MLB 15 The Show: Grading the A.L.'s Signature Home Run Swings

Feature Article

Submitted on: 04/15/2015 by Chase Becotte

We took a look at the National League and some of the most well known home run swings that league has to offer, so I guess it's only fair that we give the American League some publicity as well. After the jump, let's take a look at some dingers and grade some swings.

Jose Abreu

Jose Abreu hit 36 home runs last year (and had a 5.2 WAR), which is, uh, yeah pretty decent for a rookie campaign. But I'll say it, his game is boring; his swing is boring; and his home runs are mostly boring. I need a bit more flair from you Jose. That being said, The Show does a mostly solid job of nailing his ho-hum swing. The MLB clip is a more extreme version of Abreu's swing because he really pulls the ball in that GIF, but it's fair to think Abreu's body could be a bit more compact and his timing step could be a bit more pronounced.

And for the record, Jose Abreu the person is not boring.

Grade: B+

Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera "only" hit 25 home runs last year, but his reputation easily gets him on this list. His swing looks so effortless, and it's just easy to look at. All in all, the developers got this one right as they're just missing the first of his toe taps as he gets timed up to take his swing -- only the second bigger one is shown in game.

Grade: A

Victor Martinez

As a switch hitter, I could have taken Martinez's swing from either side, but since he hit more of his no-doubt shots from the right side, I will use that one here. However, I think the developers probably took Martinez's swing from the left side and just flipped it for his right-handed swing. This means the swings are still mostly identical, but on his right-handed power swing he actually only keeps one hand on the bat on the follow through. So this swing would be perfect from the left side, but it's slightly less than perfect from the right side.

Grade: A-

Chris Carter

Chris Carter is probably the best at making baseball look like Wiffle ball. He's a large human that makes the bat look small, and when he connects it's usually game over for that baseball. The comparison GIFs are close, but again, it comes back to the follow through. The Show has him with a two-handed follow through, but he's firmly in the one-handed camp.

Grade: A-

Nelson Cruz

The MLB home run leader from a year ago, Nelson Cruz has one of my favorite finishing poses. He holds the bat almost like a sword as he leaves the box and stares at the carnage he's created. The developers have really nailed his follow through and walk from the box. However, he's only got a single toe tap now in real life, but in The Show he still has a double toe tap.

Grade: A-

Albert Pujols

Pujols actually has a rather elaborate home run swing. The swing itself is straight forward enough, but everything from the follow through on is positively his own trademark. He doesn't do the skip out of the box as often anymore, but he's still really consistent about staring at the home run before looking away to flip his bat. In The Show, Pujols has the skip, but he's still missing the look away as he flips his bat away.

Grade: A-

Mike Trout

Mike Trout is another right-handed hitter who likes the two-handed follow through. The big things to nail though are the things The Show gets right.

He gets out of the box in a hurry while still being hunched over.
He carries his bat with him as a weapon just long enough to make sure nobody will mess with him.

Great work by the development team getting both aspects correct here.

Grade: A+

Jose Bautista

Holy violent swing. I think the main thing you want to nail with the Canadian cover athlete's swing is just his overall torque and bat speed. The Show does that and also nails the bat and placement of his right arm on the follow through.

Grade: A+

Josh Donaldson

Donaldson has a similar follow through to Bautista in that he holds that right arm in as he finishes his extension. Overall what's here is really good, and that's great to see because Donaldson broke out last year and hit 29 home runs -- I love to see fresh faces getting some love in video games because it shows the developers are on the ball. Also, bonus points for making sure Donaldson continues to stare at his home run as he leaves the box.

Grade: A+

Edwin Encarnacion

The Blue Jays have an embarrassing amount of power in the middle of their order, and Edwin Encarnacion is actually my favorite of the three mashers. Nobody hit more no-doubt home runs than him a year ago, and really there's not many things I like watching more than Encarnacion hit bouncy balls off the decks of the Rogers Centre. Plus, as always, I am a sucker for a guy who will walk out of the box and just stare at his home run. The developers got everything about this swing right, and I thank them for it.

Grade: A+

David Ortiz

David Ortiz seems like the right player to end this series. His swing is well known, and he takes forever to get around the bases so everybody knows when he's hit a home run. The development team is again on their game here as Big Papi steps over the plate at the end of his follow through, and he really gets his body turned when he pulls the ball. The only complaint I have is he does not quite turn his hips enough on the follow through, and the front foot doesn't open up enough as he finishes his swing.

