Zone Hitting Tips

[FenwayMac]

Well, this thread was going to be inevitable as soon as I decided to switch over from right-stick hitting. I have played a three-game series with the Red Sox and probably struck out 30+ times. I have the pitch speed set to 55 for the moment, but clearly I having trouble hitting. I would say I had about 10 hits over the 3 games. It is really rewarding to smack a nice triple and there is a ton of hits variety, but I definitely need some hitting tips.

First off, most of my hits seem to be line drives or infield dribbles. I have no idea how to get some loft on the ball to hit a sac fly, and am also trying to figure out when I should move the cursor? Last second? While I am swinging? before? Just looking for tips please!

Thanks!

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I feel your pain!!!

When I first started, I had pitch speed at 60 and I had similar struggles. I was getting maybe 4 or 5 hits a game and was lucky to score a run and struck out a ton.

I played through it and eventually it clicked. Earlier on, it wasn't so much a timing issue as it was just me over or under reacting with the stick. I was swinging at the right time, just over or under the pitches.

My other problem was the I swung at everything. I was too busy just tracking the pitch, I didn't realize if it was a strike or a ball and because most of the AI pitches are close, I found myself chasing a lot of pitches out of the zone.

The major change I made was to keep the bat in the middle of the zone to start. This also means keeping the batters eye (if you use it) in the middle (To me this keeps cheating toa min as the only time you are tipped off is when a pitch is down the middle, which you should crush anyway ). If you use it, you know that when you move it to a corner and hold it, the bat will move there as soon as the pitcher goes into his motion.

By keeping the bat in the middle, it makes my L-stick movement as minimal as possible for the most part. The farther you have to make the cursor travel, the more likely you will make an error and under or over commit.

Other things I have done/noticed:

Start taking pitches. If you feel that you swing at everything, start making your hitters take a strike. This will help you start to recognize balls from strikes a little better.

Track the ball with the cursor as soon as the pitcher lets go. If you try to move at the last second, it's probably going to be more of a jerk motion. If you follow it, your movement will be more controlled and subtle.

Fastballs up in the zone give me the most trouble. I am almost always late on them, but I find that realisitc. This a pitch most hitters can't catch up to unless you are sitting up on it.

If you think the pitcher is going to keep the ball down or up, cheat your cursor that way (especially early in the count or when ahead in the count). If you are looking for something down and have your cursor down, lay off anything up in the zone, even if it's hittable.

It will eventually click. Stick with it. Now I'm getting too many hits and have to keep adjusting the pitch speed.

[FenwayMac]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I agree with you saying that eventually it will just click, become instinct. I think it is just getting used to the motion and speed of the pitches.

One thing I do to judge a strike for a ball (at least for inside and outside pitches) is to just leave the bat in the center and watch to see if the ball is travelling outside of the tip of the bat...if it is then it is definitely going to be a ball.

I also have read that it is about getting ANY part of the stupid curser bat on the ball and not just the X, so maybe I need to work on getting more of the bat over the ball.

Please explain the batters eye to me in more detail. I am guessing that the batters eye is the black circle that appears before the pitch is thrown. Do I lock this into a location? if so how? So when the pitcher throws a pitch, will that area of the strike zone light up and I know to move the curser there to swing, or does the bat just move itself since I locked in? Does the slider represent how often this zone lights up, so if I had it on 100% and I had the black mark on lower outside zone, would it light up every time the pitcher throws there?

Also, in regards to sac flys and the such, is this a matter of getting under the ball a bit?

I am commited to sticking with it. At the very least I am pretty decent at pitching, so I am not fully discouraged at the end of the game, because I know it will come eventually.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I agree with you saying that eventually it will just click, become instinct. I think it is just getting used to the motion and speed of the pitches.

One thing I do to judge a strike for a ball (at least for inside and outside pitches) is to just leave the bat in the center and watch to see if the ball is travelling outside of the tip of the bat...if it is then it is definitely going to be a ball.

I also have read that it is about getting ANY part of the stupid curser bat on the ball and not just the X, so maybe I need to work on getting more of the bat over the ball.

Please explain the batters eye to me in more detail. I am guessing that the batters eye is the black circle that appears before the pitch is thrown. Do I lock this into a location? if so how? So when the pitcher throws a pitch, will that area of the strike zone light up and I know to move the curser there to swing, or does the bat just move itself since I locked in? Does the slider represent how often this zone lights up, so if I had it on 100% and I had the black mark on lower outside zone, would it light up every time the pitcher throws there?

Also, in regards to sac flys and the such, is this a matter of getting under the ball a bit?

I am commited to sticking with it. At the very least I am pretty decent at pitching, so I am not fully discouraged at the end of the game, because I know it will come eventually.

I'm not really sure how the batters eye works any more. When it first started a few years ago, it was basically a location guess. If the ball ended up in the circle, it would tell you as the pitcher went into his windup or released the ball and then you'd get a bonus on your hit/power. They've kind of modified it since then to show up less often and later in the pitch. I believe last year, they made it so if the pitcher executed a perfect pitch, it would override the location showing up. Not sure if that still holds true. Honestly, I don't recall every seeing the location show up. But I assume the boost is still there.

