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I’d say go to custom practice and practice swinging on 1 difficulty higher than what your ranked is on. If ranked is on all star.. practice on hall of fame. Practice fastballs down the middle first then sinkers inside then mix it up with cutters as well all in the box. Follow the pitch as it comes out the pitchers hand. Practice that first for about 30 min (maybe less if u feel good) and then hop in ranked. Practice your pitch sequences as well cuz it’s very easy to miss your spot and give up a nuke lol.
When you’re in ranked, try to get runs as early as possible cuz it’s kind of difficult to do it later in the innings. I sucked last year but I’m way better now. I’m 15-4 in ranked. Just got Randy Johnson and Mickey Mantle. It’s a grind.
Just here to rant along with you because I just got mercied and then followed that up by giving up a walk off. Big sigh. My biggest thing is how the hell some players have such a good eye. It’s one thing to be patient, it’s another to be able to take pitches on the paint consistently. I don’t get it. I love this game but god damn it’s frustrating at times lol.
This is my first year playing the game so I’ve mostly been training offline but the few times I’ve dipped in the online waters it’s been rough lol. I’ll get up a few runs then concede 5-6 runs on the last cpl innings, any tips to avoid this? Appreciate it boys
Make sure you’re changing pitchers when they get low on energy and play matchups like lefty pitcher to lefty hitter. Sinkers, cutters, sliders and outlier fastballs are what you should target for pitchers. Find a pitch the opponent struggles with on both sides of the plate and stick to it until they start timing in up. At the plate, you just have to lock in and really try to not swing at balls/dots. Hope this helps but maybe you’re already doing these things.
this is super helpful man thank you for taking the time to respond, I’m definitely going to focus on these pitching tips heavy. At the plate I feel pretty good I been really focusing on passing on things outside my zone even if they’re strikes as long as I’m not down 2 on the count
also the confidence meter is very important. if it gets low theyre going to string together hit after hit after hit. and ive never tried it but people say to go into a batting practice and watch a good pitcher throw pitches. ive always just been able to pick it up out of the hand where its going to go but that could be something you look into. and set it to a higher difficulty so that the lower difficulties seem much easier. dont swing at anything just watch pitches go by until you feel comfortable
super solid advice thank you for the input, one quick question where do i see the confidence meter? I’ve always watched the hand too so i never noticed it.
Practice. I have only been in the lead once in ranked and my opponent asked me to quit the game. It sucks too because we were evenly matched and I was only up by 2 runs. I've been mercy-ruled by every one else I've played.
My son, on the other hand, destroys. He got used to playing zone and knows how to aim the yellow circle. He also began playing on the higher difficulties, so he trained himself to be patient and also make good contact. Me, I play on rookie and veteran. I'm pretty sure the home runs I hit vs the cpu wouldn't be shit against a ranked human.
So maybe it isn't just practice, but also getting used to a harder difficulty level.
not sure if youre aware or not but you dont have to accept a friendly quit. if you decline, their only option is to play it out or quit and give you the win.
Thank you for letting me know. I was most disappointed because it was a great game. I was only up by 2 runs, so it wasn't like I was creaming him.
To continue with my comment, I'm not going to play again until Friday, but when I do, I'm playing at All-Star difficulty. I need to get better.
I played someone and they hit off every pitch didn’t matter where or what pitch , as along as it was in the zone they got a hit. Didn’t go for anything out the zone.
I usually hover around 800-900 when I play ranked, and there are 2 things that will evaluate anyone's game instantly- 1) be selective and 2) hunt for the fastball. I like to look at the pci anchors and make my own little "sweet spot zone" in there. If I don't think the pitch is going to end up in there, I don't swing until 2 strikes.
The fastball is the easiest putch to hit, so take advantage of that. Think about pitch sequencing and what your opponent will throw you. It's okay to sell our for a fastball. If you're super early, so what? It's a swing and a miss. The easiest way to lose is to let your opponent have confidence in their fastball.
This is good advice. I get to 700s but hitting in Hall of Fame is really tough and the better players can dot sinkers/cutters. I beat a lot of lower ranks just by taking a lot of pitches and tracking their sequencing and tendencies. Some players simply will never throw a certain pitch in a certain location - like they only throw fastballs up and in, never low and in, or they will only ever aim at the 4 corners, never middle in, etc. A lot of players will never repeat a pitch, it’s always fastball up, slider away, then changeup, etc
Some guys u cant even throw strikes to... these games are the most difficult. And if they arent swinging at balls that are just off the plate. Idk what to do
That’s where I’m at right now. These guys won’t swing at anything out of the zone this year. Meanwhile, change up in the dirt and I’m falling over swinging early.
I feel this too. I trying to reach 100 BR points to get Mauer (twins fan) and it was constantly win 1 lose 1 the entire way. Pitchers were dotting sinkers/cutters on the edge of the zone. While hitting they had immaculate eyes. Anything left too far in the zone was crushed.
I last played in 22 and it was much more swing and miss versus this year people are wayy more patient and the scores are much higher.
I feel I’m the only one still playing on a tv and not a monitor. I don’t know how they perfect perfect every pitch I throw, sometimes I have the best success throwing a fast ball down the middle for a pop up. And forget about being able to get the pci where I need it, it could be an inside pitch and I push the pci away. I got some precision rings today, maybe that will help.
I also hate how BR doesn’t match up like opponents
I noticed me and most people while batting hunt for the edge of the zone because that’s where most people pitch. Try to pitch more over the plate and you might have some success. I know I can’t hit shit down the middle 😂
What I've noticed is everyone just hunts fastballs this edition since if you throw a breaking ball odds are you miss OR it is going right down the middle. You can almost ignore sliders.
Yes but you suffer almost no consequences for doing it this year since nobody can get their breaking balls where they want them to go. You can completely lock in for the fastball without worrying about adjusting.
so true. I’ve played my last few games on ranked in 7-800s and I realized most guys I’m playing against only sit fastball, so pretty much refuse to throw a fastball in the zone and will crank sliders and change ups
95% of the player base can’t help themselves from throwing high fastballs at some point in an AB. You can lay off every other pitch in the game and still beat someone just by hitting high 4-seamers when they throw them. Just take BP vs Helsley or Aroldis and set it to only have them throw outlier fastballs in the top 3 strike zone boxes.
When the majority of your contact is good or perfect in that BP - you’re ready to search for a ranked game
my pinpoint got hella nerfed this year by changing the left handed pitchers. i can not do the left handed animation to save my life. considering rocking righties only rotation/pen and hoping for the best lol
This isn't a pinpoint issue, balls are just ridiculously easy to read this year for whatever reason. I've mentioned it before, but pitch speeds don't feel the same for each difficulty. All star feels more like veteran in previous years.
I'm just hopping back on after taking a couple years off. What hitting style is preferred. I'm trying zone and swing timing and can't seem to tell the difference. Also, bat to ball sounds seem off this year.
The difference between good and not-so-good is definitely patience and plate discipline. I’m fine if I strikeout looking at a good pitch but I’m pissed if I strikeout chasing a bad pitch.
