Re: Stats-Based CPU Sliders [MLB 17 Version]
I have considered and have used Strike Frequency at 6 (4/20 - 4/29 sets)... but I think it has to go with some measure to lower the pitchers ability to throw strikes, otherwise walks will be down. Most effective being Pitcher Consistency but given the wild pitch/HBP situation, I don't want to keep it higher if possible.
And if you look at the early-count strike %, it's only slightly down but not that much, so I'm more inclined to look at that than just the first-pitch strike %, which for some reason has been consistently down a couple % or so in the PS4 generation of the game... strike % of 55% is roughly the magic number that indicates the pitchers' natural ability to throw pitches in the strike zone (when hitters are not swinging at all), so my guess is that in the course making CPU less aggressive (which was a frequent complaint a few years back), I think CPU hitters are made to swing at less first pitches, and that might be the reason for the difference between FP/EC strike %.
So effectively, the tweak for the 5/22 & 5/23 set is based from the beta set of 3-4-5 (Pitcher Control/Consistency/Frequency) to 2-5-5... I am not surprised the batting average is up slightly, because with Control down, a few more pitches drift into the hittable portion of the strike zone. Walks being down is also kind of expected since Pitcher Consistency is much more effective in influencing the number of walks than Control (with Consistency 4, walks are slightly overproduced, but with 5 they are slightly underproduced...).
HR being slightly down is a little puzzling to me, as I would expect consistently poorer Control to help produce more meat pitches to go for HRs, but it is not so apparent. What might be happening is that the increase in Consistency isn't sufficiently compensated by the decrease in Control, and the setting is making pitchers in the zone of "effective wildness" in terms of avoiding HRs (i.e., with poorer Control, some pitches become meatballs, but even more drift away from hittable part of the strike zone).
BTW, my current understanding/educated guessing of how the Control slider works is based on something like this (from the last year's thread): http://www.operationsports.com/forum...7&postcount=56
But I think overall I do like how 5/22 & 5/23 sets look. BABIP is consistently higher (might be a little too high), so the offense comes at the right amount, but HR isn't inflated so it feels like good, non-arcade-y baseball to me.
The choice between these and the recommended beta set is mostly the balance between hits and walks. If you prefer more hits, go with 5/22 or 5/23 set, but if you prefer more walks, you go with the current beta set.
I have considered and have used Strike Frequency at 6 (4/20 - 4/29 sets)... but I think it has to go with some measure to lower the pitchers ability to throw strikes, otherwise walks will be down. Most effective being Pitcher Consistency but given the wild pitch/HBP situation, I don't want to keep it higher if possible.
And if you look at the early-count strike %, it's only slightly down but not that much, so I'm more inclined to look at that than just the first-pitch strike %, which for some reason has been consistently down a couple % or so in the PS4 generation of the game... strike % of 55% is roughly the magic number that indicates the pitchers' natural ability to throw pitches in the strike zone (when hitters are not swinging at all), so my guess is that in the course making CPU less aggressive (which was a frequent complaint a few years back), I think CPU hitters are made to swing at less first pitches, and that might be the reason for the difference between FP/EC strike %.
So effectively, the tweak for the 5/22 & 5/23 set is based from the beta set of 3-4-5 (Pitcher Control/Consistency/Frequency) to 2-5-5... I am not surprised the batting average is up slightly, because with Control down, a few more pitches drift into the hittable portion of the strike zone. Walks being down is also kind of expected since Pitcher Consistency is much more effective in influencing the number of walks than Control (with Consistency 4, walks are slightly overproduced, but with 5 they are slightly underproduced...).
HR being slightly down is a little puzzling to me, as I would expect consistently poorer Control to help produce more meat pitches to go for HRs, but it is not so apparent. What might be happening is that the increase in Consistency isn't sufficiently compensated by the decrease in Control, and the setting is making pitchers in the zone of "effective wildness" in terms of avoiding HRs (i.e., with poorer Control, some pitches become meatballs, but even more drift away from hittable part of the strike zone).
BTW, my current understanding/educated guessing of how the Control slider works is based on something like this (from the last year's thread): http://www.operationsports.com/forum...7&postcount=56
But I think overall I do like how 5/22 & 5/23 sets look. BABIP is consistently higher (might be a little too high), so the offense comes at the right amount, but HR isn't inflated so it feels like good, non-arcade-y baseball to me.
The choice between these and the recommended beta set is mostly the balance between hits and walks. If you prefer more hits, go with 5/22 or 5/23 set, but if you prefer more walks, you go with the current beta set.
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