I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

[bkrich83]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

Never in a baseball game has pitch selection and working the count been so important and so realistic imo.

[B Easy]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

Geronimo, I couldn't agree more with your "thought process". I do the same exact thing in my head when I hit. You have to watch AS SOON AS the ball is in, and leaves the pitcher's hand in order to have any success IMO. I'm tracking the ball all the way from the moment it leaves the pitcher's hand. Again in my head I'm asking myself,

1) Where is this pitch going, inside, up, down, or away?
2) What type of pitch is this going to be?
3) What is the movement on this pitch, where will break?

Those are my 3 basic thoughts I try and keep in my head while batting. If I'm playing the game late at night when I'm tired, I can see a direct correlation in how effective my game will be. I've all but given up on playing this game later on in the night because I need to be 100 % focused in order to enjoy it. I came home from Buffalo Wild Wings the other night after having a few beers, I was sober but slightly buzzed and my timing was waaaaay off haha.

You have to play this game relaxed, calm, with a clear head. If you're in a frenzy or kind of just going through the motions, you WILL see a difference in your gaming. If I'm up there worried about striking out, I've already lost. It effects my pitching, defense, etc. Play this game as smooth and level headed as you can. I know it sounds OD crazy, it's only a video game, but playing this way definitely has helped me out.

[Geronimo22]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

Geronimo, I couldn't agree more with your "thought process". I do the same exact thing in my head when I hit. You have to watch AS SOON AS the ball is in, and leaves the pitcher's hand in order to have any success IMO. I'm tracking the ball all the way from the moment it leaves the pitcher's hand. Again in my head I'm asking myself,

1) Where is this pitch going, inside, up, down, or away?
2) What type of pitch is this going to be?
3) What is the movement on this pitch, where will break?

Those are my 3 basic thoughts I try and keep in my head while batting. If I'm playing the game late at night when I'm tired, I can see a direct correlation in how effective my game will be. I've all but given up on playing this game later on in the night because I need to be 100 % focused in order to enjoy it. I came home from Buffalo Wild Wings the other night after having a few beers, I was sober but slightly buzzed and my timing was waaaaay off haha.

You have to play this game relaxed, calm, with a clear head. If you're in a frenzy or kind of just going through the motions, you WILL see a difference in your gaming. If I'm up there worried about striking out, I've already lost. It effects my pitching, defense, etc. Play this game as smooth and level headed as you can. I know it sounds OD crazy, it's only a video game, but playing this way definitely has helped me out.

Wow. You stated that beautifully! Couldn't say it any better! We think alike but the way you put it has helped confirm that I'm on the right track. Thanks for the - not playing late at night tip. You're right, there is correlation!

[AirLarryDavid]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

howcome EVERY pitch i hit goes to the opposite field

[johnpreyes]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

That means you're late.

[PatriotJames]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

LMAO at the previous 2 posts...

Read what you wrote! Good stuff. I remember thinking MLB The Show '10 was "Broken" because I couldn't hit anything and this is exactly what I did.

I need to remember to do this. On games I am PATIENT...I have at least 2 times the chance to win than on games I'm just swinging at everything.

BTW - I'm 0-7 in my season and I'm still playing because I know at some point I will figure it out and be like a lot of people on here saying how easy it is to hit on all-star and pitch on HOF

[AirLarryDavid]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

so im late on EVERY pitch....common man

[Geronimo22]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

so im late on EVERY pitch....common man

Before a game, I go to practice mode and practice timing. Be sure to read the results when you're done to find out which pitches you're late on. You will see a pattern I bet you.

[Antkowiak]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

Before a game, I go to practice mode and practice timing. Be sure to read the results when you're done to find out which pitches you're late on. You will see a pattern I bet you.

It may not be the greatest answer, but I've dropped pitch speed to 3. I'm playing my CPU pitching sliders at 5-6-2 and my Human solid hits at 3, and am usually ending games with about 7 hits, 7 K's and the occasional walk. I've found that for batters like me who are stubbornly trying analog despite being slow to react with it, and having crappy batter's eyes, that this is working. If you are worried that slower pitch speed makes the game broken, just bump it up. I've found that I'm still late on enough fastballs and that things like the change-up are deadly if you aren't aware it may be coming. I was concerned that suddenly I'd be knocking the ball all over by lowering pitch speed, but if anything, it's made my line scores a bit more realistic while still accurately reflecting my skill level. I think having it low like this makes me feel more like a player in the majors who has that split second to judge whether the ball will be in the zone or not while swinging, but enough so that I'm confused enough to be K'ed looking often enough. Pitch counts have been nice too, with a good chance that starters will rarely make it to the 8th even with the occasional handful of K's simply because of their high counts.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

The OP is great because it's something I had to teach myself. You have to remember that the onus is on the pitcher to make a good pitch. When you swing at everything, you only help his job. There are some strikes that you will not be able to hit; that's just the nature of the sport. There will also be times when you won't be able to do anything at the plate. That too is just the nature of the game. When you wait for your pitches, it plays to your favor.

