CB's Guide to Hitting

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  • countryboy
    Growing pains
    • Sep 2003
    • 52771

    #1

    CB's Guide to Hitting

    I've seen numerous people start threads because they are struggling with hitting. So, instead of offering advice in each thread, I thought I would start my own with my advice. Granted I'm not a guru at the game, nor am I the God of hitting in MLB the Show. But I've played for years and have been fairly successful when playing.

    So here my tips/advice. It should be noted that hit with Zone hitting on Hall of Fame Difficulty.

    *Become a 2 strike hitter Best advice that I can give is that you will never become a good/great hitter until you become a good/comfortable hitter with two strikes. You are almost, almost always going to get one pitch to hit in any given at-bat. More than likely, unless your facing a dominating pitcher, you're going to see 2 or maybe even 3 hitter pitches in an at-bat. The key is to not miss that pitch. Also, that pitch may not come until you have two strikes in the at-bat. One of the biggest issues that people have is that they are afraid to hit with two strikes or afraid of striking out and will swing at anything in or even near the zone. Learn to be comfortable hitting with 2 strikes and your hitting will get better and better.

    * Hitters have hot and cold zones. You want to obviously hit the ball in the hot zones. So typically in the first pitch of the AB I look for fastball in my hitter's wheelhouse. If its there, I swing out of my shoes, if not, I take it and move on to the next.

    * Utilize the BATTER ANALYSIS screen. This tool is so useful, so USE IT! Learn how a pitcher is getting each of your hitters out. Maybe he keeps busting you inside with hard stuff and then tosses soft stuff away. Use that information against the pitcher. Know in any given at bat what the plan of the pitcher is and do your best to disrupt that plan with a plan of your own. Remember he may not pitch each hitter the same based on attributes and hot/cold zones. For example, maybe he's tossing hard stuff up in the zone to Kolten Wong, because Wong has trouble getting to pitches up in the zone. On the other hand, he throws pitches down and away to Jhonny Peralta because Peralta hits pitches up in the zone hard, but struggles down and away. KNOW THIS! I use the Batter/Pitcher Analysis in each at bat after the first because of how it helps and how useful it is. Granted, it doesn't guarantee a hit each time or even contact, but knowing a pitcher's plan/pattern is half the battle when at the plate.

    * Be patient Don't get let frustration from one at-bat carry over to the next at-bat. If you strike out, you strike out. If you pop out you pop out. Remember the greatest hitters of all time are only successful 3 out of 10 times at the plate. Remember to, stay calm, stay poised, and treat each at bat as a new opportunity to produce offensively.

    I really hope this helps.

    Now go get'em!
    Last edited by countryboy; 06-01-2016, 10:29 AM. Reason: fixing grammatical errors
    I can't shave with my eyes closed, meaning each day I have to look at myself in the mirror and respect who I see.

    I miss the old days of Operation Sports :(


    Louisville Cardinals/St.Louis Cardinals
  • sccavs64
    Pro
    • Dec 2008
    • 587

    #2
    Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

    Thanks for posting this! I'd like to throw in a few tips as well, if you don't mind.

    I hit on Hall of Fame with Zone hitting and consistently get 8+ hits a game.

    I play with the PCI off and the strike zone off, I just feel like I can see the ball better, even though it's probably just a mental thing, but I definitely noticed a difference in my performance. So all I see is my batter, the pitcher, and that's it, no other UI. Helps my eyes focus.

    I'd just focus on finding your sweet spot, I think every person is different. It's 40X easier (at least to me) to hit balls down in the strikezone, so I look for those. I feel I can only hit pitches up in the zone consistently with my best hitters, and I only look for high pitches on 2-0 and 3-1 counts with my 3-5 hitters. On any other count, if the pitch is up in the zone (i.e. I have to move the left stick up even a slight nudge) I don't swing.

    I also look at the backdrop and the surrounding scenery in the background to help me determine the location of the pitch. It sounds weird, but it really helps. The image below is from the Show 13 I believe, but it doesn't really matter. If I'm hitting with Jay Bruce here, as soon as he steps in the box I tell myself 3 things. 1) Take the first 2 pitches. 2) Don't swing at anything above the base of the outfield wall, anything that's located even with the outfield wall or higher will more than likely result in a popout unless I absolutely crush it. 3) I use the pitchers mound for reference. If the pitch is located where the pitchers mound is, don't move the left stick since it's right at the belt. If it's above the mound, the pitch is up and vice versa.




