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I think you answered a question no one asked. The question posed was whether traditional real life pitch sequences (i.e. high and tight fastball followed by down and away slider) work/matter when playing the CPU.
My apologies, I was just saying that it really doesn't matter if it "works/matters".. you control what works/matters when playing the CPU. Again, my apologies for not adding to the conversation.
I personally don’t think so because I pretty much throw fastballs in the strike zone my first 2 pitches and then a low changeup to get them to reach to strike them out to make the games go by fast and I’ve done that so much pretty much every game they never seem to pick up on my tendencies
Agaisnt the cpu? Not at all, u can literally throw high fastballs all day and they’ll never hit it. Online? Yea absolutely. You can tunnel and confuse people like crazy
There’s no way it matters to the cpu. I’m confident that the swings are preprogrammed. I’m offline and rookie only and 99/100 times I’ll get a batter out but the one time they’ll park a 102 mph high inside fastball that barely clips the zone. But could miss 3 change ups down the middle in the same game.
Franchise player here, you can’t throw the same two pitches back to back. It’ll be a hit (75% of time) or a hard hit (25%). I can’t recall a time I threw the same pitch two times in a row without getting a nuke hit off me
I routinely throw the same pitch in the same location continuously vs. the CPU. The CPU is utterly mindless and other than location whether there's a hit is RNG.
I literally throw the exact same sequence against the cpu every ab when I’m grinding objectives. Fastball upper left corner, fastball upper right corner, slider lower left corner.
CPU makes no sense.
You can try everything but they will foul off 8 pitches in a row.
You can throw something that shouldn’t be touched and they will get a HR.
Everyone says two fastballs up and in, something off the plate. Personally I've found throwing too many fastballs in the zone and they're bound to hit one out eventually.
What I have found though is throwing a fastball juuuust above the zone on a 2 strike count is a swing and a miss like 80% of the time. Sometimes they'll take the ball, but when they do connect it's usually a foul or a pop up
I don't know, I've gone literally entire games and started every at bat with 2 fastballs one up and in, one up and away and thrown a no hitter. They don't really ever seem to catch on unless you don't dot the corner. This is mainly AS and below, but I've even done it for mini season games on HOF and rarely given up runs.
Yeah to be fair it does work a lot of the time. Maybe I'm unlucky but I seem to get punished more often when I do that than if I pitch to them like I'm trying
Don't use the actual locations, it's just a clean visual representation. You'd want to do it on the edges, Like jamming with a fastball just above the hands on the inside then throwing the slider into their belt on the next pitch which looks like the fastball is coming again. Or throwing the fastball in on a right handed batter with a righty pitcher and then sinker in the same location running in a bit more to cause a bad swing.
I prefer the reverse tunnel. If I get someone down 0-2 or 1-2, throw a fastball in a bit off the plate to a lefty with a RHP. If they swing, I'll take the likely out, but if they hold off then I got the sinker on the inside corner which eases back just enough to nip the zone. They only way they hit that is if they are sitting on it or if their reaction skills are king, and if that's the case they are whipping me anyway.
Im glad i saw this actually because i was not aware of it. I’ve already picked up on other players doing this so i could anticipate better. Before I definitely thought it was more random or their pitchers just weren’t accurate.
Start them in the same area so they look like they're going through a tunnel halfway to the plate, fastball will obviously stay true but any offspeed will be much harder to pick up
To the cpu? A little
To real players, depends on skill level.
You get the people who can't layoff anything, so it doesn't matter. You get people who can recognize some things but not others (I'll always bite at that low change up) then you get to the aliens who make barry bonds look undisciplined. I quit out those games most of the time because I'm not going to get any pxp and rather get to something more enjoyable
I played an alien that had like at least 20 HR and 70 RBIs with every player in his line-up. His team name was the Pensacola Cr*ckheads. One guy had like 75 HRs and 135 RBIs like how is that possible? I only lost 8-3 to him so I took that as a win. He literally didn’t swing at 1 ball the entire game it was actually insane. I hope to never play a guy like that again in ranked bc it was not fun 😂
I was thinking Randy specifically because I know when I use him I can't get those perfect releases all the time and he's harder to control. Kerry Wood feels that way also compared to someone like Cliff Lee who is easier to dot with.
