50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

[jmik58]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

Two things...

1. I hit one off a pitcher's head so hard that the ball launched into the air and was nearly caught by the 3rd baseman who threw me out at first. I'm not sure how he gripped the ball with all the blood and tissue on it. The pitcher stayed in the game.

2. More importantly, I think "perfect" timing needs to be expanded in terms of the hits it delivers. If a pitch is outside, a perfectly timed swing would drive the ball to right. On an inside pitch, perfect timing is a pulled ball, etc. This may be the issue as much as anything.

[Bobhead]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

To the OP and discussion: I actually don't have this problem at all. I see it maybe once every few games, and that's combined with both teams, which is definitely on par with real life.

Anyway, lowering Timing is your best solution. Other guys already explained why. You'll have more balls hit to the sides and stuff. I recommend you also lower Foul Frequency 1 point to compensate.

I'd imagine the discrepancy between other players that don't see this is caused by the difficulty levels we play at. Each difficulty level comes with a differently sized timing window. Raising the difficulty is like lowering the Timing slider about 2 points (Just to be clear, I'm not saying this is the only thing that changes with a new difficulty level!), so it makes sense that players on Veteran or Rookie are more likely to have this issue.

1. You shouldn't be punished for hitting the ball perfectly.

You didn't hit the ball perfectly, you just had perfect timing with regards to the pitch's speed. No one has neither claimed nor suggested that perfect timing is ideal. Trying to redefine the physics and tendencies of baseball for your own convenience won't get you very far.

[AUTiger1]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

The real question is... In those 50 games... How many high chop foul balls behind home plate did you see?

Actually I think the pitcher deflections are better this year. Last year every pitcher turned into Martin Brodeur on hits up the middle. This year they are merely Nikolai Khabibulin.

I love the NHL references. Ondrej Pavalec! To bad the Jets wasted away a chance at the playoffs. Same franchise, new city, new name, same results.

[nonnel]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

To the OP and discussion: I actually don't have this problem at all. I see it maybe once every few games, and that's combined with both teams, which is definitely on par with real life.

Huh? What baseball are you watching where that's "on par with real life"? You're saying that when watching your team, you see a pitcher get nailed with a line drive shot that deflects off them every few days?

You're saying you see that 50+ times a year while watching JUST your team? You need to rethink that statement. It happens maybe a few times a year for the ENTIRE league in total.

[Bobhead]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

Huh? What baseball are you watching where that's "on par with real life"? You're saying that when watching your team, you see a pitcher get nailed with a line drive shot that deflects off them every few days?

You're saying you see that 50+ times a year while watching JUST your team? You need to rethink that statement. It happens maybe a few times a year for the ENTIRE league in total.

You are adding so many words to my statement it's not even funny. I never said I was only talking about my team. I said it happens a once every few games, and as you may be aware, most baseball games involve 2 teams, not one.

Secondly, nowhere did I say anything about line drives. Not every batted ball that hits the pitcher is a line drive, and nowhere did I specify that I was limiting my observations to those types of hits. I see ground balls hit the pitcher also, and that's included in my once every few games statement.

And finally, not every batted ball hit towards the pitcher in real life gets 10 minutes on ESPN. Often the only ones that are reported are ones that are extremely hard line drives, or ones that result in the pitcher leaving the game. You'd be surprised how often it actually happens. You can Google the event (pitcher & comebacker or pitcher & line drive will work) and see for yourself, and that's only returning events that have entire articles dedicated to them - not all of them do. That's also excluding all the balls hit towards the pitcher that the pitcher catches,

[Simp]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

I rocketed one off Michael Pineda's right shoulder blade yesterday and it bounced over toward ARod. The result of the play was a 1-5-4-3 double play.

Pineda's next pitch was 97 mph 4SFB. LOL

[chrishthomas]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

It happens more than I would like to see, but I am not all that bothered by it. And, while you would think that pitchers would be injured much more frequently than they are, I think, given the frequency with which it occurs, that we can all be thankful that they don't get injured more often. If this was truly a "rare" occurrence then I would be much more comfortable with injuries happening more often. Having said that, though, it does take away some of the realism when you nail a pitcher and he completes the play and then continues to pitch as if it were nothing more than a mosquito bite.

However, although it sounds like I am in the minority, I have seen two injuries off of these (both from The Show '11). I lined a 99 mph ball off of Luke Hochevar's face, and he went down. After the game I checked, and he was on the 15-day DL out for about 2 weeks with a broken nose. I also hurt another pitcher when I hit his leg, but apparently it wasn't severe. He left the game, but when I checked afterward he wasn't listed as injured.

Last night, in my new season, I was playing a tie game in the bottom of the ninth and I hit a hard liner off the pitcher, it caromed over toward third, he sprints, picks it up and fires, and beats me by several steps at first. I don't score, and we go into the tenth. CPU nails me on what appeared to be the same line drive, and although I had the controller pressed toward the ball now moving toward 3rd, it took me a split second longer to get to it, and the CPU runner was safe...all I could think was, "So that's how the CPU's gonna play it, and manage to win this thing."

Sure enough he came around to score after the next batter singled to right, followed by a deep sac fly to left. Fortunately, the controller was not thrown through the television, though, as Troy Tulowitzki sat back on a hanging curve ball and put it out of the yard for a walk off 2-run blast in the bottom of the 10th.