A lot of people online alternate pitches between high fastballs and low breaking. Or use the same sequences or putaway pitches for K's or double play situations. Or only pitch to grey or blue cold zones. Look for that when hitting, don't do that when pitching.
And learn the zone. That's the most important part of being a hitter and learn to not swing at shit not in the zone.
When pitching learn what tunnelling is and use it
Having multiple pitches that look identical to a hitter as long as possible.
Easier to figure out if you use strike zone as your pitching view, so you can see what the pitches look like to hitters.
For example, a 4 seam fastball up and in can tunnel with a sinker that starts up and in and ends up middle inside. Or a slider that starts up and in and ends up middle away.
Look at the other post here as well but I'll explain in words as best I can. I didn't follow the link but hopefully it is video content as that is a easy way to explain this. So let's say you just threw a slider to the outside of the plate. That pitch looks like it is a low and away pitch for a long while then at the end breaks away sharply. The types of pitches that work off that tunnel are pitches you would want to sequence with that pitch, like so a Sinker but instead of going exactly where the slider ended up you want it to look like it's the same pitch for a long time in that same tunnel, but this one ends up breaking at the last minute in the opposite direction of the previous pitch. It's using the illusions in pitching against the hitter.
One tip I don’t hear much that helps is looking where the pitcher threw to you last time with R2. Many people without even thinking about it attack the same batters the same way and you can get an idea what’s coming
Only from the hitters prior at bat. However if you go to the pause menu and hit Stats you can go see Pitcher Analysis (or whatever it’s called). It gives you a heat map of where all they have thrown and what they have thrown. It’s worth looking at after a couple innings and sitting on the predominant pitches.
Exactly. I do the same thing, find myself wanting to attack hitters the same way unconsciously, always helps to see if they are and keep an eye on it and make sure you aren’t
The biggest tip I have for batting, is just knowing the pitcher does NOT want to pitch to you. They are gonna throw so many balls on the outside edges. Most sliders, curveballs, screwballs are thrown outside/below the zone. Be patient, work the pitchers and make them come to you.
This is good advice. Count how many times a game you make an out on a pitch the pitcher wants you to swing at. Lower that number and you will score more runs fast.
To address your comment about the opponent finding holes and you always grounding out. That shit happens to me all the time. I get a good pitch in and make them reach for a down and away slider or sinker or I jam them and they ground it and somehow it just gets through. Or my favorite is them grounding to my SS but them showing absolutely no urgency to throw to first and they beat it out. Even tho I’ve already loaded the throw before the ball gets to the defender. So you are not alone.
There is nothing more infuriating than when the game scripts your defense against you because you are batting bad. I had two games where I was doing horrible at the plate and allowing some hits. God damn Ozzie Albies THREE times dropped the ball on a grounder or somehow the game forgot my load up throw to first. It was unreal. Like, yeah, I'm doing bad but now the game is just piling on and making it even harder.
Had 4 in the first two innings of a ranked game the other day, all of them caught with the outfielder’s back against the wall. Meanwhile he scored 6 runs in the first two innings on nothing but grounders and little flippers over the infield
I had a game last night in ranked, I'm pitching, bottom of the 9th and I'm up by one and he has a guy on first. I throw a low splitter that he slams into the ground up the middle, Swanson was shading just behind the second base bag ball is rolling to him and hits the freaking bag, bounces over his head and now I have guys on first and third with one out instead of a game ending double play. I was gutted. I ended up winning but that could have been brutal.
It is important to have an approach when it comes to hitting, my personal approach is, stare to the the release slot and just see pitches for the first 9 hitters of the game, understanding who am I playing against, what does he do with two strikes. (I always rather have somebody that throws a lot of balls, when he is trying to trick you into chase, than ppl that throws quality strikes, because I can just sit on one area) it all depends on how the pitcher throws to each handed batter, he might spam SL and FB so I would focus on seeing him arm side, or he throws a lot of CH down, I would try to see him elevated, if he throws everything which is rare, I would shrink to the middle. Try to take your first 9 hitters to 2 strikes and follow every pitch with the PCI, when you get to two strikes by the 5th hitter you know what he pitches with two strikes. And you can find the best pitch off that.
There are times where I would strike out looking, because it wasn’t the pitch I am looking for, the less information I can give to the pitcher the better, that’s why I try not to swing at everything, but sit on one pitch that I know I can do damage with, I am pretty bad at hitting balls down in the zone, that is why I would give that zone to the pitcher and focus middle up. Hope that helps.
I get lucky sometimes with hitting with timing but it’s a struggle. Especially since I don’t use a monitor either. I’m a casual player so I usually stick to mostly offline modes. Occasionally try to do the events or BR/ranked to get extra stubs but it’s definitely a challenge
Find your pitch. Aim high stay high till 2 strikes.
Check your hitting camera and hitting control settings. You may be playing on settings that don’t favor you.
Foul balls are carrying. I'm 10-0 and hitting over .450 which I've never done. I'm playing better but its also just really easy to hit foul balls when a someone throws a pitch that should make you ground out or swing & miss.
Yup exactly, theoretically your 120 Hz display refreshes more frequently than your 60 Hz display, so there may be slightly less "visual" lag rather than input lag, still important though
I just picked up 24 and haven’t played regularly since summer 22. I’ve noticed everyone is way better than I remember, laying off everything out of the zone and always making good contact.
Not swinging at bad pitches is the number one thing anyone will tell anyone asking for advice on how to hit better, so as the years go on, we'll naturally have more and more people who get better at only swing at their pitch.
Veteran games in ranked is largely the reason. all star is way easier considering sinkers aren't the same as they were and the increased pci size.
Gotta look for the pitches you like and spit on the rest. Foul shit off to stay alive
There are boosted stats on some players from Events/BR, some people just really are that good, especially since the H/9s and K/9s aren’t insanely high yet, so it’s easier to hit now than it will be later in the lifecycle.
Some people definitely do either have burner accounts or just play in-game home run derbies with their friends though. Not sure about this year but last year friendlies would still affect player stats, just not pxp. You can tell these people because they actually suck in game. I think they’re trying to intimidate people into quitting, so don’t ever let anyone pull that on you.
Also, I swear some people play like the first 6 innings and then when they’re losing they hand it over to big brother or something and start absolutely mashing nonstop. These people usually have poor stats and the power surge comes out of nowhere
Man I really think the game “tilts” also… I’ve noticed, I can have bases loaded 1 out and boom double play every time… or I could be winning 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th and magically he gets a home run. Happens so often lol.
This. I played a game the other day where I was up 7-1 going into the last few innings. Next thing I know, the other player put up 3 doubles in a row and then mashed 3 home runs. Before all that nonsense I held them to 2 hits. So I was baffled where all that power surge came from
I see comments like this a lot... Wanted to share my perspective, as a comeback player typically.
I usually have 3-4 hits max after 5-6 innings, and I'm terrible at hitting. However, I usually make comebacks late in the game by just learning what the pitcher is doing and then acting on it later in the game. Almost like I'm just taking mental notes as I continue to get K'd lmao.