    I also never use the guess pitch feature, I just react to each pitch. I think guessing each pitch is too distracting and just gives me something else to think about.

    Hope these work for someone else too!

    Comment

    • Ghost Of The Year
      Turn Left. Repeat.
      • Mar 2014
      • 6366

      #3
      Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

      Originally posted by countryboy
      * Be patient Don't get let frustration from one at-bat carry over to the next at-bat. If you strike out, you strike out. If you pop out you pop out. Remember the greatest hitters of all time are only successful 3 out of 10 times at the plate. Remember to, stay calm, stay poised, and treat each at bat as a new opportunity to produce offensively.
      Amen, brother. It sounds so simple & easy, but while it may be the former, it definitely ain't the latter.
      And if I may go one step further, this applies to each pitch within a given at-bat:
      Don't let frustration from a strike on one pitch carry over to the next pitch. If you swing at a pitch in the dirt, put it out of your mind immediately & get the next pitch. Treat each pitch as a new opportunity to produce.
      Great advice CB!
      T-BONE.

      Talking about things nobody cares.

      Screw Discord. Make OS Great Again.

      Comment

      • saucerset
        Rookie
        • Jul 2010
        • 482

        #4
        Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

        Lots of really good info in this thread.

        I spend the majority of my time in batting practice using the good at bat and the bat control features. I also go into my franchise and see what pitchers I have coming up on the schedule and what ball park we are playing in. Then I set up batting practice with that pitcher and the ball park. It's a good way to see his style of pitches and getting a good visual on the strike points in the backdrop behind the pitcher.

        *edit* There is an old saying that I have been going by this year - 'If it starts low, let it go'. It's hard for me to lay off those sometimes but I have noticed a positive difference in my hitting when I follow the rule.
        Last edited by saucerset; 06-01-2016, 09:39 PM.

        Comment

        • tbbuccaneer87
          Rookie
          • Sep 2006
          • 80

          #5
          Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

          Originally posted by saucerset
          Lots of really good info in this thread.

          I spend the majority of my time in batting practice using the good at bat and the bat control features. I also go into my franchise and see what pitchers I have coming up on the schedule and what ball park we are playing in. Then I set up batting practice with that pitcher and the ball park. It's a good way to see his style of pitches and getting a good visual on the strike points in the backdrop behind the pitcher.

          *edit* There is an old saying that I have been going by this year - 'If it starts low, let it go'. It's hard for me to lay off those sometimes but I have noticed a positive difference in my hitting when I follow the rule.
          I hear ya on the low balls, but those change-ups that start in the strike zone and drop are soooo tempting :/.

          Comment

          • sccavs64
            Pro
            • Dec 2008
            • 587

            #6
            Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

            Does anybody have any sort of "odd" tricks they use outside of the game?

            For instance, I play with the lights off in my room so it's pretty dark. I play in the same computer chair each time. I have my TV set up so it's directly at eye level when I sit in my chair, and I sit pretty close to the TV (I play on a pretty crappy 32 inch RCA, nothing special). And I usually play while drinking a cup of coffee or two, I always make sure I have some caffeine in my system.

            But then again I'm weird so..

            Comment

            • canes21
              Hall Of Fame
              • Sep 2008
              • 22923

              #7
              Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

              Camera angles help out tremendously too. I can never use the default views in the game. I hate seeing what the catchers sees and trying to hit. I always have to set up my camera closer to what you would see as the hitter. Obviously it won't be first person, but I have it offset and zoomed in to the point that I can't see the entire hitter most of the time.

              It makes it much easier for me to recognize pitches because it's close to an angle I hit with in real life for 15ish years growing up. It also makes matchups matter more to me because it's much easier seeing opposite hand pitchers with the zoom and offset. I also find it easier to see and turn on inside pitches. It does make a good breaking away slider deadly, but that's also real life and if you know what you're looking for, like real life, you can lay off of it. Overall I just feel the angle makes each pitch more like it's real life counterpart because the angle you're seeing it from is more to true to life.

