know I didn't hit above .250 my first three years in the minors, including probably a 1/3 or 1/4 at bat to strikeout ratio. Hell I still strike out about once every 5 or 6 at bats. Toward the end of my third year I started getting a good eye on every kind of pitch, plus my ratings had increased to the point where I didn't have to be perfect every time.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Well, if you've signed a professional contract, you should already have a good feel for the strike zone . What separates the big boys from the guys who muddle around is the ability to be patient at the plate, see the ball/pitch type out of the pitchers hand, have a quick bat/still head, and above all else be consistent. I've been lucky enough to have been able to chat it up with a healthy amount of former ball players. Apparently the talent level between the guys in the minors and majors is minimal at most. The biggest difference they say is the ability to perform at a high level on a day in and day out basis. Anyways...

Hold on here...pro contract or not, not everybody has a feel for the strike zone and some never will. There are plenty of MLB players who strike out way too often and plenty who don't walk nearly enough. Besides, the strike zone that an 18-year old kid is used to in HS is probably a lot different than the one he'll face in "AA" ball. Add to that the fact that he'll be facing much better pitching than he's used to and no more lightning rods for bats, either. High school kids jumping into "AA" ball is not a common occurrence and a leap like that is only reserved for the cream of the crop...not like our rookie RTTS player.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I love the "perfect slider" set on OS on All-Star settings.

What kind of tweaks does the set include?

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Hold on here...pro contract or not, not everybody has a feel for the strike zone and some never will. There are plenty of MLB players who strike out way too often and plenty who don't walk nearly enough. Besides, the strike zone that an 18-year old kid is used to in HS is probably a lot different than the one he'll face in "AA" ball. Add to that the fact that he'll be facing much better pitching than he's used to and no more lightning rods for bats, either. High school kids jumping into "AA" ball is not a common occurrence and a leap like that is only reserved for the cream of the crop...not like our rookie RTTS player.



What kind of tweaks does the set include?

I never said high school kids jumped into AA ball, or anything close to that. A guy who strikes out a lot in the bigs isn't doing so because he doesn't have a good feel for the strike zone, it's because he's either waving at balls out of the zone or isn't seeing the ball well. Mark Reynolds doesn't strike out 200+ times every year looking, he whiffs on movement and offspeed stuff when he was looking fastball. A feel for the strike zone is something you develop in little league and make minimal adjustments along the way. It's not something you gain while playing professional baseball. You're just flat out not going to find anybody playing ball above bush leagues who doesn't have a good feel for the strike zone.

Here is the set I play with...

USER

Contact: DEFAULT
Power: DEFAULT
Timing: DEFAULT
Fouls: DEFAULT
Solid Hits: 2 (I leave it at DEFAULT)
Starter Stamina: DEFAULT
Reliever Stamina: 3
Pitcher Control: 5
Pitcher Consistency: 6

CPU

Contact: DEFAULT
Power: DEFAULT
Timing: DEFAULT
Fouls: DEFAULT
Solid Hits: 2
Starter Stamina: DEFAULT
Reliever Stamina: 3
Pitcher Control: 5
Pitcher Consistency: 6
Strike Frequency: 3
Manager Hook: DEFAULT
Pickoffs: DEFAULT

GLOBAL

Pitch Speed: DEFAULT
Fielding Errors: DEFAULT
Throwing Errors: DEFAULT
Fielder Run Speed: 1
Fielder Reaction: 10
Fielder Arm Strength: 3
Baserunner Speed: DEFAULT
Baserunner Steal Ability: DEFAULT
Baserunner Steal Frequency: DEFAULT
Wind: DEFAULT
Injury Frequency: 3

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Hmmm...might be a good idea to trade in this year's version for last year's then?

There really aren't many differences in the RTTS from last year to this year (outside of this years being real buggy). You can get last years for dirt cheap too and a decent price for this years.