As far as hitting sac fly's, it's all about getting under the ball. The physics of this hitting system are much better IMO, than with classic because your bat placement and timing determines the outcome of the swing instead of just the timing. I'm to the point now, where I can tell if I hit one square or got too far under it based on this.

I would reccomend going into batting practice and then moving the cursor around to see the impact on contact. Because all pitches are right down the middle, you can move your bat lower and lower and see line drives become flyballs become pop ups. You can see the difference between hitting it off the barrell vs. the handle, etc. It really won't help you out as far as moving/gauging the cursor because all of the pitches are down the middle, but it will give you a better understanding of the impact of the location of your bat and the timing of your swing.

[FenwayMac]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

sounds good. I only spent a few minutes in the training because I was just cranking them all out, so I went into the game instead. But it would be a good place to test out different contacts and timing.

Like you said earlier, one of my biggest problems is jamming on that stick and REALLY overcompensating the location. I guess it comes with the adrenaline or something. Sounds like I need to learn touch control to move it slowly. It would really help if that damn bat were not there though. Tracing the ball movement as you say, might be helpful.

How slow did you have your speed when you started out? I am now down to 55.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I started at 60...moved it down to 50 then up to 55 and then up to 60 where I am now. After hitting 1 HR in my first 4 franchise games and striking out about 9 or 10 times a game, I've hit about 7 or 8 HR's in my last two and am only striking out 2 or 3 times a game, so I think it's time to jump it up again. However, my last two games have been against back of the rotation starters, so I may go 4 or 5 more games to see if it is me or just bad pitching by #4's and #5's.

I'll tell you one thing though, I have been much more patient at the plate and while I have drawn several walks, I just find that I end up getting a pitch I can drive in almost every at bat if I see a few pitches. I find that I am hitting a lot more balls hard than before. The bad thing is the games can drag on a bit.

[FenwayMac]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

yeah, it is about an hour a game or right around there. Are you using any particular slider set?

[nbluedevils]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

hey just saw this thread and felt the need to contribute, simply because zone hitting saved this game for me. i was sick and tired of seeing weak, floating gappers getting snagged by the CPU outfielders and robbing me of hits consistently when using the swing stick. now i see everything from scorching line drives to the wall to pop-ups that seem to hang up in the air for ages. i've even seen home runs from my secondary power guys on a consistent basis. for my sliders i use the base pro human hitting sliders and cpu pitching sliders with pitch zone tendency and strike zone tendency both at 0. and i'm loving the results!

[rickypro]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

Ditto here as well. I am really liking the game using the cursor hitting. Great variety of hits and plays much more like real baseball now.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

The biggest thing for me is that you are in complete control and earn every hit. With a timing only system, your leaving much of the quality of contact up to ratings or computer calculations or randomness and while that still may impact the outcome in zone hitting, it seems to be minimal. When you hit a HR, it's because you timed the swing right and located the cursor right where it needed to be. It's more work, but the payoff IMO is worth it once you figure it out and get it down.

[FenwayMac]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

Well, chalk me up as one of those still trying to figure it out and get it down!

So I played at least 15 games this weekend absolutely convinced that I could get into the zone with the curser hitting. Yeah I had a ton of strikeouts, but nothing beats really getting ahold of one and also the nice variety of hits.

I really need some assistance still on the hitting though because I am still HORRIBLE with timing and getting the curser where it needs to be. And I really suck at determining what pitch and where it will go. I use the inside edge on pitching stats and try to focus on those zones, but if I commit to just those areas, it really eliminates my chance to catch an nice inside fastball or something because I am always sitting outside. He is what I am doing...

Basically I have tried both waiting until the pitch has been thrown to move the curser because I found that if I tried to move the curser while swinging I always miss the ball. So then I would move the curser right after the pitch into the highest percentage pitch zone and wait, giving me a chance to work on getting the right timing...but by doing this I have basically commited to that one zone and if it is anywhere else, well...too bad so sad.

I have tried varying speeds of pitches, from 50 up to 65 and still swing either too late on fastballs or too early on breaking pitches.

By the way, that bat icon really screws me up!

So I am torn. I guess I can always go back to the swing stick method, but it was not very challenging...but the curser hitting is extremely frustrating, but can be rewarding! Agg!

Here is the thing though...when I do an exhibition...for whatever reason the hitting is way to make contact...so it makes me question whether my slider set is what is ruining the experience. I am using Padgoi's slider set, and for the most part I like the results, but maybe I need a different set? What do you guys use?

Also, maybe I am one of the few where if I used the swing stick AND the curser stick, my timing might be better? I know it sounds crazy, but I play a lot of call of duty, and you need to use both of those sticks to be successful. Thoughts?

It just feels for natural for me to swing while I move the curser because it gives you the feeling that you are adjusting to the pitch rather that guessing the location and waiting, which feels clunky.

I know this is just a bunch of mad rambling, but I just am looking for hope that I can still make this work before heading back to my swing stick inflated numbers settings! HELP!

