Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

[MannyCalavera]

I have this problem where I instinctively press down on the analog stick and swing, so I never react properly to pitches even slightly above the middle of the strike zone. I keep my thumb positioned in a way that allows me to quickly press down on the stick if I see the pitch is coming down in the zone. However, if it's straight down the stinker, then I don't do anything and just swing, so most of my hits come from right down the middle or from down in the zone. I've maintained a .350 team batting average this way, but I want to be more versatile in hitting. Is this a common issue? I just can't force myself to press up on the analog stick (or left or right if the pitch is down the middle but off the plate). It's really frustrating.

Also, another question: Why is it that sometimes I belt ones out of the park if my PCI is no where close to the ball and my timing was off? (I play without the indicator on, but I know this when I press L3 to view my previous at-bat.) Is it because I play on Veteran, so hitting tends to be less accurate?

[woody2goody]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

Yeah I do that

But... ...It does make hitting high pitches difficult. You know, I am so happy that I'm not the only one who does that.

The only time I'm good at hitting a high pitch is basically if I guess that one's coming.

[MannyCalavera]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I never actually move the PCI in the direction of high strikes. The only time I hit high pitches is if I swing right down the middle and somehow I still make contact with the ball, when it was nowhere near the PCI. But this is why I posed the second question. I find this quite strange.

[chuckm1961]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

Things that have helped me lay off high pitches:

--use High batting camera

-- turn Pitch Speed down

--use Guess Pitch, and guess high a lot

[txaggie04ci]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

man, I'm glad I'm not the only one that instinctively presses down on the analog stick while batting. I do this CONSTANTLY because I'm always trying to be able to hit anything low....but makes me terrible at hitting any pitches high in the zone.

It's like my brain can't compute fast enough to move my thumb up when I see a high fastball come in....

[duffman]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

Absolutely. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a fastball coming up in the zone, get the timing all squared up, and then end up pressing down on the L stick and missing completely. Lately I've been trying a new approach of keeping my thumb off of the stick, and then flicking it at the last second before swinging. Seems to be helping a little bit instead of resting my thumb on the stick the whole time. Now that I'm consciously thinking about it though I'm sure my next game will be chock full of "under" swings haha.

[Flightwhite24]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I have a helluva of a time trying to make contact with pitches up in the strike zone. I use the left stick and I for some reason I just can't seem to pick the high pitches I just usually sit on the pitches up in the zone and I'm sure once I get my season going it is gonna cost me a few games Peace!!!

[Cozar]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I tend to pull down as well, and here's what I've done to solve that problem:

1. If I'm expecting a high fastball, I push the stick up before the pitch. This helps me avoid underswinging, but takes to make me trigger happy and I swing at high pitches that would have been balls. Still, this worked pretty well for me in '09.

2. Stop using the analog stick, most of the time. I find when I am not concerned about using the analog stick, I swing less often at low pitches, don't pop up pitches down the center, and can occasionally pull the analog up and in when I recognize high heat. I gave this one a try this year and went from a .275 hitter to a .350 - .400 (on veteran). I'm going to give it a few more weeks then up the difficulty level if I'm still hitting well.

[CactusJunk]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I have the same problem. When I used to start with the PCI just centered in the strike zone, I'd end up swinging two feet below a high fastball. Ugly.

To combat it, I start with the PCI set so that it is centered or just to the outer or inner half of the plate (depending on what I think might be coming), with its top just a shade below the top of the strike zone. There definitely should be a bit of space between the top bound of the strike zone and where the yellow ellipse begins. I don't want it too high, because even when I'm on very high strikes or pitches just above the strike zone, I usually pop out or hit lazy flyballs.

If a pitch is in the area where I have the PCI set, I have to force myself to not move it, but I'm getting better at that. I try to not do too much side-to-side movement, as I have a tendency to yank down when doing that. If the pitch is right in the middle of the strike zone, I try to respond by just letting off the L-stick and having the PCI re-center itself. I'm still working on making that more of an automatic response. I don't chase balls in the lower third of the strike zone or below with fewer than two strikes, simply because I ground out so often on them. Even with two strikes, though, I can use this approach and usually protect the bottom of the strike zone, at least well enough to foul off low pitches until I get something better to hit.

My reluctance to swing at low pitches has led to a lot of looked-at strike threes at the bottom of the strike zone. I figure that's the cost for taking (what seems to me) a smarter approach overall. I'm hitting tons better now than when I started, so this is working for me, at least.

[brewersfan84]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

Been playing on Legend difficulty for some time now. I noticed that the only real high pitch is a fastball, so I just anticipate that when I am ahead in the count. Its really hit or miss for me making contact though, but if you anticipate high, then react to the lower pitches its easier to get comfortable with the high stuff.

[warriorwm6]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I don't play with PCI on. When I start to figure out the CPU pitcher tendencies I start to keep my thumb on Left Stick up a little if I notice they are throwing a pitch in certain counts. And if the pitch is low and I have 2 strikes on me, I can be quick enough to foul it off, if I'm ahead of the count I don't swing if it's low. I have Guess pitch on-no feedback, but I also rarely use it.

[Imac Convert]

Re: Anyone have trouble hitting pitches high in the strike zone?

I just lay off anything up in the zone. If it's a strike then so be it. Most of the time it's not and I'll can look for something lower.