Normal, power, and contact swings.

[Gagnon39]

What exactly changes when using these? Has there ever been any clear explanation? I know just from playing the game that when using a contact swing it is easier to check and it's nearly impossible to check a power swing. I also know the PCI is bigger with contact and smaller with power but there has to be more to the story than those two things. Or maybe there's not.

There's little that frustrates me more than using power swing with a guy like Anthony Rizzo on an inside pitch, while pushing the analog stick in to pull, getting perfect timing... and popping out on the infield. That seems to happen a little more often with power swings. Which I guess may ultimately be the trade off. More chance of launching one, but also more chance of making terrible contact. Regardless of timing.

[The Chef]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

I think power swing reduces vision and contact increases it which would explain the example you gave with Rizzo. Lower vision harder it is for that player to square up a pitch, higher vision the better they are at squaring it up. In a way it's kinda redundant with contact as you'd think if a player excels at making good contact it would lead to a better average anyways but I'm fairly sure power lowers a player's vision rating.

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[Gagnon39]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

I will say that there's not much of a better feeling in the game than sitting on a pitch, power swinging and launching one onto Waveland/Sheffield.

[bcruise]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

Along with the two most obvious things (PCI size decrease and nearly impossible to check swing), I feel like the power swing removes a lot of the "light contact" potential from a swing. You know how sometimes you'll get a foul ball or other weak contact on a normal swing when missing the PCI's location by a decent amount, if you had good timing? That rarely happens with power - you'll swing and miss, and it's not just because the PCI is smaller. That makes it ideal to use in hitters counts - because you're usually going to be looking for one pitch to drive and taking if you don't get it. But, even if you swing at a pitch you shouldn't have, it's probably going to be a miss instead of an easy ground ball or pop-up which could take you out of an inning.

I don't have much of an opinion on contact swing because I rarely use it outside of situational hitting and Legend difficulty CotW (for survival purposes).

[stealyerface]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

Yes, my feeling is that when you choose to power swing, the size of the leeway decreases exponentially based on the ratings of the players.

So Pedroia using a power swing, would have a larger "Penalty" if you will, than with Harper.

I also am firmly under the impression that you can catch a larger Power sweet-spot on a favorable count on the hitter.

So a 3-1 count, will generate less of a penalty than the 0-2 count.

This may be total conjecture, but it is just what I seem to have noticed.

I have stopped using the power swings totally, unless the count is way ahead in my favor, and I have a masher at the dish, but I too have noticed what I feel to be perfect timing, I move the L-stick to the pull and lift 10 O'clock position for my righty at Fenway, and Hanley misses more often than he connects.

Now, when he does get a hold of one, it is a majestic thing of beauty, and honestly, I want it that way. When you swing for the Downs, your susceptibility to swing over or totally miss a pitch is certainly a risk/reward decision, and I would rather have one out of ten connect with the big swing, than the other way around.

I do use Contact when I need to move runners, or when the situation would dictate I do so in real life. The reward there is that sometimes you get that little bleeder into the corners, just over the infield, and you can grab an RBI and an extra base.

To me, the risk of the power swing is mitigated by the neutering of the actual contact percentage, but I believe it is done correctly, and I am happy with the ratio of swings and misses to hits.

~syf

[Fuimus Troes]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

The only time I would use power swing is if I guess pitched correctly on a meatball, strictly fastball. But I don't use guess pitch anymore, so I NEVER power swing. The penalty is too great, especially when you understand that most power hitters have low vision (high HR, high K), so nerfing their vision makes NO SENSE especially when they have enough power to hit dingers with contact swing...!

I use contact swing to stay alive when behind in the count until the count is even/favorable again, then back to normal swing. Sometimes I'll use it on hit and runs when I'm trying specifically to hit the ball on the ground to second and sometimes I'll use it to advance the runner to 3rd. But very rarely do I use it with the intention of actually keeping the ball in play.

[canes21]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

I also believe that power swings should only be used on anything near the middle of the zone. Even if it's belt high, but close to the black inside or out, I believe you'll make worse contact. I pretty much have given up on power swinging. It's always a popout or a 110mph ground ball. If I want to hit for power I just pull swing.

[stealyerface]

Re: Normal, power, and contact swings.

As ad addition to this, I will afford myself a 3-0 green light with my Power guys if the situation dictates.

So, with a runner at second, and Moreland at the plate, if I get him to a 3-0 count, I'll power swing.

If he misses completely, it is 3-1 and I am still in a batter + count. If I pop it up, or hit a ground ball, I am not in a DP situation, so I am not in any real danger on turning a scoring-position, zero-out inning into a disaster.

But the payoff..? When the pitcher ladles in a 92 mph fastball down the pipeline, and you time it right... It's the Pullback-Camera in all her 500 feet of glory!!

I use it sparingly, and do get all twisted up if the pitcher throws a wrinkle at me in a 3-0 count, but it's worth a try from time to time.

~syf