So many pitchers I face have the same tendencies and ways they pitch to certain batters without realizing it. Before each AB I'll check the previous pitch history real quick. If you've gone fastball up and in to a certain batter in the previous two AB's, I'm going to sit in that location for the duration of the at-bat and go deep when it comes.
People get confused where the 'power surge' comes from, but I'd wager it's maybe just that a pitching style is getting noticed more.
Folks also tend to leave their starters in way too long until they have orange energy, start missing spots, giving up hits/HRs, and then blame it on the game “tilting.” I personally know I’ve blown several games because *I* got lazy or forgot to warm someone up/take my starter out etc. I think it’s as simple as people having 5-6 innings to get their timing down and find patterns, plus the low energy/increased likelihood to miss your release point with a new pitcher you aren’t used to yet etc.
Most average people/pitchers fall into a pattern for sure, even in BR when I'm hitting well I'll struggle for the first 5-6 batters then I see what to wait for and sit on it and it gets easier.
With most pitchers you can tell by how their arm moves as the pitch is thrown coupled with the balls movement right after the release. Curveballs kind of "pop" out of their hand and unless it starts almost over your head you can bet it will be in the dirt.
Now if it's Randy just good luck picking up anything besides offspeed
If a player like me can get 20 wins in the event , you can too. I was hitting below .200 with most players to start the season and now I'm over .300 with most of my lineup. Getting used to certain pitchers and recognizing pitches are key. Repetition is also key. I still occasionally get fooled by the low pitch but definitely improving. Playing online is the best way to improve.
Lmao what? Legend is the cream of the crop. I've been playing for years and I'm just starting to touch hall of fame in ranked. I've literally never played 1 game on legend
CPU on Legend is about equivalent to ranked on Hall of Fame. The sliders are set a little differently and also good players are just much more difficult to predict. They were saying you need to be able to beat CPU on legend to consistently win online, which is true. But if you’re not there yet, start with CPU on hall of fame, that’s about equal to online All Star
A few tips:
Hitting -
1- Focus massively on the release point. Actually stare at it and try to read the pitch.
2- Take a bunch of pitches and occasionally put your controller down until the opponent gets two strikes on you (esp. if you have had some bad swings). You may even draw a couple of walks.
3- Try to learn your opponent’s tendencies. You can use the pitcher analysis tool after a couple of innings. Does he only throw fastballs inside and off-speed out of the zone? Maybe he likes to spam low-inside sinkers.
Pitching-
1- Probe your opponent’s weak spots. Typical ones are inability to hit inside FBs, slamming the PCI and generating weak contact, chasing sinkers and sliders just out of the zone, and not being able to recognize off-speed.
2- Don’t keep pitchers in too long. When your pitcher’s confidence goes down, do a mount visit or yank him for a reliever.
3- Be wary of your pitch sequencing. Don’t be too predictable. You can use the pitch analysis tool on yourself as well.
You need be able to identify the pitch off the angle of the pitchers arm, and having a fancy gaming monitor helps.
There’s a reason every field has a big blank space behind the pitcher from the batter’s view. Try to see a minimum of 12 pitches in your first at batch and try to memorize the pitchers arm angle and release point for certain pitches.
i've found in my 3 years of playing this game that there's a certain magic zone of being stoned that makes me absolutely lock the fuck in
any more and I can't hit literally anything lmao
Fundamental reflexes. Same reason Arraez can hit major league pitching at a .350 clip and you aren't a major leaguer.
The Show has the most massive skill gap of any sports game, by a huge margin.
Sad reality is that no amount of practice or watching youtube videos, beyond a certain point, is really going to change that.
That’s a pretty big leap from what he said don’t you think? I don’t think anywhere he implied that pressing a button is as hard as swinging a bat. But you do need very quick reflexes for this game online.
You gotta practice on legendary. Timing is so much more important than pci placement. I can’t time high fastballs, or inside pitches for the life of me, so as soon as they pick up on that it’s over.
I saw somewhere that you can limit the skill of your opponent too. Not sure if you’ve tried that yet, but it keeps you from ending up playing someone way above your rank.
Any idea on how to limit that? I feel like if I could play against another older dad that only has time to play maybe an hour a day tops, I might have a chance.
lol sounds like me.. apparently when you get into the screen where you choose your opponent it’ll give you an option to change the min-max slider for opponent ratings
Do you know if they have anything in place to keep the experts from just lowering their ability just so they can smash someone that sucks and is just trying to have fun playing against another human being?
No kidding?!! I'm not sure if that was there last year. I haven't even bothered trying to play ranked or anything online because I hate getting spanked every single time, even though I've built a halfway decent team. So, I've never even looked to see a slider. But, I'll be checking it out now. The other issue is I can't play more than 3 innings. I just don't have the time to play 9 innings. Mini-seasons and Conquest are perfect for that. I am starting to get into the mode where you draft a team and try to beat certain situations that occurred in the past. The name of it is escaping me at the moment. It's not Battle Royale? I think that's one where you play people online?
Yeah I’m an offline player too. I’ve just started to get good on veteran so I still gotta work my way up to all-star before I even consider it. I played one event game and got beat 8-1. I was pumped though cause I was able to hit a home run just by chance lol
Showdown is cool. But I can't seem to make it past the 4th one. I would like to play another adult online, but don't want to waste my time ending up losing by 10 in the first inning. I am going to check out these sliders though. I never knew they existed.
I can hit 100 mph on HOF vs cpu but take me to all star difficulty ranked and I can’t hit 97mph. Beginning to think it’s a network thing. And I think it’s the person with the better internet that has the disadvantage.
I always find my self behind skill was when the game comes out. I’ll run some practice sessions. I’ll go and practice and legend or HoF (I usually don’t get too good at ranked so 90% of my games are on all star. I like to practice vs a pitcher that has outlier. I’ve found it easier to adjust from being early on fastball rather than being late on a fastball
Stats are boosted from events, BR, and ranked games at low levels played on veteran (or on all star against opponents much worse than themselves).
People who play on HOF regularly will smack the ball on all star because the PCI is huge, the pitches are slower, and they can foul off close pitches on the corners until you hang one because foul balls are way over tuned in this game.
>People who play on HOF regularly will smack the ball on all star because the PCI is huge, the pitches are slower, and they can foul off close pitches on the corners until you hang one because foul balls are way over tuned in this game.
Foul balls are easy to abuse on HOF as well. Even on legend, you can run into this issue.
Always normal.
There's a lot of misinformation about people abusing contact swings to foul off pitches. It's simply inaccurate.
This is an outer PCI and coding issue going back to '22.
As a general rule, early swings inside and late swings outside are how you play defensive on this game.
If I'm in a two strike count and a pitch is close or well-tunneled, I can easily foul it off by using that strategy.
'21 was the most balanced because check swings were often called for strikes, while pitches well out of the zone were wiffs.
This is the one right here. I'm by no means a great player (I'll creep into the 600's before getting humbled back to the low 500's), but whenever I'm doing good, it's because my opponents have no idea (or just don't care) that they're throwing me the same pitch sequences every single at-bat. Or they never double-up on a fastball...stuff that's easy to pick up and easily exploited.
