Am I the only one that is in love with this? It is a totally different game at 100 than it is at something like 75... it completely changes how you approach hitting in a baseball game and imo mimics real life baseball much more.
For instance, it is almost pure reactionary now. You literally have to have a "quick twitch" thumb and make an immediate read on the pitch. There is no "thinking", in the sense that at something like 75 pitch speed I have time to actually process in my head what pitch it is and where it is going to end up (and whether or not I should swing). It feels so much more like real baseball, where you get a split second read and react with no thought in between, like your hand and brain work in perfect unison, rather than your brain thinking and then your hand acting... it is all one. At 100, by the time you realize you have to make a decision, it is too late, you better have already reacted.
And to be clear, to someone that hasn't tried it (or only attempted it briefly), it is not/should not be a pure guessing game... rather it is an instinctual subconscoius decision rather than a rational conscious one.
It takes some getting used to, and it is definitely an adjustment "programming" your thumb to react on your first instinct rather than waiting to conciously process that decision through your head, but nothing is more satisfying than than putting together a rally at 100 pitch speed.
For me, there are two keys...
1) I have to be completely focused and ready to react. That means physically with my hand on the controller and my thumb "twitchy" on the right stick. The key for me is that I keep my thumb at the ready, but only very lightly grazing the stick rather than firmly planted on it. For anyone that plays/played baseball, what this does for me is the equivalent to when all your muscles tighten up as a pitch comes in and you're on the precipice of swinging and your muscles are ready to unload, but you dont. Not quite a check swing, because you don't actually swing the bat (check swings are closer to concious decisions) but more like an absolute last second reaction not to swing.
For me, this is absolutely key as it buys me a split second extra to pick up on a pitch and bail if I don't like it. Unlike sitting there stagnant and then waiting to try and pick up the pitch and react (which is what happens on lower pitch speeds, and at which point I'd probably be too late) my thumb is already in the swinging "mindset". I am "geared up" and instead of deciding to swing (again, this is what happens on lower speeds), I am actually using that split second to decide not to swing. For me, this hand placement and approach is what allows me to have the "quick twitch" thumb and instinctually react, vs just going up there and guessing.
2) You have to know the pitcher and mentally have a gameplan. This is the other important factor to me in reacting vs guessing at such fast speeds. If you go up there without a plan, you are still going to end up guessing (or at least reacting incorrectly... which is a fine line) most of the time. The ball just comes in too fast not to have a plan... You have to know the pitcher's pitches/tendancies so that you can pick up on the pitch and react accordingly in an incredibly short amount of time (this also adds to the realism because it makes those early at bats where you want to work the pitcher and figure him out incredibly important).
For example, I just faced Chris Carpenter, and he has a nasty 12-6 curve that he'll throw when he's ahead (especially with 2 strikes), and a nasty slider that he likes to throw outside (to lefties and righties... particularly on 0-1 counts). Early in the count, you don't have to worry as much about the breaking stuff, but especially when he gets two strikes, you better have a plan.
For me, it meant reacting based on the initial height of the pitch. Anything that appeared middle or lower, I instinctually was slightly more hesitent on, because if it was offspead, there was no chance I was making contact. By putting my thumb slightly softer on the stick, and focusing all my attention on identifying pitches middle down for break, I would buy myself an extra split second to decide to swing or not. This meant I would probably be a hair late on a fastball middle/down, but I had a better chance of laying off a tough offspead pitch.
It also meant, my natural instinct would be to jump all over a pitch that was up without even worrying about identifying breaking ball or fastball (not to say I wouldn't try to identify the pitch, just that I was naturally more inclined to make that "decision" sooner and try to rip a pitch, rather than waiting that extra split second to idendify break)... meaning I may chase a high fastball here or there (less likely to hold up, because my first instinct is swing), but I'd turn on any in the zone(actually was ahead of more fastballs that I ripped foul than behind). It also meant that if Carpenter left a hanging breaking ball, I would be right on it (again, possibly ahead).
And the real beauty is that, even with someone like Carpenter, who with a 92 MPH fastball and 76 MPH curve can change speeds very effectively, it doesn't mean a silly looking swing and miss if you identify fastball (aka that was your first reaction and you swing) and he throws curve, like it does on other speeds. The ball is coming in fast regardless, so the difference between being late on fastball and early on a curve is such a miniscule amount. You can literally react like its a fastball, be wrong, and still have a good shot of "adjusting" to foul off a curve (provided it isn't way out of the strikezone). It changes the entire strategy, since there are actually less bad swings and misses and the difference in speeds is more subtle. It is what allowed me to be patient on low pitches, take fastballs in the bottom half of the zone that I didn't identify right away, and then try and jump on pitches he left up.
Like I said, it is definitely an adjustment getting into the correct mindset and getting your thumb to physically react seemingly on its own, but for anyone thats up to the challenge, I definitely would recommend you give it some time and practice. It changes the game drastically, makes having a gameplan, understanding the pitcher, and being focused so much more important, and overall makes batting incredibly fun and exciting imo (and draining with how attentive you have to be at times lol)... and like I said, nothing is more satisfying than taking a close 2 strike pitch on 100 speed, drawing a walk, and then putting together a rally to win.
