So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

[JBH3]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

well i could see how that could be a cool addition to 2k8....but i think if we want realism then it should be up to the hitter to know the count situation and pitch "could" be coming... how real is it to know the pitch every time?

If I remember correctly the way EA did it was it appeared real quick like, and if it the pitcher did a good job of hiding his pitch before release then it would be harder to tell what it was. It's been so long since I played that game so I can't really remember the whole interface, but I do remember an interview w/ either Pujols or Manny at the time where they were asked if they can see a pitch coming. Whom ever it was stated that some pitchers when they were in their windup and about to throw the ball could be seen, and in that split second a batter could see the way the were holding the pitch and kinda determine what it would be hence the color coding. W/ Next-gen I would hope that there would be a much cooler more innovative way of doing this, but I agree that their should be some kind of "slight" tipping point to those batters w/ especially good eyes etc.

[totalownership]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Even though it's not evident through the vids I'm hoping that the fact that the game will run at 60fps and will have full AA on will drastically help with picking up pitches.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Even though it's not evident through the vids I'm hoping that the fact that the game will run at 60fps and will have full AA on will drastically help with picking up pitches.

I did notice one of the change ups was MUCH easier to see in one of those vids, than it was last year.

[merff11]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Another possibilty they could add is the movement of the pitch at release point. If some of you remember from your plaing or coaching days, if you watch where the ball is released, a fastball comes directly from the hand, a 12-6 curve actually bubbles up and away fro the hand just a bit. Slider bubbles outside of the hand and a change varies by type of change thrown. Perhaps they could come up with a different release for each pitch. As it sits now you are all right, each pitch in 2k7 came out looking identical. Spin or not, you can't change the physics of how the ball comes off your fingers. A 12-6 curve by mere motion of the hand has to go up if not just a fraction on release to make the rotation possible.

Not sure how realistic it is they could do that, but if there are only 6 pitches to come up for releases for, it might be do-able. Then you don't have to worry about color coding or trying to pick up spin on a 1 cm ball. You can get back to basics and watching the arm slot at release and tell pitch, then judge ball or strike. Instead of judging ball or strike, then pitch type, which is the way it seemed to me in last year's installment.

[The Bimmer]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

We should'nt be able to tell what this dude is throwing!

[DSheppard]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

im surprised not one person has disagreed so far.

on the default settings while playing online i have little difficulty telling what pitch is coming. im not very good at the actual timing of hitting in the game, but i can almost always tell what pitch it is on time except for a few pitchers who either have the best fastballs in the game (in which case theres no time at all to determine if its a breaking ball.. although that may be realistic to those pitchers in real life) or a particularly unique pitch. but for normal fastball/slider/curveball.. no problem. change is the hardest, but isnt it the hardest in real life too?

although maybe it helps that i am very patient while batting and take a lot of pitches, so i get used to what variety of pitchers the user (online) is going to throw and when and such.

the most difficult pitch for me to handle though is the sweeping sliders, because even though i can tell if its a slider i cant judge at all if its going to be a strike or not.

anyway, i wouldnt mind if they do make it easier to tell though. it was in 2k6. maybe it was the farther back/higher up camera.

[SFGiantsPBA]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

In my league DRSSL we change the pitch speed to 55 and really can see the breaking balls in a real like manor and the fastballs are still fast!

I did this months ago so that we could have more fun then just guess and the league is still running today!

[Trevytrev11]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

We should'nt be able to tell what this dude is throwing!

I don't know...I would think the 5.17 ERA, .294 Opponents Batting average, 1.60 WHIP and 6.4 K's per game (only 146 in 205 IP) would tell you that hitters were picking up the ball pretty well off of him last year.

It's kind of like Hideo Nomo in the fact that a funky/weird windup will only distract/fool/trick a hitter for so long. Once they watch enough tape or get in enough AB's and lock in on your release point, that deception is gone.

[maverick3176]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Well obviously they need to make the pitches easier to see and break more realistically BUT adding some kind of pitch "tipoff" or color indicator is the wrong way to go if you're looking for realism. What's the point in playing SIM baseball if you know what pitch is coming instantly.

I always thought that feature was lame in MVP 2005 and kept it turned off. Real MLB hitters don't have the benefit of seeing a red/blue/green glow around the ball to let them know what pitch is coming.

I will say this......all baseball games need to do a better job of have the CPU throw the correct pitches in the correct situations.