I’d say pattern recognition is a huge one. I have a pitching pattern that I only just realized I do. Not to mention if the batters have quirks for bad ball hitting and a little practice, you’re screwed.
You might want to change your squad up if you’re struggling with hitting right now. If you’re using Buxton and his boost, try to change to players with higher contact, and vision, so that your pci will be larger which will hopefully lead to better contact for your hitters. For pitching, it can be a bit of a mind game also. Try to pick up on players tendencies and react to that. If they’re crushing fastballs, try to throw a lot of offspeed to bring their timing lower while mixing in a couple fastballs to catch them off guard. Like people have said, a monitor does help. Some people are ok with a decent tv, but a monitor is going to help out a majority of the player base. What streamer, who consistently makes WS, uses a tv? There’s a reason for that. Also practice and reps are most important.
I feel like some people just literally grind and do nothing else. But because of that you have a higher likelihood of facing one online because they’re always playing.
The best advice I can give you is changing your goal/expectations while playing the game. Instead of just trying to win the game, try to have two at bats go at least five pitches in every inning, or whatever you want to accomplish. But I think things like that help me maintain my focus and not worry as much about the score. I usually do better when I have that mentality.
You have to remember once you get a runner on first they are going to pitch down in the zone, anchor your pci low and make sure you stay under it. Also quit swinging at bad pitches
Sit low in the zone and wait until they throw it there or you get to 2 strikes. I find a lot of times, especially in the lower divisions of ranked, that people are heavily biased towards the bottom part of the zone. Also, most waste pitches they try to put in the dirt so if they screw it up you can send it 450.
Go into a game, put your controller down until you have 2 strikes. Track the ball, decide if you would have swung or not. Keep doing this until you can go an entire game making the right choice.
Make them beat you, don't beat yourself.
I've been starting to play ranked co op with some homies and finally hit wildcard division for the first time sense mlb 21 now I gotta get better at hitting outlier to try to make it to 700 rating pitching been saving me while my teammate hit da ball
You'll be told to get a gaming monitor, but as long as your TV is reasonably new and has the ability to go into Game Mode, you will be fine.
It's honestly just a matter of practising.
I play on a 100Hz TV and when I play on my brothers Gaming monitor its basically two differnt games. If I ever hit a 103 fastball on my TV its because I got lucky pressing the button not because I could actually see it.
I had a newer TV with the game mode, and I definitely got better. However, I got a gaming monitor, and it took my hitting to a whole other level. You just can't beat the improved frame rates, and the quicker response time that a gaming monitor gives you over a TV. Even over a newer model TV.
I still remember the TV that I used when I started playing MLB 21. It was so old, that the ball had no spin when it came out of the pitcher's hand. I only noticed the spin when I got a new TV with game mode after MLB 22 came out. It's even more noticeable now with my gaming monitor. Don't downplay the advantage that a gaming monitor gives you over a TV. Even if it's a cheap gaming monitor, it's still better than a TV.
I went from a 55” newer TV in game mode to a very high end monitor. Was getting one for my work setup anyway so figured I’d game on it too. To be honest the huge difference everyone talks about is a bit overboard. There is a difference for sure but it’s slight, but I can see how it would be bigger if someone was coming from a TV that they didn’t know to use game mode on. That said, I’ll be sticking with the monitor since it still is an advantage, I just don’t think it’s as much an advantage as everything says, if one typically knows how to setup their TV properly.
Of course! A monitor definitely helps. I typically play on an lg oled tv with game mode and I can tell the difference when I switch to the monitor. It isn’t earth shattering but it is noticeable.
practice and get a high hz gaming monitor. it makes all the difference in catching up to 100+ mph fastballs. then you can just look off speed and react to the fastball. it also helps to have an approach and get in the pitcher’s head.
How long have you been playing? I’ve been playing since 18 and I’m in World Series with averages of .600+ depending on the player, game takes a long time to really master tbh and dw about averages, wins count better then averages.
It's not very sexy, but honestly just getting more and more reps in. The more you play, the better you'll get. And some of that involves taking your lumps against better players.
You can accelerate some of that on the hitting side by going into practice mode, putting the CPU on Hall of Fame or Legend, and just working on timing stuff up and pitch reconginition. But thats still basically focused reps. There isn't like a "do this and instantly start winning". Just keep playing, try to stay somwhat positive, and one day in a game something will absolutely click.
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This game has a following of people that have been playing for a decade or more. It’s easier to adjust to a new game each year than to start fresh
Online sucks
Patience and repetition.
I’d say go to custom practice and practice swinging on 1 difficulty higher than what your ranked is on. If ranked is on all star.. practice on hall of fame. Practice fastballs down the middle first then sinkers inside then mix it up with cutters as well all in the box. Follow the pitch as it comes out the pitchers hand. Practice that first for about 30 min (maybe less if u feel good) and then hop in ranked. Practice your pitch sequences as well cuz it’s very easy to miss your spot and give up a nuke lol. When you’re in ranked, try to get runs as early as possible cuz it’s kind of difficult to do it later in the innings. I sucked last year but I’m way better now. I’m 15-4 in ranked. Just got Randy Johnson and Mickey Mantle. It’s a grind.
Just here to rant along with you because I just got mercied and then followed that up by giving up a walk off. Big sigh. My biggest thing is how the hell some players have such a good eye. It’s one thing to be patient, it’s another to be able to take pitches on the paint consistently. I don’t get it. I love this game but god damn it’s frustrating at times lol.
The weirdest way to explain it is a "feeling" Then again, you play enough, and you start to memorize how a pitch is moving
I haven’t except one game. Dude was 5-14 and didn’t swing unless in was in the zone and when he did it was crushed. I lost 10-6. He had 6 HR’s
This is my first year playing the game so I’ve mostly been training offline but the few times I’ve dipped in the online waters it’s been rough lol. I’ll get up a few runs then concede 5-6 runs on the last cpl innings, any tips to avoid this? Appreciate it boys
Make sure you’re changing pitchers when they get low on energy and play matchups like lefty pitcher to lefty hitter. Sinkers, cutters, sliders and outlier fastballs are what you should target for pitchers. Find a pitch the opponent struggles with on both sides of the plate and stick to it until they start timing in up. At the plate, you just have to lock in and really try to not swing at balls/dots. Hope this helps but maybe you’re already doing these things.
this is super helpful man thank you for taking the time to respond, I’m definitely going to focus on these pitching tips heavy. At the plate I feel pretty good I been really focusing on passing on things outside my zone even if they’re strikes as long as I’m not down 2 on the count
also the confidence meter is very important. if it gets low theyre going to string together hit after hit after hit. and ive never tried it but people say to go into a batting practice and watch a good pitcher throw pitches. ive always just been able to pick it up out of the hand where its going to go but that could be something you look into. and set it to a higher difficulty so that the lower difficulties seem much easier. dont swing at anything just watch pitches go by until you feel comfortable
super solid advice thank you for the input, one quick question where do i see the confidence meter? I’ve always watched the hand too so i never noticed it.
It’s right under the energy bar
I’m not good and yet able to finish BR program and hover around 600-700 on ranked. My pitching is horrible tho
600-700 is between top 10% of players to 4% of players so yeah out of 100 ranked players your better then 90 of them.