              If we could have a first person angle that'd be great. Whichever game had it before was neat and I used it quite a bit, but it definitely needed work.
              “No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.”


              ― Plato

              Comment

              • obie
                Rookie
                • Apr 2006
                • 337

                #8
                Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                I play on HOF using zone htiting. I don't really have a problem locating a pitch and timing it, but when I do make contact, it is usually a pop up. What am I doing wrong?

                I typically have the ball close to the center of the zone, but not 100% on the middle dot. I feel like I get cheated a lot. Runners on base, the pitcher throws a high fast ball. I have placed the zone there and get perfect timing and its a pop up. It is very frustrating.

                What do you guys think of just leaving the zone in the middle and turning the zone graphic off? Guys in my league do that and they are doing really well.

                Comment

                • COMMISSIONERHBK9
                  MVP
                  • Dec 2003
                  • 4564

                  #9
                  Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                  thank you so much for this means a lot
                  Check out my YouTube page

                  https://www.youtube.com/@mr_too_soon

                  https://twitter.com/Mr_too_soon

                  Comment

                  • jcar0725
                    "ADAPT OR DIE"
                    • Aug 2010
                    • 3821

                    #10
                    Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                    This is probably dumb, but I find that if I play standing up, I actually hit better. No joke. It works for me. I pretty much move all over the place. Haha
                    JUUUUUUUST A BIT OUTSIDE

                    Comment

                    • countryboy
                      Growing pains
                      • Sep 2003
                      • 52771

                      #11
                      Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                      Originally posted by jcar0725
                      This is probably dumb, but I find that if I play standing up, I actually hit better. No joke. It works for me. I pretty much move all over the place. Haha
                      Its not dumb, but it is different.

                      Hey whatever works right?

                      I can't shave with my eyes closed, meaning each day I have to look at myself in the mirror and respect who I see.

                      I miss the old days of Operation Sports :(


                      Louisville Cardinals/St.Louis Cardinals

                      Comment

                      • Ghost Of The Year
                        Turn Left. Repeat.
                        • Mar 2014
                        • 6366

                        #12
                        Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                        Originally posted by jcar0725
                        This is probably dumb, but I find that if I play standing up, I actually hit better. No joke. It works for me. I pretty much move all over the place. Haha
                        This is the way my brother has to play Madden. He says if he's sitting down, he becomes too relaxed & not as focused. Which is why I have a beef whenever I see a MLB mgr. sitting on the bench during a game. He should be up on his feet, alert to every detail. Could you imagine in the NFL, looking over on the sideline, there;s Tom Landry, kickinng back in a recliner chatting up the Dallas Cowgirls?
                        T-BONE.

                        Talking about things nobody cares.

                        Screw Discord. Make OS Great Again.

                        Comment

                        • COMMISSIONERHBK9
                          MVP
                          • Dec 2003
                          • 4564

                          #13
                          Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                          hey country is there any tips for directional hitting
                          Check out my YouTube page

                          https://www.youtube.com/@mr_too_soon

                          https://twitter.com/Mr_too_soon

                          Comment

                          • KBLover
                            Hall Of Fame
                            • Aug 2009
                            • 12172

                            #14
                            Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                            Originally posted by jcar0725
                            This is probably dumb, but I find that if I play standing up, I actually hit better. No joke. It works for me. I pretty much move all over the place. Haha

                            Next time I'm in a slump, I'm totally trying this.

                            Will work better than just wearing the alternate jersey every game (though I swear I hit better when using alternate jerseys - brighter the better).
                            "Some people call it butterflies, but to him, it probably feels like pterodactyls in his stomach." --Plesac in MLB18

                            Comment

                            • countryboy
                              Growing pains
                              • Sep 2003
                              • 52771

                              #15
                              Re: CB's Guide to Hitting

                              Originally posted by COMMISSIONERHBK9
                              hey country is there any tips for directional hitting
                              Sorry I don't play with directional hitting.
                              I can't shave with my eyes closed, meaning each day I have to look at myself in the mirror and respect who I see.

                              I miss the old days of Operation Sports :(


                              Louisville Cardinals/St.Louis Cardinals

                              Comment

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