After over 120 games, I have finally settled on a combination of sliders and house rules that I presume will carry me for the duration of a full 162-game season. Before I begin, let me present the box scores and statistics from my past 10 games using the Detroit Tigers:
1. TOR - 0 R, 6 H, 1 E; DET - 12 R, 20 H, 0 E (W)
2. TOR - 8 R, 10 H, 0 E; DET - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E (L)
3. TOR - 1 R, 10 H, 1 E; DET - 10 R, 11 H, 1 E (W)
4. @KC - 8 R, 7 H, 2 E; DET - 9 R, 15 H, 1 E (W)
5. @KC - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E; DET - 9 R, 10 H, 0 E (W)
6. @KC - 4 R, 11 H, 0 E; DET - 10 R, 16 H, 1 E (W)
7. @BAL - 8 R, 13 H, 1 E; DET - 5 R, 7 H, 0 E (L)
8. @BAL - 6 R, 11 H, 2 E; DET - 5 R, 11 H, 0 E (L)
9. @BAL - 17 R, 22 H, 0 E; DET - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E (L)
10. @TOR - 8 R, 11 H, 1 E; DET - 5 R, 10 H, 1 E (L)
Pitching
TEAM ERA: 4.64
SO: 79 (league best:100; league worst: 60)
BB: 44 (league best: 23; league worst: 54)
BAA: .274 (league best: .240; league worst: .324)
HR: 15 (league best: 5; league worst: 18)
Batting
AVG: .323 (league best: .326; league worst: .239)
HR: 9 (league best: 21; league worst: 5)
BB: 29 (league best: 55; league worst: 25)
SO: 82 (league best: 56; league worst 100)
As you can see, things are going pretty well statistically. I've been shutout twice, and I've thrown two shutouts; I've score 8 or more runs five times and have allowed 8 or more runs five times. The way things have unfolded, I'm 99% certain that I won't need to make any significant changes from here on out - maybe a one notch bump here or there, but nothing more.
Without further delay:
HOUSE RULES
Note: These sliders are tailored for use with these rules; therefore, I have no idea how they would play should you elect not to follow them. (Examples of when it's appropriate to ignore them are included below.) Moreover, should you not find these rules to your liking, go ahead and stop reading now; these sliders aren't for you.
RULE #1: NO LEFT STICK
In general, this feature is too sensitive. My goal, in turn, was to provide hitter settings that allow for a nice number of HR's without having to bother with 'sometimes using the left stick, sometimes not'. In its absence, I've found that I still get an exceptional number of hits that are true to life - it's just all based on timing opposed to 'aiming'. If you read a pitch correctly, and time your swing correctly, you can still 'do what you want' with the ball. This is no major loss; in fact, it's just one less thing to think about while at the plate.
RULE #2: NO HITTER'S EYE
When a guy's Hitter's Eye is at or near 100%, it pretty much covers the entire strike zone - any 'bad' pitch is going to be a meatball. I've found that's plenty enough 'bonus' as it relates to this feature.
RULE #3: ONLY SWING AT MEATBALLS
As you'll see below, we'll have the Meatball slider at 100. This, in combination with Rule #2, is what results in a good number of walks, as well as getting the CPU's pitch count nice and high. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, such as: a) full counts; b) two-strike counts in general; c) 2-0 counts, if you're so inclined. A further exception:
RULE #3A: ONLY SWING AT THE PROVERBIAL 3-0 FASTBALL WHEN THERE IS AT LEAST ONE RUNNER ON BASE.
RULE #4: NO SHAKING OFF CATCHER SUGGESTIONS
That's right: you must throw every pitch where the catcher says, and it must be the pitch he calls for. (The only exception to this rule is when the call is for a pitch that is physically impossible, or is extremely likely to bean the hitter.) This rule is very important. It is the countermeasure for the fact that pitchers are much too accurate. Following it without exception might seem like it takes away the human element (i.e. your ability to call what you want) but, as is likewise the case with Rule #3, it's still up to you to execute. This will tie closely with Rule #5.
RULE #5: THROW EVERY PITCH PERFECTLY.
Your goal will be to throw every pitch with 100% effectiveness and hit the EXACT spot called for. This introduces an element of difficulty that is otherwise missing from the game. That is, in order to truly be 'perfect', you must know precisely what pitch does what (and by that I do not mean you must know what a slider does, for example, I mean you must know exactly what each individual pitcher's slider does) and you must, in turn, execute each pitch so that you get that little white flash. The failure to do so will generally result in a hit or a ball. Should you consistently succeed, however, that is when you'll start racking up K's and throwing shutout baseball. (The point here is that you might be surprised how difficult pitching can be when you truly strive for such perfection.)
