FINALLY Started Hitting Decent...Here's How I Did It...Hitting/Batting Tips vs. CPU

[vinny_77]

After struggling to hit between .175 and .250 (OBP wasn't much better) through about 200 games, I FINALLY found a hitting strategy that works for me. During the past week, I've read numerous threads and googled everyhing possible to learn how to play this game better. I took a few pointers from each, and am now hitting between .275 and .350 consistently. After reading MANY posts from players that have had the same struggles as me, I felt obligated to pass on my experience to allow a broader audience to enjoy this GREAT GAME.

First and foremost, we must start with pitch recognition. DON'T GO INTO AN AT BAT WITH A PRECONCEIVED NOTION. Your brain will see what it wants to (sounds silly, but it's true) and you'll start swinging at everything. Instead, you must read and react to pitches. I will give tips on how to react later in the post. To read the pitch, start by looking at the pitcher before his wind up. As the pitcher starts his wind up, move your eyes to where the pitcher will release the ball. Stay focused on this point throughout the rest of the at bat. You will be able to track ball movement much better this way. Soon, you'll be able to easily identify fastballs from breaking balls and not long after that you'll be able to tell if the pitch will land for a strike. You have now trained your batting eye. DON'T SWING WHILE TRAINING YOUR BATTING EYE. Batting practice is an excellent way of training your batting eye. Timing your swing will come with time.

Now that you're seeing your pitches, it's time to develop a winning strategy. I play on veteran (default) with no sliders adjusted. I use guess pitch with no feedback-strike zone, hot cold zones, and plate coverage indicator all off. I find that knowing my pitch is coming forces me into a lot of early and bad swings and it is not realistic anyway. All the other "batting aids" simple get in the way and make reading the pitch harder. I do like getting an added bonus for working the count and putting the pitcher behind the eight ball and no feedback gives you a greater bonus. Now...for the strategy. I will present these as individual at bats, breaking down my strategy and before each pitch and execution of that strategy. Before we start, I must tell you I NEVER GUESS PITCH LOCATION. The penalty for guessing wrong is substantial and will make you miss pitchers' mistakes that you should be hammering. Also, I use swing influence to try to hit every ball in the air. This will result in some pop-ups, but will decrease the amount of balls you hit solidly that go directly at fielders and greatlly decreases double play balls. To use swing influence to try to hit the ball in the air, simply press up on the RIGHT analog stick before a pitcher begins his wind up.

1st PITCH COUNT 0-0
Don't swing at the first pitch unless the pitcher is already getting rocked AND you read the pitch coming right down the middle. This will not happen very often! For those rare occasions:
1-Before the wind up-Press and hold R2 and press and release the button for the pitcher to throw a fastball (usually X), then release R2.
2-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
3-Read the pitch...power swing with square IF AND ONLY IF the ball is heading right down the middle.

95% of the time this won't happen here's my common strategy:
1-Don't swing, no matter what...you'll end up looking foolish more times than not. The pitcher is trying to retire you while expending as little energy as possible and is attempting to make you chase a bad pitch. Don't let him, just read the pitch and find the pitcher's release point.

2nd PITCH COUNT 1-0
Good, the pitcher nibbled and now he's behind in the count. Now how do we exploit it? We know the pitcher's release point and are starting to get a feel for the speed and/or movement of his pitches. Time to get to work.
1-Don't swing, no matter what. I'd like to see another pitch so that I have a better feel of what he's bringing.

3RD PITCH COUNT 2-0
Oops! This guy's digging his own grave. You've heard the saying, give a man enough rope to hang himself?
1- Don't swing. He's well on his way to putting you on first for free!

4th PITCH COUNT 3-0
Thank you very much!
1-Don't swing, the guy's losing confidence with every pitch and there's no reason to bail him out by swinging.

5th PITCH COUNT 3-1
Wow! He actually can throw a strike. Now it's time for the money ball....maybe.
1-Before the wind up-Press and hold R2 and press and release the button for the pitcher to throw a fastball (usually X), then release R2.
2-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
3-Read the pitch...power swing with square IF AND ONLY IF the ball is heading right down the middle.

