Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

[DarthRambo]

One thing I never really felt much of a difference was the defensive attributes between Catcher's. The animations for pitches in the dirt, wild pitches etc are so canned that seemingly the reaction rating doesn't matter.

The Catcher is so vital inside a baseball game for some many reasons yet this game they feel like the least important player on the field. I never feel I need to worry about their defense when setting my lineups. Them specifically need attributes such as blocking. Framing. IQ (Ability to call a game if using API). Also IQ could be used to make a quick visit to the pitcher to raise confidence without you even saying to.

Anyway, has anyone ever tested in practice a really bad defensive Catcher and see if there was any difference? I could be totally wrong but at least when comparing your two Catchers you have in the majors there is no visible difference or feeling when using the lesser defender.

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[JPvdV]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

In MLB 20 I played a lot of minor league games and some catchers had terrible definsive ratings. That mostly resulted in passed balls, dropping strikes. So there is definitely a noticeable difference.

That said, it would be better if we could somehow see more of it. Like moving slowly behind the plate, bad transfers on throws, etc. An attribute for framing and calling pitches would be cool too, and would add another dimension to choosing your catcher instead of just looking for the ones with a cannon for an arm.

[scutaro]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

I agree in principal. It would be sweet if ratings really mattered a lot, or if there was a gameplay choice where it was all that mattered. Now maybe that's already true if you sim CPU vs CPU but there is no fun in that.

And you know what else? In this connected world, how hard would JIT retrieval of contact and power ratings for hitters, and increase/decrease of pitcher attributes be? 2 outs, bases loaded and the game retrieves the current batters rating changes based on his career, and updates the pitchers performance for the same situation. I keep thinking about how it would be exploited but can't really think of a way, and if a user doesn't want that happening then choose to turn the option off. I suppose a MLB The Show LIVE is a bit of a pipe dream, but that's what dreams are for

[tessl]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

In manage my impression is all players have gotten a defensive upgrade. Outfielders cover more ground. Catchers throw out more base stealers.

In the past catcher defensive attributes did matter. The probably still do but I can't say that for sure at this point. They definitely throw out more base stealers than before regardless of arm strength.

I suspect our former forum member who was a slider guy and joined the development team may have done some tinkering.

[jcar0725]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

They definitely matter. Over a decent amount of games you'll see poor throws, weak throws, off line throws, and wild pitches/balls in the dirt that get away from bad catchers quite often.

Catchers with great defensive ratings across the board will make a big difference, maybe not in one or two games, but definitely over the long haul of a season.

[KnightTemplar]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

They definitely matter. Over a decent amount of games you'll see poor throws, weak throws, off line throws, and wild pitches/balls in the dirt that get away from bad catchers quite often.

Catchers with great defensive ratings across the board will make a big difference, maybe not in one or two games, but definitely over the long haul of a season.

The ratings matter. The differences may be subtle to the eye, but for example….put Nelson Cruz in RF. There isn’t a sickle he’s seen that he can’t turn into a double.

[DarthRambo]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

The ratings matter. The differences may be subtle to the eye, but for example….put Nelson Cruz in RF. There isn’t a sickle he’s seen that he can’t turn into a double.

Yes OF and IF I can easily tell the difference. The Catcher position I cannot really tell any difference though. Now I'm sure if I tried a 40 something Fielder and reaction ratings I would. But I'm more speaking of the difference between your starter and backup Catcher in the MLB.

I find it sorta similar to how Madden used to be with offensive lineman. Didn't matter who it was you couldn't tell a difference. It used to be so bad you could put your punter in as a OL and he would be formidable.

I know MLBTS isn't that bad lol. I was just curious though if anyone could point out some noticeable differences. They really need to improve how much the Catcher matters though. They are similar to the QB in football. A lot of managers are former Catchers for a reason as well.

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[jcar0725]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

Yes OF and IF I can easily tell the difference. The Catcher position I cannot really tell any difference though. Now I'm sure if I tried a 40 something Fielder and reaction ratings I would. But I'm more speaking of the difference between your starter and backup Catcher in the MLB.

