[CujoMatty]

Quote: Originally Posted by jayhawker

Actually, it's not the swing. It's the ability to predict what you are going to get with far more accuracy. They don't swing differently with a 3-1 count. They turn their focus to the one pitch they think they will see, and can safely take any pitch, even a strike, that is not what they were expecting. It's so much easier to drive the ball when you can focus on one pitch, in one spot. Once you get 2 strikes, most guys do not alter their swings, but don't have the luxury of focusing on just one pitch. This is actually why I liked the 2K8 technique of a variable sized zone that a batter could predict a pitch would thrown into. Better hitters had larger zones that would reult in a bonus. Weaker hitters had a very small zone. The zone was also variable depending on the count, as it would be smaller with two strikes. That seemed like a better way to reward the better hitters, and did a pretty good job illustrating how guys hit.

I agree with this a million percent. The size of the zone changed depending on the count, how good a hitter and if the player was hot or cold. I thought that worked pretty good. I'm a little worried about the whole hitting mechanic in general but I'll wait and see. After the second patch and bigfnjoe's sliders I actually enjoyed 2k9 so I have fairly high hopes for this one. I felt the pitching mechanic worked well the last couple years and am not sure if the extra step is necessary but again I'll hold my judgement. I always get the show as well and from what I've been reading for both games I have a feeling it's gonna be a good year in baseball video gaming for me!!