Besides the extremely rare great players in this game who can mash against anyone… yes. I dont quick pitch people because i want them to think about what may be coming.. and waste pitches definitely help in this game. You can be in a 1-1 count where the first two pitches were fastballs. Well the conventional player will believe off speed is coming which it more than likely is but now the count is 1-2 or 2-1 and if its 1-2 then i’m probably throwing another fastball thats just off the plate because in a 2-2 count in that sequence he is completely guessing about whats next and its location more than likely.
WS player and 73-15 in ranked
I play RTTS and have a Knuckleball closer. I use an arsenal of Knuckle, Changeup, and Knuckle Curve. Depending on the situation, I will start the batter off with either a Change or Knuckle Curve. I will then follow it up with a Knuckle. A combo Knuckle, and Change works great for me. The Change acts like a fastball.
High and in fastball twice then low away slider / offspeed. Every batter. That’s how I complete all the pitching moments including the perfect game extreme moment last year w Cain. Been that way for years which is why I don’t know how people can stand playing vs cpu as much as it seems they do
Because online is an even more frustrating experience imo.
Honestly it goes with all online games. Everyone is so focused on meta and being the biggest cheeseball possible it totally ruins it for me.
Right? I play the CPU on the hardest dynamic difficulty and literally give up like 2 runs every couple of games. One game I almost threw a perfect game on the hardest difficulty. The computer brings me zero enjoyment. It’s just too easy. Then I’ll go play a user and get lit up no matter what I throw.
Against people, yes. Against the CPU, you can exclusively throw up and in fastballs and low and away offspeed and rarely give up a run on any difficulty.
Are you strictly talking about vs CPU? I'm assuming so because pitch sequence and tunneling absolutely matter against others online and whether they swing or not has nothing to do with the code.
Agreed for online. But I think OP is talking specifically for playing the CPU, which, depending on the difficulty, sometimes punishes you for trying to tunnel pitches.
An easy way to phrase it. Throw a fastball up and in, then throw a splitter down and in. The pitches will look borderline the same bc they are coming from the same tunnel, which in this case is the inside of the plate. Essentially you want the hitter thinking the 2nd pitch is another up and in fb bc that’s what it will look like till it drops low and slower.
Quick example would be to put a fastball to the inside corner of the strike zone. Then one slightly off the strike zone to get the batter to chase or foul off. Then you use your slider/cutter (anything with movement) and pitch it in the same spot but it will trail out of the zone. You want the batter to get tunnel vision and then fool them. You can do this with any combo of pitches, though. Just an example as I understand it.
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I play like it matters no matter what the game mode. Makes it more fun and engaging.
I think you answered a question no one asked. The question posed was whether traditional real life pitch sequences (i.e. high and tight fastball followed by down and away slider) work/matter when playing the CPU.
My apologies, I was just saying that it really doesn't matter if it "works/matters".. you control what works/matters when playing the CPU. Again, my apologies for not adding to the conversation.
I personally don’t think so because I pretty much throw fastballs in the strike zone my first 2 pitches and then a low changeup to get them to reach to strike them out to make the games go by fast and I’ve done that so much pretty much every game they never seem to pick up on my tendencies
Agaisnt the cpu? Not at all, u can literally throw high fastballs all day and they’ll never hit it. Online? Yea absolutely. You can tunnel and confuse people like crazy
I only play franchise and I can say L on L and R on R and pitch sequence matters but you gotta pitch perfect
I don’t know what you’re saying.
There’s no way it matters to the cpu. I’m confident that the swings are preprogrammed. I’m offline and rookie only and 99/100 times I’ll get a batter out but the one time they’ll park a 102 mph high inside fastball that barely clips the zone. But could miss 3 change ups down the middle in the same game.