Summary of House Rules:
The basic idea is to force you (the user) into performing at the highest possible level, where the failure to do so will result in a loss. Rule #3, for example, might seem as though it's taking your natural 'eye' out of the equation, but in fact what it does is force you to execute on a dime (I'm still amazed at the number of meatballs I swing and miss at; the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies a base hit or HR off a meatball is equaled only by the feeling of 'letting one get away' when I miss one with two strikes and runners on). Moreover, as I said above, the following sliders work in accordance with these rules. (AI Take and AI Pitching sliders, for example, may or may not make any sense without them.)
Hope you enjoy.
THE SLIDERS
Player Options
Game Difficulty: CUSTOM
Dynamic Difficulty: OFF
Hot and Cold Teams: OFF
The description of each of these options states that the sliders will automatically alter themselves in accordance to this that or the other. No thanks.
Batter Contact: 0
If you're used to something higher, worry not. As we saw above, I'm hitting .326 through 10 games, and, trust me, I'm nothing special.
Batter Power: 50
My 9 HR through 10 games speaks for itself. If anything, a bump to 55 could be in order, but I'm holding out for now.
Batter Influence: 0
Power Swing: 0
Step Influence: 0
The latter two here have no effect with Classic Swing. As for Batter Influence, I made the decision to go with zero with the thinking that I don't want a hitter's statistical (i.e. Inside Edge) inability to hit something to cause me to miss a pitch I would otherwise hit. A player's Power and Contact ratings are enough in this respect.
Pitcher Difficulty: 0
I'm biased against this slider. The description says that it increases 'the difficulty to hit good pitchers'. What is a 'good' pitcher, exactly? Again, a pitcher's ratings are enough: there's plenty of difference between a scrub and a superstar without having some obscure slider potentially getting in the way.
Batter Bunt Assistance: 100
I don't generally bunt, so when I do, I don't want it to be an adventure. But even with it at 100, I'm still seeing a lot of misses and fouls. Ultimately an arbitrary setting.
Batter Bunt For Hit: 25
Again, when I do bunt, I'm not trying for a hit anyway. Ultimately arbitrary.
Runner Baserunning SPD: 100
Runner Stealing Success: 80
Through my 10 games, I've attempted 7 steals and was successful 4 times. As with bunting, I don't care much about this slider and so haven't played with it much. Overall, I haven't seen a need to change it.
Infielder Errors: 80
Outfielder Errors: 80
The interesting thing here, as I've seen others mention as well, is that we're not talking strictly about 'errors', we're talking about throwing accuracy, bobbles, catchers not stopping wild pitches, etc. That is, most of the 'errors' I see do not actually result in an E in on the scorecard; I've yet to see a 3-error game, for example. Also, what's more, it's my understanding that errors count as earned runs? Since walks do not, having a few more errors than is realistic is a roundabout way of getting more realistic ERA numbers. Tit for tat.
Infielder Speed: 35
Outfielder Speed: 35
Throw Speeds: ZEROS
Reaction Speeds & Speed Burst #'s: ZEROS
Fielding Aggression: 50
Pitcher Fatigue: 15
From what I've seen here, most of you will find this number low. However, in my experience, this number is unquestionable, particularly with respect to Rules #4 & 5 above.
Pitcher Interface Speed: 100
Injuries: 50
I played with injuries off for quite some time, so I know almost nothing about this slider.
Pitch Speed: 95
I've found 100 to be the optimal number here in terms of realism, but when I lowered the Contact slider to zero, I bumped this down to 80 just to be safe. Since then, I've been creeping my way back up. It was just today that I felt comfortable moving this from 90 to 95, and I suspect I'll wind up at 100 again before long.
AI General Options
Errors: 80
Speeds: 35
Throw Speeds: 0
Aggression: 50
Throwing Aggression: 70
At one point I had this number perfect, but lost my sliders (damn saving glitch) and so I'm not sure if this is the correct number. Basically what you're looking for here are those moments when they 'should' have tried to gun down the lead runner but didn't - but you also don't want them gunning for a guy who's clearly going to be safe and subsequently don't get anyone out. A bump one way or the other might be in order here.
AI Hit 'N Run: 100
Sacrifice Bunt: 35
Squeeze: 25
Run Aggression: 80
As with Throw Aggression, I'm no longer sure about this number, but so far so good.
Stealing Success: 85
I can't find any stat for this, but I can say I've got Pudge behind the plate and he seems to be throwing out about half the attempts, which is right in line with his numbers from last year.
