Armor & Sword & Marino’s MLB The Show 19 Classic/Directional Simulation Sliders

[Armor and Sword]

Armor & Sword & Marino’s Classic/Directional Simulation Sliders

Hello Operation Sports Show Nation! Hard to believe, but we are now going into year 10 of not only playing the very best console sports game on the planet. But developing simulation style sliders to enjoy and share with all of you baseball junkies. But even more importantly, our mission has always been more about bringing us all together, trading stories, franchise highlights, great games, big heartbreak, rising stars, trading notes, giving each other ideas and simply enjoying playing this marvelous game of baseball that we have today. I just turned 49 years young in February. I have been playing and coaching baseball for 45 of my 49 years of life on this planet. I was a highly talented high school ball player and played some low level local college ball before I decided to hang up my cleats in pursuit of a professional baseball career. Why? I ask that same question to myself almost everyday, but let’s chalk it up to a young 19 year old kid going through some very rough family troubles, getting involved with the wrong girl and I will leave it at that. But things turned out just fine for me. I ended up going back on the diamond at age 22 and playing in the men open leagues down here in South Florida and I got the fever again. But lower back problems kept me from really going for it again, so I took up coaching youth baseball camps in the summers as my way of giving back to the game of baseball. This crazy game has taught me so much about life, how to fail and how to fail with grace and just keep pushing forward till I cannot be denied. Baseball gave me the confidence to succeed and be a fierce competitor in my profession, but even more importantly, I have been able to pass this wisdom down to my incredible 14 year old son. He is on his “Baseball Journey” and where the train stops is anybody’s guess. But I told him "this game will stay with you forever no matter what”.


So with all that being said, it brings me to why I am so passionate about MLB The Show. I grew up with the Atari 2600 and NES and you could imagine the lengths I would go to in recreating not only the magic of this game on my TV screen, but keeping copious notes in spiral notebooks, filled with stats for my players on Bases Loaded 2 The Second Season NY Team! I was so excited for BL The Second Season....they had player algorithms!!! That’s right hot streaks and cold streaks....if I could only figure out how the hell they worked? It was some Cardiograph graphics with what looked like someone having a heart attack !

Then we got Baseball Stars!!! Man...Custom teams, stat keeping, financials...oh boy.

I think you can see where I am going with this. I come from an era where we had to create our stories, our path, our universe. And you know what? I still do that to this day. But being able to create my baseball dreams with a game of this caliber is simply the ultimate baseball video game dream. And these guys at SDS share in those dreams. They were me, sitting in their apartments and dorm rooms, playing Sega and PS1 and dreaming big.


When you dive into my approach at playing MLB The Show keep an open mind. Dare yourself to dream of playing every pitch of every inning so the magic of baseball can unfold for you over the course of this cycle. I can assure you if can make an effort to play at least 120-162 games you will get the full monty of what makes MLB The Show the greatest console sports game on the planet. The “little things” really shine and you will see things in game 100 that you never saw in the previous 99. Believe me, trust me and dive in. Endure a month long cold spell at the plate. Endure a month long shellacking of your pitching staff as you grasp at reasons of WTF is going on.....that will make that 15 game winning streak, that 10 game hitting streak, that monster run of scoring 50 runs in 6 games, that 3 HR game, hitting for the cycle, getting to the post season, WINNING THE WORLD SERIES that much sweeter.

Trust the settings, trust the dice rolls, get better! I can tell you 18 was simply a marvelous game. But 19 is better in every single solitary way on the diamond, in the broadcast booth, and off the field. We are so close to default HOF (and I will have All-Star adjustments too my friends for those that can’t handle HOF......yet).

It really has become now not so much about fiddling with the knobs to extreme lefts or rights like in years past.....it is about buying into the style of play in this thread. Buying into the “mindset” of how we play this game. And that is due to how amazingly tuned this game is OOTB this year (and 18 for that matter). I am floored at how well the game has ben playing for me at default HOF that after several games (and having doing this for 10 years now) I was able to quickly and easily zero in on the area’s I always tweak. Fielder reaction and speed, and baserunner speed and base stealing. Hitting and pitching are virtually exactly the same as 18 in terms of how well tuned the game is. The new pitch speeds are a revelation. I love default 5/5 this year and may eventually move them up as time goes on. But also keep in mind....pitch speed is totally a personal choice. So do whatever you need to in that regard. There is no right or wrong way to play when it comes to pitch speeds.....or anything for that matter.

