Major League Baseball 2K10 Hands-on (IGN)

[jeffy777]

Quote: Originally Posted by ShowTyme15

I'd rather wait until OS gets it. I trust there assessments over any other sites previews/reviews.

Same here.

[Trevytrev11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blzer

I am off and on about this new feature, as Trevytrev11 and I have had numerous back-and-forth conversations about this exact topic. I always felt it was ludicrous because I felt most people would utilize it to risk not striking out, but just like the major leagues, people are willing to risk the strikeout if it means they can achieve the long ball. Same thing happens here, which is why, like I said, I hope it's not something that we plan beforehand. What I mean by that is that I hope we still have to load first (pull the stick back), so that way if we're lost on a pitch but still want to swing, we can instinctively go one way or another on the stick. It may result in a foul ball, a ball put in play, or a swing and a miss. Whatever it is, I have certainly done it myself in real life and it was in my control, which Trevytrev and others would rather have as much control of their game as possible rather than letting the game decide what kind of swing they'll give them. ... I'm not defending the new swing system, but I'm throwing in logic for it. As of now, while I'm not too happy with the idea, I see it as possibly the best way to go about it (as long as you load first). If it's only a flick thing, then that's a predetermined act, and I don't see why they chose to do it that way. I'm just saying don't shut the idea down yet, especially since it's not required to use. Don't make things better if it's not done right, though. I hope they at least rewrote the code, since this is a different company making the game.

Here are some thoughts on your post:
-Like you, I hope we are talking about a shortened "contact" swing and not a "foul off/fight off close pitch" swing. I think they are two completely different things. One is a planned approach at the plate and the other is more of a reaction.

1st, regarding the "defensive" swing: Rarely, if ever, do I think a hitter goes to the plate and says "my goal is to sit up there and foul off pitch after pitch after pitch" and I think there are only a handfull of players in the history of baseball who could actually execute this (maybe Boggs, Gwynn, Ichiro as of late and guys like Williams, Cobb, etc.). Hitters DO fight of pitches, but it's almost always the result of a hitters late/early reaction to a close pitch. To think a hitter can sit there and purposely foul off pitch after pitch I think gives the majority of hitters way too much credit.

When you typically see hitters "fight" off pitches, it's usally just quick little last second, mostly wrist, swing (when a player pulls a ball 400 feet foul, that's not fighting off a pitch, that's just barely missing it).

So how do you execute it in a game? it sounds like instead of going up on the stick (after you load I hope), you just kind of flick it left or right? If so, I don't mind that as it, IMO, mimicks the hitters reaction. What I don't like is in the past where instead of loading you just started from the middle and flicked it up, which to me means that you had to go into that pitch with the approach of hitting a foul ball, which to me is mostly BS.

However, I think this system has to coincide with timing. In other words, you can't time a weak swing perfectly and expect foul balls. It's still has to be determined by timing..it's just that your swings a little quicker and gives you a little more time on a pitch.

...Now onto what I was hoping made the game, but sounds like it didn't....a contact system If they do it right, I don't think you have to worry about people abusing it to avoid striking out. The risk/reward should be set so the majority of your hits are going to be noticeably softer. You'll still generate the occasional gapper or homerun on perfect contact, but you'll also see a majority of routine grounders, soft line drives and shallow fly balls.

Besides a hit and run, moving a runner from second to third, trying to prevent a strike out with 1 out and runner on third, etc., I picture it like this:

Juan Pierre comes up with 2 outs in the top of the 5th and is not bunting (3rd baseman is playing way up). His goal is to get on base any way possible and the last thing he wants to do is strike out. He goes up to the plate taking a strike and sure enough falls behind 0-1. Again, he's not bunting. So now his approach is hit the ball hard somewhere, amybe find a gap. Now he falls behind 0-2 and instead of trying to hit the ball hard, he's more defensive and is trying just to put something in play and hope that he slaps it through a hole or that he hits it to a fielder and the fear of his speed will force a fielder to make a mistake and he'll get on base and keep the inning alive. It's this situation where I would think a contact swing makes sense and is a part of hitting that should be included in a video game. His swing will be shorter than his 0-0 or 0-1 swing and because of that it's going to be tougher to sneak a pitch by him. It can be done, but it's going to be slightly harder because he's playing pepper up there and not swinging out of his shoes.

Now Ryan Howard comes up in the same situation and falls behind 0-2...he's still coming out of his shoes on the next pitch. Now maybe in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, bases loaded and tie game and he's down 0-2, I could accept it if someone said he might shorten up, though I'd still bet against it.