[Sun Tzu]

Yeah...I'm kind of wishing I could go back on my word about this years game. I'm disappointed in the amount of unfixed bugs that were left in there. The whole idea that anyone who wants to play a franchise has to use full 30 team control to prevent every team from going broke by 2014 is ridiculous. Plus in RTTS every team has a whole staff of young Tim Lincecum rated pitchers, but shitbirds up and down the lineup. Last night I put MLB 10 away and popped MLB 09 back into the PS3. I played about 3 weeks worth of games with my 3B and the RTTS felt absolutely identical. The shading and graphics are slightly better in the new version, but they were stellar in the old version as it was.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I never said high school kids jumped into AA ball, or anything close to that. A guy who strikes out a lot in the bigs isn't doing so because he doesn't have a good feel for the strike zone, it's because he's either waving at balls out of the zone or isn't seeing the ball well. Mark Reynolds doesn't strike out 200+ times every year looking, he whiffs on movement and offspeed stuff when he was looking fastball. A feel for the strike zone is something you develop in little league and make minimal adjustments along the way. It's not something you gain while playing professional baseball. You're just flat out not going to find anybody playing ball above bush leagues who doesn't have a good feel for the strike zone.

Well, aren't we talking about our RTTS players here...18-year old rookies who are starting out in AA ball?

Maybe "a feel for the strike zone" isn't the right expression...perhaps plate discipline would be more appropriate...my bad.

That settles it...I'm going to hit EB Games in the next day or two and see what '09 goes for and see what my trade in for '10 will be.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

That settles it...I'm going to hit EB Games in the next day or two and see what '09 goes for and see what my trade in for '10 will be.

Just as a heads up, you can still get $30-$40 for the game on Ebay. I'm assuming you have the PS3 version and not the PS2 version yes?

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Just as a heads up, you can still get $30-$40 for the game on Ebay. I'm assuming you have the PS3 version and not the PS2 version yes?

Yes, PS3.

So sounds like I'd be doing a straight across trade for last year's version? LOL

I just might hang onto the new one just in case they do decide to put a fix out and go back to playing Little Big Planet...that is probably the sensible thing to do.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

...just in case they do decide to put a fix out ...

Not to squash all hope here...but this is directly quoted from the SCEA dev team after releasing the last patch.

As always, thank you for your support and patience. Enjoy the season!

- MLB The Show Dev Team

P.S. This is the last game update for MLB 10 as we turn our attention 100% towards development of MLB '11.

Sorry man. It's definitely not getting fixed. For me it really just boils down to long term playability as I expect to play this thing damn near every day until '11 comes out. With the current bug it sounds like 80% of the quality players will just waste away in the FA pool.

[johnnyshaka]

Fair enough...thanks, ST.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Fair enough...thanks, ST.

No problem mang. Just so everybody has a decent idea of what the FA pool looks like, I'll post a couple screen shots of who I saw in my RTTS career after I'm done working.

[johnnyshaka]

Made a trade straight across for a new '09 for my '10...rather surprised.

I know this is the '10 thread, but Sun Tzu, have you mucked with the sliders in this version?

I started my RTTS as a 2B using Veteran this time and half way through spring training I'm hitting over .300 including a HR and a walk!!!! A walk!!!!

So, should I be moving up to the next level or is spring training a little easier?

Also, I hate baserunning even more in this version...and I'm not talking about stealing...I won't even bother with nonsense. Just to get from 2nd to 3rd on a hit is all sorts of crazy...screen flipping around so you have push the L stick to the right when you've just been staring at a screen intently and being prepared to jump to the bag by pushing to the right...WTF?? Might be time for classic mode there.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Made a trade straight across for a new '09 for my '10...rather surprised.

I know this is the '10 thread, but Sun Tzu, have you mucked with the sliders in this version?

I started my RTTS as a 2B using Veteran this time and half way through spring training I'm hitting over .300 including a HR and a walk!!!! A walk!!!!

So, should I be moving up to the next level or is spring training a little easier?

Also, I hate baserunning even more in this version...and I'm not talking about stealing...I won't even bother with nonsense. Just to get from 2nd to 3rd on a hit is all sorts of crazy...screen flipping around so you have push the L stick to the right when you've just been staring at a screen intently and being prepared to jump to the bag by pushing to the right...WTF?? Might be time for classic mode there.