And for anyone else out there that runs with 100 pitch speed, I'd love to hear your strategies/techniques
For instance, it is almost pure reactionary now. You literally have to have a "quick twitch" thumb and make an immediate read on the pitch. There is no "thinking", in the sense that at something like 75 pitch speed I have time to actually process in my head what pitch it is and where it is going to end up (and whether or not I should swing). It feels so much more like real baseball, where you get a split second read and react with no thought in between, like your hand and brain work in perfect unison, rather than your brain thinking and then your hand acting... it is all one. At 100, by the time you realize you have to make a decision, it is too late, you better have already reacted.
And to be clear, to someone that hasn't tried it (or only attempted it briefly), it is not/should not be a pure guessing game... rather it is an instinctual subconscoius decision rather than a rational conscious one.
It takes some getting used to, and it is definitely an adjustment "programming" your thumb to react on your first instinct rather than waiting to conciously process that decision through your head, but nothing is more satisfying than than putting together a rally at 100 pitch speed.
For me, there are two keys...
1) I have to be completely focused and ready to react. That means physically with my hand on the controller and my thumb "twitchy" on the right stick. The key for me is that I keep my thumb at the ready, but only very lightly grazing the stick rather than firmly planted on it. For anyone that plays/played baseball, what this does for me is the equivalent to when all your muscles tighten up as a pitch comes in and you're on the precipice of swinging and your muscles are ready to unload, but you dont. Not quite a check swing, because you don't actually swing the bat (check swings are closer to concious decisions) but more like an absolute last second reaction not to swing.
For me, this is absolutely key as it buys me a split second extra to pick up on a pitch and bail if I don't like it. Unlike sitting there stagnant and then waiting to try and pick up the pitch and react (which is what happens on lower pitch speeds, and at which point I'd probably be too late) my thumb is already in the swinging "mindset". I am "geared up" and instead of deciding to swing (again, this is what happens on lower speeds), I am actually using that split second to decide not to swing. For me, this hand placement and approach is what allows me to have the "quick twitch" thumb and instinctually react, vs just going up there and guessing.
2) You have to know the pitcher and mentally have a gameplan. This is the other important factor to me in reacting vs guessing at such fast speeds. If you go up there without a plan, you are still going to end up guessing (or at least reacting incorrectly... which is a fine line) most of the time. The ball just comes in too fast not to have a plan... You have to know the pitcher's pitches/tendancies so that you can pick up on the pitch and react accordingly in an incredibly short amount of time (this also adds to the realism because it makes those early at bats where you want to work the pitcher and figure him out incredibly important).
For example, I just faced Chris Carpenter, and he has a nasty 12-6 curve that he'll throw when he's ahead (especially with 2 strikes), and a nasty slider that he likes to throw outside (to lefties and righties... particularly on 0-1 counts). Early in the count, you don't have to worry as much about the breaking stuff, but especially when he gets two strikes, you better have a plan.
For me, it meant reacting based on the initial height of the pitch. Anything that appeared middle or lower, I instinctually was slightly more hesitent on, because if it was offspead, there was no chance I was making contact. By putting my thumb slightly softer on the stick, and focusing all my attention on identifying pitches middle down for break, I would buy myself an extra split second to decide to swing or not. This meant I would probably be a hair late on a fastball middle/down, but I had a better chance of laying off a tough offspead pitch.
It also meant, my natural instinct would be to jump all over a pitch that was up without even worrying about identifying breaking ball or fastball (not to say I wouldn't try to identify the pitch, just that I was naturally more inclined to make that "decision" sooner and try to rip a pitch, rather than waiting that extra split second to idendify break)... meaning I may chase a high fastball here or there (less likely to hold up, because my first instinct is swing), but I'd turn on any in the zone(actually was ahead of more fastballs that I ripped foul than behind). It also meant that if Carpenter left a hanging breaking ball, I would be right on it (again, possibly ahead).
And the real beauty is that, even with someone like Carpenter, who with a 92 MPH fastball and 76 MPH curve can change speeds very effectively, it doesn't mean a silly looking swing and miss if you identify fastball (aka that was your first reaction and you swing) and he throws curve, like it does on other speeds. The ball is coming in fast regardless, so the difference between being late on fastball and early on a curve is such a miniscule amount. You can literally react like its a fastball, be wrong, and still have a good shot of "adjusting" to foul off a curve (provided it isn't way out of the strikezone). It changes the entire strategy, since there are actually less bad swings and misses and the difference in speeds is more subtle. It is what allowed me to be patient on low pitches, take fastballs in the bottom half of the zone that I didn't identify right away, and then try and jump on pitches he left up.
Like I said, it is definitely an adjustment getting into the correct mindset and getting your thumb to physically react seemingly on its own, but for anyone thats up to the challenge, I definitely would recommend you give it some time and practice. It changes the game drastically, makes having a gameplan, understanding the pitcher, and being focused so much more important, and overall makes batting incredibly fun and exciting imo (and draining with how attentive you have to be at times lol)... and like I said, nothing is more satisfying than taking a close 2 strike pitch on 100 speed, drawing a walk, and then putting together a rally to win.
And for anyone else out there that runs with 100 pitch speed, I'd love to hear your strategies/techniques
Comment