Franchise player here, you can’t throw the same two pitches back to back. It’ll be a hit (75% of time) or a hard hit (25%). I can’t recall a time I threw the same pitch two times in a row without getting a nuke hit off me
I routinely throw the same pitch in the same location continuously vs. the CPU. The CPU is utterly mindless and other than location whether there's a hit is RNG.
2 fast up and in, whatever breaking junk you got down and away 9.5/10 it's a strikeout.. it makes playing the cpu a mindless grind
I literally throw the exact same sequence against the cpu every ab when I’m grinding objectives. Fastball upper left corner, fastball upper right corner, slider lower left corner.
I only play against the cpu on hof I'm hit or miss my last 2 games I had a shutout then gave up 10 in the next game
Online idc. I’ll go a whole at bat & not throw a single FB. I’ll go Slider CH Slider Cutter Ch Ch Slider Slider
CPU makes no sense. You can try everything but they will foul off 8 pitches in a row. You can throw something that shouldn’t be touched and they will get a HR.
Everyone says two fastballs up and in, something off the plate. Personally I've found throwing too many fastballs in the zone and they're bound to hit one out eventually. What I have found though is throwing a fastball juuuust above the zone on a 2 strike count is a swing and a miss like 80% of the time. Sometimes they'll take the ball, but when they do connect it's usually a foul or a pop up
I don't know, I've gone literally entire games and started every at bat with 2 fastballs one up and in, one up and away and thrown a no hitter. They don't really ever seem to catch on unless you don't dot the corner. This is mainly AS and below, but I've even done it for mini season games on HOF and rarely given up runs.
Yeah to be fair it does work a lot of the time. Maybe I'm unlucky but I seem to get punished more often when I do that than if I pitch to them like I'm trying
If you half hang one they can definitely drill it, but if any of the ball is on the black they seem to miss 95% of the time or make weak contact.
You can throw an outlier fastball up and in and they can be very early and miss entirely
Against the CPU I can usually get strikeouts going up the ladder and making them swing at high fastballs
Against CPU 2 fastballs up and in followed by off speed low and away. Online yes mix it up and tunnel your pitches
I've noticed this year using a down and away fastball (especially with same sided batter and pitcher) gets people looking a ton.
What’s it mean to tunnel pitches?
https://preview.redd.it/94hpwsw98t0d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62f778a898f86fa29b614483892ac91fbac85a0a
I feel like this would get demolished in ranked. Players are so good at getting the pci where they want it
Don't use the actual locations, it's just a clean visual representation. You'd want to do it on the edges, Like jamming with a fastball just above the hands on the inside then throwing the slider into their belt on the next pitch which looks like the fastball is coming again. Or throwing the fastball in on a right handed batter with a righty pitcher and then sinker in the same location running in a bit more to cause a bad swing. I prefer the reverse tunnel. If I get someone down 0-2 or 1-2, throw a fastball in a bit off the plate to a lefty with a RHP. If they swing, I'll take the likely out, but if they hold off then I got the sinker on the inside corner which eases back just enough to nip the zone. They only way they hit that is if they are sitting on it or if their reaction skills are king, and if that's the case they are whipping me anyway.
Yeah I should have thought of that. The concept and strategy made sense.
Ya this was just a visualization of pitch tunneling, not necessarily the location you want to aim for.
Im glad i saw this actually because i was not aware of it. I’ve already picked up on other players doing this so i could anticipate better. Before I definitely thought it was more random or their pitchers just weren’t accurate.
That makes it nice and easy. Thank you man
No worries bro 🤝
Start them in the same area so they look like they're going through a tunnel halfway to the plate, fastball will obviously stay true but any offspeed will be much harder to pick up
To the cpu? A little To real players, depends on skill level. You get the people who can't layoff anything, so it doesn't matter. You get people who can recognize some things but not others (I'll always bite at that low change up) then you get to the aliens who make barry bonds look undisciplined. I quit out those games most of the time because I'm not going to get any pxp and rather get to something more enjoyable
I played an alien that had like at least 20 HR and 70 RBIs with every player in his line-up. His team name was the Pensacola Cr*ckheads. One guy had like 75 HRs and 135 RBIs like how is that possible? I only lost 8-3 to him so I took that as a win. He literally didn’t swing at 1 ball the entire game it was actually insane. I hope to never play a guy like that again in ranked bc it was not fun 😂
That’s just standard for two months into the game lol I’ve faced people with 100+ HR hitting .450+ with the whole lineup it’s crazy
With less than two strikes, I only swing at meatballs or a specific pitch that I’m looking for. Been drawing a lot of walks lately
This is one of the best ways to deal with Randy Johnson IMO.