I find it sorta similar to how Madden used to be with offensive lineman. Didn't matter who it was you couldn't tell a difference. It used to be so bad you could put your punter in as a OL and he would be formidable.

I know MLBTS isn't that bad lol. I was just curious though if anyone could point out some noticeable differences. They really need to improve how much the Catcher matters though. They are similar to the QB in football. A lot of managers are former Catchers for a reason as well.

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Catcher's don't really have a rating in this game for how well they call a game or work with the pitchers. It would be nice to have that, but I don't know how they would implement it.

[maxatlof]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

Is their pop time a thing on here? I thought a few seasons ago they mentioned that was going to be an attribute/skill added to catchers, no? Maybe I dreamt it, idk lol.

[bspring3]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

Yes OF and IF I can easily tell the difference. The Catcher position I cannot really tell any difference though. Now I'm sure if I tried a 40 something Fielder and reaction ratings I would. But I'm more speaking of the difference between your starter and backup Catcher in the MLB.

I find it sorta similar to how Madden used to be with offensive lineman. Didn't matter who it was you couldn't tell a difference. It used to be so bad you could put your punter in as a OL and he would be formidable.

I know MLBTS isn't that bad lol. I was just curious though if anyone could point out some noticeable differences. They really need to improve how much the Catcher matters though. They are similar to the QB in football. A lot of managers are former Catchers for a reason as well.

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I think part of what you are seeing is a lot of MLB back up catchers are as good, if not better, defensively than the starter and where their ratings suffer are offense. I see a lot of lower overall catchers league wide with defensive ratings in the 70s. As someone who used Gary Sanchez a good bit over the years, I have definitely seen the defensive difference between him and other catchers I have used, especially when it comes to the blocking attribute.


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[toodles2you90]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

Is their pop time a thing on here? I thought a few seasons ago they mentioned that was going to be an attribute/skill added to catchers, no? Maybe I dreamt it, idk lol.

They tell you the pop time on replays but there isn't an actual attribute unless maybe the reaction or fielding attributes play a role in pop time.

[smokines3]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

The ratings matter. The differences may be subtle to the eye, but for example….put Nelson Cruz in RF. There isn’t a sickle he’s seen that he can’t turn into a double.

I just played the Nats last night. They put him in LF in like the 3rd game of the season (Perfect example of other issues...)
and he was slow as all hell, but made every routine play and even had a couple running putouts in the Gap LOL. Unreal...

[DarthRambo]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

I think part of what you are seeing is a lot of MLB back up catchers are as good, if not better, defensively than the starter and where their ratings suffer are offense. I see a lot of lower overall catchers league wide with defensive ratings in the 70s. As someone who used Gary Sanchez a good bit over the years, I have definitely seen the defensive difference between him and other catchers I have used, especially when it comes to the blocking attribute.


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Yeah that is true. But I'm using the Mariners and I've put O'Keefe in vs RHP cause his hitting attributes are much better over Murphy is vs RHP. O'Keefe defense is a decent amount lower however. But I truly see no difference between him and Murphy behind the plate. It's far too subtle of a difference than it should be at the very least. At this point hitting trumps defense for Catchers in the MLB, which is opposite of real life.

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[olecrankygamer]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

Since they have the same attributes as MLB the Show 21 Let me add that in my 21 Franchise, Gary Sanchez won a Gold Glove, so I am going to say NO

They need a Framing attribute for catchers

[Therebelyell626]

Re: Do Catcher's defensive attributes matter?

They tell you the pop time on replays but there isn't an actual attribute unless maybe the reaction or fielding attributes play a role in pop time.

Pop time is actually a “quirk” only certain catchers have. But their is no attribute for it. So unless a catcher comes through the draft with this quirk (I don’t think they do), then eventually all catchers with the pop time quirk will be phased out of the game when they retire