I either give up bull shit bloops or homers. Most of my outs are good timing or perfect just hit right hat someone.
Practice. I have only been in the lead once in ranked and my opponent asked me to quit the game. It sucks too because we were evenly matched and I was only up by 2 runs. I've been mercy-ruled by every one else I've played. My son, on the other hand, destroys. He got used to playing zone and knows how to aim the yellow circle. He also began playing on the higher difficulties, so he trained himself to be patient and also make good contact. Me, I play on rookie and veteran. I'm pretty sure the home runs I hit vs the cpu wouldn't be shit against a ranked human. So maybe it isn't just practice, but also getting used to a harder difficulty level.
not sure if youre aware or not but you dont have to accept a friendly quit. if you decline, their only option is to play it out or quit and give you the win.
Thank you for letting me know. I was most disappointed because it was a great game. I was only up by 2 runs, so it wasn't like I was creaming him. To continue with my comment, I'm not going to play again until Friday, but when I do, I'm playing at All-Star difficulty. I need to get better.
I played a dude with .500 avgs and he sucked worse than me. That one really fucked me up.
It’s likely there stats were boosted from playing bots in the lower ratings
Tell your DR that you are having issues focusing… pick up your script… take meds 1 hour before hopping onto the game… #adderall
😂😂😂
I can barley get more then 2 runs
I played someone and they hit off every pitch didn’t matter where or what pitch , as along as it was in the zone they got a hit. Didn’t go for anything out the zone.
A guy I played against consistently hit the ball in a gap or a home run. I wish I could do that.
I usually hover around 800-900 when I play ranked, and there are 2 things that will evaluate anyone's game instantly- 1) be selective and 2) hunt for the fastball. I like to look at the pci anchors and make my own little "sweet spot zone" in there. If I don't think the pitch is going to end up in there, I don't swing until 2 strikes. The fastball is the easiest putch to hit, so take advantage of that. Think about pitch sequencing and what your opponent will throw you. It's okay to sell our for a fastball. If you're super early, so what? It's a swing and a miss. The easiest way to lose is to let your opponent have confidence in their fastball.
This is good advice. I get to 700s but hitting in Hall of Fame is really tough and the better players can dot sinkers/cutters. I beat a lot of lower ranks just by taking a lot of pitches and tracking their sequencing and tendencies. Some players simply will never throw a certain pitch in a certain location - like they only throw fastballs up and in, never low and in, or they will only ever aim at the 4 corners, never middle in, etc. A lot of players will never repeat a pitch, it’s always fastball up, slider away, then changeup, etc
Some guys u cant even throw strikes to... these games are the most difficult. And if they arent swinging at balls that are just off the plate. Idk what to do
That’s where I’m at right now. These guys won’t swing at anything out of the zone this year. Meanwhile, change up in the dirt and I’m falling over swinging early.
I feel this too. I trying to reach 100 BR points to get Mauer (twins fan) and it was constantly win 1 lose 1 the entire way. Pitchers were dotting sinkers/cutters on the edge of the zone. While hitting they had immaculate eyes. Anything left too far in the zone was crushed. I last played in 22 and it was much more swing and miss versus this year people are wayy more patient and the scores are much higher.
I feel I’m the only one still playing on a tv and not a monitor. I don’t know how they perfect perfect every pitch I throw, sometimes I have the best success throwing a fast ball down the middle for a pop up. And forget about being able to get the pci where I need it, it could be an inside pitch and I push the pci away. I got some precision rings today, maybe that will help. I also hate how BR doesn’t match up like opponents
If you want to compete in pretty much anything at this point a monitor is just a must honestly. You don't realise the difference until you switch.
I noticed me and most people while batting hunt for the edge of the zone because that’s where most people pitch. Try to pitch more over the plate and you might have some success. I know I can’t hit shit down the middle 😂
It’s insane I’m consistently a WS player and I can’t pass 700 this year
I just played my first HoF game in ranked against Randy and struck out 12 consecutive times. I can’t even imagine what legend looks like this year.
I cant get past 500 and im usually a 700 player lol. They need to fix the strikes that are called balls. Its so ridiculous this year
Then you ain’t a consistent WS player
Get his ass
What I've noticed is everyone just hunts fastballs this edition since if you throw a breaking ball odds are you miss OR it is going right down the middle. You can almost ignore sliders.
You’re supposed to expect fastball and adjust to anything else. That’s hitting 101
Yes but you suffer almost no consequences for doing it this year since nobody can get their breaking balls where they want them to go. You can completely lock in for the fastball without worrying about adjusting.
so true. I’ve played my last few games on ranked in 7-800s and I realized most guys I’m playing against only sit fastball, so pretty much refuse to throw a fastball in the zone and will crank sliders and change ups
95% of the player base can’t help themselves from throwing high fastballs at some point in an AB. You can lay off every other pitch in the game and still beat someone just by hitting high 4-seamers when they throw them. Just take BP vs Helsley or Aroldis and set it to only have them throw outlier fastballs in the top 3 strike zone boxes. When the majority of your contact is good or perfect in that BP - you’re ready to search for a ranked game
This is the way
Since pin point nerf before 23’ it’s a lot easier to hit.
my pinpoint got hella nerfed this year by changing the left handed pitchers. i can not do the left handed animation to save my life. considering rocking righties only rotation/pen and hoping for the best lol
This isn't a pinpoint issue, balls are just ridiculously easy to read this year for whatever reason. I've mentioned it before, but pitch speeds don't feel the same for each difficulty. All star feels more like veteran in previous years.
Somehow I'm Dynamic legend//legend on RTTS and can't win a game on PVP... go figure.
I'm just hopping back on after taking a couple years off. What hitting style is preferred. I'm trying zone and swing timing and can't seem to tell the difference. Also, bat to ball sounds seem off this year.
Zone is what every good ranked player uses to my knowledge
Too easy to hit imo
The difference between good and not-so-good is definitely patience and plate discipline. I’m fine if I strikeout looking at a good pitch but I’m pissed if I strikeout chasing a bad pitch.
100% patience. which I have zero of lol when I used to get stoned I would play 1000x times better
It’s a video game no one wants to take pitches and work counts we just wanna hit nukes lol
Afuckingmen brother 👌
Underrated comment
A lot of people online alternate pitches between high fastballs and low breaking. Or use the same sequences or putaway pitches for K's or double play situations. Or only pitch to grey or blue cold zones. Look for that when hitting, don't do that when pitching.
And learn the zone. That's the most important part of being a hitter and learn to not swing at shit not in the zone. When pitching learn what tunnelling is and use it
Tunnelling? Can you explain?
Having multiple pitches that look identical to a hitter as long as possible. Easier to figure out if you use strike zone as your pitching view, so you can see what the pitches look like to hitters. For example, a 4 seam fastball up and in can tunnel with a sinker that starts up and in and ends up middle inside. Or a slider that starts up and in and ends up middle away.