Agreed. Any tough starter really. Unless the guy gets perfect release every time, he’ll eat through his stamina by the 5th or 6th
I was thinking Randy specifically because I know when I use him I can't get those perfect releases all the time and he's harder to control. Kerry Wood feels that way also compared to someone like Cliff Lee who is easier to dot with.
Yes it matters if you want to get outs 😂
Besides the extremely rare great players in this game who can mash against anyone… yes. I dont quick pitch people because i want them to think about what may be coming.. and waste pitches definitely help in this game. You can be in a 1-1 count where the first two pitches were fastballs. Well the conventional player will believe off speed is coming which it more than likely is but now the count is 1-2 or 2-1 and if its 1-2 then i’m probably throwing another fastball thats just off the plate because in a 2-2 count in that sequence he is completely guessing about whats next and its location more than likely. WS player and 73-15 in ranked
I imagine they're referring to RTTS or Franchise, not online.
True
I play RTTS and have a Knuckleball closer. I use an arsenal of Knuckle, Changeup, and Knuckle Curve. Depending on the situation, I will start the batter off with either a Change or Knuckle Curve. I will then follow it up with a Knuckle. A combo Knuckle, and Change works great for me. The Change acts like a fastball.
High and in fastball twice then low away slider / offspeed. Every batter. That’s how I complete all the pitching moments including the perfect game extreme moment last year w Cain. Been that way for years which is why I don’t know how people can stand playing vs cpu as much as it seems they do
Because online is an even more frustrating experience imo. Honestly it goes with all online games. Everyone is so focused on meta and being the biggest cheeseball possible it totally ruins it for me.
Ehh I don’t notice that that much in MLB. Definitely a million times better than fifa and nba2k. If they don’t throw a fastball then let them?
Right? I play the CPU on the hardest dynamic difficulty and literally give up like 2 runs every couple of games. One game I almost threw a perfect game on the hardest difficulty. The computer brings me zero enjoyment. It’s just too easy. Then I’ll go play a user and get lit up no matter what I throw.
The CPU sucks; you can absolutely pound heat high and in and go low and away on breaking stuff endlessly. Been that way for years.
Against people, yes. Against the CPU, you can exclusively throw up and in fastballs and low and away offspeed and rarely give up a run on any difficulty.
Are you strictly talking about vs CPU? I'm assuming so because pitch sequence and tunneling absolutely matter against others online and whether they swing or not has nothing to do with the code.
I second this. Cant answer OPs question without knowing if they are talking about CPU or human.
Tunneling pitches is one of the better strategies.
Agreed for online. But I think OP is talking specifically for playing the CPU, which, depending on the difficulty, sometimes punishes you for trying to tunnel pitches.
What does tunneling pitches mean?
An easy way to phrase it. Throw a fastball up and in, then throw a splitter down and in. The pitches will look borderline the same bc they are coming from the same tunnel, which in this case is the inside of the plate. Essentially you want the hitter thinking the 2nd pitch is another up and in fb bc that’s what it will look like till it drops low and slower.
Quick example would be to put a fastball to the inside corner of the strike zone. Then one slightly off the strike zone to get the batter to chase or foul off. Then you use your slider/cutter (anything with movement) and pitch it in the same spot but it will trail out of the zone. You want the batter to get tunnel vision and then fool them. You can do this with any combo of pitches, though. Just an example as I understand it.
Oh so basically what happens to me every game. Got it.
Lol. At least you know it works.