Grade: A-

So that wraps up this series. Hope you guys have enjoyed it. And if you really liked it and want to see more, maybe leave some feedback and mention what other types of signature comparisons you would like to see tackled -- even if it's just more home runs.

MLB 15 The Show Videos

Member Comments

# 1 teebee @ 04/15/15 02:27 PM

How about instead of ripping Abreu for not showboating we simply appreciate a Cuban player that for once doesn't whip his dong out and wave it around everytime he does something marginal decent on the diamond?

# 2 Schibling @ 04/15/15 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teebee


	How about instead of ripping Abreu for not showboating we simply appreciate a Cuban player that for once doesn't whip his dong out and wave it around everytime he does something marginal decent on the diamond?

Touchy Touchy. If you hit a home run you should be able to celebrate a little bit. im not saying whip your dong around as you put. I mean the pitchers celebrate during a big strikeout dont they. Not everyone is Barry Sanders my friend.

# 3 DieHardYankee26 @ 04/15/15 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schibling


	Touchy Touchy. If you hit a home run you should be able to celebrate a little bit. im not saying whip your dong around as you put. I mean the pitchers celebrate during a big strikeout dont they. Not everyone is Barry Sanders my friend.

Most of them don't.

# 4 abcabc @ 04/15/15 09:13 PM

why is it scea obviously isn't using live video to transpose or whatever the word i'm looking for is, every batter's swing/followthrough onto the game, accurately.

# 5 ChaseB @ 04/15/15 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abcabc


	why is it scea obviously isn't using live video to transpose or whatever the word i'm looking for is, every batter's swing/followthrough onto the game, accurately.

Well I can't speak directly for Sony, but I assume motion capture has a lot to do with what they capture, and that's not really how mo-cap works. They can use video for reference material, but still need to actually capture the motions rather than do them by hand.

# 6 strawberryshortcake @ 04/16/15 02:54 AM

A lot of these are off to semi-off. Being a life long Athletics fan, and watching Josh Donaldson play for the last three seasons, his leg kick is definitely much higher and much more exaggerated almost as if he is going to fall down. Plus, his upper torso has more lean downwards as well. MLB the Show has him a little too much upright position with the leg kick pretty simple, it may resemble, but it definitely is not replicated well.

Another thing I see for why they look off falls back on player models. The heads are much too small for their bodies. Secondly, the bodies are recycled between players. There seems to only be a handful of "thickness" player model available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abcabc


	why is it scea obviously isn't using live video to transpose or whatever the word i'm looking for is, every batter's swing/followthrough onto the game, accurately.

I have read that using what you are suggesting makes things easier to work with. You don't have to waste time trying to motion capture it.

It would also be more productive because in game real life baseball action on the field (including all sports) has that "adrenaline" factor that will never be present during motion capture sessions. There's no sense of "urgency" suited up in motion capture outfits. The actors will not be able to replicate what happens on the field of play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaseB


	Well I can't speak directly for Sony, but I assume motion capture has a lot to do with what they capture, and that's not really how mo-cap works. They can use video for reference material, but still need to actually capture the motions rather than do them by hand.

Two different technology from what I understand. Firstly, as pointed out above, in studio motion capture will never replicate what happens on the field of play. Studio motion capture doesn't capture the "adrenaline" rush that happens during live gameplay.

What abcabc is suggesting is a different form of technology (from what I have briefly read, I think, don't exactly recall) makes the whole video game "animation" better, and essentially lifelike because the developers would literally be taking in game footage and using that as the blueprint to replicate runners' stride length, swing and pitching follow through, the way they circle the base path, etc. The player movement in live game footage will be what you'd see in a video game.

Here's an example. Consider a ball hit to the outfielder at the 295 foot mark, outfielder fields the ball and throws it towards home. With real baseball footage, you would see the power in the fielders hips, arms, whole body throw the ball a couple hundred of feet towards home plate. With in studio motion capture, you don't have the luxury of a 400 foot stadium to work with. In studio, you are limited to a confined space. It'll be extremely difficult for the actor to try to replicate a 295 foot throw in a confined studio space. They may try to replicate it, but it will never look/feel like the real thing.

# 7 mrb27 @ 10/21/15 09:14 PM

is there a list of the new signature swings that have been added to the game? or are we supposed to just look through the entire list of batting stances. thats why everyone complains about the game being he same every year. people dont know what to look for . the game should come with a booklet that shows all the new features, player changes, features taken out, added etc

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