Understanding Hitting

[El_MaYiMbE]

I was having issues since release day to hit in this game. I changed from zone, to analog and back/forth and could not seem to string together hits.

My biggest problem was hitting balls up in the zone. I felt the like the balls up in the zone would get on me too fast and I could not adjust. It would then make hitting balls down in the zone tougher because I would swing out of the zone.

What I noticed I was doing looking for balls lower in the zone, and not watching it come out of the pitchers hand enough.

So I began looking for the ball out the pitchers hand more, but also keeping my eyes on the upper part of the zone. I found it easier to look for something up and adjust to pitches lower, than to perform the opposite (which I was doing).

It has yielded great results. I am not saying I am killing it every game, but I feel like now I make more solid contact, and the outs I make are more realistic instead of looking lost at the plate like I had been.

I scored 4 runs the other day and hit 4 doubles in game with no HRs, something I never do. Previously I would get 4-5 hits totals per game with 3-4 of them being solo HRs.

In that game, and in others after I felt like I was driving the pitches, getting in good counts, getting multiple hits. It completely changed my perspective.

I was wondering if other people use similar approach, or hope this will help those who had issues like me.

[Maxil]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I keep switching between timing and zone.. I want my players stats to have an impact at my at bats even if I'm perfect, but the straight down the middle swing and whiffs eventually frustrate me and I switch to zone. (when I use zone I don't move the PCI though)


But my batting approach, is I just wait till I (think I) see a great pitch right near the middle until I'm at 2 strikes. Fastball, curve, whatever. I use power swing during this time as well.

Once at 2 strikes I switch to normal swing, and get a little more protective. I've found if you let the borderline pitches go, and lay off the balls, each at bat you'll get at least 1 great pitch to swing at. I get struck out a fair number of times, but end up with very good batting averages and HR numbers, with quite a few walks throughout the season. (used to never walk until I started my "only swing middle" approach.

But yeah, upper zone fast balls drive me crazy. I've gotten used to them seeimng faster, but my problem is I'm always thinking up out of zone fastballs are change ups or curves and will come right down into the perfect middle of the zone, but I end up swinging way under a high ball out of the zone.

On that note my second worst pitch is curves and change ups right in the middle falling out of the bottom of the zone.. I use that slightly angled custom camera people suggested last year or so, and I can pick out curve pitches perfectly that angle slightly left or right, but if it's right down the middle for whatever reason I think it's a fastball coming at me and swing only for it to drop way low, often in the dirt and I feel like a fool.

But how I watch a pitch? its drop mainly. I usually keep my eye focused on some part of the stadium behind the pitcher.. not really focused, more like zoned out but that's where my eye placement is. As it comes out, depending how it crosses my eye-line I'll now when to swing. Developed this out of swinging at low fastballs all the time when I first started. Like this if the pitch immedietly goes under this eye line it will nearly always be a fastball ball low. If it floats around the line slowly at first it's some type of curve. If the ball moves along the line a lot it's some type of slider movement. Takes several pitches to get the pitchers technique and speeds in mind, but as noted above I use a very patient batting approach that lets me see more pitches than I used to


Have a second franchise going in which I'm only using the PS Move with. But having issues there, no matter what Im changing it feels like I'm playing HR derby with my batters knocking it out left and right.

[BlueSkies7776]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I have found that in order to get good at hitting with the default pitch speed you need to really get the hang of reading the pitch right out of the pitchers hand. Timing the fast ball on default pitch speed has been hell for me. But I'm finally starting to pull it fair.

I don't like timing because it just doesn't seem realistic to me. In real life, hitting requires not only timing the swing but also aiming the bat to the ball. It's not easy. So for a video game, I think zone with PCI on is a pretty fair simulation of timing and putting the bat on the ball.

What I do everytime I get frustrating with hitting is just remember that hitting in real life is hard as hell too. So if I get frustrated with a video game imagine how the real players feel sometimes. I understand why they take their bat to the gaterade machine sometimes.

[El_MaYiMbE]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I have found that in order to get good at hitting with the default pitch speed you need to really get the hang of reading the pitch right out of the pitchers hand. Timing the fast ball on default pitch speed has been hell for me. But I'm finally starting to pull it fair.

I don't like timing because it just doesn't seem realistic to me. In real life, hitting requires not only timing the swing but also aiming the bat to the ball. It's not easy. So for a video game, I think zone with PCI on is a pretty fair simulation of timing and putting the bat on the ball.

What I do everytime I get frustrating with hitting is just remember that hitting in real life is hard as hell too. So if I get frustrated with a video game imagine how the real players feel sometimes. I understand why they take their bat to the gaterade machine sometimes.

