Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

[Padgoi]

I know we mentioned too many pop-ups being hit in last year's game and I thought the problem would at least be alleviated, but it seems as if it's even worse this year. In my last 3 games alone, I've counted 7, 8 and 6 infield pop-outs and 3, 2 and 3 dribblers in front of the plate. I've tested my foul ball slider on 4 and 5 as well as my contact slider on 4, 5 and 6 and regardless of what the sliders are set to, these issues persist.



So after counting these stats for the past few games, I went over FanGraphs and created a custom chart to see which teams average the most pop-outs per game. Currently the Toronto Blue Jays, through 78 games, have hit the most infield pop-ups with 96, for an average of 1.23 pop-ups per game. In terms of at-bats, the Blue Jays have 2,966 at-bats, which translates to 1 pop-out every 31 at-bats. I currently play with the Yankees, who have hit 72 pop-ups, which translates to 1.04 pop-ups per game, or 1 pop-up every 38 plate appearances.



Unfortunately I don't see the same statistics for dribblers, however it's pretty obvious that the amount of pop-ups and dribblers in front of the plate HIGHLY outnumber real life statistics. Is anyone else seeing this in their games?

[bkrich83]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

I know we mentioned too many pop-ups being hit and I thought the problem would at least be alleviated, but it seems as if it's even worse this year. In my last 3 games alone, I've counted 7, 8 and 6 infield pop-outs and 3, 2 and 3 dribblers in front of the plate. I've tested my foul ball slider on 4 and 5 as well as my contact slider on 4, 5 and 6 and regardless of what the sliders are set to, these issues persist.



So after counting these stats for the past few games, I went over FanGraphs and created a custom chart to see which teams average the most pop-outs per game. Currently the Toronto Blue Jays, through 78 games, have hit the most infield pop-ups with 96, for an average of 1.23 pop-ups per game. In terms of at-bats, the Blue Jays have 2,966 at-bats, which translates to 1 pop-out every 31 at-bats. I currently play with the Yankees, who have hit 72 pop-ups, which translates to 1.04 pop-ups per game, or 1 pop-up every 38 plate appearances.



Unfortunately I don't see the same statistics for dribblers, however it's pretty obvious that the amount of pop-ups and dribblers in front of the plate HIGHLY outnumber real life statistics. Is anyone else seeing this in their games?

I have noticed this on the dribblers particularly on the higher difficulty levels. Now it seems to be toned down since the last patch but that could be merely a coincidence nor do I have any metrics to confirm my observation. On the pop ups front I haven't noticed it but will keep a mental note of watching for it.


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[LowerWolf]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

I don't really notice an issue with pop-ups, but I definitely see too many dribblers.

[KBLover]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

Unfortunately I don't see the same statistics for dribblers, however it's pretty obvious that the amount of pop-ups and dribblers in front of the plate HIGHLY outnumber real life statistics. Is anyone else seeing this in their games?

Yes, definitely. I don't see a ton of choppers but I get a lot of pop ups and lazy flies.

I haven't found any stat on choppers, but my target is the same as IFFB - about 10% (which might be too high still). I figure both are on the same extreme, trajectory- and physics-wise, so targeting the same number makes sense, barring finding data.

I don't know about it being bad in prior years - for me, this is the worse it's ever been. I've had my qualms about the hitting in the other games (mostly not enough velocity on hits...which ironically is much better now), but the trajectories and resulting BABIPs in this game for flyballs is driving me up a wall right now.

It just seems like a "game balance" thing. Velocities better but "balance" with terrible trajectories. I don't know...maybe it works, but I admit to thinking in terms of baseball, not balance.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

The amount of foul pop outs behind the plate at times..... is totally infuriating. Also the dribblers are excessive too. This has been going on since MLB 14.

I think it needs to be toned down.

I am not seeing a problem with infield pop-flys at all. And for the record my hit variety is better than it has been in any previous version. The ball physics have drastically improved since MLB 12 on the PS3 (first year of ball physics 1.0).

[saucerset]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

It would be interesting to track the amount of each through each inning. I have noticed that in the first 2 innings I can get (for example) 4 hits, then only get 1 or 2 hits for the remainder of the game. I can see how a starter would get into a groove, but when the lack of hits continues through the bullpen then it feels weird. I can have good timing and location of my PCI and pop it straight up or right at the catchers feet. The same swing would have been a hit in the early innings. I've lost count on how many games I have opened up to a 3-0 lead and either won 3-2 or lost 4-3. Every now and then I score in the final 3rd of the game, but it is few and far between.

[KBLover]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

I am not seeing a problem with infield pop-flys at all. And for the record my hit variety is better than it has been in any previous version. The ball physics have drastically improved since MLB 12 on the PS3 (first year of ball physics 1.0).

I'm getting quite a few - sometimes upwards of 14-15%.

Since the ball physics are better (and I agree with the velocity and how the ball bounces, etc), I wonder why the fly ball BABIPs are so low and the flyball trajectories are too extreme.