Steal 2nd: 100
Steal 3rd: 35
Steal Home: 15
Again, with Pudge behind the plate, I cannot be sure if the rate at which the CPU tries to steal is relative to the catcher or not, so these (particularly the Steal 2nd slider) may or may not be appropriate for your team/catcher. But what's most important is that you're put in position to pay close attention to the runner. Real pitchers constantly keep and eye at guys at first, even if they're not steal guys; something's missing if we don't have to do the same.
Diveback: 95
AI Batting Options
AI Batters Use Inside Edge: ON
Take Strike Overall: 50
Take Strike Ahead: 50
Take Strike Behind: 10
Take Ball Overall: 45
Take Ball Ahead: 30
Take Ball Behind: 10
Basically the thought here is that you want them to 'freak out' a little when behind in the count, and remain relatively cool early in the count and with an even count.
Skill: 100
Contact: 30
Power: 55
I know the contact slider looks incredibly low, but in conjunction with the House Rules - remember Rules 4 & 5! - trust me, it works out fine. In general, I've found that if you miss on your pitch they'll make contact, and with Power at 60, it's usually good contact; if you hit your spots, conversely, you'll do well. That's the whole idea, isn't it?
Bunt for Hit: 40
Never had much of a reason to even look at this. Ultimately arbitrary.
Pitcher Difficulty: 0
As above, a guy's 'stuff' will make more than enough difference between your pitchers without this slider getting in the way.
Effectiveness Mod: 100
This also speaks to Rules 4 & 5: HIT YOUR SPOTS!
AI Pitching Options
Inside Edge: ON
AI Corner: 0
Change Speed: 100
Strike Overall: 25
Strike Ahead: 25
Strike Behind: 75
Fatigue: 35
Pickoff: 5
Pitchout: 100
Meat Pitch: 100
A detailed explanation here is not necessary. That is, if you follow the House Rules for hitting, the logic behind these numbers should become self-evident. With that said, do not be discouraged should you walk four times in the first inning, or get five or six meatballs right out of the gate; likewise should you play out your first game and only manage a few hits. Each pitcher (needless to say) will be different. For example, in one of my recent games, I walked five times and scored six runs in the first four innings; after the starter was pulled, I proceeded to strikeout 11 times and did not score or walk again. Further, some pitchers, even with the Meat Pitch slider at 100, will go three and four innings without throwing one. It truly becomes a game-to-game, pitcher-to-pitcher situation. Again, that's the whole idea.
The End.
1. TOR - 0 R, 6 H, 1 E; DET - 12 R, 20 H, 0 E (W)
2. TOR - 8 R, 10 H, 0 E; DET - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E (L)
3. TOR - 1 R, 10 H, 1 E; DET - 10 R, 11 H, 1 E (W)
4. @KC - 8 R, 7 H, 2 E; DET - 9 R, 15 H, 1 E (W)
5. @KC - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E; DET - 9 R, 10 H, 0 E (W)
6. @KC - 4 R, 11 H, 0 E; DET - 10 R, 16 H, 1 E (W)
7. @BAL - 8 R, 13 H, 1 E; DET - 5 R, 7 H, 0 E (L)
8. @BAL - 6 R, 11 H, 2 E; DET - 5 R, 11 H, 0 E (L)
9. @BAL - 17 R, 22 H, 0 E; DET - 0 R, 5 H, 0 E (L)
10. @TOR - 8 R, 11 H, 1 E; DET - 5 R, 10 H, 1 E (L)
Pitching
TEAM ERA: 4.64
SO: 79 (league best:100; league worst: 60)
BB: 44 (league best: 23; league worst: 54)
BAA: .274 (league best: .240; league worst: .324)
HR: 15 (league best: 5; league worst: 18)
Batting
AVG: .323 (league best: .326; league worst: .239)
HR: 9 (league best: 21; league worst: 5)
BB: 29 (league best: 55; league worst: 25)
SO: 82 (league best: 56; league worst 100)
As you can see, things are going pretty well statistically. I've been shutout twice, and I've thrown two shutouts; I've score 8 or more runs five times and have allowed 8 or more runs five times. The way things have unfolded, I'm 99% certain that I won't need to make any significant changes from here on out - maybe a one notch bump here or there, but nothing more.
Without further delay:
HOUSE RULES
Note: These sliders are tailored for use with these rules; therefore, I have no idea how they would play should you elect not to follow them. (Examples of when it's appropriate to ignore them are included below.) Moreover, should you not find these rules to your liking, go ahead and stop reading now; these sliders aren't for you.