[shifty_b]

I would be cautious lowering timing of you are getting good stats otherwise. You don't need perfect timing to hit the pitcher, location matters too. A righty hitting an inside pitch late could go up the middle just like a perfectly timed hit on fastball down Broadway.

[willIam9387]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

It happens more than I would like to see, but I am not all that bothered by it. And, while you would think that pitchers would be injured much more frequently than they are, I think, given the frequency with which it occurs, that we can all be thankful that they don't get injured more often. If this was truly a "rare" occurrence then I would be much more comfortable with injuries happening more often. Having said that, though, it does take away some of the realism when you nail a pitcher and he completes the play and then continues to pitch as if it were nothing more than a mosquito bite.

However, although it sounds like I am in the minority, I have seen two injuries off of these (both from The Show '11). I lined a 99 mph ball off of Luke Hochevar's face, and he went down. After the game I checked, and he was on the 15-day DL out for about 2 weeks with a broken nose. I also hurt another pitcher when I hit his leg, but apparently it wasn't severe. He left the game, but when I checked afterward he wasn't listed as injured.

Last night, in my new season, I was playing a tie game in the bottom of the ninth and I hit a hard liner off the pitcher, it caromed over toward third, he sprints, picks it up and fires, and beats me by several steps at first. I don't score, and we go into the tenth. CPU nails me on what appeared to be the same line drive, and although I had the controller pressed toward the ball now moving toward 3rd, it took me a split second longer to get to it, and the CPU runner was safe...all I could think was, "So that's how the CPU's gonna play it, and manage to win this thing."

Sure enough he came around to score after the next batter singled to right, followed by a deep sac fly to left. Fortunately, the controller was not thrown through the television, though, as Troy Tulowitzki sat back on a hanging curve ball and put it out of the yard for a walk off 2-run blast in the bottom of the 10th.

I had a similar experience when I was trying to rally in the bottom of the ninth with my Phils against the pirates. Down a run, with two outs, Rollins hits a shot up the middle and it hits the pitcher. in the shoulder. I dislike to use the phrase "shot out of a cannon", but this liner's velocity was pretty close to it as I worked the count in my favor and and hit a 97 mph fastball perfectly. The result of the play was of course an out as Hanrahan didn't even blink. But this was not the first time I've seen the hitting the pitcher animation as it happens more than usual.

The reason I say it's frustrating to me is that it shows that hit variety still needs work. The new physics engine has helped a lot in adding new hit types and outcomes, yet there are still canned animations like this one and others that detract from the experience. We all know that players get robbed of hits as they hit it right at someone, or an infiedler or outfielder is able to make a play on the ball, but I'd rather have animations like that occur than to see my hits being robbed by the fact the pitcher is impenetrable and doesn't even blink when hit by a hard-hit liner.

[krmarks]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

The injury part of this equation could get out of hand if an injury was given every time one ricocheted off the pitcher, but at the very least they could put a pause on the pitcher reaction if the batted ball is say over 80mph or something like that...or if it hits them above the belt. I guess keep injuries random on it, but it should also drop their confidence to 0 or close to that to compensate for the fact that they can come back after getting drilled and be bringing 95+.

True story though, in college I was pitching and was drilled in my plant leg kneecap and the ball one hopped our catcher who then threw the runner out at first. I went on to pitch 7 2/3 shutout innings that game...so it is semi-realistic I guess, but the trainer at that game said it was a miracle that my kneecap was not shattered.

[Rhinoboy50]

My RTTS pitcher got clobbered by a line drive. He fell and rolled around on the ground for a VERY long time but was not injured short or long term. I have been hit in previous years but had never seen the writhing in pain bit. I will try to upload the video. Very unique.


No charge for the awesomeness!

[BleedBlueAndRed]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

i know in a spring training game, I was playing as the Yankees in my franchise with Joba on the mound and a ball hit off his leg i believe and then Russell Martin went to check on him after the out was made at first. idk if that means it can injure them or not though. In that same game, Roy Halladay hit CC with a pitch when CC was batting (this was earlier on, hence why Joba was pitching) and CC had to leave the game after a cut scene of Joe Girardi checking on him.

[Jgainsey]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

Unlike last year, I really haven't seen too many pitcher deflections in 12.

That being said, it doesn't surprise me that people are seeing and abundance of these. It has been a lingering issue for a while now, so maybe I've just been lucky so far.

If they can't make an improvement in this area going forward, I think a good compromise would be an injury, or at least a removal from the current game, any time a pitcher is struck in the head/neck.. IRL, no pitcher would stay in the game after that.

As far slider adjustments go, I doubt there's a good solution to this problem with sliders. You could lower/increase the pitch speed, but in my experience, that slider can be essential to the hitting difficulty.

[nomo17k]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

One thing about hitting pitchers is that I don't see them that often in CPU vs. CPU games. That probably says something about the way HUM players tend to time pitches... they tend to hit with the same timing.

[nova91]

Re: 50 game sample size - Hitting the pitcher

One thing about hitting pitchers is that I don't see them that often in CPU vs. CPU games. That probably says something about the way HUM players tend to time pitches... they tend to hit with the same timing.

This is quite possible, of the 30+ times I've hit the pitcher with a ball in RTTS about 10 of them have come against R.A. Dickey and his damn Knuckleball, the timing I have against him goes 1 of 2 ways, I mistime it completely and hit nothing but air or I miss the timing by just a little and drive it straight into his drive leg.