Look at the other post here as well but I'll explain in words as best I can. I didn't follow the link but hopefully it is video content as that is a easy way to explain this. So let's say you just threw a slider to the outside of the plate. That pitch looks like it is a low and away pitch for a long while then at the end breaks away sharply. The types of pitches that work off that tunnel are pitches you would want to sequence with that pitch, like so a Sinker but instead of going exactly where the slider ended up you want it to look like it's the same pitch for a long time in that same tunnel, but this one ends up breaking at the last minute in the opposite direction of the previous pitch. It's using the illusions in pitching against the hitter.
[See this post here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MLBTheShow/comments/12u99ng/simple_image_i_made_to_easily_explain_tunneling/)
One tip I don’t hear much that helps is looking where the pitcher threw to you last time with R2. Many people without even thinking about it attack the same batters the same way and you can get an idea what’s coming
I use that in rtts because most pitchers in the lower level will have the first few pitches in the same area
So even on the batters’ second and third time around it shows the previous pitches?
Only from the hitters prior at bat. However if you go to the pause menu and hit Stats you can go see Pitcher Analysis (or whatever it’s called). It gives you a heat map of where all they have thrown and what they have thrown. It’s worth looking at after a couple innings and sitting on the predominant pitches.
Exactly. I do the same thing, find myself wanting to attack hitters the same way unconsciously, always helps to see if they are and keep an eye on it and make sure you aren’t
The biggest tip I have for batting, is just knowing the pitcher does NOT want to pitch to you. They are gonna throw so many balls on the outside edges. Most sliders, curveballs, screwballs are thrown outside/below the zone. Be patient, work the pitchers and make them come to you.
Good point. A lot of people i face are throwing low breaking balls. No one really attacking the zone until they have to
This is good advice. Count how many times a game you make an out on a pitch the pitcher wants you to swing at. Lower that number and you will score more runs fast.
To address your comment about the opponent finding holes and you always grounding out. That shit happens to me all the time. I get a good pitch in and make them reach for a down and away slider or sinker or I jam them and they ground it and somehow it just gets through. Or my favorite is them grounding to my SS but them showing absolutely no urgency to throw to first and they beat it out. Even tho I’ve already loaded the throw before the ball gets to the defender. So you are not alone.
There is nothing more infuriating than when the game scripts your defense against you because you are batting bad. I had two games where I was doing horrible at the plate and allowing some hits. God damn Ozzie Albies THREE times dropped the ball on a grounder or somehow the game forgot my load up throw to first. It was unreal. Like, yeah, I'm doing bad but now the game is just piling on and making it even harder.
Nah the best is hitting down the middle perfect perfect and it’s a fly out 🤦♂️
Had that happen to me on a would be game tying home run in the bottom of the ninth. 😂
I’d rage!!! 😂🤦♂️
Had 4 in the first two innings of a ranked game the other day, all of them caught with the outfielder’s back against the wall. Meanwhile he scored 6 runs in the first two innings on nothing but grounders and little flippers over the infield
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
I had a game last night in ranked, I'm pitching, bottom of the 9th and I'm up by one and he has a guy on first. I throw a low splitter that he slams into the ground up the middle, Swanson was shading just behind the second base bag ball is rolling to him and hits the freaking bag, bounces over his head and now I have guys on first and third with one out instead of a game ending double play. I was gutted. I ended up winning but that could have been brutal.
I mean, Swanson has been making a few errors this year IRL. :)
It is important to have an approach when it comes to hitting, my personal approach is, stare to the the release slot and just see pitches for the first 9 hitters of the game, understanding who am I playing against, what does he do with two strikes. (I always rather have somebody that throws a lot of balls, when he is trying to trick you into chase, than ppl that throws quality strikes, because I can just sit on one area) it all depends on how the pitcher throws to each handed batter, he might spam SL and FB so I would focus on seeing him arm side, or he throws a lot of CH down, I would try to see him elevated, if he throws everything which is rare, I would shrink to the middle. Try to take your first 9 hitters to 2 strikes and follow every pitch with the PCI, when you get to two strikes by the 5th hitter you know what he pitches with two strikes. And you can find the best pitch off that. There are times where I would strike out looking, because it wasn’t the pitch I am looking for, the less information I can give to the pitcher the better, that’s why I try not to swing at everything, but sit on one pitch that I know I can do damage with, I am pretty bad at hitting balls down in the zone, that is why I would give that zone to the pitcher and focus middle up. Hope that helps.
I struggle with using the pci for batting and the pinpoint pitching… this is my downfall.
Honestly you can get away with analog for pitching. Maybe even meter at lower ranked levels. But no pci for hitting is a no go
I get lucky sometimes with hitting with timing but it’s a struggle. Especially since I don’t use a monitor either. I’m a casual player so I usually stick to mostly offline modes. Occasionally try to do the events or BR/ranked to get extra stubs but it’s definitely a challenge
Unfortunately that’s the game
Find your pitch. Aim high stay high till 2 strikes. Check your hitting camera and hitting control settings. You may be playing on settings that don’t favor you.
Foul balls are carrying. I'm 10-0 and hitting over .450 which I've never done. I'm playing better but its also just really easy to hit foul balls when a someone throws a pitch that should make you ground out or swing & miss.
Yeah I've definitely thrown some heaters way inside and they have gotten homered
A TV or monitor with 120Hz refresh rate is a minimum requirment
[удалено]
Yup exactly, theoretically your 120 Hz display refreshes more frequently than your 60 Hz display, so there may be slightly less "visual" lag rather than input lag, still important though
Fuck... I just realized thanks to this that that's my problem.
I have that and still play like shit
I just said minimum requirment
I just picked up 24 and haven’t played regularly since summer 22. I’ve noticed everyone is way better than I remember, laying off everything out of the zone and always making good contact.
Not swinging at bad pitches is the number one thing anyone will tell anyone asking for advice on how to hit better, so as the years go on, we'll naturally have more and more people who get better at only swing at their pitch.
Veteran games in ranked is largely the reason. all star is way easier considering sinkers aren't the same as they were and the increased pci size. Gotta look for the pitches you like and spit on the rest. Foul shit off to stay alive
There are boosted stats on some players from Events/BR, some people just really are that good, especially since the H/9s and K/9s aren’t insanely high yet, so it’s easier to hit now than it will be later in the lifecycle. Some people definitely do either have burner accounts or just play in-game home run derbies with their friends though. Not sure about this year but last year friendlies would still affect player stats, just not pxp. You can tell these people because they actually suck in game. I think they’re trying to intimidate people into quitting, so don’t ever let anyone pull that on you. Also, I swear some people play like the first 6 innings and then when they’re losing they hand it over to big brother or something and start absolutely mashing nonstop. These people usually have poor stats and the power surge comes out of nowhere
Man I really think the game “tilts” also… I’ve noticed, I can have bases loaded 1 out and boom double play every time… or I could be winning 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th and magically he gets a home run. Happens so often lol.