6th 7th 8th 9th...etc. PITCH COUNT 3-2
Epic battle now comes down to a single pitch to determine bragging rights.
1-DON'T FREAK OUT WITH 2 STRIKES! The pitcher is just as likely to throw you a ball as a strike. If you show the pitcher you're willing to chase, you can expect failure. That being said, you must now protect the plate.
2-DON'T GUESS THE PITCH! The pitcher is unpredictable in this situation and the penalty for guessing wrong is severe.
3-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
4-Before the wind up-Press down on the LEFT analog stick and HOLD THIS POSITION. The pitcher is likely to throw the ball low in the zone and it is far too dificult for a beginner to read, move the left stick, and then swing-you'll be late on everything and often miss entirely. You've got enough to think about already.
5-Protect the plate. Again, this doesn't mean swing at everything. The better you've trained your batting eye, the easier it will be for you to lay off a ball. If it appears the pitch is heading towards the bottom half of the zone, swing with X. DO NOT POWER SWING! If it appears the pitch is heading towards the top half of the zone, release the LEFT analog stick and swing with X. Again, no power swing...we're protecting the plate.

If only every at-bat were so nice...what if things don't go as planned? Back to the beginning.

1st PITCH COUNT 0-0

Don't swing at the first pitch unless the pitcher is already getting rocked AND you read the pitch coming right down the middle. This will not happen very often! For those rare occasions:
1-Before the wind up-Press and hold R2 and press and release the button for the pitcher to throw a fastball (usually X), then release R2.
2-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
3-Read the pitch...power swing with square IF AND ONLY IF the ball is heading right down the middle.

95% of the time this won't happen here's my common strategy:
1-Don't swing, no matter what...you'll end up looking foolish more times than not. The pitcher is trying to retire you while expending as little energy as possible and is attempting to make you chase a bad pitch. Don't let him, just read the pitch and find the pitcher's release point.

2nd PITCH COUNT 0-1
Great, now I'm behind in the count. STAY CALM! The pitcher is actually more likely to throw you a ball now than before. Don't swing at a bad pitch and make his job easy!
1-DON'T CHASE A BAD PITCH! If you show the pitcher you're willing to chase, you can expect failure. That being said, you must now protect the plate. We don't want to fall behind 0-2.
2-DON'T GUESS THE PITCH! The pitcher is unpredictable in this situation and the penalty for guessing wrong is severe.
3-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
4-Before the wind up-Press down on the LEFT analog stick and HOLD THIS POSITION. The pitcher is likely to throw the ball low in the zone and it is far too dificult for a beginner to read, move the left stick, and then swing-you'll be late on everything and often miss entirely. You've got enough to think about already.
5-Protect the plate. Again, this doesn't mean swing at everything. The better you've trained your batting eye, the easier it will be for you to lay off a ball. If it appears the pitch is heading towards the bottom half of the zone, swing with X. DO NOT POWER SWING! If it appears the pitch is heading towards the top half of the zone, release the LEFT analog stick and swing with X. Again, no power swing...we're protecting the plate.

3rd PITCH COUNT 1-1

Our patience has paid off and now we're back to even; however, we don't want to fall behind again.
1-DON'T CHASE A BAD PITCH! If you show the pitcher you're willing to chase, you can expect failure. That being said, you must now protect the plate. We don't want to fall behind 0-2.
2-DON'T GUESS THE PITCH! The pitcher is unpredictable in this situation and the penalty for guessing wrong is severe.
3-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
4-Before the wind up-Press down on the LEFT analog stick and HOLD THIS POSITION. The pitcher is likely to throw the ball low in the zone and it is far too dificult for a beginner to read, move the left stick, and then swing-you'll be late on everything and often miss entirely. You've got enough to think about already.
5-Protect the plate. Again, this doesn't mean swing at everything. The better you've trained your batting eye, the easier it will be for you to lay off a ball. If it appears the pitch is heading towards the bottom half of the zone, swing with X. DO NOT POWER SWING! If it appears the pitch is heading towards the top half of the zone, release the LEFT analog stick and swing with X. Again, no power swing...we're protecting the plate.
3rd, 4TH, 5TH PITCH COUNT 0-2 1-2 2-2
Now we're really behind the eight ball...still, this battle is far from over.
1-DON'T FREAK OUT WITH 2 STRIKES! The pitcher is more likely to throw you a ball. If you show the pitcher you're willing to chase, you can expect failure. That being said, you must now protect the plate.
2-DON'T GUESS THE PITCH! The pitcher is unpredictable in this situation and the penalty for guessing wrong is severe.
3-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
4-Before the wind up-Press down on the LEFT analog stick and HOLD THIS POSITION. The pitcher is likely to throw the ball low in the zone and it is far too dificult for a beginner to read, move the left stick, and then swing-you'll be late on everything and often miss entirely. You've got enough to think about already.
5-Protect the plate. Again, this doesn't mean swing at everything. The better you've trained your batting eye, the easier it will be for you to lay off a ball. If it appears the pitch is heading towards the bottom half of the zone, swing with X. DO NOT POWER SWING! If it appears the pitch is heading towards the top half of the zone, release the LEFT analog stick and swing with X. Again, no power swing...we're protecting the plate.