If I'm the hitter and the count is 3-1.......odds are in real life most pitchers are going to throw you a fastball, especially if they have a good one.

Yet in baseball games over the years, you are no more likely to recieve a fastball than any other pitch.

I think you dont understand the system. It was suppose to represent picking up the spin on the ball. Hitters can recognize pitches based on spin...you will often hear hitters talk aobut slider spin, fastball spin, curveball spin etc. Now there is no way that you could visually see the spin in a baseball game...but the color code was a way to kind of make you able to see the spin. Plus it also served as a way from distinguishing between pitchers who hide the ball well. there are some pitchers that because of there release point and delivery it makes it hard to pick up the spin until late....Clemens is a guy who is said to be like this...so is Rivera. So it was a very unsim way of representing a very sim quality of the game. i wish there was a better way to implement the idea...but in truth (and I hated the MVP series) it was actually not such a bad idea.

[The Bimmer]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

I don't know...I would think the 5.17 ERA, .294 Opponents Batting average, 1.60 WHIP and 6.4 K's per game (only 146 in 205 IP) would tell you that hitters were picking up the ball pretty well off of him last year.

It's kind of like Hideo Nomo in the fact that a funky/weird windup will only distract/fool/trick a hitter for so long. Once they watch enough tape or get in enough AB's and lock in on your release point, that deception is gone.

The white flag is waving!

[maverick3176]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Another possibilty they could add is the movement of the pitch at release point. If some of you remember from your plaing or coaching days, if you watch where the ball is released, a fastball comes directly from the hand, a 12-6 curve actually bubbles up and away fro the hand just a bit. Slider bubbles outside of the hand and a change varies by type of change thrown. Perhaps they could come up with a different release for each pitch. As it sits now you are all right, each pitch in 2k7 came out looking identical. Spin or not, you can't change the physics of how the ball comes off your fingers. A 12-6 curve by mere motion of the hand has to go up if not just a fraction on release to make the rotation possible.

Not sure how realistic it is they could do that, but if there are only 6 pitches to come up for releases for, it might be do-able. Then you don't have to worry about color coding or trying to pick up spin on a 1 cm ball. You can get back to basics and watching the arm slot at release and tell pitch, then judge ball or strike. Instead of judging ball or strike, then pitch type, which is the way it seemed to me in last year's installment.

This is an awsome idea. But it might be hard to pull off. However, before they do this...I would like to see them get the hitting system down.

[maverick3176]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

im surprised not one person has disagreed so far.

on the default settings while playing online i have little difficulty telling what pitch is coming. im not very good at the actual timing of hitting in the game, but i can almost always tell what pitch it is on time except for a few pitchers who either have the best fastballs in the game (in which case theres no time at all to determine if its a breaking ball.. although that may be realistic to those pitchers in real life) or a particularly unique pitch. but for normal fastball/slider/curveball.. no problem. change is the hardest, but isnt it the hardest in real life too?

although maybe it helps that i am very patient while batting and take a lot of pitches, so i get used to what variety of pitchers the user (online) is going to throw and when and such.

the most difficult pitch for me to handle though is the sweeping sliders, because even though i can tell if its a slider i cant judge at all if its going to be a strike or not.

anyway, i wouldnt mind if they do make it easier to tell though. it was in 2k6. maybe it was the farther back/higher up camera.

It isnt easy...but its far from impossible. i find that looking for a particular pitch helps me. Plus i highly recommend looking at more pitches...just to notice where they start to break....I tend to look fastball...but if I look breaking ball I will remember the point that the ball would break...if it doesnt its a heater...and I either should layoff or swing away. IMO...hitting was too easy...cuz it was just timing. If they made it easier for me to not get tricked on timing then I would really be unstoppable in this game

[kevroman]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

I think it was way more of a problem distinguishing if it was a ball or strike rather than what pitch it is... online it was way too hard to determine whether or not to swing or not too, especially with a fastball

[maverick3176]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

I think it was way more of a problem distinguishing if it was a ball or strike rather than what pitch it is... online it was way too hard to determine whether or not to swing or not too, especially with a fastball

thaat wasnt too bad...with less than 2 strikes just look in your zone

[Mjphillips]

Re: So is there anyway to distinguish pitches?

Add me to the list that think something needs to be done. I couldn't hit one curveball in this game. Never saw it coming.