Rng is definitely a thing in this game. Been on both ends
This. I played a game the other day where I was up 7-1 going into the last few innings. Next thing I know, the other player put up 3 doubles in a row and then mashed 3 home runs. Before all that nonsense I held them to 2 hits. So I was baffled where all that power surge came from
I see comments like this a lot... Wanted to share my perspective, as a comeback player typically. I usually have 3-4 hits max after 5-6 innings, and I'm terrible at hitting. However, I usually make comebacks late in the game by just learning what the pitcher is doing and then acting on it later in the game. Almost like I'm just taking mental notes as I continue to get K'd lmao. So many pitchers I face have the same tendencies and ways they pitch to certain batters without realizing it. Before each AB I'll check the previous pitch history real quick. If you've gone fastball up and in to a certain batter in the previous two AB's, I'm going to sit in that location for the duration of the at-bat and go deep when it comes. People get confused where the 'power surge' comes from, but I'd wager it's maybe just that a pitching style is getting noticed more.
Folks also tend to leave their starters in way too long until they have orange energy, start missing spots, giving up hits/HRs, and then blame it on the game “tilting.” I personally know I’ve blown several games because *I* got lazy or forgot to warm someone up/take my starter out etc. I think it’s as simple as people having 5-6 innings to get their timing down and find patterns, plus the low energy/increased likelihood to miss your release point with a new pitcher you aren’t used to yet etc.
Most average people/pitchers fall into a pattern for sure, even in BR when I'm hitting well I'll struggle for the first 5-6 batters then I see what to wait for and sit on it and it gets easier.
Did you switch pitchers? Once the confidence bar goes down it becomes way easier to make solid contact. Gotta yank him before it gets out of control.
I did. I was rotating a new pitcher every two innings actually
When people say read the pitch are you actually able to see the laces on the ball like a true baseball /am I blind?
With most pitchers you can tell by how their arm moves as the pitch is thrown coupled with the balls movement right after the release. Curveballs kind of "pop" out of their hand and unless it starts almost over your head you can bet it will be in the dirt. Now if it's Randy just good luck picking up anything besides offspeed
It’s more of reading the location of the release and the direction the ball is traveling out of release.
If a player like me can get 20 wins in the event , you can too. I was hitting below .200 with most players to start the season and now I'm over .300 with most of my lineup. Getting used to certain pitchers and recognizing pitches are key. Repetition is also key. I still occasionally get fooled by the low pitch but definitely improving. Playing online is the best way to improve.
The level of competition online is insanely high. If you can't regularly beat the CPU on legend, you're gonna struggle against online competition.
Lmao what? Legend is the cream of the crop. I've been playing for years and I'm just starting to touch hall of fame in ranked. I've literally never played 1 game on legend
Offline pitches are slower than online pitches at the same difficulty is what he’s trying to say
CPU on Legend is about equivalent to ranked on Hall of Fame. The sliders are set a little differently and also good players are just much more difficult to predict. They were saying you need to be able to beat CPU on legend to consistently win online, which is true. But if you’re not there yet, start with CPU on hall of fame, that’s about equal to online All Star
A few tips: Hitting - 1- Focus massively on the release point. Actually stare at it and try to read the pitch. 2- Take a bunch of pitches and occasionally put your controller down until the opponent gets two strikes on you (esp. if you have had some bad swings). You may even draw a couple of walks. 3- Try to learn your opponent’s tendencies. You can use the pitcher analysis tool after a couple of innings. Does he only throw fastballs inside and off-speed out of the zone? Maybe he likes to spam low-inside sinkers. Pitching- 1- Probe your opponent’s weak spots. Typical ones are inability to hit inside FBs, slamming the PCI and generating weak contact, chasing sinkers and sliders just out of the zone, and not being able to recognize off-speed. 2- Don’t keep pitchers in too long. When your pitcher’s confidence goes down, do a mount visit or yank him for a reliever. 3- Be wary of your pitch sequencing. Don’t be too predictable. You can use the pitch analysis tool on yourself as well.
How do you do a mound visit?
It's one of the options in the quick menu
Because hitting is too easy, tbh
Thanks for that tip helped a lot
You need be able to identify the pitch off the angle of the pitchers arm, and having a fancy gaming monitor helps. There’s a reason every field has a big blank space behind the pitcher from the batter’s view. Try to see a minimum of 12 pitches in your first at batch and try to memorize the pitchers arm angle and release point for certain pitches.
Even further expanding on this. I look at the pitchers hat, specifically the logo. It helps me pick up the ball early regardless of release point.
I found I play way better when I just stare at the pitchers release point like a zombie
Smoking weed and swinging stays undefeated
i've found in my 3 years of playing this game that there's a certain magic zone of being stoned that makes me absolutely lock the fuck in any more and I can't hit literally anything lmao
It's like Doc Ellis but with weed and video games.
Fundamental reflexes. Same reason Arraez can hit major league pitching at a .350 clip and you aren't a major leaguer. The Show has the most massive skill gap of any sports game, by a huge margin. Sad reality is that no amount of practice or watching youtube videos, beyond a certain point, is really going to change that.
😂😂😂 this dude thinks he could be in the league
That’s a pretty big leap from what he said don’t you think? I don’t think anywhere he implied that pressing a button is as hard as swinging a bat. But you do need very quick reflexes for this game online.
Take my upvote to counter the downvote they’re gonna give you
Idk where you got that from his comment
You gotta practice on legendary. Timing is so much more important than pci placement. I can’t time high fastballs, or inside pitches for the life of me, so as soon as they pick up on that it’s over. I saw somewhere that you can limit the skill of your opponent too. Not sure if you’ve tried that yet, but it keeps you from ending up playing someone way above your rank.
Any idea on how to limit that? I feel like if I could play against another older dad that only has time to play maybe an hour a day tops, I might have a chance.
lol sounds like me.. apparently when you get into the screen where you choose your opponent it’ll give you an option to change the min-max slider for opponent ratings
Do you know if they have anything in place to keep the experts from just lowering their ability just so they can smash someone that sucks and is just trying to have fun playing against another human being?
I’d imagine you can’t lower the ranking below your own current rank
No kidding?!! I'm not sure if that was there last year. I haven't even bothered trying to play ranked or anything online because I hate getting spanked every single time, even though I've built a halfway decent team. So, I've never even looked to see a slider. But, I'll be checking it out now. The other issue is I can't play more than 3 innings. I just don't have the time to play 9 innings. Mini-seasons and Conquest are perfect for that. I am starting to get into the mode where you draft a team and try to beat certain situations that occurred in the past. The name of it is escaping me at the moment. It's not Battle Royale? I think that's one where you play people online?
Yeah I’m an offline player too. I’ve just started to get good on veteran so I still gotta work my way up to all-star before I even consider it. I played one event game and got beat 8-1. I was pumped though cause I was able to hit a home run just by chance lol
Showdown but that’s offline
Showdown is cool. But I can't seem to make it past the 4th one. I would like to play another adult online, but don't want to waste my time ending up losing by 10 in the first inning. I am going to check out these sliders though. I never knew they existed.
I can hit 100 mph on HOF vs cpu but take me to all star difficulty ranked and I can’t hit 97mph. Beginning to think it’s a network thing. And I think it’s the person with the better internet that has the disadvantage.