The bottom line is this system only works if the risk/reward is reasonable and doesn't weigh to heavy on one side or the other. Maybe it expands the time to make contact by only 10 or 20%, but that solid contact that resulted in a HR with a normal swing is now just a lazy fly to left for most guys....maybe next year or maybe somehow the "defensive swing" will yield these results.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trevytrev11

Here are some thoughts on your post: -Like you, I hope we are talking about a shortened "contact" swing and not a "foul off/fight off close pitch" swing. I think they are two completely different things. One is a planned approach at the plate and the other is more of a reaction. 1st, regarding the "defensive" swing: Rarely, if ever, do I think a hitter goes to the plate and says "my goal is to sit up there and foul off pitch after pitch after pitch" and I think there are only a handfull of players in the history of baseball who could actually execute this (maybe Boggs, Gwynn, Ichiro as of late and guys like Williams, Cobb, etc.). Hitters DO fight of pitches, but it's almost always the result of a hitters late/early reaction to a close pitch. To think a hitter can sit there and purposely foul off pitch after pitch I think gives the majority of hitters way too much credit. When you typically see hitters "fight" off pitches, it's usally just quick little last second, mostly wrist, swing (when a player pulls a ball 400 feet foul, that's not fighting off a pitch, that's just barely missing it). So how do you execute it in a game? it sounds like instead of going up on the stick (after you load I hope), you just kind of flick it left or right? If so, I don't mind that as it, IMO, mimicks the hitters reaction. What I don't like is in the past where instead of loading you just started from the middle and flicked it up, which to me means that you had to go into that pitch with the approach of hitting a foul ball, which to me is mostly BS. However, I think this system has to coincide with timing. In other words, you can't time a weak swing perfectly and expect foul balls. It's still has to be determined by timing..it's just that your swings a little quicker and gives you a little more time on a pitch. ...Now onto what I was hoping made the game, but sounds like it didn't....a contact system If they do it right, I don't think you have to worry about people abusing it to avoid striking out. The risk/reward should be set so the majority of your hits are going to be noticeably softer. You'll still generate the occasional gapper or homerun on perfect contact, but you'll also see a majority of routine grounders, soft line drives and shallow fly balls. Besides a hit and run, moving a runner from second to third, trying to prevent a strike out with 1 out and runner on third, etc., I picture it like this: Juan Pierre comes up with 2 outs in the top of the 5th and is not bunting (3rd baseman is playing way up). His goal is to get on base any way possible and the last thing he wants to do is strike out. He goes up to the plate taking a strike and sure enough falls behind 0-1. Again, he's not bunting. So now his approach is hit the ball hard somewhere, amybe find a gap. Now he falls behind 0-2 and instead of trying to hit the ball hard, he's more defensive and is trying just to put something in play and hope that he slaps it through a hole or that he hits it to a fielder and the fear of his speed will force a fielder to make a mistake and he'll get on base and keep the inning alive. It's this situation where I would think a contact swing makes sense and is a part of hitting that should be included in a video game. His swing will be shorter than his 0-0 or 0-1 swing and because of that it's going to be tougher to sneak a pitch by him. It can be done, but it's going to be slightly harder because he's playing pepper up there and not swinging out of his shoes. Now Ryan Howard comes up in the same situation and falls behind 0-2...he's still coming out of his shoes on the next pitch. Now maybe in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, bases loaded and tie game and he's down 0-2, I could accept it if someone said he might shorten up, though I'd still bet against it. The bottom line is this system only works if the risk/reward is reasonable and doesn't weigh to heavy on one side or the other. Maybe it expands the time to make contact by only 10 or 20%, but that solid contact that resulted in a HR with a normal swing is now just a lazy fly to left for most guys....maybe next year or maybe somehow the "defensive swing" will yield these results.

Great Post!

[Bwnarrow3]

I can't believe I'm about to be sucked into 2K baseball another year...

[mkharsh33]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bwnarrow3

I can't believe I'm about to be sucked into 2K baseball another year...

+1

[Flaxseed Oil]

every year, around this time, I go to gamestop and pre-order MLB 2k and The Show.

This year, I only pre-ordered the Show.

2K Sports is going to get my money IF and ONLY IF the results on this board are mostly positive after a couple of weeks.

Otherwise I'll just rent it and play the Show all summer.

[Eddie1967]

MLB TODAY? Very nice!!

[hitstreak13]

I am very excited to see how they implemented MLB today as well. I heard great things about the NBA 2k series (don't have interest in basketball) so we'll see how this pans out.