I think they still have work to do.

[BegBy]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

The higher the difficulty level, the higher the rate of popups and dribblers. I was stuck on super low level batting for a long time and just in the past 2 weeks I just jacked sliders in my favor and went to hall of fame. I did this because I can hit roughly the same but I actually get struck out. Like upwards of 7 times a game, and sometimes more. However, basically as a what I see as a difficulty simulation type move, popups and dribblers increase dramatically. Any type of pitch, pitcher, hitter, count, etc. It's frustrating when the pitcher let's a fastball go down broadway and you even guess pitch and jack it straight up.

Artificial difficulty is rather transparent. Huge criticism of the series as a whole.

[Padgoi]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

The higher the difficulty level, the higher the rate of popups and dribblers. I was stuck on super low level batting for a long time and just in the past 2 weeks I just jacked sliders in my favor and went to hall of fame. I did this because I can hit roughly the same but I actually get struck out. Like upwards of 7 times a game, and sometimes more. However, basically as a what I see as a difficulty simulation type move, popups and dribblers increase dramatically. Any type of pitch, pitcher, hitter, count, etc. It's frustrating when the pitcher let's a fastball go down broadway and you even guess pitch and jack it straight up.

Artificial difficulty is rather transparent. Huge criticism of the series as a whole.

That's been my BIGGEST peeve with the series since it first began. The artificial difficulty really ruins a lot of the immersion of franchise mode for me.

[KBLover]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

The higher the difficulty level, the higher the rate of popups and dribblers.

Which is weird because I would have thought the higher the difficulty, the narrower the windows, so that means I might get more fouls or misses if my player PCI is off and my timing is off. (Higher Foul % and lower Contact %).

But it confirms another reason why I stay on All-Star. I would rather give the CPU all 10's and me all 0's before moving up - because of things like this. I want the minimal of this kind of influence when I'm testing sliders and playing my franchises for real.

[BegBy]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

Which is weird because I would have thought the higher the difficulty, the narrower the windows, so that means I might get more fouls or misses if my player PCI is off and my timing is off. (Higher Foul % and lower Contact %).

But it confirms another reason why I stay on All-Star. I would rather give the CPU all 10's and me all 0's before moving up - because of things like this. I want the minimal of this kind of influence when I'm testing sliders and playing my franchises for real.

I like all star. It seems organic. My only issue with it being I'd be having an off game if I were to strike out 4 times in a game. Maybe I should just really try new sliders to try and somehow get around it. For me, hof is really good for getting struck out. I also like how the cpu nibbles a lot more on hof.

[jyoung]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

If you use the power swing, the pitches that would usually be pop ups/dribblers with the normal/contact swing turn into foul tips/whiffs, depending on the batter's vision rating.

So if you're hitting too many pop ups/dribblers, try using the power swing more often. It is a good way to protect yourself from giving the defense a free out from a cheap pop up/dribbler.

[KBLover]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

I like all star. It seems organic. My only issue with it being I'd be having an off game if I were to strike out 4 times in a game. Maybe I should just really try new sliders to try and somehow get around it. For me, hof is really good for getting struck out. I also like how the cpu nibbles a lot more on hof.

That point about how the CPU pitches is the other bad part of how difficulty is done.

For one, more pitches out of the zone can make run production "easier" because you may draw more walks. You can also drive up pitch counts, which can force starters either out or to run out of gas sooner.

But yeah, I like a lot of how the CPU pitches further up - just don't want the rest.

Perhaps the "strike frequency" slider should morph into an "aggressive/nibble" slider. 0 = very aggressive almost all strikes and rarely pitch around/IBB even in prudent situations. 10 would be nibble, nibble, nibble, pitch around/IBB often even to set up situations and power guys might even get a bit of the Barry Bonds treatment if high-rated enough.

Then "strike frequency" would just go to ratings and control/consistency slider.

If you use the power swing, the pitches that would usually be pop ups/dribblers with the normal/contact swing turn into foul tips/whiffs, depending on the batter's vision rating.

So if you're hitting too many pop ups/dribblers, try using the power swing more often. It is a good way to protect yourself from giving the defense a free out from a cheap pop up/dribbler.

Nice tip! I'll have to remember to do this more often and see what I get. Can't be any worse! And if it makes Vision/Discipline express more...all the better.

[NEOPARADIGM]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

Tend to agree. Too many pops to the catcher, too many dribblers to the catcher. These should just be routine grounders instead, which I find are a bit infrequent compared to real life. Way too many games where my SS and/or 3B only get 1 or 2 chances each. Sometimes none, which is nuts.

[shark547]

Re: Pop-Ups and Dribblers in front of the plate really need to be toned down...

Tend to agree. Too many pops to the catcher, too many dribblers to the catcher. These should just be routine grounders instead, which I find are a bit infrequent compared to real life. Way too many games where my SS and/or 3B only get 1 or 2 chances each. Sometimes none, which is nuts.

Unless there is a guy on first....then it's all ground balls for the double play!