Another thing that people need to remember is that there is an overreaching goal when batting. Clint Hurdle helped to make the Rangers a great team at the plate not because of the Ballpark or because of power hitting, rather because of smart hitting. Hurdle installed a board that listed his philosophy in hitting, which stated that the team must aim to get 17 productive at-bats in a game. This includes...

1. Hits
2. Walks
3. Sacrifice Bunts
4. Sacrifice Flies
5. Hits by Pitch or Catcher's Interference
6. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Out
7. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Error
8. Eight Pitch At-Bats

When you have seventeen of any of the above in the game and lose, that's just a hard luck loss. I've stepped up to this philosophy and have had good results with it.

[PatriotJames]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

The OP is great because it's something I had to teach myself. You have to remember that the onus is on the pitcher to make a good pitch. When you swing at everything, you only help his job. There are some strikes that you will not be able to hit; that's just the nature of the sport. There will also be times when you won't be able to do anything at the plate. That too is just the nature of the game. When you wait for your pitches, it plays to your favor.

Another thing that people need to remember is that there is an overreaching goal when batting. Clint Hurdle helped to make the Rangers a great team at the plate not because of the Ballpark or because of power hitting, rather because of smart hitting. Hurdle installed a board that listed his philosophy in hitting, which stated that the team must aim to get 17 productive at-bats in a game. This includes...

1. Hits
2. Walks
3. Sacrifice Bunts
4. Sacrifice Flies
5. Hits by Pitch or Catcher's Interference
6. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Out
7. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Error
8. Eight Pitch At-Bats

When you have seventeen of any of the above in the game and lose, that's just a hard luck loss. I've stepped up to this philosophy and have had good results with it.

This is good stuff

[nomo17k]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

One thing I'd add is if you are really struggling hitting, your difficulty level should be lowered to rookie or veteran if not already.

At these levels, pitchers will frequently throw very easy fastball for strikes in early counts. If you try to be disciplined at these levels, you will notice those meatballs whizzing by, and start feeling "why in hell did I just let that go!!??" Once you have enough of those moments, you start seeing the pitch much better. That's how I started hitting...

[Geronimo22]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

The OP is great because it's something I had to teach myself. You have to remember that the onus is on the pitcher to make a good pitch. When you swing at everything, you only help his job. There are some strikes that you will not be able to hit; that's just the nature of the sport. There will also be times when you won't be able to do anything at the plate. That too is just the nature of the game. When you wait for your pitches, it plays to your favor.

Another thing that people need to remember is that there is an overreaching goal when batting. Clint Hurdle helped to make the Rangers a great team at the plate not because of the Ballpark or because of power hitting, rather because of smart hitting. Hurdle installed a board that listed his philosophy in hitting, which stated that the team must aim to get 17 productive at-bats in a game. This includes...

1. Hits
2. Walks
3. Sacrifice Bunts
4. Sacrifice Flies
5. Hits by Pitch or Catcher's Interference
6. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Out
7. Moving the Lead Runner Up with an Error
8. Eight Pitch At-Bats

When you have seventeen of any of the above in the game and lose, that's just a hard luck loss. I've stepped up to this philosophy and have had good results with it.

Excellent post man

[Geronimo22]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

One thing I'd add is if you are really struggling hitting, your difficulty level should be lowered to rookie or veteran if not already.

At these levels, pitchers will frequently throw very easy fastball for strikes in early counts. If you try to be disciplined at these levels, you will notice those meatballs whizzing by, and start feeling "why in hell did I just let that go!!??" Once you have enough of those moments, you start seeing the pitch much better. That's how I started hitting...

This is interesting. I recently moved down to veteran and that's exactaly what's been happening. Wow, right on the money. I think at the improvement rate I'm on I'll be back up at All-Star within a few weeks.

Some people think moving down is a crime. I think it's more like going back to AAA or AA so you can work on your game to get back to AllStar and above.

[nomo17k]

Re: I'm out my HITTING SLUMP and HERE'S WHY...

This is interesting. I recently moved down to veteran and that's exactaly what's been happening. Wow, right on the money. I think at the improvement rate I'm on I'll be back up at All-Star within a few weeks.

Some people think moving down is a crime. I think it's more like going back to AAA or AA so you can work on your game to get back to AllStar and above.

There's nothing wrong about moving down a difficulty level if you are struggling or not playing the game realistically. If anything hitting .220 at Legend and sticking to it is sillier...

The only issue is that at rookie or veteran, AI tries to give us some advantage willingly, so the playing field is not level. But for the purpose of feeling "missed opportunity," it's a great idea to play at these low levels a handful of games. When you start feeling pity for CPU for playing down to your level, that's when you are ready to go up IMO.