Contact vs Power Swing

[ImTellinTim]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I'm sorry, but having check swing as a different button makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[Jdurg]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I bat on Rookie level since my brain and hands just don't react quickly enough. (Perhaps it's a side-effect of turning 30 this year and being a diabetic for nearly all that time). So the fact that Rookie is just timing based is great. However, when I do feel daring and decide to use Veteran (generally when I play an exhibition game), I only use the power swing if I'm in a hitter's count (3-0, 3-1, 2-0) and I am also guessing the pitch and guess it correctly. So if it's a 3-0 count and I feel like swinging out of my shoes, I'll guess fastball, flick the right stick up, and if I guess the pitch right and the fastball is in a location I've locked in on, I will use the power swing to try and crush the ball into next year. That doesn't always work as sometimes I swing too soon and foul it off, or I'm just off and don't make solid contact, but in those rare situations where I would use it I enjoy having it available.

[dalger21]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

Power Swing:
+ Almost gurenteed a home run on a "meatball" with a good hitter (especially if you use RS up)
+ Will drive any pitch in the middle of the plate
- NO check swing, so if your on 2 strikes don't use it!
- Will most likely pop up or weakly hit pitches that are higher/lower or on the corners of the strike zone (i.e. jammed or reach locations)
- Cannot make contact with good location pitches (see above)
- Few, if any, foul balls.

Contact Swing
+ Check swings
+ More foul balls (hence making "contact")
+ Better chance to hit jammed and reached pitches
- Hard hits are almost exclusively related to "meatball" and PCI location
- Homeruns only come from perfect harmony between pitch location and PCI location (as above).

So use these pros and cons how you see fit.

Actually, a couple of those aren't actually true.

Foul balls happen on any type of swing. If you swing late at a pitch but make some contact, you likely will foul back. Homeruns on contact swings happen mainly on getting the barrel on the bat, not necessarily having "perfect harmony" with pitch location and plate coverage indicator. I've had several where the ball is out of the zone and I have golfed it out or muscled it down the line. Meatballs and hard hits are mutually exclusive...meaning, you don't have to have one to have the other. I've had hard ripped doubles in the gap simply from solid or weak hits instead of "meatballs".

[metsman8669]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

In past games I would often use the power button no matter what, unless it was someone like, say, Luis Castillo.

But now I use it about .00001% of the time. I play on HOF with the L-stick, no GP and I see plenty of homers and XBH.

[cardsleadtheway]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I am starting to use it a little more, mostly because I am last in HR's and RBI's. It is also helping me with my discipline. On a 2-0 count, I will put my thumb on the square and wait for that pitch down the middle. If it doesn't come, I don't swing even if it is a strike. I do the same thing on 2-1, 3-0 and 3-1. I really don't like the fact that there are two buttons, as in real baseball you don't really have two types of power swings. You swing hard all the time, it is just your timing that changes and the times you swing just to protect, but you can do that on this game with the regular swing. I wish they would get rid of it, but since it is in I am trying to take advantage of it. So far, I have not hit a home run with it in both games I have been trying this method, but each time has been very solid contact with usually a base hit. I had one pop up, but that was me swinging at a high one I shouldn't have.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I use contact the majority of the time with no guess pitch.

If I'm up in the count 3-0 or 3-1, I use guess pitch and guess fastball up. If I get it, I power swing. If I don't, I take. That's about the only time I use power swing now.

[Dalsanto0026]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I'm sorry, but having check swing as a different button makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Explain to me how it doesn't make sense.

[dalger21]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

Explain to me how it doesn't make sense.

Why would you have to use a different button just to check your swing? That's like having different buttons just to slide when the analog stick works just fine. Why mess with something that isn't broken?

[Dalsanto0026]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

Why would you have to use a different button just to check your swing? That's like having different buttons just to slide when the analog stick works just fine. Why mess with something that isn't broken?

You don't have to hold the square button down to do a power swing so why should this be different for contact?

Instinctively I press the button quickly because you only have a second or so to react to the pitch. Holding the button down so I don't do a check swing feels unnatural to me. IMO it would be better if the check swing was activated on another button and all I have to do is simply press the x button for contact.

Do you see what I mean?

[dalger21]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

I had 83 walks in the last year of my RttS character. This year, I'm on pace for about 115. I like the way I can check swing on a close pitch without having to use another button simply to check swing. You usually have about .5 seconds to decide if this pitch going to be a strike or not. If you want to check your swing, you have to use another button simply to do so but that will likely be too late because you have already committed to the pitch. That seems like an awful lot in such a small amount of time to do. Leave the check swing on the contact swing. It makes the most sense.

[Chef Matt]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

Leave the check swing on the contact swing. It makes the most sense.

I agree, like I've said before I live by the check swing.

On another note, another reason I like contact swing exclusively is that HR's feel more natural and rewarding to me. Perfect PCI placement, perfect timing= Monster HR. Then, giddy excitement ensues. Good times.

[Fiddy]

Re: Contact vs Power Swing

i started using contact more than i normally would. im having better success as of late!!