RULE #1: NO LEFT STICK
In general, this feature is too sensitive. My goal, in turn, was to provide hitter settings that allow for a nice number of HR's without having to bother with 'sometimes using the left stick, sometimes not'. In its absence, I've found that I still get an exceptional number of hits that are true to life - it's just all based on timing opposed to 'aiming'. If you read a pitch correctly, and time your swing correctly, you can still 'do what you want' with the ball. This is no major loss; in fact, it's just one less thing to think about while at the plate.
RULE #2: NO HITTER'S EYE
When a guy's Hitter's Eye is at or near 100%, it pretty much covers the entire strike zone - any 'bad' pitch is going to be a meatball. I've found that's plenty enough 'bonus' as it relates to this feature.
RULE #3: ONLY SWING AT MEATBALLS
As you'll see below, we'll have the Meatball slider at 100. This, in combination with Rule #2, is what results in a good number of walks, as well as getting the CPU's pitch count nice and high. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, such as: a) full counts; b) two-strike counts in general; c) 2-0 counts, if you're so inclined. A further exception:
RULE #3A: ONLY SWING AT THE PROVERBIAL 3-0 FASTBALL WHEN THERE IS AT LEAST ONE RUNNER ON BASE.
RULE #4: NO SHAKING OFF CATCHER SUGGESTIONS
That's right: you must throw every pitch where the catcher says, and it must be the pitch he calls for. (The only exception to this rule is when the call is for a pitch that is physically impossible, or is extremely likely to bean the hitter.) This rule is very important. It is the countermeasure for the fact that pitchers are much too accurate. Following it without exception might seem like it takes away the human element (i.e. your ability to call what you want) but, as is likewise the case with Rule #3, it's still up to you to execute. This will tie closely with Rule #5.
RULE #5: THROW EVERY PITCH PERFECTLY.
Your goal will be to throw every pitch with 100% effectiveness and hit the EXACT spot called for. This introduces an element of difficulty that is otherwise missing from the game. That is, in order to truly be 'perfect', you must know precisely what pitch does what (and by that I do not mean you must know what a slider does, for example, I mean you must know exactly what each individual pitcher's slider does) and you must, in turn, execute each pitch so that you get that little white flash. The failure to do so will generally result in a hit or a ball. Should you consistently succeed, however, that is when you'll start racking up K's and throwing shutout baseball. (The point here is that you might be surprised how difficult pitching can be when you truly strive for such perfection.)
Summary of House Rules:
The basic idea is to force you (the user) into performing at the highest possible level, where the failure to do so will result in a loss. Rule #3, for example, might seem as though it's taking your natural 'eye' out of the equation, but in fact what it does is force you to execute on a dime (I'm still amazed at the number of meatballs I swing and miss at; the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies a base hit or HR off a meatball is equaled only by the feeling of 'letting one get away' when I miss one with two strikes and runners on). Moreover, as I said above, the following sliders work in accordance with these rules. (AI Take and AI Pitching sliders, for example, may or may not make any sense without them.)
Hope you enjoy.
THE SLIDERS
Player Options
Game Difficulty: CUSTOM
Dynamic Difficulty: OFF
Hot and Cold Teams: OFF
The description of each of these options states that the sliders will automatically alter themselves in accordance to this that or the other. No thanks.
Batter Contact: 0
If you're used to something higher, worry not. As we saw above, I'm hitting .326 through 10 games, and, trust me, I'm nothing special.
Batter Power: 50
My 9 HR through 10 games speaks for itself. If anything, a bump to 55 could be in order, but I'm holding out for now.
Batter Influence: 0
Power Swing: 0
Step Influence: 0
The latter two here have no effect with Classic Swing. As for Batter Influence, I made the decision to go with zero with the thinking that I don't want a hitter's statistical (i.e. Inside Edge) inability to hit something to cause me to miss a pitch I would otherwise hit. A player's Power and Contact ratings are enough in this respect.
Pitcher Difficulty: 0
I'm biased against this slider. The description says that it increases 'the difficulty to hit good pitchers'. What is a 'good' pitcher, exactly? Again, a pitcher's ratings are enough: there's plenty of difference between a scrub and a superstar without having some obscure slider potentially getting in the way.
Batter Bunt Assistance: 100
I don't generally bunt, so when I do, I don't want it to be an adventure. But even with it at 100, I'm still seeing a lot of misses and fouls. Ultimately an arbitrary setting.
Batter Bunt For Hit: 25
Again, when I do bunt, I'm not trying for a hit anyway. Ultimately arbitrary.
Runner Baserunning SPD: 100
Runner Stealing Success: 80
Through my 10 games, I've attempted 7 steals and was successful 4 times. As with bunting, I don't care much about this slider and so haven't played with it much. Overall, I haven't seen a need to change it.