Just keep in mind the most important thing about this slider thread and let’s call it for lack of a better term our “MLB The Show 19 clubhouse”.

1. Sample size - people, please play 25-35 games before jumping off a bridge because you can’t hit or pitch. Also be honest with yourself about your skill level and ability. Especially when it comes to hitting. The Show emulates hitting so well. And guess what? It is the hardest thing to do in all of sports. That is why we have guys playing football on Sundays (they cannot hit a 95 MPH fastball nor want any part of standing in the dish facing that kind of heat coming at their head).

2. Buy into the clean screen approach and embrace this way of playing - Turn off those visual guides, cues and arrows. Do not use guess pitch. It all makes you a lousy player. Learn how to play baseball. Use you eye’s and instinct’s. Sit on pitches, have patience at the plate, learn what good pitch sequencing is all about when you are on the bump. This is not an entry level way of playing. Clean screen is hardcore simulation style baseball. Our timing and our IQ coupled with player ratings determines our ultimate success.


Well that is al lI have for you right now. Once again welcome to our Show Clubhouse and have fun. Make this the place we embrace and enjoy this great game and share our joys and heartbreaks.

Version 1 is below......so with out further ado,


PLAY BALL!!!!!

Version 5.0 May 20th 2019

Settings:

Batting and Baserunning:

Hitting Difficulty: All-Star or HOF (I use HOF)

Hitting Interface Directional (Timed)

Input Type - Buttons

Plate Coverage Indicator - Off

Camera Shift - Off

In-Play View Offense - Broadcast

Hitting View: Fish Eye (Users Choice)

Ball Trail - Off

Button Interface: Classic

Guess Pitch: Off

Baserunner Interface: Default

Baserunning Decisions: Assist

Sliding Decisions: Assist

Runner Window: Off (Much more challenging and rewarding plus cleaner screen)

Pitching:

Pitching Difficulty: HOF

Pitching Interface: Classic

Pitching View: Broadcast

Pitching Ball Marker: Off ("On" for those that struggle with it off)

Pitch Callout: Off (cleaner screen but turn it on if you like)

Pitch Confidence: On

Pitch Delay: Normal

API: Default

Fielding:

Throwing Interface: Buttons

Throwing Meter: Off

Throwing Difficulty: NA

Throwing Decision: Off

Throw Canceling: On

Fielding Decision: Auto

Defensive Shift: Manual

All Indicators - off

Fielding View Offense: Broadcast

Fielding View Defense: Broadcast

General

Strike Zone: Off

Hot Zones: Off

Warm Up Relievers - On

Balks: Off

Tutorial Tips - Off

Post Game Auto Save - Off

Umpire Balls and Strikes: Personalized

Umpire Close Plays: On

Check Swing Appeals: On

Injuries: On

Ejections: On

Scorebar Display - On

Pitch Select Display - Off

Swing/Pitch Info - Off

Vibration - On (Off for the ultimate challenge) (I play with it on)

Game Log Order - Default

Presentation Options

Presentation Mode - Broadcast

Pre Pitch Cameras - Batting Only

Frequency - High Leverage

Batter Walkup - On

In-game Ticker - On

Closed Captioning - Off

Mode Updates - Occasional

MLB.com Updates - On




Gameplay Sliders

Dynamic Difficulty Sensitivity 5

Human Contact 5

Human Power 5 (-1) (4 for All-Star)

Human Timing 5 (-1) (5 for All-Star)

Stride Difficulty 5

Human Foul Frequency 4 (3 for All Star Hitting)

Human Solid Hits 4 (-1)

Human Starter Stamina 5

Human Reliever Stamina 5

Human Pitcher Control 6 (5 for All-Star)

Human Pitcher Consistency 6 (5 for All-Star)

CPU Contact 5

CPU Power 5

CPU Timing 5

CPU Foul Frequency 3 (4 for All-Star)

CPU Solid Hits 4

CPU Starter Stamina 5

CPU Reliever Stamina 5

CPU Pitcher Control 5

CPU Pitcher Consistency 5

CPU Strike Frequency 5

CPU Manager Hook 5

CPU Pickoffs 5

Fastball Pitch Speed 5 (users choice)

Off speed Pitch Speed 5 (users choice)