I guess that's not bad, getting them traded straight up. Last year in spring training as a hitter I think I remember tearing it up after a few games, then getting my ass handed to me the last couple weeks. I also remember striking out an unreal number of times my first year or two in the minors. If you want to bump the difficulty up that's up to you. Here's what I used slider wise, keeping in mind that I've always played on All-Star.

Perfect Sliders 09 v1.4

Global

Pitch Speed 5
Fielding Errors 6
Throwing Errors 5
Fielder Run Speed 1
Fielder Reaction 10
Fielder Arm Strength 3
Baserunner Speed 5
Baserunner Steal Ability 5
Baserunner Steal Frequency 6
Wind 5
Injury Frequency 5

User

Contact 4
Power 6
Timing 5
Fouls 7
Solid Hits 5
Starter Stamina 5
Reliever Stamina 0
Pitcher Control 6
Pitcher Consistency 6

CPU

Contact 3
Power 6
Timing 4
Fouls 7
Solid Hits 4
Starter Stamina 5
Reliever Stamina 0
Pitcher Control 5
Pitcher Consistency 4
Strike Frequency 2
Manager Hook 6
Pickoffs 2

[johnnyshaka]

Thanks, Sun Tzu...what's the difference between Veteran and All-Star?

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Thanks, Sun Tzu...what's the difference between Veteran and All-Star?

Well, frankly I'm not sure. I know EF27 played some on Veteran last year because he had some problems hitting. You might want to ask him. I think it just shrinks the size of the area where you can get solid hits.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Well, frankly I'm not sure. I know EF27 played some on Veteran last year because he had some problems hitting. You might want to ask him. I think it just shrinks the size of the area where you can get solid hits.

I didn't play on Veteran last year due to the inability to pitch on All-Star and hit on Veteran. I primarily played an All-Star Pitcher RTTS.

This year, I'm pitching on All-Star and hitting on Veteran (after trying All-Star) in my franchise which is what I'm playing the most. I think the primary difference is a slightly bigger area of plate coverage so you don't have to use the left stick as much. Also, I think the timing is slightly more forgiving.

[johnnyshaka]

More left stick...geez...why am I hearing Christopher Walken's voice in my head?!!

Thanks, guys.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

More left stick...geez...why am I hearing Christopher Walken's voice in my head?!!

Thanks, guys.

No problem man. When you've got a half hour or so to kill, maybe longer, I'd highly recommend reading EF's dynasty.

Blazing Glory: A RTTS Dynasty (MLB 09: The Show) - Front Office Football Central

[Sun Tzu]

I just had a breakout year with my 3B. It was 2018 and I was in my 6th year (last year before I am FA eligible!). I had been playing in the Phillies organization since being drafted, and we had yet to win more than 75 games the entire time. I had been asking to be traded for years and finally got my wish this year by being traded to the Orioles in June. I hit a hot streak several times throughout the year, and while I had my slumps none of the them lasted more than a week. I finished the year with the following statline.

.322 AVG
50 HR
128 RBI
23 SB (32 attempts)
5 E

I led the league in HR, SLG & OPS. I finished second in MVP voting and second to Mauer for the Silver Slugger award. I did however win the Hank Aaron award, whatever that is. The Orioles won 76 games, their worst year in a while. I got a lot of offers in the offseason and decided to sign on with the defending world champion Red Sox for 2 years. I'm hoping to get a ring with them, then I'll sign on with a mediocre team like the A's and see if I can be a difference maker.

*edit* this was in MLB 09

[sovereignstar]

Just bought the PS3 (250gb) + MLB 10: The Show Bundle from Target. Boomshalakalaka.

[Sun Tzu]

Grats on turning to the darkside.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Looks like we finally have a permanent price drop on the '10 version. $39.99. We'll see it across all stores soon.

Amazon.com: MLB 10 The Show: Playstation 3: Video Games