Infielder Errors: 80
Outfielder Errors: 80
The interesting thing here, as I've seen others mention as well, is that we're not talking strictly about 'errors', we're talking about throwing accuracy, bobbles, catchers not stopping wild pitches, etc. That is, most of the 'errors' I see do not actually result in an E in on the scorecard; I've yet to see a 3-error game, for example. Also, what's more, it's my understanding that errors count as earned runs? Since walks do not, having a few more errors than is realistic is a roundabout way of getting more realistic ERA numbers. Tit for tat.
Infielder Speed: 35
Outfielder Speed: 35
Throw Speeds: ZEROS
Reaction Speeds & Speed Burst #'s: ZEROS
Fielding Aggression: 50
Pitcher Fatigue: 15
From what I've seen here, most of you will find this number low. However, in my experience, this number is unquestionable, particularly with respect to Rules #4 & 5 above.
Pitcher Interface Speed: 100
Injuries: 50
I played with injuries off for quite some time, so I know almost nothing about this slider.
Pitch Speed: 95
I've found 100 to be the optimal number here in terms of realism, but when I lowered the Contact slider to zero, I bumped this down to 80 just to be safe. Since then, I've been creeping my way back up. It was just today that I felt comfortable moving this from 90 to 95, and I suspect I'll wind up at 100 again before long.
AI General Options
Errors: 80
Speeds: 35
Throw Speeds: 0
Aggression: 50
Throwing Aggression: 70
At one point I had this number perfect, but lost my sliders (damn saving glitch) and so I'm not sure if this is the correct number. Basically what you're looking for here are those moments when they 'should' have tried to gun down the lead runner but didn't - but you also don't want them gunning for a guy who's clearly going to be safe and subsequently don't get anyone out. A bump one way or the other might be in order here.
AI Hit 'N Run: 100
Sacrifice Bunt: 35
Squeeze: 25
Run Aggression: 80
As with Throw Aggression, I'm no longer sure about this number, but so far so good.
Stealing Success: 85
I can't find any stat for this, but I can say I've got Pudge behind the plate and he seems to be throwing out about half the attempts, which is right in line with his numbers from last year.
Steal 2nd: 100
Steal 3rd: 35
Steal Home: 15
Again, with Pudge behind the plate, I cannot be sure if the rate at which the CPU tries to steal is relative to the catcher or not, so these (particularly the Steal 2nd slider) may or may not be appropriate for your team/catcher. But what's most important is that you're put in position to pay close attention to the runner. Real pitchers constantly keep and eye at guys at first, even if they're not steal guys; something's missing if we don't have to do the same.
Diveback: 95
AI Batting Options
AI Batters Use Inside Edge: ON
Take Strike Overall: 50
Take Strike Ahead: 50
Take Strike Behind: 10
Take Ball Overall: 45
Take Ball Ahead: 30
Take Ball Behind: 10
Basically the thought here is that you want them to 'freak out' a little when behind in the count, and remain relatively cool early in the count and with an even count.
Skill: 100
Contact: 30
Power: 55
I know the contact slider looks incredibly low, but in conjunction with the House Rules - remember Rules 4 & 5! - trust me, it works out fine. In general, I've found that if you miss on your pitch they'll make contact, and with Power at 60, it's usually good contact; if you hit your spots, conversely, you'll do well. That's the whole idea, isn't it?
Bunt for Hit: 40
Never had much of a reason to even look at this. Ultimately arbitrary.
Pitcher Difficulty: 0
As above, a guy's 'stuff' will make more than enough difference between your pitchers without this slider getting in the way.
Effectiveness Mod: 100
This also speaks to Rules 4 & 5: HIT YOUR SPOTS!
AI Pitching Options
Inside Edge: ON
AI Corner: 0
Change Speed: 100
Strike Overall: 25
Strike Ahead: 25
Strike Behind: 75
Fatigue: 35
Pickoff: 5
Pitchout: 100
Meat Pitch: 100
A detailed explanation here is not necessary. That is, if you follow the House Rules for hitting, the logic behind these numbers should become self-evident. With that said, do not be discouraged should you walk four times in the first inning, or get five or six meatballs right out of the gate; likewise should you play out your first game and only manage a few hits. Each pitcher (needless to say) will be different. For example, in one of my recent games, I walked five times and scored six runs in the first four innings; after the starter was pulled, I proceeded to strikeout 11 times and did not score or walk again. Further, some pitchers, even with the Meat Pitch slider at 100, will go three and four innings without throwing one. It truly becomes a game-to-game, pitcher-to-pitcher situation. Again, that's the whole idea.
The End.
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