Fielding Errors Infield 5

Fielding Errors Outfield 5

Throwing Errors Infield 5

Throwing Errors Outfield 5

Fielder Run Speed 3

Fielder Reaction 4

Fielder Arm Strength Infield 5

Fielder Arm Strength Outfield 5

Baserunner Speed 5

Baserunner Steal Ability 6 (5 for All-Star)

Baserunner Steal Frequency 6 (5 for All-Star)

Wind 5

Injuries 9 (6 for quick manage/and simmed games)


Trade Slider 5 - April

Trade Slider 5 - May

Trade Slider 5 - June

Trade Slider 10 - July,

Trade Slider 8 - August

Trade Slider 5 - September

Trade Slider 5 - October

Trade Slider 9 - November thru February

Trade Slider 7 - Spring Training

Classic Roster Tweaks

Make these tweaks to the HOF set if you are using any classic rosters from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or 90’s!

Starter stamina 7
Reliever stamina 6
CPU Hook - 4
Base stealer ability - 7

Armor’s True Classic Clean Screen Approach

For the ultimate in simulation and challenge here is the way I play The Show with classic pitching vs the CPU.

OK so here is the deal on turning off the R2/pitch types button showing on screen.

All you need to do to see your pitchers repertoire is press right on the d-pad and hit R1 and you will see in order his pitch selection (and you can access this screen to see his strike % throughout the game with his various pitches to see how he is dealing and this eliminates the crutch of the pitch confidence display explained later)

So you press d-pad left and then R1 and see this:

1.4FB

2.SL

3.SPL

4.CHG

That means:

4FB = X = 1 finger
SL = O = 2 fingers
SPL = Triangle = 3 fingers
CHG = Square = 4 fingers
4 Fingers and wiggle means his 5th pitch (R1)

Now you know his best to weakest.

Watch the catcher....if he has 2 fingers showing he wants you to throw a Slider. If he shows 4 fingers he wants a Change up.

I typically allow my catcher to call a lot of my pitches for a sim feel. But I will overrule him when I want (shake him off). If you want to see where he wants it pull back R2 and the location icon will flash. The catcher also will sometimes just pat his mitt and/or point inside or outside and I will just aim to that area of the zone (or out of it). Or again I will shake him off. Remember if your controller rumbles while your picking your location the marker (which you can't see) is out of the strike zone. A slight rumble is barely out of the zone..and strong rumble is way out of the zone. I do start pitches out of the zone like sliders, cutters splitters etc and they come back in based on the break and spin. It takes practice....but it is well worth the reward.

Now if your pitcher has 5 pitches 4 fingers and a wiggle will mean the pitch assigned to the R1 button.

Another cool thing is you no longer see a pitchers confidence in any particular pitch. Again simply press d-pad left and R1 once and you can see each pitch and the strike %. The more strikes you have thrown with a pitch the higher the confidence level will be in that pitch.

When you have played the game as long as I have....you know if your throwing a certain pitch for strikes a lot...they will have a lot more confidence in it. I am at a stage with this game where I don't need many visual aides. But if your not there yet turn the pitch type screen back.....play the game the way your comfortable playing it.

I will tell you though the layers of simulation by pitching this way is amazing and fun. Turning the ball marker off and no controller vibration also truly makes it challenging and realistic. Sometimes your pitches will not go where you want them.

Just like IRL!!!

Give this a shot. I have a feeling you will love it. It will take some getting used to...but after a dozen to a couple of dozen games you will be in the groove.

My good friend and fellow slider guru Josh1977 had some nice input about classic pitching so check this stuff out below as well.

"That said, you definitely have some control over pitch outcome. How long you hold the button matters. It affects pitch speed, command, and the amount of break on breaking pitches. It just isn't 'push a button and go'...there is far more subtlety in it. In fact, if you simply tap the button, it is an excellent way to get shelled".


When pitching in classic, you have about a 1 second time period before you get the controller vibration (i.e. max-effort). The following are my observations...

Max effort pitches (holding the button down till the vibration) result in the following:
More velocity
Less control
A sharper break on breaking pitches
Pitches tend to rise more


Minimum effort pitches (tapping the button) results in the following:
Less velocity
Better control
"Loopier" breaking balls (especially curves/sliders
Pitches sink more (due to lower velo) - changeups will pretty constantly wind up in the dirt
In many cases, an "intermediate" duration is optimal. However, you can vary this from pitch to pitch (i.e. like a pitcher adding/subtracting from the speed of the pitch). This is a tremendous way to keep hitters off-balance to help to avoid them getting solid contact/timing.

