Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

[MrOldboy]

I've been noticing this more and more recently. This my be in the PS3 version of MLB 14 but I cannot remember now. But the pitch marker location feels different this year compared to last, its why I noticed this at all and I'm curious if anyone else can test this out or if they've experienced this.

I took a few frames and superimposed them of an example. There are a lot more, but I'd have to dig through the videos I saved to find them.



- The two frames with balls in them are before the pitch marker shows up. There also seems to be a frame where nothing is shown, where the ball is past the camera, but the pitch marker has not shown up yet.

I found another example where the ball seems high out of the zone, but the marker ends up as a strike.

Is anyone else noticing this? Has it always been this way? Is this a camera thing or what? I've tried the default cameras and it still feels a bit off. Am I just crazy?

[MrOldboy]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

So am I crazy or has anyone else noticed the ball marker being placed off from where the actual pitch is. After another week I am still noticing this.

[HighCmpPct]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

Judging from your picture above it looks as if maybe the marker is showing up where the ball crosses the plate opposed to where it ends up. As we all know this is how it really is and is why most average ho hum baseball fans get confused by the balls and strikes they sometimes see during broadcasts.

Now I know you and I know that you are way more than the fan I described above, maybe though in your haste to wrap your brain around what you were seeing you overlooked this small fact.

Just what I saw from the image above, and what came to mind with the scenarios you described.

[MrOldboy]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

Judging from your picture above it looks as if maybe the marker is showing up where the ball crosses the plate opposed to where it ends up. As we all know this is how it really is and is why most average ho hum baseball fans get confused by the balls and strikes they sometimes see during broadcasts.

Now I know you and I know that you are way more than the fan I described above, maybe though in your haste to wrap your brain around what you were seeing you overlooked this small fact.

Just what I saw from the image above, and what came to mind with the scenarios you described.

This is possible, but when looking at other videos I've recorded this does not seem to be the case. The pitch above was a cutter from a right handed pitcher. It should be impossible for that pitcher to be where the pitch marker is. Its why I used it as an example.

The cutter, from the batters perspective, moves toward the first base side of the plate. The ball closest to the camera is the last frame where the ball is visible in the video, therefore its already crossed the plate. The front ball I believe is either in front of the plate or just crossing it. The batting camera I am using is straight on so its not like there should be a perspective issues like on a TV broadcast. To me what the image shows is impossible. I made sure to line everything up exactly, as you can tell by the text on the right, the images are overlayed right on top of eachother. I can try to find more examples in videos I recorded.

This could all be a perspective thing, but I've never noticed this is past games and I am noticing this in the default batting cameras and the classic ones as well. It just feels different from past games.

[thaSLAB]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

So am I crazy or has anyone else noticed the ball marker being placed off from where the actual pitch is. After another week I am still noticing this.

Crazy. But that's a decision for another day :-P

No seriously, it is due to the zone being a plane inline with the front of the plate. It's been that way for a while. The pitch display, on the other hand, is illustrative of the back half of the plate. The pitch display is similar to the superimposed K-zones you see on baseball broadcast, if that makes sense. It's most likely due to an offset batting view.

htcONE [M8] | Tapatalk Pro

[Bobhead]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

I'd need to see more evidence, but based on that other picture I don't see anything extraordinary. Not all cutters actually cut. It's totally probable that the pitcher threw a hanging cutter that crossed the plate at exactly the location shown, before falling slightly into the superimposed "blur" that represents a later point in the balls travel.

[Cezar24]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

I've been noticing this too. You can tell when it happens by remembering where the pitch call out is after a pitch and then checking the result box (can't remember the actual name) in the bottom left/right of the screen. The pitches will be in 2 different locations.

I've also see it a bunch in the challenge of the week. I'll take a pitch way out of the zone expecting a ball and the marker shows up just in the zone and called a strike. It seems like it's not calibrated right.

[Cezar24]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

I'd need to see more evidence, but based on that other picture I don't see anything extraordinary. Not all cutters actually cut. It's totally probable that the pitcher threw a hanging cutter that crossed the plate at exactly the location shown, before falling slightly into the superimposed "blur" that represents a later point in the balls travel.

For that to happen, the pitch would have had to cut into the zone, then once past it for a strike , cut back outside to end up where the bigger ball is.

