Fixing God-like Outfielder Ability

[thaSLAB]

I can say that I see a variety of hits and catches by outfielders, and it seems to vary depending on the fielder. Here is an example of the CPU (Arizona) not making great plays on the ball. Note that the batter (C. Thomas) and fielder (B. Young) are involved in both plays, so defensive depth should be the same.



Now I have seen the long run & catch, as well as made a few myself, but nothing that I felt was out of the abilities of the particular fielder. I've even made a long run/catch where I had to leap at the end to make the catch (which there is an animation for.)

[joesaysso]

Quote: Originally Posted by CPT

Not trying to be difficult here but if you hit a shot into the gap, how much is the depth of the OF really going to prevent a double? .

I literally just played a game where I hit the ball off of the right-center wall. The outfielders was in position so quick that hit literally caught the ball off of the wall (it never touched the ground) and threw me out a 2nd base. I'd say that it could happen.

[BobSacamano]

I've started playing with fielder run speed at 0 and reactions at 10. It goes a loooong way to making the outfield play more realistically. It actually feels like you have to work to cover a lot of ground and more balls get into the gaps.

On the other hand, I don't think there's anything that can be done about the CPU's absurd ability at playing the ball off the wall. Every now and then they get sucked into the wall or do something not-quite-perfect, but far too often they are perfectly positioned to play the carom and fire the ball back in. This is especially glaring when you play at Fenway (where I play half my games), as the CPU routinely catches the ball off the Monster, without letting it bounce first. Meanwhile, I have no idea where the ball is going to bounce because the camera won't show me.

[TripleThreat1973]

Quote:

Another interesting point is that a large majority of the people who are seeing this as an issue, are current or former baseball players. And current or former coaches. So we have people who are very educated on the game of baseball who are making this point.

That's pretty much my issue ... not necessarily the catches that are being made, but the player that's doing it. If it were a one time deal or something that seemed like a fluke, it would be a "oh well, that's baseball" moment. But, it's too consistent, based on what we know from experience, observations, and defensive metrics.

I've tried to use examples of this works in my favor so the issue doesn't stray from what it is to me complaining about losing or not being good.

As for watching OF play .... as a Cradinals fan I got to see Chris Duncan* do the impossible ... by making Rick Ankilel's routes and reads look amazing. *grin*

* I do feel bad for Duncan. He's a DH/1B that was being forced into the OF because they wanted his bat in the lineup, and well, that's what 1B's look like in the OF. "On Skates" is the slang term. When you're a poor IF, you get the "wears boxing gloves" description.

[jim416]

Quote:

As far as exaggeration or fishing for attention or anything of that sort ... I really don't have much interest in that aspect of the internet.

Well, nobody said you do, but I've asked you questions and you haven't answered them. If you're gonna post that Quentin has caught

Quote:

every ball hit to right field in the air

is going to get questioned. You said it, not me, lol. You still haven't answered it, but.....enough for me. Dead horse.

[jim416]

Quote:

Can I please have my workaround for throwing runners out @ home while my outfielders are in "shallow" depth.

I don't know how to respond to this one. You're playing shallow and can't throw anyone out at home? Don't know what to tell you.

[johnnyg83]

I would agree that they generally play too deep ...

[CPT]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmik58

That argument doesn't really make sense, because why would a professional baseball player be out of position that often? Outfielders align in normal alignments for normal situations. They may get a little deeper for power hitters in a normal situation, but we're not talking about situational issues. We're saying that on the majority of the plays where a normal alignment is used, fielders are too deep. It's proven and it's been confessed to by the makers of the game. Outfielders play at a depth and shade that allows them to get to the high percentage hit-chart spots that a hitter typically hits to in that situation. Fielders line up to stop the law of averages, not the extremes. Unless, of course, the situation calls for an extreme alignment. And again, this discussion isn't about line shots off the wall over the fielder's head. The issue many have with this is that we know for a fact the fielders are misaligned, and we also observe that the outfielders are catching balls that are hit deep that a player in the correct starting position should not get to with the frequency that outfielders in The Show achieve. Another interesting point is that a large majority of the people who are seeing this as an issue, are current or former baseball players. And current or former coaches. So we have people who are very educated on the game of baseball who are making this point.

ok. I dont think we are really on different pages here. With all those things you just stated - why would we expect to see balls hit over the OF heads except for the very rare situation when they are indeed following the law of averages?

Not trying to be difficult I just dont see this very often in real life, so why should it be more than a rare occurrence in the game? I am simply stating that I have seen slow guys get to balls and I have seen them get balls hit over their heads even aligned too deep to begin with.

I know you are not labeling this thing "gamekiller," just something to look at for 2011 and I hope they do...whatever makes the game better, I am all for - we just are seing things from different viewpoints.