MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

[RaychelSnr]

It has now been four months since MLB 09: The Show was released. When the game was released, it received rave reviews from a number of different sources and still is generating passionate discussions on forums across the Internet.

But now that consumers have been able to reflect on "The Most Realistic Baseball Game Ever," what are some aspects of the game that are already polished and excellent, and what are some aspects that still need to be worked on for next year?

To begin with, MLB 09: The Show is still the best baseball game on the market. The few positives I will mention in this article only scratch the surface of what this game offers to both hardcore and casual fans of the sport, and the nuances that are only discovered after playing scores of games really set it apart from other baseball games available.

Read More - MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

[jim416]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

Nice choice of screens. I took both of those up at the event.

Enough can't be said about the pitcher/batter duel. Hope this doesn't get touched.
It's absolutely intense, every batter, and when the big boys step in, you gotta be sweatin' it.

[rudyjuly2]

The pitcher/batter duel is fantastic and that's the heart of a baseball game. It's what separates this game from everything else. But the defensive side of the game needs an upgrade - more user fielding errors and an option for analog fielding.

The presentation is great but the colour guys need to mesh a little better. Matt V is really good as the play by play. I'd love to have a couple more camera options as well but the current ones certainly work well.

[ckarlic]

Love the game..been playing it religiously from day. Can't wait to see what the new player models will look like.

Also, would love to see weather (ie. precipitation) in the next iteration.

[Tovarich]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

yes, weather would be a needed addition for franchise. Making moves for pitchers for double headers, removing pitchers in long delays, re-scheduling games(2K had game postponements, but it was always simply a double header the next day when in reality, it's re-scheduled for later in the season if at all possible) etc are necessary for franchise's realism. Being able to close the roof in Arizona, Milwaukee, Toronto, would be nice too.

The RTTS fielding issue brought up is indeed a royal pain when you're a pitcher. The OF animations could use some work, as they often affect the result. Even though that animation where the OF catches the ball on the run, but actually runs past the ball and sticks his glove behind him while still moving is annoying, it doesn't affect the result, and ultimately, irritates me less. The single most annoying OF problem for me though (RTTS and franchise) is that they don't charge groundballs. When someone's trying to tag, the arrows come up to catch the ball with momentum going forward to get more on the throw...this needs to be in there for groundballs too. Runners go 1st to 3rd on fairly hard singles far more often than they should, and it's because the OF animation takes over where he will stop and wait for the ball to get to roll to him rather than charge it. This gives even the slowest runners time to go 1st to 3rd, especially because once they field the ball, they shuffle their feet around for 2-3 steps before they even throw the ball. Close 2nd for RTTS defensive problems is the tag animation, namely the catcher, but it can be a problem at other bases too. The ball beating the runner only by a foot or two and the catcher not getting a tag down is understandable, but I've gotten the ball to the catcher with 5 or more feet to spare and he takes forever to turn and apply the tag and almost always misses it. Also when trying to take the fielder and run to 2nd or 3rd for a force, the tag animation will come up sometimes, and the tag will be missed when simply running to the base like I was trying to would've sufficed.

Fix what I just mentioned, as well as the DL problem(maybe we can get A-ball teams some day, eh eh?) and this game will be darn near perfect.

[ajaxab]

RTTS works pretty well, but ultimately I don't have to care about my team. The mode is entirely focused on the individual. I don't even have to look at the standings (they pop up every once in awhile in pregame load screens) if I don't want to. Even if they just included standings in the post game load screen alongside your individual performance, that would go a long way in making you feel like you're part of a team and contributing to something bigger than your own stats and attribute growth.

The devs might even incorporate this into the goal system. In the current version, you have to steal or you have to swing at a pitch when the 3rd base coach calls for a hit and run or you're penalized. Why not allow players to be selfish by allowing them to avoid doing what coaches want them to do? Have something like a 'selfishness' meter. If a player gets too selfish and ruins team chemistry (from the mysterious manager request we can make now), he could be traded to another team. The selfishness rating could also factor into contract negotiations, contract offers from other clubs and possibly, relationships with teammates.

Baseball is the most individually-oriented of team sports, but adding a bit more emphasis to the team would be good.

[ehh]

Unfortunately '09 lost my interest about six weeks ago, I couldn't take the hitting anymore and the random results it provides.

The pitcher/batter interface is such an intense battle that when you finally get a pitch and put a wheelhouse/perfect swing on it the results were way too random. The game would be on the line in the 9th inning and I'd get a fastball down the middle, put a perfect swing on it with A-Rod and hit a ground ball to 2nd. Why?

Then I'd hit a towering home run on a down-n-in pitch where my PCI would barely be touching the ball. Why?

This game needs a true cursor/zone hitting system for me to ever be addicted to it. It's still fun to play every now and then but I'm not going to get really into a game where the results are that random and out of my hands.

[jbrew2411]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

I have loved this game since I poped it in and played the first game. I would like to be able to download a profile picture for any player. I hate the fake players mixed with the real pictures. I use full minors rosters. If you have the freedom to add any picture then they could get around the MLB/2K thing I would think.