6th 7th 8th 9th...etc. PITCH COUNT 3-2
Epic battle now comes down to a single pitch to determine bragging rights.
1-DON'T FREAK OUT WITH 2 STRIKES! The pitcher is just as likely to throw you a ball as a strike. If you show the pitcher you're willing to chase, you can expect failure. That being said, you must now protect the plate.
2-DON'T GUESS THE PITCH! The pitcher is unpredictable in this situation and the penalty for guessing wrong is severe.
3-Before the wind up-Press up on the RIGHT analog stick and release it to try to hit the ball in the air.
4-Before the wind up-Press down on the LEFT analog stick and HOLD THIS POSITION. The pitcher is likely to throw the ball low in the zone and it is far too dificult for a beginner to read, move the left stick, and then swing-you'll be late on everything and often miss entirely. You've got enough to think about already.
5-Protect the plate. Again, this doesn't mean swing at everything. The better you've trained your batting eye, the easier it will be for you to lay off a ball. If it appears the pitch is heading towards the bottom half of the zone, swing with X. DO NOT POWER SWING! If it appears the pitch is heading towards the top half of the zone, release the LEFT analog stick and swing with X. Again, no power swing...we're protecting the plate.

Just a few advanced strategies
Only recommended after starting to see success.

If you start to see the pitcher throwing right down the middle on the first pitch to specific batters, attack the pitch. As the pitcher becomes more agressive, so can you.

Those with cat-like reflexes can move the left stick after the pitch is released and get more solid hits.

Press down on the RIGHT stick and release before the wind up when attempting a hit and run. Hit the ball on the ground and watch as it rolls for a hit right where the second baseman would have been if he weren't covering second.
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These are just some tips that have helped me begin to find success. I'm sure there are several gamers that have quicker reflexes than me and can have even better success using advanced techniques. I believe casual gamers also deserve to enjoy such a great game without feeling cheap by playing on rookie or adjusting sliders. If anybody has more tips, please post in this thread so we all can benefit.

P.S.-I've had great success stealing bases in RTTS. If anybody is interested, post a request and I'll get to it ASAP. Now....back to playing MLB 09 The Show
GO CARDINALS!!!

[Senor_Herbatron]

200 games? Really? I stopped reading after that.

[JT30]

Isnt most of this common sense?

[KidFromNY]

Basically, see ball in strike zone, press X. See ball out of strike zone, do not press X. That works for me.

[Popeyes]

Quote: Originally Posted by JT30

Isnt most of this common sense?

You'd be surprised....


Thanks for the detailed walk through man. I think A LOT of people will find this helpful!!!

[frago]

First of all welcome to OS and I appreciate you trying to be helpful.

Sorry if I must flame you but don't take it personal.

I really lost interest in your method after you said you use veteran default sliders and have played 200 games and still couldn't hit even with guess pitch on. Even if you don't use location , knowing that a fastball is coming should be enough to make you crush the ball eventually after say o 150 games or there abouts.

Nothing here to read really that is new or ground breaking.

Appologies again for flaming on your first post but , step up to the plate again sometime and maybe you will hit it out of the park.

[dmrich28]

I kinda got lost but...if I have my "batting eye" trained why would I have to do the rest? I'm Ted Williams at that point.

Thanks for the effort looked like a lot of work and great 1st post, hope people can use it.

Dave

[vinny_77]

Don't want to discourage anybody. Those 200 games included several Road To The Show games in which I only had 3-5 at bats. Overall I'd say about 1500 at bats. Many of those at bats were spent experimenting with different strategies with a LOT of failure. These were the strategies that actually worked. If someone applies these strategies, it shouldn't take very many games to start finding success. Many people understand basic baseball strategies but have trouble converting them to a video game. This post is intended for beginners who are struggling. To advanced players, much of this would be common sense.