Does pitching and batting ratings matter?

[adfletch71]

I have a question about the ratings for MLB2k11, do they really matter in this game? I have set my sliders all on 50, except throwing and fielding speeds. It seems that when u look at the ratings of batters and when they are at bat, they have no power at 50. Guys with 75-85 power, doesn't hit home runs or triples at 50 default. I don't want too cheat with sliders, because I want the ratings too speak for themselves. For pitching, it seems ok, there's a lot of variety at 50 default.

It just seems that batting doesn't really matter at 50 default with there ratings. So what do u guys recommend, don't want too cheat but want there ratings too mean something. Also do u think 50 speed for base running, outfield speed and infield speed is too fast for this game? Again dont want too cheat and want ratings too matter.

[peigone]

Re: Does pitching and batting ratings matter?

Ratings matter of course. The problem with this year's game is the rating programming appears to have been tweaked and some ratings don't work as they did in the past. High contact ratings for example are somewhat useless unless the player also has high power ratings. It's a discrepancy in the game engine that a number of people here have pointed out.

That wasn't the case in the past with this series. I spent a good 20-30 hours testing ratings for 2K8 and 2K9 (didn't play 2K10). First off, in the past, power and contact ratings could be set at 0. Now the lowest they go is 25. This creates a problem in that there's not enough of a ratings spread between the lowest and highest ratings. Pitchers for example should have power and contact ratings in the 1-10 range.

Also, it used to be possible to create useful and dangerous Ichiro-type hitters who had like 95 contact and 15 power. They'd still get their fair share of HRs because their high contact rating would act as a sort of "lift and carry" modifier. So you'd see a lot of hard-hit linedrives to the wall. But all of that appears to have been reprogrammed as the game engine doesn't work the same way anymore. I really like 2K11, but that's really a big issue for me with this game.

[peigone]

Re: Does pitching and batting ratings matter?

Also do u think 50 speed for base running, outfield speed and infield speed is too fast for this game? Again dont want too cheat and want ratings too matter.

I lowered baserunning speed to 15 I believe. And outfielders appear to me to be running in mud, so I raised those sliders way up. I may have even maxed them out.

[cardswin2006]

Re: Does pitching and batting ratings matter?

It depends on what swing you are using.

If you are just using contact swings, you won't get many HRs, even with high power guys. Although that being said, I did just hit a HR on a contact swing with a guy who had 54 power (first time ever that's happened this year for me). I'm using sliders that have contact and power at 40.

The key is using the "power" swing effectively, namely when you are ahead in the count. If you work the count in your favor, it seems like you are rewarded with getting more solid contact and getting more hits, and it's not just because the pitcher is using "get it over" pitches.

However, with high contact/low power guys, a power swing is more likely to result in a pop up, lazy fly, or ground out. At the same time, though, you are more likely to hit the ball hard in the gap than if you just use a contact swing.

It really is a risk/reward system.