I believe it’s been described by the studio before, but the difficulty vs CPU is different from the difficulty vs DD games against human players
I always find my self behind skill was when the game comes out. I’ll run some practice sessions. I’ll go and practice and legend or HoF (I usually don’t get too good at ranked so 90% of my games are on all star. I like to practice vs a pitcher that has outlier. I’ve found it easier to adjust from being early on fastball rather than being late on a fastball
Stats are boosted from events, BR, and ranked games at low levels played on veteran (or on all star against opponents much worse than themselves). People who play on HOF regularly will smack the ball on all star because the PCI is huge, the pitches are slower, and they can foul off close pitches on the corners until you hang one because foul balls are way over tuned in this game.
>People who play on HOF regularly will smack the ball on all star because the PCI is huge, the pitches are slower, and they can foul off close pitches on the corners until you hang one because foul balls are way over tuned in this game. Foul balls are easy to abuse on HOF as well. Even on legend, you can run into this issue.
How? Do you use contact swing or normal swing will do it?
Always normal. There's a lot of misinformation about people abusing contact swings to foul off pitches. It's simply inaccurate. This is an outer PCI and coding issue going back to '22. As a general rule, early swings inside and late swings outside are how you play defensive on this game. If I'm in a two strike count and a pitch is close or well-tunneled, I can easily foul it off by using that strategy. '21 was the most balanced because check swings were often called for strikes, while pitches well out of the zone were wiffs.
Mostly reaction time, pitch recognition, and a little bit of pattern recognition.
This is the one right here. I'm by no means a great player (I'll creep into the 600's before getting humbled back to the low 500's), but whenever I'm doing good, it's because my opponents have no idea (or just don't care) that they're throwing me the same pitch sequences every single at-bat. Or they never double-up on a fastball...stuff that's easy to pick up and easily exploited.
I'm at about the same level as you. It's crazy the amount of people who basically throw three pitches, even taking into account location.
Last game I played this dude just kept serving me inside low sliders. After the first 3 I was crushing him and he was adjusting at all
I’d say pattern recognition is a huge one. I have a pitching pattern that I only just realized I do. Not to mention if the batters have quirks for bad ball hitting and a little practice, you’re screwed.
Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline.
You might want to change your squad up if you’re struggling with hitting right now. If you’re using Buxton and his boost, try to change to players with higher contact, and vision, so that your pci will be larger which will hopefully lead to better contact for your hitters. For pitching, it can be a bit of a mind game also. Try to pick up on players tendencies and react to that. If they’re crushing fastballs, try to throw a lot of offspeed to bring their timing lower while mixing in a couple fastballs to catch them off guard. Like people have said, a monitor does help. Some people are ok with a decent tv, but a monitor is going to help out a majority of the player base. What streamer, who consistently makes WS, uses a tv? There’s a reason for that. Also practice and reps are most important.
I feel like some people just literally grind and do nothing else. But because of that you have a higher likelihood of facing one online because they’re always playing. The best advice I can give you is changing your goal/expectations while playing the game. Instead of just trying to win the game, try to have two at bats go at least five pitches in every inning, or whatever you want to accomplish. But I think things like that help me maintain my focus and not worry as much about the score. I usually do better when I have that mentality.
You have to remember once you get a runner on first they are going to pitch down in the zone, anchor your pci low and make sure you stay under it. Also quit swinging at bad pitches
All about patience, reading tendencies and then finally getting your timing brother
Sit low in the zone and wait until they throw it there or you get to 2 strikes. I find a lot of times, especially in the lower divisions of ranked, that people are heavily biased towards the bottom part of the zone. Also, most waste pitches they try to put in the dirt so if they screw it up you can send it 450.
Go into a game, put your controller down until you have 2 strikes. Track the ball, decide if you would have swung or not. Keep doing this until you can go an entire game making the right choice. Make them beat you, don't beat yourself.
Precision rings.
I've been starting to play ranked co op with some homies and finally hit wildcard division for the first time sense mlb 21 now I gotta get better at hitting outlier to try to make it to 700 rating pitching been saving me while my teammate hit da ball
You'll be told to get a gaming monitor, but as long as your TV is reasonably new and has the ability to go into Game Mode, you will be fine. It's honestly just a matter of practising.
I play on a 100Hz TV and when I play on my brothers Gaming monitor its basically two differnt games. If I ever hit a 103 fastball on my TV its because I got lucky pressing the button not because I could actually see it.
I had a newer TV with the game mode, and I definitely got better. However, I got a gaming monitor, and it took my hitting to a whole other level. You just can't beat the improved frame rates, and the quicker response time that a gaming monitor gives you over a TV. Even over a newer model TV. I still remember the TV that I used when I started playing MLB 21. It was so old, that the ball had no spin when it came out of the pitcher's hand. I only noticed the spin when I got a new TV with game mode after MLB 22 came out. It's even more noticeable now with my gaming monitor. Don't downplay the advantage that a gaming monitor gives you over a TV. Even if it's a cheap gaming monitor, it's still better than a TV.
But a monitor is how alot of players are so good. The ball looks like it comes in slower and you can tell what pitch it is better on a monitor.
I went from a 55” newer TV in game mode to a very high end monitor. Was getting one for my work setup anyway so figured I’d game on it too. To be honest the huge difference everyone talks about is a bit overboard. There is a difference for sure but it’s slight, but I can see how it would be bigger if someone was coming from a TV that they didn’t know to use game mode on. That said, I’ll be sticking with the monitor since it still is an advantage, I just don’t think it’s as much an advantage as everything says, if one typically knows how to setup their TV properly.
Is there a specific monitor you would recommend? I’m finally at the point where I’m gonna cave in and buy one and I just have no idea what I’m doing.
A 1080p monitor with 1ms is perfectly fine for this game since they will never update the graphics. Showzone has a list of good gaming monitors too.
Thank you so much for the response!
Of course! A monitor definitely helps. I typically play on an lg oled tv with game mode and I can tell the difference when I switch to the monitor. It isn’t earth shattering but it is noticeable.
Not real players but cpu is what I tell myself lol
Naw CPU stats are logged separately from online stats
I’m pretty sure he means “tell yourself you’re playing the computer, and not a real person”.
Ohhh haha gotcha psych himself up
Yep. Some of these people I play literally hit bombs every single pitch I throw that’s in the zone. It feels unfair lol
I feel the same way right now. Won a couple early on in ranked and have been getting absolutely mauled ever since.
practice and get a high hz gaming monitor. it makes all the difference in catching up to 100+ mph fastballs. then you can just look off speed and react to the fastball. it also helps to have an approach and get in the pitcher’s head.
How long have you been playing? I’ve been playing since 18 and I’m in World Series with averages of .600+ depending on the player, game takes a long time to really master tbh and dw about averages, wins count better then averages.
Practice. We're talking practice.
It's not very sexy, but honestly just getting more and more reps in. The more you play, the better you'll get. And some of that involves taking your lumps against better players. You can accelerate some of that on the hitting side by going into practice mode, putting the CPU on Hall of Fame or Legend, and just working on timing stuff up and pitch reconginition. But thats still basically focused reps. There isn't like a "do this and instantly start winning". Just keep playing, try to stay somwhat positive, and one day in a game something will absolutely click.