Operation Sports Forums - View Single Post

The House · 03-21-2010, 05:15 PM

1. Find the pitchers release point and try not to stare at his body. Rather, look at his head and adjust your eyes slightly to the left/right to find the release point. If you need to, pause the game after the first pitch and watch it in slow-motion (err, sorry, "show-motion") if you have to. This is probably the most important piece of info I can give you. If you arent seeing the ball precisely as it leaves the pitchers hand then you are likely going to suffer with pitch recognition.

Here's what I do. I have the same approach every time I bat. I hold L2 to bring up the black-box i.e. faded strike-zone (since I play with the strike-zone off. I find it distracts me pre-pitch) and try to etch that area into my brain. Then I look at the pitchers head until he's about mid windup, at which point I shift my eyes left/right to find the release point. It sounds dumb, but it works for me. If anything, I think by just having a routine you should be able to have a little more success at the plate.

2. Be patient and drive that pitch count up. 95% of the time I take the first pitch. It's ok if you're getting shutout through the first couple innings. The idea is to drive the pitch count up and capitalize on mistakes in the 4th-7th innings.

3. Expect breaking balls/fastballs out of the zone when the count is in the pitchers favor (i.e. 0-2, 1-2, ..... and 2-2 to an extent). Think off-speed and react to the fastball,; try to fight it off. Even if you wind up without a hit, it can still be considered a successful at-bat. If you manage to have an 8+ pitch at-bat then you can afford to get aggressive with the next batter by either swinging at a first or second (if the first pitch was a ball) fastball.

4. Lower pitch speed. Default pitch speed can be overwhelming at times especially if your reflexes are'nt the best (or you're an older guy like myself). In 08' I had pitch speed at 0 and as I became comfortable with that I increased it by 1 notch, then 2, etc

Hope that helps. If I think of more I'll let you know.

03-21-2010, 05:15 PM	#6
The House Rookie OVR: 5 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada	Re: Hitting tips 1. Find the pitchers release point and try not to stare at his body. Rather, look at his head and adjust your eyes slightly to the left/right to find the release point. If you need to, pause the game after the first pitch and watch it in slow-motion (err, sorry, "show-motion") if you have to. This is probably the most important piece of info I can give you. If you arent seeing the ball precisely as it leaves the pitchers hand then you are likely going to suffer with pitch recognition. Here's what I do. I have the same approach every time I bat. I hold L2 to bring up the black-box i.e. faded strike-zone (since I play with the strike-zone off. I find it distracts me pre-pitch) and try to etch that area into my brain. Then I look at the pitchers head until he's about mid windup, at which point I shift my eyes left/right to find the release point. It sounds dumb, but it works for me. If anything, I think by just having a routine you should be able to have a little more success at the plate. 2. Be patient and drive that pitch count up. 95% of the time I take the first pitch. It's ok if you're getting shutout through the first couple innings. The idea is to drive the pitch count up and capitalize on mistakes in the 4th-7th innings. 3. Expect breaking balls/fastballs out of the zone when the count is in the pitchers favor (i.e. 0-2, 1-2, ..... and 2-2 to an extent). Think off-speed and react to the fastball,; try to fight it off. Even if you wind up without a hit, it can still be considered a successful at-bat. If you manage to have an 8+ pitch at-bat then you can afford to get aggressive with the next batter by either swinging at a first or second (if the first pitch was a ball) fastball. 4. Lower pitch speed. Default pitch speed can be overwhelming at times especially if your reflexes are'nt the best (or you're an older guy like myself). In 08' I had pitch speed at 0 and as I became comfortable with that I increased it by 1 notch, then 2, etc Hope that helps. If I think of more I'll let you know.