[Bobhead]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

For that to happen, the pitch would have had to cut into the zone, then once past it for a strike , cut back outside to end up where the bigger ball is.

Yes... What's wrong with that? If the pitcher releases the ball aimed slightly towards the right part of the strike zone, that would explain the first ball location, and actual ball marker. Natural break could explain the third one.

I think the illusion and misconception here seems to come from the (perhaps subconscious) assumption that the pitcher is pitching from the exact center of the rubber, perfectly lined up with the center of the strike zone. That is not the case.

Here's a terribly drawn picture that, while clearly exaggerated, hopefully illustrates what I am saying. The dotted black line shows the imaginary plane where the ball crosses into "strike zone territory", ie: what you see as the ball crossing into a visual strike. The home plate is black for the sake of contrast and limited color options.

The trajectory of the pitch is marked with numbers in 3 separate places to represent the (1) upper ball frame, the (2) actual ball marker, and the (3) lower ball frame, in that order.



As for why you see this with a Cutter, like I said, not everyone is Mariano Rivera. This cutter could have conceivably just not cut, at all. I'd be a little more concerned if this type of phenomenon occured with a pitch known for a more pronounced break, like a slider.

[thaSLAB]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

That picture touched my heart lol.

htcONE [M8] | Tapatalk Pro

[Bobhead]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

That picture touched my heart lol.

htcONE [M8] | Tapatalk Pro

Don't worry SLAB, you can be a master artist too if you practice!

[Cezar24]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

Yes... What's wrong with that? If the pitcher releases the ball aimed slightly towards the right part of the strike zone, that would explain the first ball location, and actual ball marker. Natural break could explain the third one.

I think the illusion and misconception here seems to come from the (perhaps subconscious) assumption that the pitcher is pitching from the exact center of the rubber, perfectly lined up with the center of the strike zone. That is not the case.

Here's a terribly drawn picture that, while clearly exaggerated, hopefully illustrates what I am saying. The dotted black line shows the imaginary plane where the ball crosses into "strike zone territory", ie: what you see as the ball crossing into a visual strike. The home plate is black for the sake of contrast and limited color options.

The trajectory of the pitch is marked with numbers in 3 separate places to represent the (1) upper ball frame, the (2) actual ball marker, and the (3) lower ball frame, in that order.



As for why you see this with a Cutter, like I said, not everyone is Mariano Rivera. This cutter could have conceivably just not cut, at all. I'd be a little more concerned if this type of phenomenon occured with a pitch known for a more pronounced break, like a slider.

The pitch call out shows the ball going from left (where is was started) to right (where it ended up). There is no way the ball broke in two different directions in the 5 feet that the 3 locations shows.

Honest question, as it may clear up some confusion, but are you guys reading what's happening in the pic correctly? The smaller ball is farthest away. The pitch call out has it breaking in towards the zone for a strike, the larger ball is closest and shows the ball turning back outside the zone.

[HighCmpPct]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

I don't think this to be the case as I've started what I think is happening earlier but, for the sake of argument is it possible that the crosshairs is showing the balls path but the K is showing where the umpire perceives the ball went therefore calling it a strike?

[Bobhead]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

The pitch call out shows the ball going from left (where is was started) to right (where it ended up). There is no way the ball broke in two different directions in the 5 feet that the 3 locations shows.

Honest question, as it may clear up some confusion, but are you guys reading what's happening in the pic correctly? The smaller ball is farthest away. The pitch call out has it breaking in towards the zone for a strike, the larger ball is closest and shows the ball turning back outside the zone.

First of all, "5 feet" is absurd. Home plate itself is like 1.5 feet each side. The catcher's box a few feet behind the plate. We are looking at at LEAST 25 feet here.

And I understood the picture. If you see in my explanation, the first marker (the smallest ball) and the third marker (the larger ball) are lined up with each other. You're still thinking of a ball trajectory that is perpendicular to the plate. Think of it this way, the pitch was traveling in a straight line through the first ball frame (the larger ball) and the ball marker itself, then broke slightly into the final ball frame (the smallest ball).

[HighCmpPct]

Re: Pitch marker location in relation to actual pitch location (is it off?)

Man I love the little pitcher throwing the ball, gave me a good smile.