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I'm using the same slider set as you, so I really can't advise you otherwise there.

What camera settings are you using? I'll have to double check mine, but I'm sure I have the zoom set at 9 (with zoom on pitch selected) and I think I have the camera height at 4. I just know that my height is set so I can just see the plate at the bottom of the screen.

The only other thing I find myself doing different is keeping the cursor in the middle of the strike zone to start. I don't use inside edge at all, but to me starting in the center gives me the best chance at hitting a pitch in any direction. If you commit to one side of the plate, you are basically elminating any chance to hit a pitch on the other side. If you start in the middle, IMO, you are giving yourself the best chance to hit most pitches.

I guess the main question is this: When you miss a pitch are you missing it because your timing is off or because your aim is off? If you are not sure, check the replays after each pitch and you should be able to determine if your swining early or late or if your are swining over or under the ball.

If it's location you are missing, the only thing I can think to do is to play games (with your harder slider set) and take a lot of pitches and just try tracking the ball. Force yourself not to swing until you get 1 or 2 strikes on you. Don't worry about the results. When I first used this system I found myself kind of jumping the cursor at the direction of the ball. Now I find myself moving along with it.

If it's timing, then I'm not sure what to do. Like you said, maybe you'd be more sucecssful using the swing stick.

[Padgoi]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

I am obviously also using my slider set and I can say, pitch speed at 65 is for people who are USED to the zone hitting method. If you're a beginner, you're gonna strike out a lot, so be patient, it takes time. Trev is having similar results as I am now, at first I was striking out a lot and constantly tweaking, but over time it got more and more natural and now, with pitch speed at 65, I'm seeing VERY realistic results. With the Yankees through about 20 games, I'm averaging about 1.75 to 2 homers per game, my team average is about .290, my team ERA is about 4.50, and my team record is 11-9. Can't get much better than that IMO.

So again, I have to say, be patient. The sliders (for the most part IMO) are solid, just takes time to get used to this method of hitting, you need good hand-eye coordination and lots of practice. But once you get the hang of it, it'll feel VERY rewarding with each and every win you get. Trust me, I play with the Yankees and every win is a hard-fought win (with the occasional blow-out). And as Trev said, be patient at the plate. Don't swing at everything or the CPU will throw you crap. Work the count, take walks, play small ball (sac bunt in appropriate situations), and cheat the cursor if you think a pitch is headed in a certain direction. You'll be fine with practice. I'm 30 years old and doing well with these sliders so you younger guys should be fine.

Oh, AND MAKE SURE YOU USE MY UPDATED SLIDERS!!! I made some IMPORTANT changes in the past few days!!!

[FenwayMac]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

Haha! I am 32 so my reflexes are more shot than yours!

So when I start in the middle of the strike zone, the first thing I notice is how highly sensitive the cursor is, So I assume it takes a very gentle motion to crawl that cursor around the zone? Also, are you pretty much always trying to line up the ball with the sweet spot (X) or just trying to get the bat on it? Are you only trying to hit a ball within the zone, or have you had any success reaching and making contact.

As for your slider set...Seems like the pitcher can paint the corners...whether they hit or not, those pitches always seem to be on the edges...do your new sliders adjust this? I swear to you...out of the last 20 at bats with David Wright I have struck out reaching for low and away sliders that look like they will stay in the zone. Its as if the computer knows my tendencies and is sticking it to me....luckily David is taking it all in stride!

I also am curious to try the hit stick to see if it fixes my timing...like I said, I am used to using those constantly for aiming in COD, so maybe that as well as playing about 50 games of baseball with the hit stick has wired me to time better than with classic. We shall see.

I dont want to give up on this though because it does make it way more fun to get a well earned hit and see the greater variety.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Zone Hitting Tips

Haha! I am 32 so my reflexes are more shot than yours!

So when I start in the middle of the strike zone, the first thing I notice is how highly sensitive the cursor is, So I assume it takes a very gentle motion to crawl that cursor around the zone? Also, are you pretty much always trying to line up the ball with the sweet spot (X) or just trying to get the bat on it? Are you only trying to hit a ball within the zone, or have you had any success reaching and making contact.

The cursor is sensitive and like I said initially, I was very jumpy with it, but over time I have been able to control it much better.

Typically, I just try and make contact and don't get too fine about trying to hit the ball in the air or on the ground. However, in certain situations where I want to get under the ball and hit in the air, I will move my cursor to the the bottom of the zone initially and wait for something a little up in the zone.

Also, I'm much better at regonizing pitch types and anticipating where they will end up. Because of this, I have a little more sucess hitting HR's because I do a better job of getting under the ball when they hang it or leave it up.

As far as chasing pitches, it sounds like you are like me a few weeks ago. I was chasing everything. I would litterally swing at 95% of the pitches in a game and walks were out of the question, but as I forced myself to take a strike (sometimes two), I found that I started watching the ball more and again, I became better at reading the pitch type and anticipating it's location.

The computer does paint the corners more than they realistically should and it can be tough to judge, but at least early in the count, make them earn a called strike. Now I'm walking realsitically. Sometimes it's once a game and other times it's four or five.