This is just a basic overview...I'm sure there are more subtleties involved.

Armor's Directional Hitting Approach

It is all situational for me. So many factors depending on the type of hitter, counts, situation, score etc etc.

First off as far as swing types and counts:

Normal Swing:

0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-1, 2-2, 3-2

Contact swing

All Pitchers

0-2, 1-2,

2-2, 3-2
Situational - with weaker hitters to make contact and move runners or sacrifice fly.


Power Swing only with my very best power hitters when I typically have no one on with no outs or no one on with 2 outs.

0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 (green light) 3-1 counts.


Directional strategy:

I position the LS pre pitch and hold throughout the swing however as you know I do not use the visual aide showing the influence (don't need it).

Dead Pull Contact Hitters if the situation calls for a pull

LS at the 9 o'clock for RH 3 o'clock for left handers

Hitters counts only 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-1


Pull Power Hitters with normal swing

LS position

10/11 o'clock positions for RH hitters

1/2 o'clock for LH hitters

Hitters counts only 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-1


Opposite field strategy for RH hitters so I can hit behind the runner...early in counts and hitter counts (0-0, 1-0, 2-0 or 3-1) LS is at 3'clock for LH hitters at 9 o'clock

If I get into a pitchers count or neutral count (0-1, 0-2, 1-1, 2-2, 3-2) I do not use stick influence but I allow the ball to travel deep so I can either slap it the other way or fight it off.


When I simply want to induce a sac fly or ground ball....LS in 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock respectively in hitters counts only.


So I think you can see my approach. In hitters counts I can be far more selective with my pitches and use the LS influence. Basically depending on what I want to do I am looking for one pitch in one spot on 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-1 counts (I rarely green light on 3-0 unless I am up big or down big or have a gut feeling). When I am in pitchers counts or neutral accounts I am simply using my normal or contact swing with no stick influence as I am in battle mode and trying to work the count.

I hope that gives you a good idea of my approach at the dish.

Armors 30 Team Control Manifesto

So folks I seem to always get a lot of questions around 30 team control, is it for me, how much control do you use, why do you use it etc. So I want to talk about the why, how and pretty much what I do personally with my 30 team control universe in my proper 2017 Yankees Franchise and my Year 3 1987 Yankees Franchise The Quest For Donny Baseball.

Why 30 team control? Well for me it comes down to these 3 key points


1) Lineup integrity and control - I want to make sure lineups are logical and maximizing every teams talent. This is subjective to the player as well. What I may think makes sense, you may do something differently. Always remember it is your universe and you can shape it any way you want.


2) Trade Czar - I love trading. But I hate dumb trades, like real doozy type trades that make no sense for the present or the future. And they do sometimes occur....of course it's totaly IMO. So if I see a trade that fit's my definition of "being bent over with no lube" I will simply reverse it. Now in the past we had a trade delay option. But for programming reasons (it was causing some issues in the trade engine apparently) it was removed on MLB 16. So to reverse a doozy of a deal simply trade the assets back to each respective team. The team that clearly got the strong side of the deal is the one you should propose the trade back to the team that was fleeced.

3) 40 Man Roster Integrity - I make sure I stay on top of each teams 40 man roster in terms of "A" and "B" prospects. Why? I don't want legit "A" and "B" prospects who are developing nicely to be exposed to the "Rule 5" draft. So Before September I make sure (and of course before the regular season starts) I go through each teams 40 and check out their "top" prospects and make sure I get them on the 40 man roster (if they are not on it) to protect them from exposure to the Rule 5 draft. Of course sometimes there is not enough room, because you do need a good mix of veterans at the AAA level to be on call for potential injuries. So this is a GM aspect I like to do. Plus it get's me familiar with every teams minor league system.

So I create one profile for my club with everything set to manual and then I have a profile called "CPU Franchise" which I assign to every team I do not want full control over.




Everything on this CPU Franchise profile is set to Auto except:

Lineups

40 Man Roster

I do not resign the other 29 teams free agents, I do not manage their injuries (I just stay on top of their lineups so if an injury occurs at the big league level and I do not agree with their call-up replacement or lineups with new player inserted I correct it to my liking).


Again, it is about options and the ability to step in when I want/need to. I do not get overwhelmed with doing player training or scouting for the other 29 teams.


I simply just manage those 3 things I mentioned above.


And of course another perk is if I want to switch teams in a franchise at anytime....I can.

