Pulse Pitching - How is Velocity Determined?

[seanjeezy]

OK, so I've been using pulse pitching ever since it was implemented in '12 (?) and as we all know, we do not have control over "effort". The velocity output is supposedly situational, but recently I've been wondering why my guys always sit at the lower end of their range while the CPU is usually near the upper end. My understanding from years past (pre-pulse) is that if a pitcher's velocity is, say 90 for example, he could go as low as 88 and as high as 94, but the majority of pitches should be in the 89-92 range.

So here's my example - I am using Victor Sanchez and he has a 90 MPH fastball. His scouting report in real life is that he is 89-91 but is able to reach back and hit 93-94 when he needs it. OK, so I take him into practice mode and do a couple of experiments, fastballs low and fastballs high. Here's what I get:

Low
89, 88, 89, 89, 87, 88, 88, 90, 88, 88, 90, 89, 89, 88, 89, 89, 88, 90, 88, 89

High
91, 91, 90, 90, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 90, 91, 91, 91, 91, 90, 91, 91, 89, 90, 91

So a possible caveat is this - Sanchez's fastball is at the absolute lowest rung of the 90 MPH scale. If I bumped up his fastball to, say, 90.5 MPH would it make a difference?

Low
89, 90, 89, 90, 90, 89, 90, 89, 90, 89

High
91, 91, 91, 92, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 92

So why didn't I give him a higher average velocity, like 91 or 92? Looking at some of the SCEA players with just one year of f/x data like Cole or Fernandez, it looks like their primary fastball offering is ~1 MPH higher than what they actually sit at. Fernandez is is at 96 and Cole is at 97 respectively. Brooks Baseball has a neat filtering option called +/- Standard Deviation, which is basically the range which a pitcher sits at most frequently. Here are Cole's and Fernandez's, knocking off .75 MPH to account for the fact that Brooks calculates pitch speed 5 ft closer than MLB:

Cole
Average: 96.26
+/- Standard Deviation: 94.61 - 97.91

Fernandez
Average: 95.34
+/- Standard Deviation: 93.8 - 96.88

So basically Cole sits in the 95 - 98 range and averages 96 MPH while Fernandez sits in the 94 - 97 range and averages 95 MPH

So obviously the next logical step is to take them in to practice mode and run some tests!

Cole 97 MPH

Low
97, 95, 96, 96, 97, 95, 96, 96, 96, 96

High
97, 97, 98, 97, 97, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98

Cole 96.26 MPH

Low
96, 95, 95, 95, 95, 95, 94, 95, 94, 95

High
96, 96, 97, 98, 96, 96, 96, 98, 98, 97

Fernandez 96 MPH

Low
95, 94, 94, 95, 95, 96, 95, 95, 95, 95

High
97, 97, 96, 97, 95, 96, 97, 96, 96, 96

Fernandez 95.34 MPH

Low
94, 94, 95, 94, 94, 94, 95, 95, 94, 95

High
97, 96, 96, 96, 95, 96, 96, 96, 96, 97

So even though SCEA rated their fastballs a little hot the results were pretty much the same in terms of min/max, but obviously the averages are different. The common theme in all of the tests is that the max/min range is fairly small, a 4 MPH bracket. Most SP can go and get an extra 3-4 MPH if they need it, some guys can get even more.

So what is the actual point of this post? Well, for one I would like to see effort incorporated into pulse pitching and second (which is now more apparent after the tests) is to increase the velocity range for SP's, maybe even let us set the ranges manually.

As far as the CPU sitting higher than my own guys, I'm not really sure but it could just be the pitcher being closer to 94 than 93.

So now to open this up for discussion - Is it just pulse that has a small velocity range or is it all pitching methods? Are pitches low in the zone usually not as fast as pitches up? What improvements would you like to see made to pulse pitching next year? Discuss!

[nemesis04]

Re: Pulse Pitching - How is Velocity Determined?

As far as high/low fastball speed goes, this has been a long standing discussion in the show. Technically they have it reversed low fastballs should be 1-2mph faster than high fastballs.

In regards to adding velocity to pulse pitching, I really hope it makes it in one day so the range can increased for varying pitch speeds. Right now pitcher attributes and in game performance determine speed and effectiveness. I believe pulse is the only mechanic where we do not have an influence on velocity/effort.

[cardinalbird5]

Re: Pulse Pitching - How is Velocity Determined?

I think Pulse is the only interface where you really have no control on effort. Basically if you want to throw harder than throw higher and vice versa. It technically shouldn't work like this (I made a thread on this few months back). Some agreed and some disagreed.

This is why I prefer meter. I can increase my range to 6-7 MPH. If I have someone like Wainwright I can throw 93-94 with max effort up in the zone and down to 87-88 with minimal effort low in the zone.

Link to my thread on the topic:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...realistic.html

[Bobhead]

Re: Pulse Pitching - How is Velocity Determined?

As far as high/low fastball speed goes, this has been a long standing discussion in the show. Technically they have it reversed low fastballs should be 1-2mph faster than high fastballs.

In regards to adding velocity to pulse pitching, I really hope it makes it in one day so the range can increased for varying pitch speeds. Right now pitcher attributes and in game performance determine speed and effectiveness. I believe pulse is the only mechanic where we do not have an influence on velocity/effort.

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the entire universe.

[nomo17k]

Re: Pulse Pitching - How is Velocity Determined?

At the minimum I want to be able to vary effort with pulse pitching.

Being able to vary speed flexibly can be a great addition, and it is true some pitchers IRL do so, like use 4SFB with varying speeds to the effect of half-assed changeup. With The Show you cannot replicate pitchers like that.

But the issue then would be that you may be allowing the gamer to pitch unlike most MLB pitchers do.

In general though, I think it would be a good idea to have varying efforts a bit stronger effects on pitching. Right now I feel it doesn't have as much effect.