The zone hitting is realistic but in real life you do not "aim" your bat. I mean you do but you do not think about it, the bat goes relatively in the general area the ball is by instinct. In this game I feel like you have to think "oh that pitch is up...let me push up and swing!".

But with all fairness there is no way to replicate the "ease" for which a professional baseball hitter calculates all that in a video game. Timing is the only option and that is too easy I feel.

Everyone always says "hitting is suppose to be hard, thats why it takes skill to play in the MLB..." But people forget when I am playing MLB The Show I am not playing as myself, I AM PLAYING AS AN MLB player, so it should not be so hard!

But with the new approach I have taken I feel I have gotten much better, and the games feel realistic. I need to get to the point where it happens organically, and doesnt require me to think so much in order to make it work.

[cusefan74]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I try to lay off everything up in the zone. Most of the time I end up popping up the pitch, once in a while I get one good. So I look for balls in the lower half of the zone. For me my timing is better when the ball is down, so I just look for those pitches.

[Ninjas N Grits]

I try to lay off everything up in the zone. Most of the time I end up popping up the pitch, once in a while I get one good. So I look for balls in the lower half of the zone. For me my timing is better when the ball is down, so I just look for those pitches.

I'm the exact opposite. I get so frustrated with groundouts, I only swing at pitches up. I would much rather pop out than ground out. Lol. But I feel like using zone and swinging either level or up I drive the ball more. I look for fastballs up in the strike zone, and drop the pci if it breaks. I'm always early too. No matter what I do it seem I am always early.

****Everybody knows Jackie Robinson was #42****

[overrated_ichiro]

Re: Understanding Hitting

My biggest problem is being defended perfectly all the time. I hit rockets, always right to the defender that just stands there and makes the play. Hit that the computer gets just don't happen for me. I always line out to outfielders, nothing EVER drops in front of them.

[Lap_Down]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I cannot lay off the high heat... I just cannot. I mean I see that the pitch is high... I tell myself "For the love of gawd, don't swing this time!" But I still swing... every time.

I also like Pure Analog... using the stick to swing changed everything for me; I didn't like MLB 10 too much, but once they started using the analog stick to hit in '11 batting became so much more fun for me. Waiting for your pitch, seeing it and jamming up on the right stick to hit a homerun with the celebration cam turned on feels really rewarding. LOL.

I cannot use Zone Plus Analog though... it is like rubbing your belly and your forehead with each of your hands going in opposite directions... that's just too much for me too handle. LOL. Pure Analog is just right... all I gotta figure out is inside or outside and timing.

The only problem now is I pretty much never swing at anything except fastballs down the pipe unless it is a 2 strike count... so I hit a lot of homeruns with low averages for all my guys. LOL. Still fun as heck though.

[nomo17k]

Re: Understanding Hitting

My biggest problem is being defended perfectly all the time. I hit rockets, always right to the defender that just stands there and makes the play. Hit that the computer gets just don't happen for me. I always line out to outfielders, nothing EVER drops in front of them.

It's an exaggeration to say that something "never" happens, but I can see why some people feel this way.

I think the issue is hit variety... What (I think) I notice in my own game is that when you keep playing with the same players at the same difficulty level against same players, there are certain hit types that get generated a vast majority of times. For example, if you keep using hitters with Contact 70/Power 65 against pitchers with H/9 70/HR/9 65 (the numbers are just for the purpose of illustration), then you might keep hitting line outs to outfielders, when if the Power rating is lower (higher), then some of them drop in front (go over the head) of outfielders. That's the sort of hit variety I'm talking about.

The reason why I feel this way is that I think I see different hit variety down in minors, AA in particular. Players down there are "capable" of generating poor hits that you wouldn't see often at the MLB level.

[eyeamg0dly]

Re: Understanding Hitting

i think its also your batting tendencies as well. i used to see the same hits a lot as well. when i started to get better at hitting breaking pitches then i started to see more variety. when i was a primarily fastball hitter, i always saw hits go right up the middle or a line drive pulled right to the outfielder. also saw a lot of double play and fielder choice hits as well.

now i am a lot better at hitting breaking pitches. i really don't pull those fastballs anymore. i see more fastball hits into the gap and opposite field homeruns. generally speaking i feel like i am more control of my hits, however it seems like i cannot pull anything if i tried lol.

[El_MaYiMbE]

Re: Understanding Hitting

i think its also your batting tendencies as well. i used to see the same hits a lot as well. when i started to get better at hitting breaking pitches then i started to see more variety. when i was a primarily fastball hitter, i always saw hits go right up the middle or a line drive pulled right to the outfielder. also saw a lot of double play and fielder choice hits as well.

now i am a lot better at hitting breaking pitches. i really don't pull those fastballs anymore. i see more fastball hits into the gap and opposite field homeruns. generally speaking i feel like i am more control of my hits, however it seems like i cannot pull anything if i tried lol.