[MattP598]

The one thing that really bothers me about the game is the number of passed balls. I'm getting like 4 or 5 a game. Other than that, just very minor annoyances like the pitching coach coming after every first walk by the CPU. Sometimes the CPU's AI is just bad like runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and a slugger coming up late in the game and they pitch to him. Taking relievers out in the middle of an inning for no apparent reason. Like they will have a lefty reliever in the game who gets the first out and then, with another lefty hitter coming up, they will take him out and put in a righty.

Another thing that isn't a bug but bothers me in pretty much every baseball game is the strike zone. No umpire in major league baseball calls strikes above the belt. I know it's technically a rule, but come on it doesn't happen. I mean if anything leave it as part of the zone, but have the umps just not call it. I like the umps having variable strike zones, but it would be cool if each umpire was a little more consistent. Like, for instance, one guy gives a couple inches on the outside corner consistently, or one guy calls low strikes more often. Right now it seems like it is just completely random, and usually favors the CPU.

Anyway, all my complaints are minor because to me this game is awesome and just a few little things away from being perfect.

[PYA-MUSTANG86]

Online sucks right now. You can't check swing at all, nor can you hit and run. What kind of BS is that?

[slickdtc]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

The one thing that really bothers me about the game is the number of passed balls. I'm getting like 4 or 5 a game. Other than that, just very minor annoyances like the pitching coach coming after every first walk by the CPU. Sometimes the CPU's AI is just bad like runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and a slugger coming up late in the game and they pitch to him. Taking relievers out in the middle of an inning for no apparent reason. Like they will have a lefty reliever in the game who gets the first out and then, with another lefty hitter coming up, they will take him out and put in a righty.

Another thing that isn't a bug but bothers me in pretty much every baseball game is the strike zone. No umpire in major league baseball calls strikes above the belt. I know it's technically a rule, but come on it doesn't happen. I mean if anything leave it as part of the zone, but have the umps just not call it. I like the umps having variable strike zones, but it would be cool if each umpire was a little more consistent. Like, for instance, one guy gives a couple inches on the outside corner consistently, or one guy calls low strikes more often. Right now it seems like it is just completely random, and usually favors the CPU.

Anyway, all my complaints are minor because to me this game is awesome and just a few little things away from being perfect.

Passed balls were a problem for me until I started pitching to where the catcher called it (the majority of the time). Since then, my pitching has been stellar and passed balls have been way down. It's worth giving a try...

But anyway, yeah, midseason report, same as early season report. This game is gold. In a few short months, it's lived up to every expectation that I had transitioning from MVP Baseball 2005 on the XBOX to this. I've logged nearly 100 games now and now that I'm past the early jaw dropping moments, it's really reared its head as just a rock solid baseball game. After playing one game of MVP since I got this game, I can say that MLB 09 is the best baseball game ever released. SCEA got it right.

My plan is to stick with this game for a few years. They're going to add neat little features in upcoming editions, but the gameplay will probably be largely unchanged (as it should be, since it's pretty much perfect now). I'll just have to fight down the urge of wanting those fresh rosters and those glitzy features.

[PsychoBulk]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

Nice article.

For me the pitcher/batter duel in this game is stellar, the biggest thing they really need to work on, and i mean really go to town on, is the fielding, way too many poor decisions taken by AI fielders and Human fielders whilst the AI controls them before the Human take charge on a ball.

Other than that its absolutely superb.

[rondoman]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

Nice article.

For me the pitcher/batter duel in this game is stellar, the biggest thing they really need to work on, and i mean really go to town on, is the fielding, way too many poor decisions taken by AI fielders and Human fielders whilst the AI controls them before the Human take charge on a ball.

Other than that its absolutely superb.

I concur.

I have seen quite a bit of bonehead dumb plays by the CPU defenders, especially outfielders, causing extra bases. And, they are never recorded as errors no matter how bad.

[Artman22]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

The pitcher/batter duel is fantastic and that's the heart of a baseball game. It's what separates this game from everything else. But the defensive side of the game needs an upgrade - more user fielding errors and an option for analog fielding.

The presentation is great but the colour guys need to mesh a little better. Matt V is really good as the play by play. I'd love to have a couple more camera options as well but the current ones certainly work well.

I completely agree with all you said. Fielding needs a lot of work and i agree that we need real manuel fielding. I'll add that the online needs much work as well. Overall the game is good, but just needs a few adjustments with fielding. Theres other things as well like weather, player models, etc.., but fielding should be priority #1 for mlb 10

[magnumpc]

Re: MLB '09: The Show Midseason Report

1- fielding needs work
2 - throws from the outfield
3- cpu pitching coach coming out in 1st inning after a walk and overall unrealistic mound conferences.
4- plays where the 1st baseman is nowhere near 1st base for no apparent reason.
5- starting pitchers at the start of a game well rested with an extremely low confidence level.
I know I'm leaving out a few things.