So here is my daily method with 30 team control


Simulate all games on the schedule for the day except my game. That way all the scores show up on my ticker when I play my game.


Monthly I will check every team's stat's, see who is performing well etc and I may make some lineup adjustments to other teams to capitalize on players performing better than expected.

Again it is your universe. Have fun with it. And don't over think it


Trades for your team - So one thing I have in place is a house rule where I only trade with other teams for players that are strictly on the trading block until the month of July (when my storylines will take over as I check standings and teams goals, budget etc etc). Unless a team comes to me with an offer with a player/players not on their trading block, I limit myself to that rule. Some exceptions I will make is if I am trying to make a blockbuster multi star player deal and of course I do not fleece the CPU. What's the fun in that? Maybe it is for you and you can do whatever you want, but for me, I like to keep it grounded and more realistic. With that I do have storylines that will occur in the natural progression of my team and I may move a guy because of it. And again.....Trade deadline and Winter meetings I will look at the league and make logical deals and blockbuster trades as well and keep my league fresh and vibrant.

Player Editing Within Your Franchise Universe

So Warmwind has a nice set of house rules that I will begin employing in my off-seasons moving forward (30 team control only). Read below. I think it has great idea’s and will make your franchises far more dynamic!


I do edits, but based on rules.


1. I make position edits based on needs and profiles all the time. There are no consequences for doing this.

2. I'm allowed to trade 1 for 1 between a pitcher's durability and their stamina, but only during the off season. This can coincide with a position edit (RP to SP for example).

3. All players must be allowed to regress without edits if they are having a bad year.

4. For players under 34, I'm allowed to counteract regression, but only if they are having a good year.

5. For players under 36, I'm allowed to counteract half of the regression, but only if they are having a good year.

6. For players of any age, I'm allowed to counteract regression using a trade system, where points from one attribute are traded into another in order to keep it up. This can ONLY be used to counteract regression, cannot be used to boost an attribute higher then where it started the year at. Points taken from Durability are worth double, but it also costs double to keep Durability up.





Have fun with it guys.

For great “Classic Pitching Discussion”

https://forums.operationsports.com/f...ad-2015-a.html


To post box scores use the OS generator site!

https://dynasties.operationsports.com/index.php

[Armor and Sword]

Flurry of Contract Extensions as Trade Deadline Approaches

The Yankees, Cub’s, Cardinals, Red Sox and Astros among others have secured their futures with some headline contract extensions. In the meantime the Giants have put teams around the league on notice that pending free agent Madison Bumgarner is available for the right price.

Below are some of the headline contract extensions that were made today around the league today!

Your division Leaders as we approach the trade deadline are:

A.L. East

Red Sox

A.L. Central

Indians

A.L. West

Astros

A.L. Wild Card Race

Blue Jays
Yankees


N.L. East

Nationals

N.L. Central

Cubs

N.L. West

Dodgers

N.L. Wildcard Race

Mets
Cardinals
Giants

[Armor and Sword]

The Quest For Donny Baseball A 1987 Yankees Franchise Year 1

I am excited to again pursue a World Series Title for my all time favorite player Don Mattingly, using the brilliant Jmyers/Jethrotull 1987 Full Minors roster. They again ported and cleaned it up for MLB 19 and I felt it was a great time to "reboot" this franchise!!

Be on the look out for streams, game stories, player profiles and all kinds of retro fun right here. I will be starting this franchise and running it concurrently with my 2017 Yankees Year 3 and my brand new Bacon's Fictional Oakland A's franchise. So much baseball goodness to share.

[Gagnon39]

Armor, you’re baseball video gaming background is very, very similar to mine. Always a fan of your sliders, and I’m usually just one or two tweaks away from what you use.


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[ML]

These look similar to last years. Both games have played great out of the box with minor tweaks. Will have some feedback for you in the upcoming days. Thanks as always!


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[VincesVictims]

We have the official 19 thread. Let the games begin. I need work to get over quick I want to play the show. After playing nonstop for a day and a half I'm have withdrawals.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Operation Sports mobile app

[mbergh22]

Wahoo!!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[gator21]

Thanks Armor once again. I always consider it another Christmas morning when your new slider thread opens. I’m 45 years old and started on a Vic 20, what SDS has been able to do with this game is incredible. I play exactly like you and love simulation style baseball. Keep up the great work. Cheers to a great year of MLB The Show!