I understand this, but I think in the efforts to make the game more "Sim" they have given the user too much influence on how a real MLB player would hit.

Yes user should have some input on how well he performs, but at the end of the day if I hit the ball perfect, with perfect timing/contact I should get a hit 3/10 times with Derek Jeter because thats what he does in real life, and I do not feel that is the case.

I have gotten better so maybe it was my approach but I never felt like this in the past. And I have played well over 200 games and feel like I cannot start a Franchise for the fact that all my guys will be batting .220 with a bunch of singles, some HRs, and and too little doubles by the end of the year.

[nomo17k]

Re: Understanding Hitting

I understand this, but I think in the efforts to make the game more "Sim" they have given the user too much influence on how a real MLB player would hit.

Yes user should have some input on how well he performs, but at the end of the day if I hit the ball perfect, with perfect timing/contact I should get a hit 3/10 times with Derek Jeter because thats what he does in real life, and I do not feel that is the case.

I have gotten better so maybe it was my approach but I never felt like this in the past. And I have played well over 200 games and feel like I cannot start a Franchise for the fact that all my guys will be batting .220 with a bunch of singles, some HRs, and and too little doubles by the end of the year.

Agree on this to some extent... (though you meant the game is giving "rating" too much influence on user performance??)

Since user is controlling all players with supposedly varied abilities while his own tendency remains fairly consistent, in order to reproduce the wide variety of player tendencies and skills, the game does need to let player ratings/attributes play significant role... otherwise the end of the year stats will be similar (with natural random variation) for all players that the user has been controlling.

For hitting, Power attribute does have a very strong, noticeable effect. I personally think other attributes should lead to stronger effects than they do right now.

[overrated_ichiro]

Re: Understanding Hitting

what do people use to hit with more?

power

contact

x button regular


I cannot find a way to hit with Adrian Gonzalez and I have tried everything. weak grounders and pop ups is all I can get with him. Same with Hanley Ramirez. Get some nice hits with Kemp and Eithier though using x button.

[El_MaYiMbE]

Re: Understanding Hitting

Agree on this to some extent... (though you meant the game is giving "rating" too much influence on user performance??)

Since user is controlling all players with supposedly varied abilities while his own tendency remains fairly consistent, in order to reproduce the wide variety of player tendencies and skills, the game does need to let player ratings/attributes play significant role... otherwise the end of the year stats will be similar (with natural random variation) for all players that the user has been controlling.

For hitting, Power attribute does have a very strong, noticeable effect. I personally think other attributes should lead to stronger effects than they do right now.

You explained it a little better then I did, that is exactly what I mean. I feel like contact hitters cannot drive the ball like they would.

I hate to keep using him, but Jeter gets doubles, alot of singles in real life, but in this game I cant get on base because he isnt "STRONG" enough?

Game is very frustrating at times, but I still love it...

[nomo17k]

Re: Understanding Hitting

You explained it a little better then I did, that is exactly what I mean. I feel like contact hitters cannot drive the ball like they would.

I hate to keep using him, but Jeter gets doubles, alot of singles in real life, but in this game I cant get on base because he isnt "STRONG" enough?

Game is very frustrating at times, but I still love it...

Right... I think contact hitters like Jeter and Ichiro (though his approach is so unique the game probably needs to make add another hitting method...) are the kind of hitters not yet replicated as well in the game.

I usually play on HoF hitting level, but having realized that I've never really hit over .300 even with maxed-out RTTS hitter (the best I came was .333 in 318 AB with Daniel Murphy in my MLB 11 franchise), I decided to hit on All-star for one year in my RTTS. (I can hit > .300 on Rookie/Veteran with the "hit the first deep strike" approach, but not on or above All-star in which CPUs don't always throw deep strikes in early counts.)

My RTTS player has all maxed out ratings except L/R Power, which are both in low 50s. In one year I hit like .287 with 22 HRs with him on HoF, so the next year I lowered the difficulty level to AS to see how I fare.

Funny thing is, I did much worse: .246 with 12 HRs! Of course this might be within a range of random natural performance variation, but I doubt that was a major factor, since overall I did produce more solid hits and struck out much less (140 to 98 Ks). Somehow, all these solid hits weren't converted into safe hits.

Doing this exercise I've felt what I wrote in my earlier posts.

Oh well you might think how I can ever enjoy the game always overanalyzing the situation, but overanalysis is a source of enjoyment and ecstasy for some types of nerds.